Sun, Dec 29th - 9:08PM

Acts 5:40-42

Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

You get that? They rejoiced because they were beaten for the name of Christ? How many of us would rejoice for being beaten? Probably not many of us including myself but Christ told believers they should expect to be persecuted for His name. And did the Apostles stop preaching Christ because they had been beaten? No, they went right back to teaching and preaching in the name of Christ. 

Christ told believers they will be hated for His name and since Christ is not a liar we know this to be a true statement and if you don’t find this to be true you really need to ask yourself why not. You need to ask yourself “Christ told me I would be hated for His name so why am I not hated?” Because trust me if you boldly proclaim the name of Christ in this world of sin you are going to meet resistance. Now if all you ever do is spend time talking about Christ with other believers than you probably are not going to meet resistance at least I hope not but that also means you are not reaching out to the lost if you only are preaching to the choir as the saying goes. If you take the Gospel into enemy territory trust me Satan is going to put up a fight. Satan isn’t going to let you rescue souls without a fight. 

Sadly so many Christians today let any little excuse keep them from going to church. A lot of times a little bit of rain, a little bit of snow, or cold weather, or the sniffles is all it takes to keep them from church if that all it takes and you are looking for excuse not to go Satan is going to send an excuse every Sunday to keep you away. We need to wake up. We are in a fight that has been going on since the beginning between the forces of Satan and God and fighting is never easy. It takes Soldiers of Christ who are brave, committed, motivated, and willing to suffer for His name to win souls for Christ. If the early church had the same attitude many Christians had today Christianity would have died in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Would you rejoice for suffering for His name? For many Christians around the world this is a reality and the Western church better wake up because it soon could be a reality here. 

Sun, Dec 29th - 12:24AM

1 Samuel 16:6-7

1 Samuel 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV)

And we know this to be a true statement rather we want to admit or not. We often judge people by their appearance. Take all of this recent uproar about Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty. I don’t how many times somebody called him a dumb, uneducated hick. They look at him and they see a white man with long hair and beard dressed in camo and assume he is just some old dumb redneck. When in reality he has a Master’s degree, he used to be a schoolteacher, and he is quiet wealthy and his wealth came from his own business which he started in his house but has grown to a multi-million dollar business. But this just points out how we judge people. 

The church I go to is very casual. About the only person who ever wears a suit is the pastor. Some people have a problem with that like they believe you have to be dressed up to worship God. I believe God doesn’t care how we are dressed at church as long as it is respectful. Some of the biggest sinners and hypocrites I have ever met were always the best dressed on Sunday morning. They might be impressing others but they aint impressing God because God knows the heart. God expects believers to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. It was the Pharisees that made a big show of being holy in the way they dressed and their phony religious actions but they didn’t impress Christ because He knew in reality their hearts were far from God and He had very little in kind words to say about them.

God knows the heart of man. You might get away with fooling others but you aint fooling God. God wants true heartfelt worship and service to Him. There are a lot of people who put on a big show of being religious on Sunday morning but the rest of the week most who meet them would never believe they ever went to church. You aint fooling God, God knows your heart and there are going to be a lot of sad individuals on the day of judgment who hear depart from me I never knew you. (Matthew 7:21-23) 

Sun, Dec 29th - 12:24AM

Acts 5:33-39

Acts 5:33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (NIV)

There are a lot of people who are finding themselves fighting against God. When I was young everybody didn’t go to church and everybody didn’t believe in God but for the most they were still respectful to those who did believe but not anymore. I spend a lot of time on forum and other discussion sites and some of the things that get said are unbelievable. People openly mocking God and those who believe in Him and these are the people who claim they are so loving and tolerant of others. I guess that doesn’t apply to Christians and their beliefs. 

The Bible says God is not a God to be mocked. Galatians 6:7 says not to be deceived God will not be mocked what a man sows that is what he will reap. These people are being very foolish and don’t even realize it. God is a loving and a patient God but He is also a God of righteousness and justice and God will not allow unforgiven sin to go unpunished and He will hold those who mock His holy name accountable and He will hold those who mock and persecute His children accountable. The Bible is very clear that every one of us will stand before God to give an account of our lives someday and those who mocked God and denied His existence will stand before Him to be judged the One they claimed did not exist.  

