Why did Jesus Sleep?

<sup>Why did He sleep?

23</sup> Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”


Can you imagine being in a hurricane on a ship and the Captain is laying down in his bed sound asleep?  I mean you are TRUSTING that he will guide you through whatever the storm throws at you…right?


Same thing here with the disciples, there they are in the midst of what would be comparable to a hurricane, waves crashing over the edges of the boat, wind howling, and there Jesus is sound asleep!  Why was He asleep?  Maybe he was tired! ;)…  You see Jesus wasn’t going to let any outside circumstances disrupt the peace that HE had. I know what you are thinking…”Yeah Steve, but this was Jesus”..”the Son of God”..  Yes it was…exactly. To be Christians we are to follow Jesus’ lead…right?


We all go through Storms in life…whether it be physical storms or emotional storms. I know I have and continue to go through them.  That’s why I’m writing this particular message today, I am really talking to myself.  When we are going through crises, we are to relax and know that at any time Jesus can and will calm our storms.  The question is, what is He trying to teach us?  Maybe he is teaching us to simply sleep when we need to sleep and not worry about our storms.  HMM…I get it God..  Thank You!


Continue to pray for me and my family, please.  

God Bless!Heh

Do you have peace? Revisited

 

John 14:27

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁷  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Remember before you got saved how you wondered if there was a heaven or hell and where you would go when you died.  That sounds minor to think about, but I firmly believe that those people who will not look to God for salvation are constantly looking to other things for fulfillment.  We as humans, have an inherent desire to know God and His peace.  He made us to need Him.

Every unsaved person in the world, whether they admit it or not, is searching for peace in their soul.  In today’s verse you see we are given this peace by God when we are saved.  It also says that we will have a peace unlike the world can give.  So to me, that means it is possible to obtain some kind of peace in your life through worldly passions, but it will not be an eternal or fulfilling peace.  I believe that having the peace of God does not mean you will never have stresses or sad times, but your peace will come from knowing that whatever you may be going through, this world is just temporary for you.

I think that, that is the peace He was talking about.  People can get some satisfaction, maybe even some peace from drinking, drugs, hobbies, work, rest, and on and on; but those types of peace are always temporary.  When you know 100%, that you will be with Jesus in heaven when you die, it makes bad things in life alot more bearable. 

It’s like if you were driving all over the desert looking for something and you became lost.  Now you didn’t know where you were and certainly didn’t know how to get where you were going so your level of stress and anxiety would be very high.  Why?  ( No direction and no hope of finding your way)  Now let’s say you found a map, and it showed you where you were and how to get where you were going; it even showed you where to get gas and food for the trip, wouldn’t that ease your stress? Why?  (because you no longer are wandering around aimlessly looking for your destination)

So, did you get what I was saying?  We are given the peace that surpasses all understanding when we get saved.  Nothing else can give you an eternal peace, because without salvation through Jesus,  you are just wandering around aimlessly doing anything you can to figure out where you are and where you are headed.

Pretty elementary today, but it’s what I felt led to write.  God Bless!

It Started With a Whisper…….

It Started With a Whisper…….

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,
    but its end is the way to death.

John 10:10 ESV

English Standard Version

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

I’m sure Sally never wanted any of this to happen.  At first it was just the change in her appearance and how she dressed.  Then she started listening to music  that wasn’t really appropriate.  Next it was that her husband and kids were keeping  her from being happy.  Finally it was the choice to have an affair to make herself happy.

Do any of us really think that Sally just woke up one morning and said” I think I’m going to ruin my family over the next few years and I’m going to end everything with an affair”?  Of course not..Truth is, It probably started  very subtle.   Sally probably started entertaining thoughts of selfishness like…my life with them is too hard….I deserve to be happy….why do we always worry about bills?... Then as she progressed into her own selfishness, it became harder and harder  for her to hear God.  In our first verse today, we are told that there is a way that seems right to man that will end in death…meaning  it will lead us away from God.  In John 10:10 it tells us what satan’s gameplan is…He only comes to kill and destroy.

You see, even Christians who aren’t actively seeking after Him can and will turn away from God.  And one way satan accomplishes this task is by making us look at ourselves rather than God.  This doesn’t happen overnight either…It literally starts with a whisper….

