Our God is alive, and in Him, we too, are the light of the world…
Category: Gospel
A Time for Prayer, Salt, and Light
There seem to be no words sufficient on a day like today in America, or on any given day in so many places in the world. So I turn to God’s Word to find His wisdom and grace.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.’” Isaiah 66:2 NIV
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Let us remember that we are all guilty of sin, and without the grace of God through the atonement of His Son, we would be deserving of the death He took in our place.
With that in mind, with humble and contrite spirits, and being one in heart and mind, let us join together in prayer before our gracious God, first in repentance of our own sin, and then seeking forgiveness on behalf of our nation.
And may we rise up as salt and light, revealing to the world the Father’s great love and mercy, praying that many hearts would turn to Him and we would see a fresh revival of His Spirit throughout our own country and the world.
“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 NIV
Sunday Praise – Good Good Father
Happy Father’s Day! I wanted to share a song with you today, singing praises to the best Father anyone can have, our perfect Heavenly Father, whose love and grace know no bounds. May you know His goodness today.
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
One Way
This is our message. No matter what happens – in our personal lives, or in the world – may we boldly remain steadfast upon this foundational truth.
The Grace of God
That night God opened a portal between heaven and earth, and a pathway paved with the grace of God was let down in the form of a tiny, unassuming, vulnerable baby.
While the world slept, a miracle happened.
While the world groaned with sin, an offering was given.
He was the gift, and still is, and forever will be.
May you be filled with the joy and wonder of the Christ Child this Christmas and always.
Side nugget – I like to look up the exact meanings of words when I write, and when the first sentence came to my mind, portal was the first word I thought of. I thought that didn’t sound right, and maybe I’d want to use another word for portal, so I looked it up and here is its meaning: “a door, gate, or entrance, especially one of imposing appearance, as to a palace.”
Oh my friends, portal is the exact right word. God knew. The doorway opens to a Palace, the Palace, the Kingdom of God, the royal dwelling place of the King of kings, the One Who came down to free us from sin’s hold, and then to one day greet those who receive Him at the Portal and welcome us into His home forever.
Who is Jesus?
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’ For this reason they tried all the more to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:16-18)
Salvation does not depend on being a good person, going to church, owning a Bible, or being an American.
It depends on Who we say Jesus is. Some say he was just a good man, maybe a prophet. He said He was God. Either He was crazy, a liar, or speaking the truth. If He was telling the truth, then what we do with that truth will determine where we spend eternity. If we reject it, we reject God, for the Father and the Son are one.
Jesus Himself said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Without accepting Christ and His payment on the cross for our sins, we will stand before God at the end of our mortal lives and the beginning of our eternal ones with no excuse, and we will receive the just payment for our sins – eternity apart from God and the love and peace that originate in Him and flow from Him.
But, if we accept that Jesus is who He says He is, that He is God, and by accepting Him we accept His sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins, then there is no condemnation for us, and will be no judgment for our sins as we stand before God, since Christ paid it all.
Salvation isn’t dependent on what we do or who we are, but what we believe. If we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, and we will forever live in His presence and all that He is – love, joy, peace, goodness, grace, mercy, kindness…
Who do you say Jesus is?
Called Into Fellowship
Could there be anything more wonderful, more gracious, more astounding and life-changing than being called – by God Himself – into fellowship – not just a knowledge of, not just an acquaintance with, but into a partnership, a daily, ongoing, communicating fellowship – with His Son, that we might live in oneness with Him, allowing His Spirit to flow through us, bringing our hearts and minds and lives into alignment with God’s will, allowing us to live an abundant life far above all we can imagine?
Lord help us to not waste a day…
The Resurrection and The Life
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here;
He has risen, just as He said.'”
Matthew 28:1-6
Happy Easter!
The Only Way to Heaven
“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
No other name. Not the allah of islam, not gautama buddha, not mahatma gandhi, not the pope, not good works, not self, not any other god. Regardless of one’s belief, the truth is that there is only one God – the Creator of the universe and of every living thing – on whom we can call who has the power, through His Son’s death, to forgive our sins and prepare a place for us with Him in heaven.
Many believe Jesus to be just another name in a long list of good men, prophets, whatever. But Jesus set Himself apart from all others.
He healed when no one else could, He loved when no one else would. He rose the dead and forgave sin.
Over and over He bucked the religious system – that of every other god – to do His Father’s will, to be the living logos of the Father Himself. He repeated “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Not a way, not a truth, not a life. He is THE only, and no one else can or ever has claimed that. No one. No one else is the bridge to the Living God but Christ who allowed Himself to be betrayed, whipped, tortured and nailed to a cross to be the sacrifice to pay for our sins.
And then His righteousness and power over death were proved on the third day when, despite the seal on the tomb, despite the strictly ordered guard, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty.
He had risen from the grave and the Bible tells us He appeared to His disciples and over five hundred people at one time before He ascended back into heaven.
And after He ascended, He appeared to Saul, one of the greatest persecutors of Christians at the time, and Saul believed in Him, his name was changed to Paul, and he became one of the greatest living proponents for the truth of Christ, and he wrote more that became the New Testament than any other author.
Because time has past doesn’t make the truth any less true.
No other god can forgive sins. No other god promises to be the way to heaven. No other grave of any god is empty.
That may sound narrow or restrictive. But in actuality, Jesus is the most inclusive way there is. Every other god says you have to do…this or that to earn forgiveness. Other gods say only certain people can go to heaven. The way of those religions is actually far more restrictive, and they are actually dead ends that don’t lead to heaven at all, but instead to an eternity far from the presence of God and everything that is of God: love, joy, peace and everything good.
Jesus says anyone can go to heaven if they will simply believe in Him. Doesn’t matter their age, their gender, their color, their past beliefs, their past religions, their past sins, their past anythings! If you will believe in who He says He was (and is), believe in what He said, believe that He is the Son of God who died to pay for your sins and who rose from the grave and has the power to give you spiritual life both now and after this life, tell Him right now, ask Him to come into your life, and you will be saved.
None of us has tomorrow promised to us. I think any of us can look around at our own families, to those of loved ones, and to the world to know that’s true.
Don’t wait. Believe in Him now. He waits at the door of your life and He knocks. What you do with Christ is the most crucial decision you will make your entire life. Your eternity depends on it. I promise you, you will never regret it. And you will have a Friend for life.
In Christ,