Someone needs the Lord-- what are you doing about it?

The great sin of the church is to be so interested in serving those within it that it cannot serve the needs of those without. –Rasmussen

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:4

I believe one of the first loves of any true blood bought Christian is to want others to know about the One who has saved them! I believe this is also one of the greatest failures of the church today as well.

As you GET UP, GET READY, and HEAD OUT TO CHURCH TODAY…take a moment to call someone else and invite them to come! Be and encourager to those who are struggling in this world! You may just be what they need to get them under the preaching of the Word!

Money or God...you can't serve both!

Riches either serve or govern the possessor. –Horace

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

I’m glad money doesn’t have a hold on me anymore! I gave up the fulfilling the “I need more than the neighbors” game a long time ago. I found out, I am much happier just being content with what God wants me to have rather than to fight tooth and nail for an extra buck! When we do that…it’s never enough! Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

Diamonds in the Rough...

Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior.-Juvenal

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I am glad the Lord is working on me but am I working to be like Him? I hear that children’s song, “He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be….” But am I working against the Lord? Yes, God gives second, third, and so on chances but if we are His Children we need to be doing our best to be what we claim our name to be- Christian, Christ like or little Christ.

If you were on trial today would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? Are you reading His Word? Are you meditating upon it? Are you praying? Are you telling others what Jesus did for you? Are you going to church? Are you attending Sunday School? Yes, you’re right you don’t have to do any of these things to become a Christian but as one I believe you should have a desire to do them! 

Tears all gone!

God washes the eyes by tears until they can behold the invisible land where tears shall come no more. –Beecher

 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” John 16:20

Tears of joy and tears of grief come into each of our lives. When a child is born we cry over the joy that this child will bring us. When they get older we weep over the grief they bring by poor choices in their lives. We rejoice with our loved ones with the time we have with them and then, when they go home to be with the Saviour, we weep because of the emptiness we feel with them gone. One thing is for sure though, when we get to Heaven all tears will be wiped away for every reason! We will rejoice with the Lord forever!

Because of His death, burial, and resurrection we have this blessed promise! Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Hey friend, Will you be there to rejoice when this promise becomes reality with me?

Ingratitude dries up the fountain of all goodness. –Richelieu

 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. Luke 17:15

“Thank you” are two of the most important words in the entire world. Unfortunately, as time passes on they are becoming the most neglected as well. In Romans 1:21, the Lord points to the neglect of being thankful as being the beginning of a man having vile affections.

How often do you say, “Thank you”? How often do you show appreciation for things done for you by your spouse? How often do you say, “Thank you” to your Mom and Dad? How often do you say, “Thank you” to your pastor? Make an investment in others by saying, “Thank you”! Most of all say, “Thank you”, to the Lord for providing the means of our Salvation!

The devil is not afraid of the Bible that has dust on it. –Anonymous 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

If someone was to offer you a gift that had the potential to give you health and life would you take it from them? Well with the Word of God, that is exactly what you have. In Proverbs 4:20-23 the Bible says, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

How often do we neglect this precious gift God has given us? It is by His Word that we have the full story of His death, burial, and resurrection. Do we leave it on the counter or bookshelf after we go to church? Do we even take it to church? Do we hide it in our heart that we might not sin against God?

Take a few minutes each day this week to read your Bible! Maybe you won't be so weak that you give into the temptations the devil has waiting for you!

Stop and Listen!

We have two ears and only one tongue in order that we may hear more and speak less. -Laertius

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Sure is hard to be still isn’t it? Go, go, go always on the go. We have to go to the grocery store, take kids to Drs. Appointments, get car’s oil changed, pay bills, go to work, fix supper, take the trash out, take the kids to ball games, and take the kids to school- I ain’t finished yet. Wash the dishes, take a bath, make tea, clean the bathroom, mow the yard, change the oil on the vehicles, and the list will go on and on and on!

But God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” So how do we do this? By putting God first! That is before your kids, before your spouse, before your work, before anything that may try and come in between you and Him! That is being in church on Sunday. That is being in church on Sunday night. That’s being in church on Wednesday. That is reading your Bible, praying and tithing! We can add to this list but for the sake of time we will stop there.

Whose Gonna Fill them Shoes?

In 1985, American country music artist George Jones released “Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes”. The theme of the song is who will fill those musicians of days past.

In 1950 there were 100,000 missionaries worldwide. Since 1950 we have lost 1,000 missionaries per year. Only 50 per year since 1950 surrender to take their place. Do the math; we are not filling their shoes.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sac...rifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

I believe this is one of the many factors in why our world is in the shape that it is in! Will you fill their shoes? Where you are at, will you stand up and be counted for the glory of God? Or will you with the prophet in Isaiah 6:8 say, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

Can you be taught?

You have got to want to learn something before you can be taught.

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Psalm 25:4

I notice in this verse that the Psalmist is the one requesting a couple things from the Lord; Shew me thy ways and teach me thy paths. It’s like he is saying to the Lord, “Show me which way to go and not only that Lord but show me how I should go!” That should be our goal! When we do, we have found the true source of our strength—HIM!

He's got skin in the "game"!

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. Psalm 25:8

Goodness is love in action, love with its hand to the plow, love with the burden on its back, love following his footsteps who went about continually doing good. –Hamilton

I am so thankful that the Lord teaches us “…in the way!” He did not sit on the side lines instructing us how to be saved because He knew that wouldn’t work. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7 The Lord got involved by sending His Son to die for our sin! That brings the statement of, “I’ve got skin in the game”, to a whole new level!