Short and sweet today.  If you are a Christian then you need to keep searching after God and His will for your life.  You don’t want to end up like Sally and lose everything based on your own happiness.  If you have never  been saved, I mean felt convicted and then turned your life over to God’s will not your own, please do it now.  Leave your sinful past at the Cross because that is where your sins were taken care of.   Beg God to forgive you, tell Him you are sorry….Now point your life in a direction that focuses on God.  Start driving down the narrow path, even when it is uncomfortable and painful.  Now enjoy that peace in your heart that lets you know where you are going when you die.

God Bless!

  Keep praying for the blog and the book.  Also, put my family on your prayer lists, please.

Are you Satisifed?

Matthew 15:36–37

36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 

I want to do a little more teaching than preaching today so after reading these verses this morning in bible study, I thought I would talk about them.

Far too often we christians, get caught up in the stresses of life.  I know I do.  I have enough going on right now to put most folks in the mental ward, but everyday I make it through just makes my faith stronger.  Now in these verses we are talking about Jesus feeding the 4000.  So these people hadn't eaten in like 3 days....they had been following Jesus around.  I think it is actually in verse 35 that Jesus talks about knowing they must be hungry because they had followed him for so long without eating.

The short and sweet of it today is this.....In verse 37 it says what?  Does it say they all had enough to eat at least enough to keep them from passing out from hunger?  Does it say Most of them ate and could at least make it back home before the hunger over took them?  NO...It says they ALL ate and were SATISFIED!  They even had left overs when they were finished.....Can you say ABUNDANCE?  That is what Jesus is trying to explain to Christians here....If we will just believe in Him and focus on His will not ours, then we will have More than what we need in life.  

Now, I'm not saying we will not have stresses and bills, I'm just saying that Jesus knows what our needs really are, on the eternal level....and He will give us the things we need, to the point there will be some left over to spread to others....That is ABUNDANCE!  I pray for God to give me more of a burden for the lost, and if He does give me more of a burden, then I know He will fill me up with the drive and "know how" to reach them.  

Right now I have alot of stresses in my life and they are extremely draining emotionally, but as usual, when I am at my weakest then God is able to do His best works in me..So bottom line is...I am satisfied in my soul right now with the path God is leading me in..I am satisfied with the spiritual support He freely gives me...My question to you is...Are you satisfied?  Do you feel God leading you in some way?  Trust in this...wherever He leads you, your needs won't be" barely met"...they will be met in ABUNDANCE!

God Bless!

Pray for my Christian Radio Station book tour....We are lining up stations from here to Orlando who will interview me on the air about " 30 Days of Conviction". 

Tell Them the Truth!

Tell Them The Truth!


Ephesians 4: 17-19

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

 Think about your friends, family, and co-workers for a moment.....How many of them fit today's verses?  I know plenty of people who do, and it is extremely upsetting.  In verse 17 we see a command....once we are saved, we are to no longer live like everyone else.  We are not to live like unbelievers.  Anyway, verse 18 is what scares me to death about people I know.  I sit back and wonder sometimes about how these people can think the way they do.....I think about how they can do some of the things they do with little remorse...When I read verse 18 though, it makes perfect sense.  Their hearts have been hardened.  I can tell you that I have been dealing alot lately with someone who has a hardened heart.  These people will tell you things like " I don't believe in God the way you do", or " me and God have our own relationship".  Any of ya'll ever heard anything like that?

When you hear these things, you should start telling them the truth about Jesus and what He did for them....and start telling them the truth about life before it's too late.  It says in verse 19 that they have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality and greed to practice every kind of impurity.  

Now remember, we were once like these unbelievers....and we got saved.  So please don't quit witnessing to them or praying for their salvation.  Tell them the truth about what being saved has meant for you.  Don't fill them up with a bunch of unreal expectations.  In my case, I can tell them that from the moment I got saved, satan was trying to destroy my family.  I won't go into detail, but he definitely caused me alot of heartache.....That being said though...I'm SAVED by the blood of Jesus!  I have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe.  I physically feel it when I am talking to him and studying His word, and this fulfills my needs somehow.  Actually, this fulfills my soul.  I can't explain it, but it's true.  