There are a lot of people who want to erase any mention of God from our society but these people are being foolish. God will not be mocked and He does not answer to man. These people are doing the work of Satan rather they realize it or not but we as Christians who have studied the Bible knows how it all ends. God is always in control. These people are only being allowed to believe they can erase God from our world but God is always in control and someday soon Christ will return and the nations will stand before God to be judged by Him the One they tried to erase from society.

Thu, Dec 26th - 10:02PM

Acts 5:24-28

Acts 5:24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

25Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

27The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” (NIV)

I find verse 28 such a strange verse because these men were guilty of the blood of Christ. It was this group of men who conspired with Judas to betray Christ, it was this group of men who handed Christ over to the Romans to be crucified, and it was this group of men who demanded Christ be crucified when the Romans wanted to release Him.  And sadly these actions have been used by the enemies of God to persecute the Jews throughout the centuries. Like somehow by persecuting the Jews they were pleasing God or avenging the death of Christ. What ignorance. First of all if Christ hadn’t died we would all still be lost and without hope for salvation and second, we are all guilty of the blood of Christ.

Christ died for the sins of all of us. He died because we are all sinners worthy of death and doomed to hell without Him. He died because He loved all of us enough to offer Himself as a sin sacrifice for all of us. There are a lot of things that divide mankind but we do share some things in common such as: We are all sinners, we are all worthy of hell because we are all sinners, and Christ died for all of us because He alone could take away the sins of those who believe in Him. It doesn’t matter who you are, what race you are, what ethnic group you come, what your social status is there is only one way to heaven and that is be accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior. We will all stand before God someday to give account of our lives. If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you will have nothing to fear because the blood of Christ has washed away your sins and made you clean before God but if you have not accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior than you are still guilty before God and will spend an eternity in hell.

This is a hard message for a lot of people to accept in our modern day politically correct world but it doesn’t matter. God doesn’t change and neither does His word. Christ died for your sins so that you don’t have to go to hell but if you reject God’s gift of salvation and continue to live in rebellion toward Him than what choice does God have but to allow you to suffer the consequences of rejecting salvation through Christ. God is a God of love, compassion, mercy, and grace but He also is a God of righteousness and justice that will judge those who reject Him and His gift of salvation through the blood of Christ which was shed on the cross for all of mankind so that whosoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Savior can have their sins forgiven and eternal life through Him. 

Wed, Dec 25th - 10:27PM

1 Samuel 15:29

1 Samuel 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” (NIV)

God doesn’t change. What was sin to God 2000 years ago is still sin to God today. God doesn’t care what is considered politically correct. He doesn’t care what society considers progressive, acceptable or tolerant. God is the judge of what is acceptable and right not man and not society.  It is the same old story since Adam and Eve. Man is trying to decide what is right in his own eyes and is ignoring the Word of God. Well you can’t ignore the Word of God and not expect there to be consequences.  

There are many people today who think the Word of God is not relevant to our modern society. Well one, this foolish thinking and two, it shows they don’t know the Word of God. The Bible is just as relevant to our society today as when it was written. Those who think it can’t be applied to our society lack the courage to make it work for our society today and are making excuses for not trying. There is a lot of Christians today who need to decide who they more are interesting in pleasing, man or God. If you as a believer try to live a holy life in this world of sin you are going to be laughed at and talked about and if you speak out against the sins of the society you better expect to be attacked and a lot of the attacking is going to come from those who also claim to be Christians. Some of the most hateful comments I have received have come those who also claim to be Christians. What is ironic is these people will never publicly speak out against the sins of society but they have no problem taking shots at fellow Christians.

Well God doesn’t change. He expects His children to live the same holy life He expected of the 1st century Christians. He also expects believers today to be the light in the darkness that Christ talked about. To be that city on the hill that can’t be hidden and just as the Great Commission was given to the Apostles it is given to us to go into the world and preach the Gospels and just as Christ told the Disciples to expect to be hated for His name we also can expect to be hated for His name and just as He told the Disciples if they deny Him before men He will deny them before the Father we to cannot deny Christ before men if we expect Christ to acknowledge us before the Father. The Western church needs a whole lot of injection of courage and faith because I seriously believe as the time draws near for the return of Christ the world is going to grow more hostile to those who proclaim the name of Christ but God doesn’t change.  When He said He will never leave us or forsake that was a promise to all believers throughout the ages. 

