Israel is forever

Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 KJV

The words of Isaiah gives hope, peace and tranquility to those that tend to worry to much. We serve a Mighty God who is able to do all things. He spoke the world into existence and with his own hands he formed mankind from the dust of the ground. Taking care of a one small nation like Israel is such a small thing for him. With the wave of his hand, he could wipe the enemies of his people from the face of the earth. I am thinking this morning that I may not be able to do much, but I serve a God that can and will. God established the land of Israel and God promised King David that he would forever have a descendent to sit upon the throne. Nothing that mankind does can ever change the word of God.


2 Samual 7:10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,


11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.


12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.


13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.


14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:


15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.


16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.


17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

Promises of Christ

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:1-3 KJV

Jesus made a powerful promise when he spoke these words.  He gave the people HOPE to hold on to.  His word is TRUTH and he will come again. He will come in the same manner that the diciples watched him leave. One day soon he will step out on the clouds and he will call his people up to join him.  The world will try to explain it all away, but when millions go missing there will be some left behind that know God's word and they will know what truly happened.  Jesus Christ is getting ready to prepare his army, and friends, I don't know about you, but I am one of his soldiers!  Many confuse the rapture with the second coming of Christ, but they are two separate events.  The rapture is simply the calling away of his people.  He will remove them from the wickedness that is coming upon the world.  

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 KJV
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 KJV
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Now the second coming is a whole new story.  He will step his feet upon the Mount of Olives and every eye shall see him at the second coming and what is amazing is that he will be bringing that army of raptured saints back with him as soldiers riding upon white horses.  

Revelation 19:13-15 KJV
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

God made us another promise too, that because we keep his word, he will keep us from the tribulation.

Revelation 3:10-11 KJV
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Two powerful promises from Christ.  He will prepare a place for his people and he will keep them from the wickedness that is coming upon the world.  Hold fast to your faith and wait.  Wait upon the Lord!

Come unto me!

I haven't posted anything for quite a while. I have been sharing on facebook where I could reach more people, but I am led to get back to my blog, so this morning I want to share this with you all. If you are seeking for something in your life, let me invite you to come.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 KJV

It seems that all around me I see people searching for answers, seeking peace and finding none. Looking for happiness in a pill, a bottle, and others places, but still finding none. They find a little bit of pleasure in those "highs" but it soon wears off and they are worse than before they started. That will always be the case because the word of God teaches that there is pleasure in sin, but only for a season. Moses knew this long ago.

Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

The only path that leads to true happiness, true pleasure, true joy and peace is Jesus Christ. Once you have a relationship with Jesus, you realize that you have a peace and contentment in you that money could not buy, drugs could not fill, women or men could not satisfy. If you ever walk away from Christ after having known him, you will always be miserable seeking to get that relationship back again, because Christ is peace and he fills your life with joy unspeakable. He does not expect you to come to him already perfect, he knows all about you. He said come if you labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Many preachers say, come as you are. God knows you are not perfect. When preachers use this phrase, they are not saying it's ok to remain as you are, they are letting you know that God already knows you and he still bids you to come. Once you have a relationship with Christ, the old man will change and you will become a new person.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

I invite you today to come. Get to know Jesus. Repent of the sin in your life and build a relationship with him. If you are seeking peace, joy and happiness, then come.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Communion with the Holy Ghost

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV
The word communion means the interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions, to fellowship with, to associate with, to communicate with! Do you communicate with the Holy Ghost? Do you listen quietly while he has his say in your life and then just have a wonderful conversation with him. Do you allow him to lead you down that good and straight way when he speaks to your heart? When Jesus went away he promised to send us another comforter. That we would never be alone! What a wonderful thing to know that we are never alone!

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

The Holy Ghost is our comforter and our guide in this world during our walk with Christ. I do not believe, no, I can go so far as to say that I know for a fact that I could not walk this walk alone. The flesh is not strong enough to withstand the devil and what he brings against us. We fight a spiritual battle every day in our walk with Christ and in order to win that battle, we must be the greater warrior. The flesh can't win against the devil, the HOLY GHOST is the warrior on the inside of every child of God that fights these battles for us!!

