Darkness can never shine! Re-Post

I pulled this from my library.  I originally posted it last Feb.  Since I have so many new readers via facebook, I kind of thought this would be a good one to show the new readers what some of the original posts were like.

Matthew  5:14-16

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set aside on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Niether do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.
John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

I’m really feeling the presence of God today as I write this.  I started thinking about something the other day.  You know Darkness can never shine.  Now lets get philosophical for a moment.  Can darkness ever shine on anything?  Do you ever go to the store and ask for a dark bulb?  Why would you?  Light is always evident in darkness.  Light also always defeats the darkness.

I say all of this to discuss today’s verses.  The first verses are very simple to understand.  Truly saved people are to be the light of the world.  We are to be noticed as light.  In today’s day and age, if you are really saved, people should be able to tell.  Why?  Because this world has become so dark that any light is able to be seen by multitudes.  When you walk into a very dark room what is evident when you switch on the light?  Darkness is no more.  If you had turned on a blown light or dark bulb would it have the same affect as a bright light bulb?  Of course not.  Same thing with our lives, we should make a difference in the darkness of this world.  If you go out with your friends, and let’s say they are doing things they shouldn’t; do you shine on them, or do you blend into the darkness?  Think about your salvation!  Can a true light ever be dimmed by darkness?

The next verse I’m going to run with a little so bear with me.  We’ve talked about true light (true salvation) and how it should be very evident in the darkness of today’s world, but let’s also talk about today’s dark world.  Have you ever tried to talk to someone about Jesus and they say something like, “well I got saved when I was 7, but I really don’t feel God moving me to turn my whole life over to Him right now”?  I’ve heard people say things also like this “I’m just trying to be happy while I’m here”.  The truth is, if you understand the gospel but don’t repent and turn your life over to Jesus, you are probably not saved.  When you are truly saved, you understand the consequences of your actions.  You understand that you are to be different than the rest of the world, and not just blend in.  The verse ended with “the darkness comprehended not”.  People that are not truly saved will always try to make themselves happy no matter the consequences. 

Does your light shine in the darkness?  Do you understand what it means to live for God and not for yourself?  If your answer was no, I beg of you to ask God to forgive you for your sinful life.  Thank Him for sending Jesus to die on that cross for YOU!  Repent!  Turn your life over to learning God’s will for your life instead of worrying about what you want out of life.  Read your bible because it is a living word.  Pray for God to guide you to be in His will.

The sting of death

Hebrews  2:14-15  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.  15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

It's been a while since God laid on me a good ole "fire and brimstone" message.  Truth is, we are to talk about hell and satan and satan's power over the world.  Case in point, before I truly repented and was saved, I was so scared of death that I was almost bedridden for a short while.  I had panic attacks and just a constant fear of dying that I couldn't get rid of.

I know now it was God in some way trying to get me to look to him.  I didn't though.  I found that by drinking a lot more, I was able to forget myself and the fears I had.  Fear is a terrible thing, especially when you are scared and don't know why.  I do remember being scared to go to sleep because I thought I might not wake up.  OK.  Now what was I really scared of?  I knew in my soul that if I died I would immediately go to hell.  Whether I admitted it or not, I was headed on the fast track to hell.

Basically the verses to day are just saying that Jesus came and through His death and resurrection, conquered the sting of death for christians.  Whether you know it or not, if you are not saved, you are in bondage because there is no way out of the fact that you are going to hell.  I know that's harsh, but I needed the harsh truth in my past so some of you might also.

I want you to clear your mind right now.  Just focus on your relationship with God.  Get rid of all distractions.  If you died right now, or were asked to die because you are a christian:  Would you die for your faith?  If you died right now in a car wreck, honestly, do you know where you would be the minute your heart stops beating?  You are going to either heaven or hell.  Remember you know if you are saved by looking at your fruits.  Are your fruits good?  Are you bearing any fruit at all?  God doesn't want us to be lukewarm either. Are you lukewarm?

I say all that to just let you know not to go through life thinking you can continue in sin because you will just get saved later, or you will change your life later.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  Hell is forever!  Is waiting to turn your life over to God worth the risk of eternal separation from God and eternal torment? You don't have to even worry about this.  Jesus died so you wouldn't ever have to worry about death anymore.  Ask him to forgive you of your sins.  Tell Him you are sorry for your sinful selfish life.  Turn your life to Him and His will. Pray daily and read your bible.

I beg of you to just look into your heart and see who is guiding your life.  Are you driven right now by your own selfish desires?  Are you doing what God's wants you to do?  What decisions are you making right now in your life?  Are they being based on yourself and your happiness or What God wants from you?

Today is just a day of reflection.  We should all think about this stuff as often as possible.  It sounds harsh to preach like this, but Hell is real and people who are not saved will go there!

Tell someone about Jesus today.  Send this link to someone today.

Why did Jesus have to die?

Hebrews  9:22  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness od sins.

Before Jesus, every sin you committed had to be atoned for by some means.  For the most part it was up to the priest to do the proper sacrifice for the particular sin of a person, family, or group of people.  This verse is very important to us because it shows us that if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, none of our sins could be forgiven. 