Anyway, I got off subject again, but the point to all of this is 3 fold:

1.  Don't make up stories about your salvation in order to "help" someone make a decision for God.

2.  Tell them the truth.  Who Jesus is and What He did.

3.  In a non-judgemental way, ask them about their life and if it is fulfilling to them.  Then tell them that Jesus can reach a place in your soul and nourish you in a way that you could never explain....THIS IS THE TRUTH!

SENSE OF IT ALL

Hebrews 12 :7-9

It is for discipline that you have to endure.  God is treating you as sons.  For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  9..Besides this, we have earthlt fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.  Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

 

                                         “ SENSE OF IT ALL”

It really “sux” sometimes when you know you have made a mess of what God had in store for you.  I am like a child who has been caught red handed doing something wrong.  As many of you know, I had been having marital problems for a number of years.  Like any good Christian I wanted to keep my family together, even at the risk of putting an idol in front of God.

I always talked a big game about “ doing God’s will, not yours”, but when it came to giving up the woman I loved in my life, I was unable to turn it over to God.  I just kept telling myself, “God would want me to work on my marriage!”,  and I feel like he did want me to.  However, he never would want me or anyone else to put anyone or anything between us and Him.  For the past year or so, I have made my marriage my idol instead of God.  I have let my Blog and my Book fall aside in the shadow of my marriage, and for that my life has turned into a big mess.  Things have happened, that wouldn’t be so bad if I had just given in to the divorce a couple of years ago.  I had been reading 1 Cor 7:12-14, which basically says not to divorce your partner even if they are an unbeliever, however;  I would always skip 1 Cor 7:15 which basically says if your unbelieving partner separates from you, then you are released from your marital contract.  You see I was soo blinded by my wife and our marriage, that I was picking and choosing the verses in God’s word that fit my human desires…..and I now know that God will not stand for it.

 

As you know, I write for a lot of reasons: for peace of mind, for teaching God’s word, and for others reasons that leave me right now;  but the calling I have is real and I know that as I put God first, he will bless the work he has for me to do.

One last thing,  I whole heartedly believe that marriage is for life, and I whole heartedly believe that if my wife and I were both looking UP for guidance, none of this would be happening……meaning….Come together as couples and focus on God…..Make Him the focus on your marriage, and hopefully you will never have to go through what I am. 

 

God Bless!

I will be talking to my Publisher Monday afternoon about going on a little book tour to Christian Radio Stations to help market it, so keep it in your prayers…..It will be a good thing for me to do to take my mind off of my current situation.

Repentance

Mark 1:4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:3
He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 5:31-32
Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

It's been a while since I have actually sat down and written a new blog, so bare with me if I don't get my point across very well. 
I've been doing alot of thinking about what it means to be truly sorry for something.  I know that before I was saved I would always say the sinners prayer and tell God I was sorry for all of the things I had done.  Was I really sorry?  NO!  Since I wasn't really sorry it should be easy to see why I was never really getting saved by reciting the sinner's prayer.  It is of the utmost importance that when we ask for forgiveness, that we realize and are truly sorry about our sinful lives.

Today's verses show us how important true repentance is.  In Mark 1:4  John is preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.   Same message in Luke 3:3.  It's very important when we look at Luke 5:31-32 that we see who Jesus came  to call.  Not the righteous but the sinners who REPENT.  Luke 17:3 In " steve" terms this says if someone sins explain it to them, but if they repent then forgive them.  We forgive them because they are repentant. Why?  Because He forgives us if we are truly repentant.

The bottom line to all of this is simply for you to think about your life.  Think about when you said the sinners prayer or came forward in front of the church to get saved.  Were you really sorry for your sinful life?  Did or do you really believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for YOU?  If not, please just pray that God will show you His grace through Jesus.

My book is going good.  Please keep telling people you know who may want to hear the no frills truth about biblical salvation.  Go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Westbow Press and  look for "30 Days of Conviction"

God Bless!

A Simple Truth--(Revisited)

Simple Truth (Repost)

 James 1:22

English Standard Version (ESV)

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Just to let everyone know, I received the first copy of my book in the mail yesterday.  I will post a link on this blog site and my facebook page as soon as I figure out how to do it. LOL!!!