3 things Paul spoke of  in 2 Corinthians 13:14

     1:  GRACE of Jesus Christ

     2:  LOVE of God the Father

     3:  COMMUNION of the Holy Ghost

Without the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we would all be on our way to a devils hell. There would be no HOPE for mankind. For the bible says we are SAVED by GRACE not by WORKS lest any man should boast. Without the LOVE of GOD there would be no GRACE because GOD loved us so much that he was willing to watch his ONLY SON die to provide that GRACE to mankind. Without COMMUNION with the HOLY GHOST we would not know what direction to take in life. We could not make the right choices that would keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to GOD.  We have to be willing to listen for that STILL SMALL VOICE and HE will tell us what path to take. We cannot say we love Jesus and partake of his GRACE and never take time to have communion with the Holy Ghost. We cannot say we have the Holy Ghost living in us and not know the LOVE OF GOD. These things all go hand in hand with one another. I am so thankful this morning that I know his GRACE, that I know and experience GOD'S LOVE by loving those that are unworthy of my love. You see it's easy to love your own, your family, your friends, but when you learn to love those that don't deserve your love...that is the LOVE OF GOD and the only thing in this life that will ever teach you that kind of LOVE is having COMMUNION with the HOLY GHOST. The bible tells me that HE will teach me all things. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Blessed be his HOLY NAME!

Promises of God

The promises of God are for his children. He tells us in his word that we can ask anything and he will give it to us. We have a power within ourselves that is mighty and able to do so much more that we realize. The HOLY GHOST is God's gift to the church (Christians). We can pray for the sick and see them healed. We can cast out demons, and believe me, demons are real and they do inhabit humans. We shall speak with a heavenly tongue and so much more, but there is something that is required of us! WE MUST BELIEVE AND WE MUST CLEANSE OURSELVES! Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV
We often pray for someone and don't see results, but the bible teaches us that we ask and receive not because we ask in unbelief. 
Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
We must BELIEVE that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and keep his commandments.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:12-14

We must believe

WE MUST BELIEVE AND BUILD OUR FAITH!
2 Kings 17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
Unless we believe in God and trust that the bible is the word of God, we will never clearly see what is happening in the world around us. We must put ourselves in situations that we can hear the true word of God taught. Only by hearing and reading the word of God can our FAITH be increased and we must have faith in order to please God.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
The more we build our faith, the more miracles we begin to see take place. Having faith in God, pleases him. When a Father is pleased with his children, he rewards them. We don't see people being healed today simply because we don't truly believe in our hearts that God will heal them. We don't see miracles taking place simply because we don't believe they will take place. Everyone knows that God CAN do anything he chooses, but as saints of God, we MUST BELIEVE THAT HE WILL.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Eternal Word

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Matthew 24:35 KJV
The word of God is eternal. It never changes. He does what he says he will do. If there is any fault, it is our lack of faith. He miraculously took care of the children of Israel when Moses led them out of Egypt and he will do it again. In fact, has done it many times since then. Christians are grafted in children of Israel. They can stand upon God's word but they must believe. He said you ask and receive not because you ask in unbelief. We must believe that he will step in and bless America again. That he will have mercy. Everybody knows that he can, even the devil believes and trembles. It's time for Christians to join together in prayer and know that he WILL...
God's word is alive and it will keep you. When you're hungry it will feed you, when you're thirsty it will quench that thirst...If you hungry and thirst after righteousness every physical need you have will be met. God knows your needs before you ask him and wants to bless you. It is his good will that you prosper, in fact he told the children of Israel to keep his word and they would prosper. Deuteronomy 29:9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. God has plans for his children and will see those plans through to the end. Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. and my favorite scripture..Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Love your enemies, Pray for them