Jesus is the sacrificial lamb and with His death and resurrection, our sins are able to be forgiven.  Now some might ask, “Why did Jesus have to die?  Why couldn’t we continue to sacrifice animals and such?”  It’s hard to explain, but technically sins were only covered by animal sacrifice not really cleansed.  This could get tricky, so for the sake of time just go with me on that

Now, the only way a once and for all sacrifice for sins could be done would be if God came as a man, lived a perfect life under the law, then died as a perfect sacrifice for sin.  You see the sinless one was the only one who could wash away our sins and put them as far as the east is from the west.  He had to be our savior.  No other lamb, cow, bird, or anything else could accomplish what Jesus did on the cross.

So as you see, today’s verse is very important to all Christians.  Sometimes I think we take for granted that Jesus died on the cross, and really don’t understand the concept behind why He had to die.  If you have never felt convicted of your sins,I mean really felt this overwhelming sense of sadness for your sinful life, and now do:  Just tell God you are sorry for your sinful life, thank him for sending Jesus to die on that cross for YOU!  Now leave your sinful life at the foot of the cross and turn from your will to God’s will for your life.  Pray for guidance and a revelation of His will for you.  Read your bible, it’s actually a living word that will guide you in your new Christian life.

Please send this to as many people as you can think of.  Continue to pray for this ministry. Tell people about Jesus and what he has done for you!  God Bless!

What kind of tree are you?

Romans 6:21-22  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have fruit unto holiness, and the end to everlasting life. KJV

First let me say that the Steven Curtis Chapman concert last night was absolutely awesome.  I was fed spiritually and was able to praise God all at the same time while thoroughly enjoying the music.

Now after praying this morning and reading my verses I came up on these.  Before I became saved, there was really no conviction in my life.  I basically did things that I wanted when I wanted with no concern for who they may hurt.  After I got saved, all that changed.  I am more emotional than ever and really began to hurt for people who didn't see things from a christian perspective.  A lot of times I came across as judgmental which was and is wrong, but I am seeing that my heart and intentions were pure.  You see, once you feel the saving grace of God, not only are you sooo glad of what Jesus did for you, but you will immediately feel terrible for people who are lost.

I see now that my intentions were good, I just need to work on my mode of preaching.  With that being said, look at verse 22.  It talks about what fruit we used to have.  That means there is both good and bad fruit.  We are not to judge folks, but we will know them by there fruit.  Knowing them by their fruit is not meant to cause us to point out faults, It is only meant for us to see bad fruit and know they need Jesus.  You see, we can and do know who is saved and who is not.  there is nothing wrong with that.  When you are in the light, it is much easier to tell where the darkness is.

My heart is broken for those who are either lost or know the truth but choose not to repent.  I know that I can't save them, but I know Jesus can.

If your life were a tree, what kind of fruit would you be producing?  Is it different than before you got saved?  Is it producing any fruit at all?  If someone were going to try and figure out what kind of tree you are, and they did it by seeing what kind of fruit you have been producing, what kind of tree would they say you are?

Ask God to break your heart for lost people.  Everyone gets a chance to repent and turn from their sins.  Please don't think you are granted another day, because today could be it.  Pray that God would keep you from living for yourself.  You see SELF is a god too.  You are either living for yourself (satan) or God.  There is no in between.  Jesus died on that cross for YOU.  Thank him.   Ask him to forgive you of your sinful life.  Turn AWAY from your old sinful life and turn your life over to God's will.

Are you a saved or unsaved sinner?

Romans 5:8-10

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.


Let me first say that as I have been going through this turmoil in my life, I have realized that God has been testing my faith.  I do realize now, there is nothing I can do to fix my situation.   It is now completely in God's hands.  That being said, I have also gotten off track some on this blog.  As I have said, I feel God is calling me to preach the difference between true and false conversion.  So starting to day, I am back at it.  


Have you ever met someone who said or felt like they couldn't be saved?  I have.  
The great thing is that as you look at verse 8 you see that the wretched sinner is the one reason Christ died.  You see we all are sinners in God's eyes, but when we accept the fact that God had a Son named Jesus and He died for us on the cross, and actually feel sorry for our sinful lives: then we can repent and turn our life over to His will not ours.


Verse 10 is basically saying that as sinners we who are now saved, were once enemies of God, but because of Jesus we have been forgiven.  Our fine has been paid.  You see, you will meet people who will say" I'm a good person, I've never murdered anyone, why can't I go to heaven"?  At this point you have to be able to show them that they are in fact a sinner in God's eyes because they have never accepted Jesus as their savior and had his cleansing blood wash over them.  
You know after we are saved, God puts the memory of our sins as far as the east is from the west.  That's an awesome thing!  


We have to understand that we are all sinners, but some some of us have had our sins forgiven and some haven't.  Our main goal is to tell those who haven't been saved about the saving Grace of God.  One thing I am realizing, is that we can't save anyone.  Sometimes the more you push to make someone understand the gospel and true salvation, you may actually be pushing them away.  We (I) have to allow God to work in those situations because He loves to do his work when we realize we are completely helpless to do anything.  Our weakness shows His strength.