This has got to be the one of the most meaningful verses in the New Testament.  Don’t let it’s short length fool you, we must understand what it is talking about.  You know for years before I was truly saved, if I had seen this verse and focused some prayer on it, I would have known I was hell bound.  It is simply telling us that if we hear the word, but never tell anyone about it, then we are deceiving ourselves.  To break it down even more:  If we go to church, go to Sunday school, and even go on Wednesday nights to prayer meeting, but never tell anyone about the gospel...........then we are probably not saved.  I think when he says we are “deceiving ourselves”, he is saying what I knew to be true along time ago.  I would do everything in my power to feel confident in my eternity, but never did. Why?  I wasn’t saved.  How could I have known?  I never told anyone about Jesus and what He did on the cross for them.  I was a hearer only.

I used to do the church thing, heck , some Sunday mornings I might even sing, but come Monday morning no one around me could tell that I was any different than them.  Why?  Because at that time, I wasn’t any different than them.  You know, there is a major difference in a truly saved person, and someone who just puts on a show.  I know because for years I put on a show.  If the Holy Spirit isn’t guiding you then there is no way you can walk the straight and narrow.

 (¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.) Mat 7:13

This verse sums up what I am trying to say.  Strive to be different.  Tell others about Jesus.  If you are on a road with a million people and they are all going the same direction, and you start going the opposite direction: Wouldn’t you be easy to recognize?  Just think about what it means to be truly saved.  Are you going against the grain?  Be different.  Be proud of your salvation.  If you don’t think you are saved, then please ask God to forgive you for your sinful life.  Tell Him you are sorry.  Now turn your life over to doing His will not yours.  Don’t put it off any longer.  Remember and ponder on this thought......There are no unbelievers in hell.  Once you breath your last, you will be in Heaven or hell.  It is your choice.

God Bless! Please buy a book when it comes out.  There is nothing I would love to do more, than writing about Jesus and what He did for me and you.

Are you truly saved? Re-Post

Are You Saved?

Conviction

As the bible means--Sense of guilt and shame leading to repentance.  The Hebrew word yakah gives us the idea of conviction.  It means "to argue with" "to prove" and "to correct".

Repentance

As the bible means-- Change of mind, and can also refer to regret accompanying an awakening that wrong has been done in one's life.

These two ideas are more important than any I can think of for a person who doesn't know if they are saved.  They are very important for the person who said a prayer at some point in their life, but never really felt sorry for their life and turned ownership of their future over to God.  I can't impress upon you enough that just saying a prayer won't get you into heaven.  You have to feel conviction and repent.

Matthew 3:2  REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  

Mark 1:4  John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of REPENTANCE for the FORGIVENESS of sins.

Luke 3:8  Bear fruits in keeping with REPENTANCE.  And do not begin to say to yourselves, "we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for abraham.

Mark 1;15  And saying "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT and believe in the gospel.

As i said earlier, these two ideas are of the utmost importance for someone who can't really decide if they are saved or not.  Now sometimes the devil will find ways to put doubt in our lives about our future, but he can't take our peace about our eternity because if we have been convicted of our sinful life and repented, then we are saved and should have a peace about our eternity.

I will always talk about true repentance in my messages because like I have said before, I went for years assuming that I was saved.  Now deep down, I knew i wasn't, but I had people tell me "Steve you are just over thinking this"  "Do you believe in God and Jesus?"  "then you are saved"  Please, I implore you, DONT listen to anyone else tell you that you are saved.  Eternity is too long to base it on what someone else says who can't see your heart.  You know if you are really saved.

One of the main ways to let us gauge our relationship with God is found in Luke 3:8.  It says to bear fruits in keeping with repentance.   Meaning do the things that the Holy Spirit tells you to do.  Tell others about Jesus.  Find some way to evangelize.  It doesn't have to be from a pulpit.  I remember a christian play I watched one time that had an awesome illustration of what we are to do for God.  A football player that got saved said "football used to be my god, now it's my pulpit"  We should use any chance we are given to tell the lost about Jesus and what he did on the cross.  

I may have gotten a little long winded today, but I just got to writing and couldn't stop.  If you don't feel saved right now and are feeling like your life has been wretched and sinful, then you may be being convicted.  Tell God you are sorry for your life.  Thank Him for sending Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the cross for YOU.  Turn your life over to God.  Ask for guidance through prayer and reading His word.  If you just did this then Welcome to the family of God.  Shoot me an email and let me know, I just love hearing about changed lives. sedwardn92@yahoo.com

God Bless!