The word of God teaches us that he will make the enemies of Christ his footstool. God will take care of his own and if we put our trust in him, we have nothing to fear. Many times we find ourselves being pleased to see our enemies failing but the word of God teaches us that we should not rejoice in their failures. God has a plan for his own and in fulfilling that plan, there will be destruction of our enemies, but he expects us to love our enemies. Vengeance belongs to the Lord and he will repay, but if we rejoice in their failures, then he will not be pleased with our character and what might have been their downfall could be delayed by our own actions.
Proverbs 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
The bible teaches us to love our enemies and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us. God expects us to love everyone, even our enemies with a Godly love. This is not an easy thing to do, but when you put it into perspective and realize that you don't have to love what the person is, or what they stand for, but rather love their soul, then it becomes much easier. When we begin to stand upon God's word and pray for our enemies, leaving everything else in God's hands, we will see them brought down. We are to be prayer warriors and let God fight our battles.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

LOVE is a must

I have shared on social media, but haven't posted here to my blog in a little while. This morning I feel the need to share the word about LOVE here as well. Love is so important in our walk with Christ. Without it, we are none of his.

Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

The bible is not just another book laying on a shelf. It is our road map to heaven! How Christ and the apostles lived are examples of how Christ would have us to live. He instructed us to come out from among the world and be not partakers of their sins. When you become a Christian, you come out of the world. People should see a change in your life. Some of that change will be on the outside, because you will no longer want to look like the world, but the true change is on the inside. Once the love of God begins to fill your heart, then you will begin to love those that you never dreamed you would love. Love is the key to it all and as Christ loved us, we must also love others. I have strong political beliefs, but those beliefs do not interfere with my love for the people. I pray harder for those I don't agree with than for those I do, because if God has mercy and they see the light and become saved, then they will be a new creature. They too will begin to love and that love will change them. Those that say they are Christians and don't love are only fooling themselves. Satan has deceived them into believing a LIE.. I encourage you today to truly begin praying for someone that you don't agree with, for someone that has hurt you, for someone that you feel is not deserving. Begin to bring that person into God's remembrance and pray for their soul. The word of God tells us that if we turn a sinner from his path that we cover a multitude of sins. James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Love is the one thing that can truly reach heaven's throne and it is the one thing that will heal a broken heart and put JOY in your SOUL...

We need to pray

We as Christians must try to share the truth with the world, but many have been blinded by the god of this world (Satan) and they will not hear the truth or see it when it is happening right before their eyes. There has been an evil unleashed in our land and it is walking to and fro seeking to destroy our children. Because many have been blinded to the truth, it is up to the Christians to pray for them that the scales may drop from their eyes and their ears may become open to hear the truth. They are not going to seek the truth themselves because they believe in what they are doing because of the blindness and deafness that Satan has brought upon them, but we can intercede for them. We can seek God and he will hear us from heaven and he will open their eyes and ears if we come together and seek his face. Christians praying is the only hope we have, but we must pray. We must intercede.

Acts 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Perfect Hatred

Psalm 139:21-24
21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.


King David was a man after God's own heart and still he hated. He hated those that hated God, but notice he said with a "perfect hatred". To hate something with a perfect hatred we must be able to understand that the soul within that person still belongs to God. We must understand that even though the flesh is foolish that God loves the soul and we too must love the soul. This is a big misunderstanding among people, they assume if you hate the sin that you hate the person committing the sin and that is not true. I will be the first to admit that it is hard to pray for someone that so blatantly sins against our God. I find it extremely hard to pray for rapists, child molesters, murderers and others like that, but in my heart I know that God is able to save their soul and change them if they truly believe, but the problem is that they don't believe. Jesus said that it is better that a millstone be put about their neck and they be cast into the sea than for them to hurt one of his little ones. There will be a day that he will re-pay them for what they are doing. There will be a day that every knee will bow down and wicked mankind will know that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lord and King of Kings. He warned us that these days would come upon us and he also told us to stand strong and know that the world would hate us just as it hated him.


Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.


John 15:18-19
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Healing the Land

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV

This scripture is a promise straight from God. The Lord appeared to Solomon after he had built the temple and dedicated it unto the Lord and he told him that he had heard his prayers. He accepted the temple as his place of sacrifice. God went on to let King Solomon know that if he shut up the heavens or brought pestilence upon the land, that all his people had to do was call upon his name. All they had to do was seek him and turn from their evil ways. Our God is a never changing God and he is still listening today for his people to call upon his name, to seek his face and turn from their evil ways. It's not too late for America. We are seeing the promises that God made to King Solomon here in America today. He told Solomon if the people forsake his statutes and commandments and go and serve other Gods that he would cast them out of his sight. Many in America have forsaken God. They have allowed temples to be built and false gods to be served in our land. God will not have it. The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob is a jealous God. 

 
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

He is also a forgiving God and if the Christians in this country will continue to pray and seek his face, he will hear our prayers, but we need to set our prayers on having leaders that will stand for God. Nations are judged by what the leaders allow to take place in the land and the only way things can change is to have Godly leaders.  

We have freedom of religion and that is a wonderful thing, but I believe our forefathers fought and died for the freedom to serve God Almighty, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.  They did not die becoming a nation to allow false religions to come in and build temples to worship false gods in.  When God sent Israel into the promised land he warned them to destroy the alters and not to worship the false gods of the land.  America must not allow those same people to build temples to worship false gods in our land!  There is only room in America for one God.  Jehovah, the great "I am" that spoke to Moses, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, he is the God of America and him only shall we serve.  

Exodus 34:12-14 KJV
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

I realize that this post may not be popular or acceptable by everyone that reads it, but as a child of God, I believe I speak the truth and I must stand true to what I believe in.  If America is ever going to be a great country again, then we must first and foremost cast aside all false religions and get back on our knees and seek the face of God. 

Fight for the faith

Jude

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

The book of Jude is not very long but it is very powerful.  Jude knew what was coming upon this world and urged the people to contend for the faith.   (Definition of the word contend:  to struggle in opposition: to contend with the enemy for control of the port.)

He knew there would be a day that the leaders would try to take Christ out of the picture.  That day is NOW.  They have shown this to be true with their revised versions of the word of God.  God's word is alive and it will keep you. Man can't change it.  It is forever the same.  We as Christians must fight for our faith.  We must stand true to God's word, put him first in our lives and everything else second.  When our leaders bow their heads to false religions and other gods they are bringing condemnation upon the people, but God is faithful to his own. He will not abandon his people.  He is making ready, war is coming upon the land.  The harvest is ripe and revival is sweeping through our land.  God is gathering his people together.  One day he will say to Christ, go bring my children home.  Jude knew how things would be.  He urged the people to contend for the faith.  I urge you now to stand upon the word of God.  Obey the laws of the land, but if the law of the land goes against God, then God must come first.  We must stand strong in our faith in Jesus Christ, run the race with patience and gain the reward that awaits those that stay faithful.   

Water Babtizm

Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Water Baptism has become such a controversy in the church today because people do not fully understand the word of God.  Jesus Christ taught the disciples exactly how he wanted them to go forth and baptize the people.  He made it very clear, so if there is any fault in how it's done, the fault is our own.  In order to understand the confusion, we need to take a look at the way of life during the time of Christ and understand their ways.  During this time there were many believers that would baptize new believers.  John being the first to start baptizing others started a tradition.  The people that John baptized were considered to have been baptized in John's name or you could say in the name of John.  Many of the lawyers and pharisees rejected Christ for the very fact that they were not baptized of his (John's) baptism.

Luke 7:28-30
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

If Christ had baptized them it would have been in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: and when they told someone how they were baptized they would have said in Jesus Name!  Because it was with the baptism of Jesus!!  

This truth is further clarified with Paul's teaching in 

1 Corinthians 1:12-15

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

When we repent and accept Christ as our savior the Holy Ghost dwells within us.  We are buried in Christ.  Water baptism is the keeping of a commandment.  it is the outward showing of this inward experience.  