Father, help me to seek you first in life.  Everything will always fall into place when we seek your will not ours.  Father, show me how to let go and just let you handle things.  Father, i ask that if anyone reading this has doubts about their salvation, you would send them a spirit of conviction so they may repent and truly become a child of God.  What would you do if you knew Jesus was coming today?

Know conviction--Know repentance

2 Peter 3:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I spoke with someone recently who said that they weren't sure if they were saved or not.  They also said they didn't feel the need to worry about it right now.  Now I know this will probably upset a few people, but remember this is only my opinion.

I know better than anyone about just saying prayers to be saved, just to appease a preacher or person.  I know that just saying a prayer isn't going to save anyone from hell.  So as I pondered on what this person said, I realized it was correct.  This person will just waste their time to as for forgiveness if they really aren't being convicted.  Knowing you are a sinner in your head and speaking it aloud is much different than knowing you are a sinner in your heart and repenting.  I didn't truly get saved until the night God actually convicted me and I saw myself as the wretched sinner I was.  Therefore, make every opportunity to help lead people to Christ, but remember you can't save anyone, only Jesus.  Also remember, unless the person feels conviction about their life, all you can do is pray for them and talk to them.

The verse today kind of encompasses what I need to focus on with this person.  It says basically that God wants everyone to come to repentance, and that He is patient with the person to get them to that point.  So as bad as some of us want to see other people truly get saved, God works in His time and is not bound by our time.

For the person who this is about.  If you read this, I'm praying for you.  Just continue to pray and ask God to open your eyes to see your heart.  Only you know if you are really saved or not.  If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on that cross for you, then just ask God to show you conviction so you can show Him repentance.  Remember, when we truly get saved, people know.  We start growing a fruit tree on that day.  We have to cultivate and fertilize this tree so it will bear fruit.  Be concerned if your tree bears no or even bad fruit.

As of today my blog has had 1600 hits.  That's awesome.  Please send the link to as many people as you can think of who need to hear the truth about salvation and conviction.  This is one way we can all help spread the gospel.

His perfect ending, not ours!

Jeremiah 29:11

“for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Praise God, for His living word!  I found this verse this morning just staring me in the face.  It was on a card on my refridgerator.  It’s been another long sleepless night, but the fact that I know God is testing my faith definitely seems to help my fears.  The verse basically is telling us that God knows the plans for our future even if we don’t, and they are to prosper us and give us hope.  The hope part is what I like the best.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and you think you know how it will end, or even think you know how it should end?  A lot of times at the end you say, “oh yeah  that does make sense,” or “well I would have never thought of that ending, but it does make sense now that I look at it.”  A lot of times in life , we try and put God into this perfect little box that we can understand.  I am an Asperger’s Syndrome person, so I am very OCD and like to have an organized picture in my head of everything around me.  Problem is, God in His infinite wisdom knows a lot more about what we need for our future than we do.  Praise Him!

So, as we go through life and have these huge dilemmas and trials, we spend most of our time trying to figure out what they mean or why we are having them instead of just putting our faith in God and His will.  I preach on this all the time, and I fall short on it most of the time.  His will is not ours, and His will doesn’t always make sense to us; but if we keep our faith and hope in Him and what His plans are for us then it will all make sense in the end.

Father, thank you for hope and the ability to grow in faith.  Thank you for trials.

If anyone out there has no hope and think everything in your life is falling apart, try and remember when you got saved.  Did your mind change?  Were you transformed in how you look at things, or did you just say a prayer and not really understand what it meant?  It is possible that you didn’t get saved.  Only you know.  If you feel the Holy Spirit convicting you right now, and understand that you are a sinner, just Ask God to forgive you of your sins.  Understand, He can forgive you because His Son Jesus died on the cross and took YOUR punishment.  Place your sins at the foot of  the cross and leave them there, because they are now forgotten.  Ask God to reveal His will to you.  Read His word and Pray everytime you think about it.

Do you know where you are?

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

I awoke this morning just yearning to have a good bible study and prayer session with God.  I did.  I read Ephesians.  There are soo many verses that we could spend hours on, but for the sake of blog length I narrowed it down to this one.

Paul is talking about the gentiles here, which would be you and me.  He is saying that at one time the promises of God were really for the Jews, but because of Jesus they are now also for the gentiles.  Praise God!  The great thing though about God’s living word is that it can apply to anyone at any time.  Today I want to use this verse to discuss the blessing of salvation.

Since I am sitting here trying to keep my child quiet while I write this, I will use one of his toys as an example of what I want to say.  When you are not saved, you are like a little rubber duckie in the middle of the vast ocean.  Every wave that comes sends you where it may.  Every storm that comes takes you to far off places in your life that may not make any sense.  We’ve all been in far off places of sin, and like that duckie we have no direction, or even if we did we have no means of steering through the rough waters.

Then in the midst of the storm you see a light in the distance and hear a small still voice calling to you.  Come to me.  You notice that as you get closer to that voice, the darkness becomes more light filled and you are able for the first time to see where you are going.  When you make it to the voice you see it’s Jesus.  Even though you didn’t know it before, you now realize you have been lost.  Jesus, with the power of His might, gives you light in the darkness and the ability to steer through it.  He only asks that you believe in him and use Him as a guide through the rest of your life.