Mon, Dec 23rd - 10:21PM

1 Samuel 15:22-23

1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

The story of mankind is a story of rebellion against the Creator of mankind. God created man and man has lived in rebellion against God ever since. Adam and Eve rebelled against the will of God in the Garden and mankind has suffered ever since. The world had spiraled into such a state of rebellion and wickedness in the days of Noah that God destroyed all of mankind except for the family of Noah. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because they had fallen into such a state of wickedness that 10 righteous men could not be found in the two cities. God personally led the Hebrews out of Egypt but instead of being thankful and serving God they fell into such a state of rebellion that God made them wander the desert for 40 years until the generation that had come out of Egypt had all died off. God destroyed the Kingdom of Israel and allowed the Kingdom of Judah to be taken into captivity because they refused to listen to the prophets of God and repent of the wickedness and return to Him. In A.D. 70 the nation of Israel disappeared for close to 2000 years because they refused to accept Christ as the Messiah. 

And so it continues today. Our nation has not learned the lessons of the past and continues to slide deeper and deeper into a state of wickedness and rebellion against God and just like those in the past we will suffer the consequences of our rebellion against God. I think it is no accident when you read about the end times in the Bible there are many countries named that will play a role in the end time events but there is not even a hint of the U.S. anywhere in there. I think our days as a superpower are numbered. At one time this nation honored God and God bless this nation for it but as the Bible teaches you reap what you sow. We are sowing sin and rebellion and we will bear the consequences for actions. God blesses those who serve Him and curses those who do not and I think we are seeing this happen today with our economic problems, our crime problems, our addiction problems, the state of immorality, and our struggles in Afghanistan and the Middle East. God punishes rebellion and blesses those who repent and follow Him. Since this nation is turning away from God we are bearing the consequences of our actions. 

Sat, Dec 21st - 10:35PM

Acts 4:23-31

Acts 4:23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“ ‘Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

26The kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord

and against his anointed one.

27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (NIV)

The world hates Christ and everything and everyone associated with Christ because the world is under the influence of Satan and Satan hates Christ because it is through the death and resurrection of Christ that Satan is defeated. Satan has already been defeated by the death and resurrection of Christ but he aint going down without a fight. He is determined to drag as much of mankind to hell with him as he can and he knows his time is short and his time is short because Christ can return at any time and I think personally that it want be much longer.

You don’t have to look very hard to see that this world hates Christ. Let a public figure speak boldly for Christ and to speak out against the sins of our society and they are ready to nail them to the wall. A celebrity can get on TV and be as nasty and raunchy as they want but let the name of Christ be mentioned and all hell breaks loose. A Muslim can openly proclaim their faith and speak out against those they disagree with including homosexuals and it is blown off as the freedom of religious expression but if a Christian does the same all hell breaks loose and they are ready to bury them. What is the difference? The world hates the very mention of the name of Christ. They can’t stand the name of Christ because they know through the name of Christ they are condemned for their sinful behavior. Satan hates Christ and is trying everything he can to erase the name of Christ from our society and to silence those who believe in Christ. 

Wake up Christians. If you think this doesn’t affect you, you are either one, living in denial or two; you are so under the influence of the world that you are blinded to the truth. Christ promised us the world is going to hate us and persecute is because of Him. They hated Christ so much they had Him killed. If you have never felt the hate of the world because of Christ then either one, you have never publicly took a stand for Christ or two, you are so weak in your faith that Satan doesn’t ever see you as a threat and doesn’t waste his time on you. Because trust me I have been called some of the most vile and hateful things you can imagine because I publicly preach the Word of God by the very people who claim to be loving and tolerant of others. 