Acts 10:47-48
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.  (with Christ's baptism, the way he had taught them to be baptized)

Much of this confusion comes from Peter's teaching in

Acts 2:38 
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter was a disciple of Jesus Christ.  He knew Christ so completely that Jesus told him "Upon this rock ( this truth) I will build my church".  he knew who Jesus was!!  He would not have went forth and taught anything contrary to what Christ had already taught him.  He was simply using a common term when telling the people to be baptized in Jesus name.  He was telling them to be baptized the way Jesus taught them.  In other words, He was telling them to be baptized with Jesus's baptism!  In those days whoever baptized you when you told someone about it, you would say I was baptized in John's name, or in Jesus's name or even in Paul's name but it was all done the same way, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!  

I have been in church under the Jesus Only teaching and even had a pastor at one time whom I loved dearly, but as I grew in Christ, the Holy Ghost became my teacher.  For those that believe you must be baptized in Jesus name only and leave out the Father and the Holy Ghost I would leave you with this thought.

Who is greater Jesus Christ or Peter?  If you fail to truly comprehend anything that I have said, then you must believe that the bible contradicts itself and that Peter thought he knew more than Christ himself knew and was going against what Christ taught the people to do.  Peter would not have done that.  The bible is the infallible word of God and every part is truth.  We must read it with the understanding that there is an explanation for any part that appears to contradict another part.  

Another thing I want to leave you with is this.  Water baptism is not what saves you.  It is the fulfilling of a commandment.  Those that believe you must be baptized in water in order to be saved should consider Jesus Christ own words on the cross. He told the thief while hanging on a cross that he would be with him in paradise.  That thief had not been baptized!  

Doing God's Will

Mathew 7:21
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.
There are many people that call themselves Christians and many even believe that they are, but unless we heed God's word and do his will, we will be among those cast aside into outer darkness.  I believe it is our duty to help those in need.  I am not talking about public assistance, but I am speaking of each individual standing up and helping his fellowman.  In the early church many brought all that they had to the apostles and a big part of it was used to care for the widows and orphans.  Even if we pay tithes today, it doesn't go to the needy.  It goes to build bigger churches and much of it goes straight into some man's bank account and the poor are still left hungry, naked and thirsty.  Those misusing God's money will stand before him one day and be judged. You might ask, what can I do?  Each of us should step up and do what we can to help those in need. We see many sitting by the road begging for help and often pass them by.  Do you know that God said we are not to judge?  Who are we to say if they really need it or not.  The bible says in 

Hebrews 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

That stranger that you thought was just a nobody may be one of God's own angels.   We as Christians should do what we can to help them and what they do with the money is between them and God.  This is just one thing we can be careful in doing.  People lose their homes almost daily, we need to help these people to get back on their feet.  We even have people in our own families that we see in need every day and yes, it is our duty to help them. There is also many good groups of Christians that help to feed the hungry in the world. We should try to help them.  There are so many ways that we can help to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and give water to the thirsty, we just need to look beyond our own needs.  If we don't, we will be among the goats that are cast aside into outer darkness.  We can not be a Christian and ignore those in need. If we do, we are ignoring Christ himself.  Every time we pass by that person begging, we are telling Jesus Christ that we don't care about his needs.  This is the cold hard truth whether we believe it or not.  He said when you do it to the least of these, you have done it to me.  I don't want to hear those words, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I want to hear the master say to me, Well done thou good and faithful servant.  

Mathew 25:31-46
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

What kind of fruit is growing in your garden?

As a born again Christian we have liberty through Jesus Christ.  Paul taught us that we are not to use that liberty for the desires of the flesh, but rather to fulfill the word of Jesus Christ, to love one another.  We are to walk in the spirit of Christ.  As Christians the world will look upon us and know us by the fruits we bare, but the world is not the only one watching us, God himself sees all.  When we plant a garden, it must be taken care of.  You have to weed it, water it, and pluck away any bad fruits to allow the good fruits to grow big and strong. God watches his children to see how well they tend their garden.  If left untended, the weeds will overtake it and kill off all the good fruits.  