You see, because Jesus died on the cross for YOU and ME, we now no longer have to be far from God’s grace, and no longer have to go through life wondering what is right or wrong.  But, remember the love He showed us on that cross.  We should help others who are being tossed back and forth by this world.

Have a Great Weekend!  God Bless!

LOVE

John 3:16 KJV

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

 1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Cor 13:13

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

As I have grown in my relationship with God, I am amazed at the works He does in me.  I agree with every post I have ever made about conviction, but now I feel God is wanting me to soften my tone a little.  The truth is sometimes harsh, but it is also sometimes very comforting.

As you read today’s verses you realize that LOVE is as much a part, if not more, of the bible than conviction and repentance.  One has to be convicted and repent to be saved, but after that there is Love with God.  I definitely feel my calling is to give the truth so that those who think they are saved, but are not will come to repentance through the power of God.  That being said, I will never put God in a box and only talk about what I think He wants me to.  Instead I am going to pray that I always talk about what He wants me to.

God’s love for us is soo deep that He sent His Son to die an agonizing death so that we would have the chance to accept His saving Grace.  Have you ever thought about whether you could do anything like that.  I can’t imagine giving up a child in order that murderers and rapists and wretched people might have a chance to be saved from their sin.  That’s how much God loves us.

The middle verses talk about basically someone who may do all sorts of things for God, but doesn’t have Love in their heart.  I mean it says if you have the faith to move mountains, but no love then you are nothing.  That’s a big statement.  Verses 4-7 you’ve probably heard.  I want to focus though on where it says Love always hopes.  Isn’t that comforting, that if we have God’s love in our hearts we can always have hope in everything.  That’s where I am today.

The last verse pretty much sums up everything. Of faith, hope, and love; Love is the greatest.

We are to love each other like Jesus loved us.  We won’t be able to love perfectly, but we will know that love is there in our heart and it will help us to deal with ourselves and others.  We should strive every day to just love people.  Lost people should see a love in us that is unexplainable, not  see us as rule followers and judges.

Father, guide me in the path of love.  Teach me to show love to everyone the way that would be pleasing to You.  Father, I am soo thankful for your grace and Your corrections in my life.  Thank you for allowing me to journey with You at my side.  Thank you soo much for the saving sacrifice of Your son Jesus.  Please help me to think of His sacrifice in love when I am tempted to be judgemental to others.

The man in the mirror!

Luke 18:9-14

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 ⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’   ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
   ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”


It's so amazing how God works.  Every time I think I can't get convicted I end up getting convicted.  Some of the things that are going on in my life right now have caused me to pray a lot.  Last night and today, I have been in the company of wise counsel and have realized that I've been like the pharisees.  I always pray for God to convict others for their deeds, meanwhile I'm looking down like I am better.  Remember the bible says we all fall short of the glory of God.  


It's soo easy to think more of ourselves than we should.  This blog and my book have become a prideful thing to me and are helping fuel some of my problems at home.  I have always said I will be honest so here it goes.


To my wife, I'm sorry for being so self righteous all these years and for always putting down your ideas and thoughts.  Sometimes it takes losing something you hold dear, to understand why you hold it dear.  I have been given so many chances in life to do what would make her happy, but instead I tried to keep everything under my control.  I never meant to hurt you , and certainly never meant to make christianity look like a bunch of rules and punishments.  You know lots of people read this, so I'm putting it all out there.  I love you!  I was wrong for pushing you away!

I will never be self righteous again!  I do ask everyone who reads this blog to pray for my marriage.  

Good Days!

Psalm 105:1

New King James Version (NKJV)

105 Oh, give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Unlike yesterday, today is a good day.  I was listening to Katrina and the Waves this morning,”Walking on sunshine”, which does make you feel good.  Now, I’m not saying the song was the reason I am feeling better, I am saying that I was feeling better so I allowed myself to listen to the song.  I know that sounds crazy, but it’s honest.

I thought about the goodness of God and all He is doing in my life in the midst of this turmoil.  I have a lot to be thankful for.  I think when my heart is uplifted, I should show my appreciation to God.  That’s where today’s verses come in.  It says to give thanks to the Lord.  Thank you Father for my salvation, my family, my job, and my trials!  The last part of the verse is even better because it says to make known His deeds among the peoples.

That  is really one thing I can do with this blog.  I want everyone to know what the life of a truly saved Christian is all about.  My goal is to tell you about true salvation verses false conversion, but to also let you know in a very honest way about my walk with God.  When my book comes out in May, you can read basically my whole testimony, and in it there are some pretty awesome experiences I have had with God in my life. Thank You Father!

Now, the point to all of this is keep focused on God!  Cry to Him when you are in a valley, but don’t forget to praise Him and thank him when you make it to the top of the mountain.  Too many times we get the first part and forget the second part.  He loves to hear us crying out to Him for help, but He also loves to hear us sing praises to His name for what He has done.