Fri, Dec 20th - 10:33PM

Acts 4:19-22

Acts 4:19But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. (NIV)

Don’t get the idea that these verses give Christians the authority to rebel against authority because the Bible also says:

Romans 13:1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves

Now is the Bible contradicting itself? Of course not. We are instructed to obey the authorities appointed over us, obey their laws and we are even instructed to pray for our leaders, yes that means we are to pray for President Obama, but if the law of the authorities appointed over us collides with the will of God we are to obey God. For example it is legal in the U.S. to abort babies but the Bible is clear that all life is precious in the eyes of God and life is a gift from God. So are we to obey God or follow the law of the land? We are to obey God of course. If the U.S. legalizes gay marriage it is still a sin in the eyes of God and we must obey God. It doesn’t matter what society considers correct we are to obey God. This is going to win us many enemies but Christ promised us we would be persecuted for the faith. If you live in the U.S. and know who Phil Robertson is you know this to be true. He was asked a question about homosexuality and he gave a Biblical answer. Phil is a smart guy despite his appearance and I know he had to know the consequences of his answer but he answered honestly and now those that hate Christ want to destroy him. It isn’t so much that they hate him but they hate Christ and anyone who represents Him. We are told in the Bible to try and live peacefully with all men but at the same time we cannot deny who we are or what we believe in. We have to be true Disciples of Christ who are willing to stand boldly for Christ in a world that is growing every more hostile to the Word of God and those that represent Him here on earth.

Thu, Dec 19th - 10:10PM

Acts 4:14-18

Acts 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. 17But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

The Jews couldn’t deny a great miracle had been done but yet they still refused to give God the glory and recognize Christ as His Son. They were more interested in protecting their power over the people than they were of seeking the truth so they try to forbid the Apostles of speaking the name of Jesus or teaching in His name.

Nothing has changed in 2000 years. The left wants to completely erase the name of Christ from the public square and if they could get away with they would forbid the name of Christ rather it is in public or private. The name of Jesus is the great divider of mankind. You are either a believer in Christ which makes you a child of the true God or you deny Christ which makes you a child of Satan. The world hates the name and I mean absolutely hates the name of Christ because this world is under the influence of Satan and Satan knows the name of Christ has doomed him to hell along with his followers. 

It is through Christ that we as believers have victory over death and hell and can have victory and eternity with our Father in heaven. The world hates the name of Christ because they know the name of Christ dooms them to hell for refusing to believe in Him. 

It is the name of Christ that divides the world. See people have different ideas of who God is. In Eastern religions and in many New Age beliefs people are taught they are their own god in charge of their own destiny. The Muslims have a distorted view of who God is because they have been led to believe a lie. But the name of Christ is the great divider because all that really matters in this world is rather you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior because it is Christ and Christ alone who died on the cross as a sin sacrifice for our sins so that whosoever believes in Him can have eternal life through Him. One day we will all stand before God and the greatest question of all time will be rather you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior because as John 14:6 states Christ is the only Way to the Father and as Acts 4:12 states there is no other name given that we can be saved by. So some day when you stand before God what will be your destiny heaven or hell? If you don’t Christ than your destiny is hell.

Wed, Dec 18th - 10:21PM

Acts 4:13

Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (NIV)

God has a habit of using ordinary men and doing extraordinary things through them. Every one of the Disciples was regular guys but God used these regular guys to change the world. Paul was on his way to destroy the church in Damascus when God called him to follow Him and through Paul the Gospel was brought to the Gentile nations. God knows the heart of man. While others might be fooled by a flashy appearance or a flashy smile God knows the heart of man and knows who He can use to fulfill His will. 

Abraham was an old man and childless when God promised to make Him a father of many nations, Moses was hiding in the desert when God told him that He was going to use Moses to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt, David was just a shepherd boy when God picked him to be the king of Israel, and it does end in the Bible. Dwight Moody was a shoe salesman before he became a great evangelist. Billy Graham was a farm boy that grew up to be without doubt one of the greatest evangelists of all time. The one thing all of these men had in common was they were faithful and allowed God to work through them. These men didn’t do great things but instead they allowed God to do great things through them.  God could have used the rich, the famous, and the powerful to do His will and sometimes He does but then men might have thought that great things were done through their own ability but God uses the lowly and the humble to prove He is the almighty One doing great things through those that follow His will including you. God has a plan for you to.