 

Please forward this to as many email addresses as you know.  I am trying to get more people to follow the blog. Thanks!

How do you KNOW?

How do you KNOW?

Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV)
²¹  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
²²  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
²³  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I’ve decided that if I was a real preacher, I would probably be one of those “fire and Brimstone” preachers.  That, by the way, would be a good thing. J  I’ve talked several times on the above verses, but everytime I hear or read them again I always come away with words that I feel  need to be spoken.

One of the biggest decisions you have already made at this point in your life is whether you believe in Jesus as the Son of God and whether you have started a relationship with Him.  Hands down, that is the biggest decision you have made.  Believe it or not, if you have not made a decision to follow Jesus then you HAVE made a decision to follow the world.(Satan)  Ok let’s dive into today’s verses…..

In verse 21, He makes it clear that not everyone who claims to be a Christian will enter into Heaven.  He follows it up with, only the doers of God’s will are saved.  In other words, you can say a sinner’s prayer 20 times per week if you want, but if you are just reciting a prayer rather than turning your life over to God…….you may have cause for concern.

Now……Who will claim to be a Christian at the end, and not really be one?  Well, it won’t be the Atheist….it won’t be the Hindus….it won’t be the Muslims….it won’t be the Buddhist.  Then who is He talking about that will claim to know Him, but really won’t?  By common sense reasoning one would have to think that it will be the ones in church.  They are the only ones who would think that they knew Him. Right?  People that said a prayer, but never read His word, or talked to Him in prayer.  Basically those that never had a relationship with Him.  It says “ whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”.  It doesn’t say “whoever says a prayer in 4^th grade…ect…” 

Only YOU know right now whether you have a relationship with God.  Think about relationships you have in your life.  If you say you have a relationship with someone, but never spend any time with them….is that really a relationship?   If you say you know me, but I have never met you or talked to you…I probably won’t know you…Right?  My point is this….Jesus says “depart from me, for I never KNEW you”.  We have to have  a relationship with him.  If we don’t, it should be easy for us and others to see that we don’t know Him.  Our fruits will tell us anything we need to know about our salvation…Remember this verse….”you will know them by their fruits”.

So at the end when you are standing in front of God ….What will you say?  Are you going to say things like…”I went to church every Sunday”  “ I tithed 10% every month”  “ I taught Sunday school”?  All of these are good things but  they will not get you into heaven.  He knows you or He doesn’t.  In the end, no amount of pleading will get you out of judgement for not being saved.  If you don’t know if you are saved, it may be that you are not….Tell God you are sorry for your sins….Tell Him you want to know Him…Thanks him for sending Jesus to take YOUR punishment…Thank Him for giving you the chance to live your life for Him.  Now imagine all of your sins are in a bag and you have been dragging them around your whole life……Now, just drag them to the foot of the Cross and leave them there because that is where they were taken care of by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

If you just said that prayer, you will find that you will have an inner desire to get to Know the one that saved you.  Because of that inner need, you will get to know Him and He you.  You no longer will have to wonder whether you are saved or not!

Praise God!

What are you eating?

 What are you eating?