As Christians we are not under the law of man, but we are to live according to God's word.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

If we truly live according to his word, then the laws of man are of no affect to us.  If we walk in the spirit of Christ, our garden will produce fruit to be desired by the world!  The world will want what we have!!

Galatians 5:22-23 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

In the flesh, many times we fail and come up short.  Our flesh is at constant war against our spirit.  Paul taught us that when he would do good, evil was always present.  

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

When we allow our flesh to overcome our spirit, sin is produced. 

Galatians 5:19-21 

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

As children of God, we are in the world, but we are not of the world.  We will always have a battle to fight and a garden to weed.  It's up to each one of us to tend our own garden and see that the fruits growing there are those to be desired and in doing so we will draw others to Christ, which is a work he gave us to do!

Galatians 5:25

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Faith Healing

Matthew 4:23
23: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

It is not God's will that his children be sick and afflicted. Anywhere that Jesus went he took the time to stop and heal the sick. He is a never changing God and he will take the time to heal you today. You must ask in faith and believe. When the time came and he knew he would no longer be here to walk with us, he passed this gift of healing on to the disciples. 

Luke 9:1-6
1: Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2: And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
3: And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4: And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5: And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6: And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Many in the church have gotten cold on the Lord and slack in their faith.  They no longer fast and pray.  They no longer trust in God that he will do what we ask.  The word of God teaches us that he never changes. This tells me that the spiritual gifts that he gave to the disciples and those early believers are still active and available to me and you.  Paul taught the people that the gifts were for them.  

1 Corinthians 12:28
28: And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then GIFTS OF HEALINGS, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

We will not see these gifts active among us until we make ourselves HOLY before God.  God said that he would not dwell in an unclean temple.  He said that if we are LUKE WARM that he would spew us out.  The very taste of something lukewarm is disgusting.  God would rather you be a full blown sinner than to be a lukewarm Christian.  

Revelations 3:15-16
15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 

Do you need healing today?  Do you have lost loved ones that you want to see saved?  Do you want a closer walk with God?  Do you want to see unity and joy in the church?  If you say yes to these questions, then you have a work to do in order to see it done.  We need PRAYER WARRIORS like our grandmothers used to be.  We need PREACHERS that aren't afraid to stand up and preach the TRUE WORD OF GOD.  If we are ever going to start seeing our loved ones healed of diseases, seeing blind to see and crippled to walk then we must start doing our part.  We need to be like David and pray no matter what.  Our prayer lives need to be active and steadfast.  We need to be reading God's word daily and not just a verse or two here and there.  If we want an answer from God, we need to spend time fasting and seeking his face.  You see GOD NEVER CHANGES so he has never stopped healing the sick.  We have just stopped trusting in him and believing that he will do it.  We have strayed from the RIGHT PATH.  

I encourage you today to find that path again, begin praying and seeking his face, begin reading his word and begin enjoying the gifts that he wants to bestow upon you.
 

The oil of the spirit

The children of Israel longed to be like all the other nations.  They were not happy with God's prophets nor were they happy having God as their leader.  They longed for a king, someone they could physically look upon as their leader.  When they cried out to God for a king, their cries were heard.  God spoke to his prophet Samuel and told him he would send a man that would be anointed king over Israel. 

 1 Samuel 9:15-17
¹⁵ Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
¹⁶ To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
¹⁷ And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.

Samuel anointed Saul with oil and made him king.  When Saul disobeyed God and fell away, God sent his prophet to anoint David to replace him.  David too was anointed with oil. 

1 Samuel 16:1 

 ¹And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

As the story goes, Jessie had many strong sons, but God does not look upon the outward appearance.  He chose this king based upon the his spirit and David had the spirit of God.  He loved the Lord with all his heart.  This time God chose a man after his own heart and he was anointed with oil.