Of all the bad stuff that may be going on in your life right now, what is one thing you have to be thankful for?  Well, Thank Him!

If you are walking in the valley and don’t feel God’s presence, could it be because you don’t know Him personally?  Could it be that someone or something Other than God has become the focus of your life?  God hates idols.  If you know Him, ask Him to forgive you and put Him and His will first again!  If you feel like you are not saved, it’s probably because you are not.  Thank Him for sending Jesus to die on that cross for YOU!  Tell Him you are sorry for your sinful life and you know you deserve Hell.  Picture yourself with a bag containing all or your past, present, and future sins, and leave them at the foot of the cross.  Jesus paid for them.  They will not be held against you anymore.  Now turn from the path you’ve been on and turn to what God wants from you.  Read you r bible and pray for God to reveal His will for your life, then hold on it’s going to be the ride of your life.

How can this be happening?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

 Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

As I go through this divorce, I realize that there are so many ups and downs that it drains me mentally and physically.  Today is a bad day, and I will always be honest with my readers.  We won’t always have good days, so we should discuss them and how to use God’s word to bring us through these lonely times.

I could never understand how God’s will would be for my wife to leave me, and really still don’t.   With this in mind, I have to start looking at things I DO understand.  I understand who God is and who His Son is and what His Son did for me.  So with that in mind, I have to make myself focus on His will not my own.  The verse talks about not depending on your own understanding, and that’s because we can’t understand what God’s will for us is sometimes, in our human mind.  Sometimes we just have to trust and know that God is in control and just keep our minds focused on Him.

I say this almost with tears in my eyes.  I am not some super Christian who just handles things well all of the time.  I am a lovesick husband and father of 3 who is still in shock with all that is going on.  I do trust that if I seek Him, He will show me which path to take.  My struggle today, is simply to stop my bellyaching and give God glory for all He has done for me.  Thank you Father!  I am also struggling with some anger I have toward my spouse, who by the way, has made this as easy as humanly possible.  I get mad at her, but she is only being honest with me.  I still love her deeply and hopefully will always love her.  She is a wonderful mother, and I have enjoyed the years and the children God blessed us with.

Father, I am on my knees.  I feel like a broken man.  Please reveal to me your will for my life.  Please help me not to try and understand what is going on in my life, but to just turn it over to you.

He's There

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18 (NASB)

As most of you may have figured out, I am in the midst of a divorce.  If you have seen any of my writings, then you have seen the path of emotional turmoil that I am enduring.  I went to a class last night at church for people going through the same stuff, and realized that there are a lot of hurting people in this world.  I realized that the human nature of a person is just hateful.  But I also realized that through Jesus and seeking Him, I have made great strides in my healing.  It's like one lady said last night, "God does the healing, no one else can".

I saw this verse last night and then pulled it up again this morning, so I figure it is what God wants me to write about today.  As you read it and meditate on it, you realize that God saw the hurt in people and the hurt that can and will happen to people.  One thing that happens during a separation or divorce is that you are completely brokenhearted and feel like your spirit has been crushed.  The one thing we have to focus on though is that God never puts us in a trial too big to bear.  I realized that I had made my wife my idol.  I did everything for her and everything was about her.  We know what God thinks about idols.

I also know that God has a plan for me, and this blog is one of those things.  I know that we can never really understand all of the wisdom and plans that God has planned for us.  I think in my case, my idol was taken away so that I could continue and get more involved with doing His work.  If the one thing I cherished the most is now gone, and I am in the depths of despair, where can I look to for help? GOD!  It's like I said in an earlier message, if you are in the depths of a valley, and feel you can't go any lower, which way will you have to look?   UP!

I don't think it is an accident that people in the midst of despair turn to God.  I know it's hard, but I still thank God for loving me enough to give me trials that will allow me to show Him how much I love Him.  When you are brokenhearted and your spirit is crushed, He is there!  I do know I will continue to go through stress with all of this.  I can tell you though I have been seeking HIm first, and His righteousness, and it has caused the mountaintop experiences to be more fulfilling and the valleys to be more about growing my faith.

I feel if we put Jesus first, we can make it through anything.  Why would someone feel as if Jesus has abandoned them?  We have to consider, they may have never really known Him.  If you just said a prayer when you were young, and didn't really repent, you are not saved.  A prayer can never get you to heaven, because if it could, then Jesus didn't have to die.  You have to understand and be sorry for your sinful life.  Leave your sins at the foot of the cross where they belong.  Turn your life over to God's will not you own.  Read your bible, pray, and ask God to guide you through the adventure of doing His will.

God Bless!

Why are bad things happening?

