Thu, Jan 31st - 10:37PM

Luke 6:45

Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (ESV)

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so if a person is always speaking lies his heart is full of deceit, if a person is always speaking lustful and dirty things then his heart is full of filth and lust, if a person is always saying hateful things then his heart is full of hate but if a person is always speaking love then his heart is full of love, if he is always speaking of good things then his heart is good.  We can go on with this rather it be mocking things to say, merciful things a person says, a person that is always cussing and so on but the point is a person speaks from what their heart is full of.  What you say and how you say says a lot about you.  So if you are always speaking hateful of others or spreading rumors about others you might want to take a hard look about why you never have anything loving and compassionate about others to say because if you are the loving and merciful person you supposed to be then that’s the type of words that should be coming out of your mouth.  If you are a child of God then your words should reflect that.  Do your words reflect that Christ is living in your heart or does they show you are still worldly and sinful?

Thu, Jan 31st - 10:37PM

Genesis 2:24,25

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (NIV)

God’s idea of marriage since the beginning has been one man and one woman united together as one until death separates them and Jesus stated the same during His time on earth.

Matthew 19:4 Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Marriage is a hot button issue at the moment in the U.S. particularly concerning gay marriage and Christians are under pressure to conform to the standards of today’s society and many Christians and churches have already sold out to be politically correct but we know as Christians our standard we live by is the word of God not what society deems correct or tolerant.  Conforming to society to please others is a slippery slope that will only lead to failure.  Look at the consequences in the past of Christians conforming to society instead of taking a stand against sin in their society rather it be the German church that did nothing while Hitler killed Jews by the millions or the American church that turn a blind eye to slavery.  The children of God have always been under pressure to conform to the society around them rather it be to bow to idols in ancient Israel or bow to the pressure of politically correctness today but we must remember as children of God we live to please God and do His not to please others and conform to their standards of living. 

Wed, Jan 30th - 10:34PM

Luke 6:43,44

Luke 6:43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. (NIV)

Matthew 7:16 says we shall know them by their fruit,

Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (NIV)

If a person is a truly is a child of God then their fruit should show it.  In other words we should see the results in them and the people around them and in their walk with God but if a person claims to be a child of God but does the things he shouldn’t be doing like drinking, doing drugs, and shows no results of a converted life than they are producing bad fruit.  A lot of people claim to be Christians but their lives don’t reflect it.  A lot of ministers claim they are working for God but their ministry doesn’t show it.  A lot of big name ministers have built up personal ministries around them.  They have large churches but all too often the ministry is focused on the individual and not Christ.  It really makes you wonder if that individual was taken out of the picture would their large mega-church keep going or would it collapse with him gone.  If it was to collapse with him gone than you know it was built around the individual and not Christ.

If we are truly following God and doing His will our life we reflect it and others will see it.  If someone has to question rather you are really a Christian then you probably aint producing the fruit you should.  Granted we are not to judge others but God also clearly doesn’t want us to be fooled by false teachers that is why He tells us to know them by their fruit.  If they are truly a minister of Christ then you would see the fruit in their ministry.  Do they preach the Word of God?  Do they live a holy life according to the Word of God?  Are they producing fruit by leading others to saving relationship with Christ?  Do they preach Christ as the only way to salvation?  Or are they building up a personal ministry around themselves, a ministry that is focused on them instead of Christ?  Do they preach feel good messages that attract crowds but does nothing to lead others into a personal relationship with Christ?  Is their ministry focused on prosperity and blessings instead of serving God? 

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Mon, Jan 28th - 10:35PM

Luke 6:39,40

Luke 6:39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. (NIV)

A teacher can’t lead a student somewhere he hasn’t been himself.  A teacher can’t teach a student about God if he doesn’t know God himself.  A teacher can’t teach a student the Bible if he doesn’t know the Bible himself yet he have plenty of false teachers out there trying lead others to someone they don’t know themselves and trying to teach them the Bible that they don’t know themselves. 