One of the things that motivated Dwight Moody to become the great evangelists that he became was one day he was listening to a sermon by Henry Varley and Varley said “the world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to Him.” Dwight Moody made up his mind to try and be that man and you can to. Submit yourself fully to the will of God and He will do great things through you to.

Tue, Dec 17th - 10:29PM

Acts 4:10-12

Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

There is no other way to salvation than through Christ for it was Christ who died on the cross for the sins of mankind that whosoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Savior can have their sins forgiven and eternal life through Him. The Bible says we are all sinners worthy of death but Christ died on the cross as a sin sacrifice so that we may have our sins forgiven and eternal life through Him. There is no other way to salvation or to have our sins forgiven than through Christ. This gift of salvation is not automatic as the Universalists teach and it is not just for a few people as the Calvinists teach this gift is for all who repent of their sins and seek forgiveness in Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior. 

This verse is similar to John 14:6 where Christ declares there is no way to the Father except through Him. It is Christ that makes intercession for mankind, not the Pope, or Mary or any saint. Christ and Christ alone is the Way to the Father. Any other way is a false way and only leads to hell.  If any religion denies Christ as the only way to the Father and salvation it is a false way and a design of the devil. There are many religions out there and all of them that deny Christ as the one and only Savior are false ways designed by Satan to lure men away from the true Way through Christ.

You will never see heaven through any Eastern religion that teaches self-enlightment. You are not the way to heaven and you will never get there through your own means and you can never be good enough to earn your own way to salvation. Islam is a copy-cat religion designed by Satan to lead people away from the true Way through Christ who is the Son of God which Muslims deny. Judaism misses the mark because they also deny Christ as the Savior and the Son of God. God hasn’t given up on the Jews as many teach but they also must come to God through Christ and until they do they are just as lost as anybody else.

The Bible is very clear salvation is through Christ and Christ alone. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and accept Him as your Lord and Savior so that your sins may be forgiven and you can eternal life through Him.

Fri, Dec 13th - 10:18PM

Acts 3:1-10

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. 8And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

Peter and John could have given the man a bit of money and went their way but this wouldn’t have changed the man’s situation. He still would have been handicapped and the next day he would have been back at the gate begging for money but Peter and John gave him something much better than money, they introduced him to Christ. Yes the man rejoiced because He was healed but more importantly he knew he was healed through the name of Christ.

Money comes and goes, we get tired of possessions and want something new, beauty comes and goes, our strength comes and goes but the things of God are forever. The things of this world are temporary but salvation in Christ is for eternity but yet man often forfeits eternal salvation for the temporary pleasures of this world. As Christians we are to care for others and we are to help the poor and hungry but nothing replaces preaching the Word of God. If you feed the hungry every day of your life but yet never tell them about Christ and God’s free gift of salvation you really haven’t accomplished anything and really have done a disservice to those you are trying to serve.

The biggest need in this world is Christ. This world is dying of a terminal disease called sin and Christ is the answer. Christ is the healing this world needs. This world is dying and in a state of decay because sin and all of its consequences was entered into this world through the rebellious actions of Adam and Eve but Christ died on the cross that through Him and His sacrifice on the cross we can have our sins forgiven and eternal life through Him. Rather you know it or not you most important need in this world is Christ. If you haven’t accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior than you are died and on your way to hell and no nothing in this world can save you from your fate than accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

Mon, Dec 9th - 10:26PM

Acts 2:14-21

Acts 2:14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

      17‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
            ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
            AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
            AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
            AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

      18EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
            I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
            And they shall prophesy.

      19‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
            AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
            BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

      20‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
            AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
            BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

      21‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ (NASB)

We worship an almighty God and miraculous God and this almighty and miraculous God is just as miraculous as He has always been. There are many people that would seem to believe that God stopped performing miraculous, or stopped answering prayers, or stopped working through individuals in the first century A.D. when the Bible was written. The same God we worshipped today is the same God that spoke the world into existence, He is the same God that flooded the earth in the days of Noah, He is the same God that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He is the same God that parted the Red Sea and led Israel out of Egypt, He is the same God that raised people from the dead, He is the same God that rose from the grave, He is the same God that did miraculous things through the Apostles and the early Christians and He is the same God that does miraculous things through believers today. God didn’t stop being the God of miracles in the 1^st century. 