New Living Translation (©2007) and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. 1 Thess. 3:3 To answer my titled question......They are supposed to.  We as christians will go through trials and tribulations in this life.  There are many verses that tell us so.  Like the above verse is saying, don't get freaked out when really bad things are happening to you.  It's nothing new.  Christians have been persecuted from the beginning.  And like the verse says, since we know we will have troubles then we really shouldn't be surprised or scared when they happen.  I have just started realizing that God can only test you in trials. To say the last few weeks have been tough is an understatement,  but in the midst of all my turmoil and despair, God have revealed Himself and His love to me in a way I have never felt before.  It's almost like He is telling me, OK Steve, this is going to be the toughest trial yet, but it will also be the closest you have felt my presence in your life.  I could be angry right now, but I'm not.  It's kind of like God puts us in the valleys to teach us and show us his love, then when we are in despair we look up and realize while we were in despair he was actually carrying us to the mountaintop and we just didn't realize it. That's what happened to me.  As I was full of despair and self pitty, having the worst time of my life, I kept walking with God and didn't turn away.  As a result, I looked up in the middle of the worst time I have ever gone through and realized God had carried me through it, and now I was at the highest point I had ever been.  In 1 week, I went from complete and utter despair to complete and utter peace.  God is so good to us.  We just have to obey Him and ask for His presence in our lives. Keep my book in your prayers, it should be out in a few months.  Pray for my family and healing from our situation.  God Bless!

How high is your mountain going to be?

Isaiah 41:10So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (NIV)

For anyone who has been reading my blog, it is no secret I have been going through a tough time. I have prayed and studied and written on several different times of despair.  Praise God!  Why would I say praise God?  Because remember in James where we are told to count our trials as blessings? 

I sit here tonight a blessed man.  God finally granted me the peace to go on through this trial.  As I was and still may be in a bit of a valley, I thought of something.  If you are deep in a valley going through whatever it is putting you in despair, which direction will you look?  I mean if you were at the base of the smokey mountains what is the most probable direction you would be looking?  UP of course.  How would you know the magnitude of the mountain you have climbed if you didn't first know where you started.  Life is tough, but when God blesses you with glimpses of His will for your life, the joy and peace that comes with doing His will makes life worth while.

I will still have valleys.  Praise the Lord!  As the verse says, don't fear or be dismayed.  He says He will strengthen and uphold us.  That is what he has done to me.  I said the other day about our weaknesses being a place for God to show His strength, well now I realize, my ability to feel and love so greatly is the exact thing He wants me to do.  The one thing that has caused me the most grief in my life, is now becoming my greatest gift.  Now how do you like that Satan!

Got chills people!  If you don't know the love of Christ, please ask God for conviction of your sinful life.  If you are sorry, just ask God to forgive you and turn away from your sins.  Anything you may give up is nothing compared to the feeling of being in God's will.

So I ask you, How high is your mountain going to be?

Keep me in your prayers.  God Bless Ya'll!

What actually brings the lost to Christ?

1 Cor 1:17-18
For Christ did not send me to Baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  For the word of the cross is folly to those that are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I am so glad that Paul didn't see himself as a great orator either.  When I felt called to do God's work, I was scared to death of how elementary my writing and speaking skills may sound.  I realize though, after reading and pondering on this verse, that the power is in the cross.  There is nothing I can say to save someone from Hell.  Like we have discussed before, if someone is hellbound and doesn't care, then there is really nothing we can do except pray for conviction.  By what Paul was saying, we should preach Jesus on the cross and his resurrection.  We should preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  Whether I am able to use long fancy words will make no difference in whether someone feels convicted or not.

I have prayed that God would break my heart for the lost, and Boy has He.  I feel just horrible for people who really know the truth, but choose not to turn their life over to God.  It says plainly, the word of God is folly to those that are persishing.  That almost sounds like these people have gotten to a place in their life where they can't be reached anymore.  Does anyone see how sad that is?  If you are reading this and are just not really sure you want to turn your life over to God, just think about what you are saying.  Hell is real and it's eternal.  There are no second chances in eternity.  When  I say this, it sounds judemental.  It is out of true love, I promise. 

We are not guaranteed one more day on this earth.  You could have a wreck or die of a heart attack right now!  Where will you go?  Are you sure?  Jesus said," you will know them by their fruits."  What are your fruits.  You can have good and bad fruit.  That is how christians can tell about someone's salvation.  You are not judging if you see no fruits and discuss it with someone out of love.  Unless you repent of your sins, you will go to hell.  That is very frank, but true. 
You realize though, you don't have to endure an eternity in hell.  Jesus came and led a perfect life and became a perfect sacrifice for YOU and ME.  He only asks that you turn away from your life of worshipping yourself, and turn your life over to worshipping Him.  The devil will always try and make you think that getting saved will cause you to have to obey more rules, but from my own experience, obeying God's rules after I got saved brings more joy to me than anything I did before I was saved.

So, what actually brings the lost to Christ--the preaching of the truth of what Jesus did on the cross.  It's that simple.

What if today is your last day to live?  At the moment of your last heartbeat, will you be with the Lord in heaven, or in Hell for an eternity of torment?  I kind of got sidetracked today, but I know it was for a reason.  If you are not saved, please just ask God to convict you of your sins!  Turn your life over to Gods will instead of living in your own!

What road are you on? Repost

Ephesians 4:18  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

I'm Back!  God Bless You!

I don't want this blog to turn into a "woe is Steve" thing so I felt God telling me to go back to the basics of conviction and salvation today.  I do ask for continued prayer.