Most of us older folks remember the Jim Bakker scandal but what shocked me most of all was this man admitted after getting out of prison that the first time he actually set down and read the whole Bible was while he was in prison.  Prior to this, this man had been a famous televangelists but of course those of who remember the scandal remember he went to prison for fraud and was having an affair with his secretary. He was also heavily involved in prosperity preaching but of course his idea of prosperity was to convince his followers to give him money by making un-Biblical promises about how God was going to bless them and give them more back.  But back to the point, this man had thousands of people following him but yet he admitted he never read the Bible until after he went to prison.  This is a classic example of the blind leading the blind.  He didn’t know God’s word and was leading others who didn’t know God’s word because if they had they would have seen right through his falsehood.  One of the biggest dangers to false teachers are believers who know the Bible because if you know the Word of God you can see right through a false teacher.  So learn God’s Word, for one we are instructed to but second it is one of the best defenses against false teachers.

Sun, Jan 27th - 10:32PM

Luke 6:37,38

Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

There are many verses in the Bible that get taken out of context on a regular basis and verse 37 is one of them. 

God is the judge.  Every person will stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of their lives.  It is God who will decide who will go to heaven or hell but God also gave us the Bible for a reason.  God gave us the Bible so we can know His will.  So we can discern what is good and evil and what is sin in the eyes of God.  How could God judge us without first giving us the standard to go by? 

It is God’s job to decide rather a person goes to heaven or hell but I can discern from the Bible what is sin and what is not.  God will decide rather a homosexual will go to heaven or hell but I know from the Bible homosexuality is a sin and I should have no part of it and not support homosexual marriage.  God will judge rather a person who has an abortion should go to heaven or hell but I know from the Bible all life is precious in the eyes of God and gift not to throw away so I know I shouldn’t support abortion and do what I can to stop the slaughter of innocent life.

I say all of this because like I said this verse often gets taken out of context by those who try to silence Christians whenever they try to take a stand on hot button issues like gay marriage and abortion.  Like I said God will judge the individual but He gave us the Bible so we can know His will and discern what is good and evil and God expects us to confront evil and sin.  Did Jesus ever turn and walk away from sin without confronting it?  We could never be the light in a world of darkness that God expects us to be if we never confronted sin in our society. 

Sat, Jan 26th - 11:11PM

Genesis 1:26,27

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

God made man in His image.  God created man.  Man didn’t evolve from animals.  Man was created by God in His image and His was to have dominion over the earth and the animals which means man is not just another animal as many scientists would you have you to believe which doesn’t make sense anyway because there is not a single animal anywhere as close to be advanced as man. 

Man was created in the image of God so that he could have fellowship with God but as we will see pretty soon in the upcoming chapters of Genesis sin separated man from God.  God is a holy God and can have no part with sin that is why God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.  It is through Christ and only Christ that mankind can once again have fellowship with God and that is why Christ is the only way to heaven because it is only through Christ that man can have fellowship with God. 

Sin has separated you from God and because of sin you are deserving of eternal punishment but Christ died on the cross as a sin sacrifice for your sins that whosoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Savior can have the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life through Him.

Sat, Jan 26th - 12:35AM

Luke 6:31

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. (NASB)

Of course most people know this as the “Golden Rule.”  If you want love show love to others.  If you want compassion then show compassion to others.  If you want respect than show respect to others and so on.  In another part of the Bible it says we reap what we sow.  If you sow love, compassion, forgiveness, respect, and mercy you can expect to reap the benefits but if you sow hatred and an ugly attitude in the world around you, you can also expect the same in return.  It always amazes me that some of the most bitter and hateful people have a hard time understanding while people don’t enjoy being with them. 

Thu, Jan 24th - 10:43PM

Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The Bible begins with the beginning of the universe not as mankind believes it happened but as God declares it has happened.  The Big Bang Theory is mankind’s attempt to explain the origin of the universe outside of God.  I am no scientist and I will never declare I have all the answers but I know this nothing can’t create something out of nothing.  Mankind wants to tell you that this world is just a series of accidents that just so happened to create a perfect environment for life to spring out of nothing.  That is just one big lie of Satan.  It is man’s foolish attempt to explain how things could have came about outside of an almighty God that created our universe and then try to sell it as proven facts and declares anyone ignorant who tries to challenge it.

But here is what God says.

Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

Mankind has convinced himself he is wise and has it all figured out but God looks down on mankind and sees us a foolish beings groping around in the dark look for truth outside of Him and never finding it unless we come to Him through Christ our Savior.