Matthew 4:1-4 (KJV) ¹  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
²  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
³  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
⁴  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
I love my quiet time in the mornings, when I'm able to have it.  I heard these verses this morning while drinking my coffee and verse 4 got me to thinking.  I've talked to many christians about many different things, and the one thing that seems to be the same with everyone is that most Christians do not spend enough time in the Word.
  You have to think about this like any relationship.....When you met your spouse, or girlfrind/boyfriend....didn't you try and spend as much time with them as possible?  You made note of their likes, dislikes, favorite songs, colors, ect....  The same has to be true with God. God invented the relationship!  Therefore, it is a very easy to understand that He wants to have a Relationship with His children.  Ok that being said, let's look at the verses.
In verse 4 Jesus says "Man shall not live by bread alone".  Do you know what He meant.  Does he mean we need water also, instead of just bread?  Of course not, He is giving us very insight into the life of a truly saved Christian.  If you are saved, and not reading the word, there are many reasons that your life isn't fulfilled.  The one that is of importance today though is that you were designed for a relationship with God.  You grow in that relationship by prayer and reading His Word.  If you are not growing toward Him, then you are growing away from Him.  We are to "feed" on the word.  It can and does fullfil a spiritual need that we as christians have.  I promise that if you are not feeding on God's Word, then there will be other things in your life that you will attempt to fill that spiritual need with.  Anything other than the Word though, will bring on more judgement rather than peace.
My point is this.......As a Christian, it is not a chore to read the Word, it is an honor.  I'm unable to read it sometimes myself, but it is soo fulfilling when I do.  Remember, we want a relationship with Him.  Just saying a prayer isn't going to get you saved.  It is a decision you make to turn your life over to God.  You have to have felt truly sorry for your sinful life.  If you feel that you are not saved, and you are sorry for your sins, then turn from SELF to God's will for your life.  Tell God you are sorry for your sins.  Thank Him for Jesus.  Leave your old sinful life at the foot of the Cross becuase that is where all sin was taken care of.  Now go and tell people about your conversion.  You should want to tell others about what just happened to you.  People will listen to you, especially when they see a true change in your life.
God Bless! 
Book News.....The first quarter of this year has been good for "30 Days  of Conviction"  I am currently working with my publisher on getting it ffeatured at the Women Of Faith Conferences.  Keep me and my family lifted up in prayer.   Oh Yeah, I almost forgot....Buy a Book!  ;)

Why o Why

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Ever sit back and wonder why you are where you are in life?  What you do, where you live, who your friends are ect....?  I do.  I often wonder things like....why did my wife and I have such a bad year  last year?  What sense does it make that as I got closer to God, my life started spinning out of control?

I know these are deep thoughts for a Sat. morning, but they have been on my mind.  Being a Christian, especially one that is OCD, I always look for the exact reasoning for things.  I typed in my bible search bar this morning " verses on doing God's will", and Proverbs 3:5-6 was one of the sets of verses that came up.  

After looking at it for a while, I realized that I am not to try and understand why things are what they are sometimes.  I am merely to trust in Him and know that He is doing everything for His glory.  This gives me comfort.  It even goes as far as to say that if we live for Him, He will make the path we should take be easier to find.  Praise God!  

Short and sweet this morning, but I've learned to write what is on my mind no matter what.  

Remember guys and gals, if people around you don't know you as a follower of Jesus then it may be that you are not. 

 If you feel God talking to you right now and you know you are a sinner in need of salvation, just tell God you are sorry for all of your sinful life.  Ask him to forgive you, and thank Him for sending Jesus to take your punishment.  Now, turn control of your life over to Him.  Imagine being at a fork in the road.....one road leads to death and the other leads to life eternal with Jesus......Congrats because if you are now saved then you are now on the path to eternal joy! 

God Bless!

BUY A BOOK!  :)  :)  :)

Who around you knows your thoughts on Faith?

Matthew 7:13-14

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

This, as some of you know, is one of my favorite things to talk about.  The words above are some of the most important you could ever read.  Basically we are being told that few people will truly be saved and go to heaven.  We are told to Try and enter through the narrow gate. 

It is soo important that we know about the narrow way because not many people are going to find it.   I think I have used the following analogy before, but it really makes the point I’m trying to make:  

If you are on a road with 10 million people, and they are all going the same direction….Let’s just say they represent the wide gate.  Now let’s say you go onto the same road, but you are going the opposite direction.  If 10 million people are going one way, and you are going opposite direction…Won’t you be noticed?  You would be bumping into people, causing a lot of commotion.  People will be looking at you like you are crazy!  Right?

My point is very obvious, but very overlooked in today’s society.  If you have truly repented and have turned your life over to God, then you are actually going the opposite direction of most people around you.  Be ok with it!  Use it as a tool to explain why you are different!

If people in your circle don’t really know about your salvation, could it be that you may in fact not be saved.  Remember, if we are saved, we are going into the narrow gate.  Going into the narrow gate WILL cause us to look and act different.  If there is nothing different about you, and people around you don’t know much or anything about your faith, please pray for God to reveal to you where you truly stand with Him.

If you know anyone who may want one of my books, there is now a link on this site.  It will take them directly to checkout with my publisher.

God Bless!