OK, have you ever really met or talked to someone who says they are a christian, but show no fruits?  What about people who say they are christians but can't understand the truth of God's word?  How can this happen?

We see in today's verse that people sometimes have a darkness that covers their understanding of God's will.  How does this happen?  Well, let me talk about a couple of reasons I think causes this.  What if a person was like me, I mean I said probably 40 sinner's prayers before I actually got saved.  So this first person we'll call Joe may have said a sinner's prayer and thought He was saved, but never grew in the Lord.  He never read his bible, never prays or maybe doesn't pray much.  This person can start to harden his heart, mainly because he was never really saved to begin with.  There are only 2 paths in this life.  1 leads you to heaven and the other leads you to hell.  You are on one of these paths whether you realize it or not.  If Joe never really got saved, then he will turn to other things for comfort in times of trials, by turning to other things, he is turning away from the path that leads to God.  Another reason someone may have their heart hardened is maybe they are saved, but after a life of stress and pressure, they just decide God's way isn't their way.  Their hearts get hardened because they start choosing self will over God's will.

I think when someone comes under true conviction, it's like you have been on the path to destruction your whole life and didn't realize it.  Then you get convicted and that path you have been going down splits, and for the first time you see that there are 2 ways to live your life.  You can choose the one who died for you, and choose to read His word and learn about His will for your life.  You can also choose to stay on your current path because of what you may have to give up by choosing God.  Remember, God gives US the right to choose to accept His grace or not.  I think a lot of times what people do with their convicted heart is as important as having one in the first place.  God will send us conviction, but we have to decide to live for Him or the world.

Who are you living for?  Is God the reason you do the things you do, or is the world in control of your life.  I beg of you, if you feel convicted of your sinful life,and believe that Jesus was the Son of God that died for YOUR sins, Just tell Him you are sorry.  Ask for Him to forgive you.  Then focus your life on the right path, and get off hell's highway!

One more thing I just thought of.  If you want to know what road you are on, just look at the road signs and people that travel the road with you.  Are the road signs mentioning God, Jesus, and Salvation, or are that mentioning self happiness and fulfillment.  You can always get off the road you are on!! Either way!!
If you have gotten off of God's road, just pray to him to please show you how to get back in His will.

The harshness of despair

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

As I go through troubles and trials in my life right now, I'm looking to God for some help.  I am going through some stuff right now that makes me more sad than I can ever remember being.  I've been up pretty much all night just praying, crying, and researching the bible for help.  As i've said before, I will always be honest on this blog even when I say embarassing things like I just said.

Anyway, I found the verse about 15 minutes ago, and It did comfort me.  My weakness is that I care too much. It's really only a weakness though in today's society.   In worldly terms it is a great weakness, and one that the world will pounce on when given the chance.  However, as the verse says, my weakness causes God's power to be perfect.  I think he is trying to say that all Jesus has done for us is all we need, and anything we see as a weakness in ourselves just gives Him an oppurtunity to show His power and Grace.

Remember this, God sends us trials to test where our faith actually is.  My faith is 100% with Him, and what Jesus did on the cross for me.  Because we live in a sinful world, we can't always know why bad things happen to us.  We do know however that any trial is like a chance to say " God I dont know why this is happening, but I know you and I know you are in control" 

Short and sweet today, but It helped me a little.  Praise God!  I ask for prayer from all of you who read my blog.  I need it.  Thanks in advance.

Faith through turmoil

1 Peter 1

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Even though we all know we will go through trials in our christian walk, It never seems to make them any easier. I'm going through some personal trials right now, and I feel the devil trying to get me to turn away from the bible and God for answers. It's so easy to just go talk to someone who you can see, but It takes faith to talk to someone you don't see.

I praise the Lord though that I have come to a point in my walk with God, that I know the wisdom I need to get through this trial is just a prayer and bible verse away. I researched trials this morning and came up with the above verses. Paraphrased, they basically say that we have eternal joy in Christ, but we will also have trials to see where we will turn for comfort. Trials test our faith. It says the proven genuineness of your faith is worth more than gold, so I see that getting through the trials while keeping focused on God's will is the hope that God has for us.

I guess this is when God tests a christians faith, for we have no way to no what we will do in a bad situation until one is given to us. It's interesting when the verse says "though for a little while you may have to suffer grief of all kinds of trials". Sometimes we think our trials are long lasting and never ending, but if you look at this life with an eternal perspective you realize that if we suffered our whole life here on earth, it would still just be a dot on the eternal timeline.

So this morning I tell you and myself," Steve (you), we are promised an eternity of peace and joy and thanksgiving with our Lord and Saviour, we are also promised to have trials that will only grow our faith in God if we allow it to." Take any trial that you may be going through and use it to glorify God. Let Christ's love flow through you and show in you. Once you get through it your faith and walk with God will be even stronger.

Prayer.............

Father allow me to grow from my current trial. Allow me to gain wisdom from it for my future. Please allow me to keep it in eternal perspective and know that this life is just a blimp on the radar of eternity. Thank you for loving me enough to send your Son Jesus to die on the cross for me. Thank you for the conviction that I received June of 2008. Thank you that because of what Jesus did for me , I was allowed to repent and be saved from eternal Hell. Father. I just want my life to matter for your kingdom.