Wed, Jan 23rd - 10:39PM

Luke 6:26

Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

In the Old Testament the kings of Israel and Judah were often corrupt and wicked.  God would send prophets to warn them to repent and follow the will of God.  Often these prophets were ignored or worst persecuted and killed for their prophesy.  Instead the kings would surround themselves with false prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear to their own doom because this didn’t stop God’s word for becoming true. 

Well things have not changed much.  If the president doesn’t like a pastor’s view on gay marriage not to worry there are plenty of liberal pastors that will tell him want he wants to hear but it doesn’t matter because God’s Word remains true.  Many in this country has chosen to ignore the true preachers of the Word of God and surround themselves with feel good preachers that preach prosperity and ear tickling messages but don’t be fool God will judge this country and this world of its sins and its rebellion to God.  These feel good false prophets might enjoy the praise of the world for now but don’t be fooled they will stand before the judgment seat of God to answer for failing to warn others to repent of their wickedness and to seek salvation in Christ. 

Mon, Jan 21st - 11:14PM

Luke 6:22,23

Luke 6:22Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. (NIV)

Jesus warns us that the world is going to hate us in Matthew 10:22

22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved

The world hates us because they are living in sin and darkness but we expose their darkness and sin when we allow the light of Christ to shine through us.  As Christ said mankind loves the darkness and hates the light. 

John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

Mankind is living in sin and darkness and they don’t want their deeds exposed and they don’t want to be told their lifestyle is sinful or wrong or that if they don’t accept Christ they are going to hell and that is why they hate Christians.  Just look at the hate that comes at anybody’s way that makes a statement against gay marriage, abortion or publicly takes a stand for Christ.  But as Christians we are not here to please others we are to please God by telling the world the truth which is if they don’t know Christ and repent of their sins God will judge them of their sins.  If you have not felt this hostility from the world you might want ask yourself why?  He is what Christ had to say,

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

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Sat, Jan 19th - 10:40PM

Luke 6:12-16

Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Who were these 12 men who changed the world for God?  They were average men.  They were not the famous of Jewish society, they weren’t the wealthy of their society, and they weren’t the academia of the Jewish nation.  It is figured the only one of them that had more than an average education might have been Matthew since his job as tax collector required some additional training in mathematics.  But yet God choose these 12 men, well 11 minus Judas, to being the one chosen ones to preach His Gospel to a dying a world.  Why?  While they might have looked like average men to everyone else God knew their hearts and what they could be for Him.

God ways or not or ways, some of the most influential people in Christian history have been average men that most people would have overlooked.  Moses was a fugitive but God made Him a great leader, David was a shepherd but God made Him a king, Paul was an over-zealous rabbi with blood on his hands but God used Him to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, Dwight Moody was a shoe salesman and Billy Graham was the son of a dairy farmer but between the two of them God reached millions and He will use you to do great things if you allow Him.  While these men might appeared to be average men they all had one thing in common, they surrender everything to God and allowed God to do great things through them.  It was God working through them all they did was surrender all to God and allowed God to do great things through them and He will do great things through you if you allow Him to.   

Thu, Jan 17th - 12:06PM

Luke 5:36-39

Luke 5:36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’” (NIV)

Christianity has its roots in Judaism but it is not Judaism.  Jesus and the original disciples were all Jews but Christianity is not Judaism.  God never expected the Gentiles to convert to Judaism before becoming Christians.  In the 1^st century there were Jewish Christians, Jews that have converted to Christianity, that try to teach this.  That is what the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 was all about, Jewish Christians trying to force Gentiles to become Jews before they became Christians and to follow the Jewish customs.  This practice was shot down by the early church in Acts 15 but yet somehow this false teaching has been given new life today. 

When Christ died on the cross He basically put to death the Jewish religion.  With His sacrifice on the cross there was no longer any need for animal sacrifices.  Christ became our high priest before God making intercession for mankind so there was no longer any need for the Jewish priests.  When Christ died on the cross the temple veil was torn in two because no longer would man be separated from God.  It is through Christ that believers have a personal relationship with God.  In A.D. 70 as Christ had predicted God allowed the Romans to destroy the Jewish temple.  It was no longer needed, the Bible says we, believers, are the Temple of God.  The death of Christ did what the Law never could it provided a Way for mankind to having a saving relationship with God so that all who accept Christ as Lord and Savior can have their sins forgiven and eternal life through Him. 