Do I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are as valid today as they were in the 1^st century? Yes I do because I believe that is what the Bible teaches. Paul in fact spent many verses on teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Do I believe there are phonies out there doing phony things? Yes I do but that is why we are told to try the spirits to see rather they are of God or not (1John 4:1). I also believe there are many prophecies left to be filled. There is much debate about what is meant by the term last days and when is the last days to begin and did they begin already but I think for sure we are living in the last days now and that some of the prophecies concerning the last days have been fulfilled, some are being fulfilled now, and many are still to come. So I believe as these verses say God has poured out His Spirit on believers and some are given the ability to prophesy and see dreams and vision and I believe God has given others spiritual gifts to use for His glory and I believe we are living in the last days and there are signs to come to show that we can expect the return of Christ soon. I believe the book of Revelation was written so that believers would know what to expect in the last days and I believe that Christ could return for His church at any time so we need to get hot preaching the Word of God and fulfilling the Great Commission by preaching the Word of God to all nations.  

Thu, Dec 5th - 10:02PM

Acts 1:6-7

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power

These verses are similar to Matthew 24:36 when Jesus told the Disciples that only the Father knows when the end will come and as verse 7 says these times and seasons God has put under His own power. There is a lot of debate in the Christian church about how the end will come and it is good to study the prophecies of the return of Christ but honestly these things are out of our control but what is under our control is what kind of life we live with the time we are given and are we bearing fruit for God. Are we telling others about salvation in Christ? Because while there might be a lot of debate about how Christ will return and the events leading to His return there is a few things most Christians agree on and that is the fact Christ is going to return and that there is a coming day of judgment for all of mankind.

I think verses like Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, and Revelation 20:11-15 make it clear we will all stand before God someday to be judged. If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you have nothing to fear for your reward is eternity with God but if you have rejected Christ as your Lord and Savior then your punishment for your rebellion is an eternity in hell. Christ died on the cross as a sin sacrifice so mankind shouldn’t have to face the punishment of our sins but if we reject this free gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Christ what is God to do but gives us the punishment we are due for our rebellion against Him. 

Sun, Dec 1st - 10:14PM

John 21:18-19

John 21:18Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (NIV)

Jesus is telling Peter how he is going to die in these verses. Earlier after swearing he would never abandoned Him Peter denied Christ three times publicly but after restoring him Christ lets Peter know that one day Peter would die for Him. So the man that didn’t have the courage to publicly admit he knew Christ during the trial of Christ would one day publicly die for Him because he would refuse to deny Him.

Before executing Christians the Romans would give the Christians the opportunity to deny Christ and worship Caesar as god. If they bowed down and worshipped Caesar and denied Christ they would live but if they refused to deny Christ and refused to worship Caesar as god then they were executed in very gruesome manners usually in public as entertainment to the Roman citizens and to intimate others into compromising their beliefs. The fact that hundreds of Christians died during this time testifies to the faith and conviction of the early church. Church tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down because he didn’t think himself worthy to die in the same manner as Christ.

Every one of the Disciples, except Judas who hung himself after betraying Christ and John who died of natural causes after spending many years in prison, died for the faith including hundreds of early church members including Paul, James the brother of Christ, Stephen and countless others. But Christ had warned them to expect persecution. Christ never promised the early believers an easy time. He told them the world was going to hate them for the message of the Gospel. Satan wasn’t about to let the Gospel be spread without a fight. And even today Christians around the world face very real persecution for the faith. Christians are dying for the faith in places like Egypt, Syria, North Korea, and other places so if some feel good preacher tells you that the Christian life is all good times and blessings they are lying to you. Christ never promised that we wouldn’t have tough times. What He did promise was to be with us during the tough times. There are preachers that will tell you if you are having tough times it is because you lack faith but I say those Christians who face trouble and persecution every day and still refuse to deny Christ they are the ones who knows what real faith is.