1 Samuel 16:12-13

¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

This tradition of anointing with oil was not new.  It began all the way back to when Aaron was anointed to be priest over Israel. 

Exodus 30:30
³⁰ And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

The oil represented the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost.  Each time someone was anointed with oil, they were filled with God's spirit and their ministry began with God leading them.  This tradition of pouring oil upon the man of God stopped long ago, but each ministry must begin with the spirit of God or the ministry is not of God.  When Jesus was baptized by John, the spirit descended like a dove and his ministry began.  The twelve disciples walked with Jesus, but their true ministry didn't begin until the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost came and filled them with the spirit!  The Holy Ghost is the OIL!!  Are you doing a work for God today?  Have you allowed his spirit to guide you?  Without the spirit of God to guide the man of God, then there is only a speaker.  The bible teaches us that without the spirit, we are none of his.  We have many inspirational speakers leading the people today, but they are not of God!  Paul taught us that we must have the spirit, the HOLY GHOST!! 

Romans 8:8-10
⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

The bible teaches that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever.  The spirit of God never changes and he still wants to lead his people toward the truth.  I want to encourage you today to do a work for God, but in doing so you must allow his spirit to guide you.  Every ministry or work must first begin with the filling of God's spirit, the oil must be applied!!  If the oil of the spirit is not applied, then the works is not of God!!  Man cannot lead you toward the truth of God, only the Holy Ghost can do that.  Finally, let me warn you, just as Jesus did, to beware of false prophets.  There are many among us today.  They come as wolves dressed in sheep clothing.  They tell you all the wonderful things you want to hear but they will lead you down a path of destruction.  If they are not led by the spirit then they are FALSE PROPHETS. 

Mathew 7:15-16
¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits.

May God bless you and may his spirit lead you in all that you do. 

God thinks about you!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV
What a wonderful thought to know that God is thinking about me.  I am as nothing among all his creations yet he has thoughts of me and he has thoughts of you.  He wants peace in our lives and if we live according to his word, seek him with all our hearts, we will have peace.  In this world, we may never know peace among our fellowman, but in God we can find the peace we seek to get us through this world. 
The bible teaches us that we can have anything we ask, but it also teaches why we don't have those things we ask for.  True peace only comes from God.  Man is always at war with one another, brother against brother and nation against nation.  We say we seek peace but don't follow after God.  We live only for today and what pleasures the day can bring us.  If we are to ever know peace in this world, we must put God first and seek him.  James 4:2-3
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Our goal in life should be to have a closer walk with God, to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I believe that only when we do that will we have peace in our own lives.  James taught us that if we will seek God that he will come to us.  We must turn our backs on sin and seek a relationship with God or we will never have peace in our lives.   James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
God knows our end and he thinks about us, his thoughts are of peace and he wants us to have peace.  He will give us peace.  The choice is our own.  Choose this day whom you will serve.  I stand with Joshua, a mighty man of God when I say, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 

Nothing to fear

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18 KJV
As a child of God, fear should have no place in our lives. As a blood bought child of God, his spirit now dwells in us and where the spirit of God is, there is Liberty and not fear. I do not believe this scripture speaks of the fear of natural things like spiders or snakes, that is a common human fear, but I believe John is te...aching us not to fear the spiritual things that come up against us. The world has built Satan up into this big monster with the power to make us do things against our will. Something that we should fear above all things because his power is so strong. The world, like Satan is a liar. Satan was God's angel of light and most beautiful and he will come to you in all forms and look any way he chooses. He wants to keep you in fear of the unknown because he knows when you open your eyes and see the truth that you will no longer fear him. The Holy Ghost dwelling inside a child of God has power over Satan and he will flee if you stand up and rebuke him. James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
As a child of God, you have power over the devil. There is nothing to fear. I don't deny that Satan is a powerful being. He is an angel cast down out of heaven, but the fact is, he was cast aside. He did not have the power to overthrow heaven and he does not have the power to rule this world. The only power he has it the power given to him by mankind. When man stands up and realizes that our true power lies in God Almighty. That when we trust in him and live according to his word he is our weapon against Satan. He is our shield and our high tower. He is our weapon against all of our enemies. Psalms 27:1-2
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
There is only one thing that a child of God is to fear and that is God Almighty. We are to know and understand that God is the only one that is capable of destroying our very souls. Luke 12:5
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Life is but a vapor that quickly vanishes away. Our flesh will go back to the dust from where it came, but our soul is eternal. It's our eternal souls that we need to put in God's hands and know that he is our refuge and our strength. That with his spirit dwelling in us, we have nothing to fear. Blessed be his Holy name!