Get out of the rat race!

The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-12

Some are still in the rat race of life not even realizing that what they are racing for will one day fade away. We cannot take any of our wealth with us no matter how hard we may try! Rose Greenhow was on the run for spying. When the boat she was in sunk- she sunk with it because she had sewed gold in her dress! She thought she could take the gold with her but this was the cause of her death.

What are you placing high value on; your job, your education, your retirement plan? These things are important but they should never surpass that of God! His Word should always be priority ONE! Get out of the rat race of life and replace those empty promises with the promises found in the Word of God!

Wasted days and wasted nights

Do not believe that you are standing still; you are not.  Your pulses each moment beat the funeral marches to the tomb.  You are chained to the chariot of rolling time.  There is no bridling of the steeds or leaping from the chariot. –Spurgeon

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14

I have heard it many times, time flies the older we get. In all actuality, we have just got more responsibilities to cram into the same twenty-four hour period. But I have found in my own life that we waste a lot of time allotted to us each day. During the day we waste time on social media or time at night watching television. If we calculated how much time we waste and then invest that same amount in our time with the Saviour…what kind of impact could we make on our own lives and the lives of others?

Clean Bill of Health!

Christ, when the sinner is brought to the bar, appears there himself.  There stands the man whose hands are pierced; he stands numbered with transgressors.  Let the trial proceed.  What is the accusation?  He stands to answer it.  He points to his side, his hands, his feet, and challenges justice to bring anything against the sinners whom he represents. –Spurgeon

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

It’s not your Mom or Dad, it’s not a close family relationship, it’s not your education, and it surely isn’t the government that is going to heal our sin sick soul! It is only in His wounds! It is only in His shed blood! It is only by grace through faith that our transgressions and iniquities are healed! 

Are you still suffering in your sin sick state? I don’t know about you but when I’m sick I am miserable! You can have a clean bill of health if you ask Jesus to be your Saviour today!

Where do you belong?

We talk about heaven being so far away.  It is within speaking distance to those who belong there. -D.L. Moody

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14

A couple of years ago I asked a co-worker, “So how does one get to Heaven?” His response was, “By the stairs!” While he was trying to be funny, I was serious as a heart attack. Unfortunately, many seem to think eternity is a joke. They think of God as the old man upstairs. They think they have all the time in the world. Reality is we are not guaranteed tomorrow or our next breath for that matter.

Dear friend, would you take time to consider these questions, “If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? How sure are you of the answer? What do you base it on? If you are wrong would you want to know?" If you don't know and would like to know how you can get to Heaven drop me a message or email! I would love to share with you the Good News of the Gospel!  

I Serve!

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26

As the song goes, “I serve a risen Saviour!” We serve because we have faith that He is risen! We don’t serve in order to believe. We serve in order to show that we do! After Jesus arose, the women came and saw the empty tomb. The angel said, (paraphrase) “Come, See”—Have faith He arose! But then He said, “Go and Tell!”—Get to work! We have a job to do—how affective are we in doing it? When was the last time you told someone, He arose?

I've got something to say...

The death of Christ did not terminate but did germinate his work. -Anonymous

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. Matthew 28:6-7

If you are saved you have something to say to! In the Gospel according to Matthew we find this simple message- Come and see where the Lord lay, Go quickly and tell....that He is Risen! If you are not, that is my message to you! Have you heard? Have you responded? Have you asked Jesus to save you?

Obedience is the very best way!

Sin will keep you from this Book. This Book will keep you from sin. --Dwight L. Moody

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

 I often find those that find themselves overcome with sin have neglected their personal Bible reading and study, church attendance, and fellowship with fellow believers. There isn’t a secret to victory in a Christian’s life…it is only obeying the Word itself. And that will give you the victory you are looking for!

I Can’t Do this Anymore!

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

When you get burdened down with pressure of life events where do you go? Do you carry your load of cares until it is like an axle breaking under the load it carries, spilling the load all over the road? Other cars get into wrecks, traffic backs up, and many times people get hurt. All because you decide you can do it on your own but break under the pressure.

Many times we do that just thing. We carry our load of cares and when we can’t carry the load any longer we break. Our mouth spews things we do not mean. We lash out. We cry. We are ashamed. Our life seems as if it to be at a standstill. Our children lose hope. They are broken. (They get out of Church) End result….Satan has a victory in our life.

Want to avoid a crash in life? Cast your cares upon the Lord and let Him deal with them!

A reminder of His Blessings-

            All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass-Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. -Alexander

            Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

            His Mercy. A lively hope. An incorruptible inheritance. Which is undefiled. That fadeth not away. It’s reserved for all that are saved in Heaven. Kept by The One and Only Omnipotent God- otherwise known as- Jesus Christ- Lord of Lords and King of Kings. By His resurrection. Through faith. And just to remind us once again…..ready to be revealed any time now!

Help Not Wanted…anymore!

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Galatians 4:8-9

Do you remember what you received last year for Christmas? Many people want a certain gift but a little while after they get it they become bored with it only for it to end up on a shelf somewhere. How often do those wanting salvation, wanting a change in life, call out to the Lord, being freed from the bondage of sin, not being wanted anymore, end up putting the Lord “on a shelf” forsaking Him day in and day out? I have something for you to read if that is you: And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:23