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Tue, Jan 15th - 12:26PM

Luke 5:29-32

Luke 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

It wasn’t that the Pharisees were righteous it was that they were righteous in their own eyes and failed to see that in fact they were sinners also in need of repentance.  The Bible says we are all sinners in need of salvation but the Pharisees saw themselves as already righteous because they followed God’s law so in their eyes they didn’t need a Savior.  But again and again Jesus points out that the Pharisees were full of hypocrisy.  They made a big show of being religious and made a big show of following the Law but it was all for show because in fact their hearts were far from God.  At one time Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of death on the inside.  They appeared religious on the outside but in fact they were spiritually dead. 

Sadly this describes a lot of Christians and churches today.  They appear religious on the outside but in fact they are spiritually dead on the inside.  We have a lot of Sunday morning Christians who go to church on Sunday mornings and they think they are good when in fact they have no true relationship with God.  Just like the Pharisees they fail to see their need for a Savior.  Until you give your life to Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior and make a commitment to follow Him you are just like the Pharisees appearing righteous but in fact you are spiritually dead.

On top of that we have spiritually dead churches who have compromised with the world and no longer stand on God’s Word.  They have traded being Biblical to be politically correct and pleasing to the world.  Don’t be fooled you might be pleasing society but you aint pleasing God.

Mon, Jan 14th - 11:41AM

Luke 5:27,28

Luke 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. 28And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

Levi or as he would later be known, Matthew, left all when Christ called him.  Just like the other disciples that Christ called when He called them they left everything behind to follow Him.  A publican, which is a tax collector in modern English, was a very productive profession.  They would often become wealthy by overcharging the tax payer and keeping the difference but they were also hated in Jewish society because of the practice of overcharging the tax payers and the fact that they worked for the occupying Roman government. 

So why did Christ choose someone like this to be one of His disciples.  Jesus never explains why He choose any of the disciples that He did but He looked past who Levi was and his past to who He could be in Him.  Look throughout the Bible at who God has used.  Moses was guilty of murder, David was guilty of murder and adultery, Paul had the blood of Christians on his hands and was on the way to persecute more Christians when Christ revealed Himself to him.  But all of these men repented of their past sins and God used them to do great things for Him.

Don’t think because of your past God can’t use you or want you to be His child.  When we repent of our sins and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior or past sins are forgiven forever.  God looks at the heart of a person.  God knows your heart and knows the person you can be through Him.  Some of the most influential people in Christian history have come from simple backgrounds but they gave all to follow God and allow God to do great things through them.  King David was a shepherd before God called him to be king over Israel, all of the disciples came from simple backgrounds, and Dwight Moody was a shoe salesman before he became an evangelist who led thousands to Christ, Billy Graham grew up on a dairy farm but he would become one of the best known evangelists of all time.  God uses those who are willing to give up all for Him regardless of their past or their background.  Be faithful to God and He will do great things through you.

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Fri, Jan 11th - 11:30AM

Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (NIV)

Peter and the others left everything to follow Christ.  They left their business, their families, and their homes to follow Christ and to become fishermen of men.  For now on they would follow Christ as He taught them to be the men who would change the world for God.  These men weren’t consider to be the influential in their society and they weren’t well educated men but Christ knew their hearts and He knew the men they could be for Him.  We are all called to be fishers of men.  God doesn’t always call the most influential in society and the most educated but He calls those who have the kind of heart to leave the things of this world behind and serve Him.  Some of the greatest men in Christian history came from simple backgrounds but they all had one thing in common, they surrender all to serve God and through them God did great things.

God has a purpose and a job for all believers.  God didn’t make you a child of God to be a pew warmer.  Every Christian has a role in fulfilling the Great Commission.  You might not be a preacher or a teacher but everyone of is expected to tell others about Christ.  There are millions of people in this who don’t know Christ many of them are family members, neighbors, classmates or coworkers and they might never hear about Christ unless you tell them.  Some people are called to travel the world and preach the Gospel but for many of us our mission field is those around us in our daily lives who don’t know Christ.

Mon, Jan 7th - 10:58AM

Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

When Christ was tempted by Satan He didn’t try to reason with him and He didn’t try to debate him He used the Word of God.  Satan tried to twist the Word of God on Jesus but of course this wasn’t going to work on Christ because He knew what the scriptures actually said and meant. 