1 ¹ Peter, a postle of Jesus Christ,

Chill out!

Ephesians 4:26-27
Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

This morning I felt the need to write this, more or less to myself.  As I have said before, I will write about times when I get convicted in the hopes it will help someone else who is going through the same thing.

I noticed in todays verses, it is basically telling us that too much anger maybe any amount of anger, can give Satan a place in our lives.  I think deep down we all agree with that.  We've all woke up in a bad mood because of sickness or just a bad nights sleep, and it's usually on those days that we get into arguments or say things we wish we hadn't.

I was a little grouchy this morning with my wife, mainly because the baby has been sick and I was sick last night, but really these are excuses aren't they.   As I was driving in, I realized that staying angry about nothing is really not what God wants from me or any christian.  The reason is, I don't want Satan to be given any opportunity to get a foot hold in my life.  So, how do I turn this day around?  First thing is to call my wife and tell her I'm sorry for being a butt this morning, which I literally just did.  Second, is to ask God to help me to focus on the Lost today and much less on myself.  I think that a lot of times, unnecessary anger is really a form of selfishness.  You know it's like when you were a child and didn't get what you wanted, so you were just mad at everybody and everything.  Yeah, I think we all know about that...ha ha..

Anyway, the way a christian handles it is by going to the Father and asking for help.  We all get angry, we just need a way to re-focus on things of more importance, like Jesus and what He had to endure on the cross for US.  That always seems to put my life back into perspective.  Jesus suffered an excruciating death for me a wretched sinner who deserves hell.  Because of what Jesus did on the cross God doesn't see our sin anymore.  In essence, Jesus made us look perfect in God's eyes.  It says in the bible that when we get saved, God places our sins as far as the east is from the west from Him.  All of this was done for you  and me!  With this in mind, I now have lost my grouchiness!  Praise the Lord!  I am still always in awe of how God talks to us through our prayer and the bible.

If you know someone who is angry all of the time, just pray for them to be convicted of their sins.  If you know a christian who is angry all of the time, tell them to Chill Out and focus on their savior.  That's what I have to do sometimes.  It's amazing how small our stresses look when compared to the magnitude of what Jesus did on the cross for us.

God Bless!

What a difference a few minutes would make

Pssalm 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

I found this verse this morning after a long night with a sick baby.  My child has some torn tissue in his urethra from a catheter that was put in improperly.  I finally got him situated and resting so I thought I would write about some things that I have been thinking about.

I am pro-life, so if you are not I advise you to quit reading now.

Let me start by saying that children are a blessing in every since. I mean they are a lot of work and stress but think about all of the laughter they bring to this dark world.  I can be having one of the worst days ever, and then I will think about something one of my kids did and my whole day will change.  I can't see how anyone could hurt a child.  We have really gotten off track when you can abort your baby legally, but you better not get caught hurting any animals.  I'm not saying I'm for abusing animals, just trying to put things in perspective.

I was talking to a family member recently when the election was going on in MS, and she informed me that "it is a woman's right to choose".  Now when I asked her why a woman has a right to kill her baby, she said the age old FALSE answer that the baby is just tissue until it's born.  People that is false.  Babies feel pain and sensations very early in the pregnancy.  Of course when I started speaking truths about all of this, she had to get off the phone.  Now, I agree with one thing she said though, a woman does have the right to choose, the right to choose not to have sex if she is not able to handle the obvious consequences.  It's not a mystery what happens when humans or any animals have sex.  God designed it to make anew life.

Can you imagine if all of the aborted babies in this country had not been aborted till they were born?  What would that be folks?  Murder!  Can you imagine if the millions of babies who were aborted had just been murdered after birth instead of before?  This would make the number of murders in the holocaust look very small by comparison.  Estimates are that 40 million babies have been aborted since Roe vs Wade.  What kind of an outcry would it have caused if these babies had just been aborted "murdered" after birth. 

My point is this, there is sometimes only a few minutes difference between abortion and murder.  What a difference those few minutes would make!

I didn't mean to get off of the verses to day, this is something that is very close to my heart.  From the verses above, we see that God blesses those with a full quiver.  I see those blessings every morning when I wake them up for school, or when they have me laughing at the craziest things, and when they do things that are so good and unselfish that I realize how special they are to our lives.

This whole thing comes down to this:  If you are truly saved by the blood of Jesus, would you abort a baby?  Jesus even said that it would be better if you hung a milstone around your neck and jumped into the water than to cause a child to sin.  Now that is what He says about making a child sin, wonder what He thinks about the murder of a child?
If you really believed and knew that God's one and only son Jesus died on the cross for YOUR sins, and rose again after three days, conquered death for us, and you really turned your life over to His will instead of yours, would you agree with abortion?  I think not.

Please pray about this.  Pray that this country will have it's eyes opened to the truth.  The only way this can happen is if we have a revival and great mutitudes of people get saved.  You 've heard this a thousand times, but Jesus is the only answer for this country to get back on track.  God, please bring revival to this country so you can Bless us again. Amen