The Gospel has many enemies well I should say only one enemy, Satan, but this enemy has many followers some of them don’t even know they are doing Satan’s biding.  All of these atheists that attack Christianity in the name of freedom from religious oppression or whatever cause they give are actually doing Satan’s biding.  He is using them to attack Christianity and the Word of God.  And many of them try to use the Bible the same way their master did by twisting the Word of God.  Many of them will brag about how they know the Bible better than most Christians.  Well they are right and wrong.  True there are many atheists that have read the Bible more than Christians, sad to say, but they don’t know the Bible.  Only the Holy Spirit can lead somebody into knowing the Word of God. 

Christians you have to know the Word of God.  Jesus defeated the temptations of Satan with the Word because in the Word is truth and it reveals the lies of Satan.  In the Word we develop faith to defeat Satan and his followers.  By knowing the Word we can’t be deceived by those who twist and distort the Word of God to lead weak Christians away from the truth.  Don’t let it be you who is lead away because you never took the time to read and study the Word of God.

Sun, Jan 6th - 11:19PM

Luke 3:21,22

Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Jesus is the Son of God make no mistake about that.  I know there are many that try to say otherwise.  There are many who try to say Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God.  That is not true because Jesus never hid who He was or what His intentions were for coming to earth.  He was the Son of God that came to give His life as a sin sacrifice on the cross for us that whosoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Savior can have the forgiveness of sin and eternal life through Him.  Because as Acts 4:12 says there is no other name given whereby we must be saved or as John 14:6 says Jesus is the only Way to the Father if you are trying to get there by any other means it is a false way and will only lead to hell. 

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I know in our modern society it is not consider politically correct to say there is only one Way to heaven but I am sorry I am not saying that God is saying that because only Christ paved the way for you to go heaven through His blood which was shed on the cross for you.  You can never be good enough on your own without Christ because they Bible says we are all sinners worthy of death but God provided a way through Christ to escape the penalty of death but if you reject the only way to forgiveness then you are still under the penalty of death and this is the spiritual as described in Revelation 20:11-15.

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Fri, Jan 4th - 11:27AM

Luke 3:15-18

Luke 3:15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17“His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. (NASB)

Jesus came the first time to die on the cross for sinners so that whosoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Savior can have eternal life through His sacrifice on the cross but He is going to return someday to gather His church, the believers, and punish those who have rejected His gift of salvation.  When Adam sinned in the garden sin separated mankind from God but Christ died on the cross so mankind once again can have a relationship with God through Him.  As John 14:6 says Christ is the only way to the Father.  If mankind rejects their only way to the Father what is God to do?  The answer is Revelation 20:11-15.  This is the fate of all who continue to rebel against God and reject His gift of salvation in Christ.

11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Thu, Jan 3rd - 11:53AM

Luke 3:14

Luke 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

This isn’t the only place we are told to be content with what we have.

1 Timothy 6:3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  (NIV)

Look at the example of Paul.

Philippians 4:10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength (NIV)

Paul had been through a lot for the Gospel but he learned to be thankful for all that God had given Him no matter his circumstances.  God hates complaining because it shows a lack of appreciation for the gifts He has given us.  It is normal in our modern society to always think we need more but God knows what we need and what we can handle.  God might not give us what we want but He will give us what we need.

Wed, Jan 2nd - 12:00AM

Luke 2:48-52

Luke 2:48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

In this New Year shouldn’t we all be about the Father’s business.  Instead of making resolutions to lose weight, make more money or whatever how about a resolution to be about the Father’s business?  How about a resolution to be real disciples of Christ or to read the Bible daily, or pray more, or to witness to others, or get involved in the church instead of making a resolution centered on us how about a resolution centered on God?

When Christ came to earth His life wasn’t focused on making money, making a career, to gain as many possessions as He could.  His life was focused on doing the will of the Father.  As Disciples of Christ shouldn’t we be following the example of the Master?  Shouldn’t we as Disciples of Christ have the same goal as Christ?  His goal was to do the will of the Father, what is your goal in life?  Is it to make money which is here and gone tomorrow?  Is it to go as far as you can go in your career?  Once you get there do you think you will be truly happy?  Is it to gain possessions?  To have the biggest house?  The best car?  The loudest stereo or the most expensive rims or the best clothes?  All of that stuff could be taken in an instant.  Shouldn’t your goal, if you truly are a child of God, be to please the Father and be about His business of saving souls from the judgment of God?