Love purifies

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1 John 3:11 KJV
I was talking with my husband about the importance of loving others and what love can do for us.  You know that Peter taught that love covers a multitude of sin.  You know we all sin ever day and fall short of God's glory, but if we continue in love for one another then God is just to forgive us of those sins.  I am sure there are things in our lives that we may not even realize is a sin but when we love one another those things will be covered up, never to be remembered.  If we are truly Christ's, then we are to keep his commandments.  Jesus gave us a new commandment, that we love one another.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
LOVE is very powerful, it will purify the soul like fire purifies gold.   Gold when put through the fire comes out PURE.   When we love one another our soul becomes PURE.  Peter taught us the power of LOVE.  Love will purify the soul! 
1 Peter 1:22
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Love is the key to so many things in life and the greatest thing is that by loving others we are showing Christ that we love him.  Because the bible teaches us, how can we love God whom we have not seen if we can't love our brother whom we have seen. 
1 John 4:20-21
20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
⁴ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
⁵ Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
⁶ Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
⁷ Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
⁸ Charity never faileth:

Have you ever truly read these beautiful words and realized just how important they are in our daily walk with God?  Five little verse tells us everything we need to know about living as God would have us to live.  God is LOVE and if we could only love as he would have us to do, then all else would be ok.  Many people only think of giving to the poor when the word Charity is spoken but in these scriptures Paul is teaching the early Christians about LOVE.

Love suffereth long, Love is kind, Love envies not, Love vaunteth not itself, Love is not puffed up, Love does not behave unseemly, Love does not put herself first, Love is not easily provoked, Love thinks no evil, Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the TRUTH, Love bears all things, Love believes all things, Love hopes all things, Love endures all things and most of all LOVE NEVER FAILS. 

The bible teaches us that God is LOVE.  Isn't it a wonderful feeling to know that God is pure LOVE and God NEVER FAILS!  He will never fail you if you trust in him.  We are to LOVE ONE ANOTHER in order to experience the true LOVE that God has for us.  I encourage you today to seek after LOVE.  Love is not always something that comes easily.  Yes, it's easy to love family and friends but we must pray that God will instill his LOVE within us and make us capable of loving those that are not family and friends.  That he will teach us to LOVE at all times and let others see more of Christ in us and less of ourselves. 

Looking for a city

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV
What an awesome thought to know that God has prepared a place for someone so unworthy as myself. I am looking forward to seeing that city not made by human hands.
My son preached about Abraham looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. He lived his entire life moving from place to place... always building an alter to worship God but never a home. Abraham knew about that wonderful place that God had prepared for him.
Material things mean nothing in this life. It's good to be able to live comfortable and have things you enjoy as long as those things don't become more important than the one making a way for you to have them. When we forget about our alter and let other things get in the way of worshiping God then it's time to start moving out those things. There are times a person has to miss a church service or can't make it to a prayer meeting, but there should never be a time that a true child of God fails to worship him. Fellowship with Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of our Christian walk. We need to be like Father Abraham and keep looking for that city. We need to make time for God's word, for worship, for fellowship. In the end, we will find that nothing else mattered because you can't take anything with you when you go.

What's growing in your garden

Galatians 6:7-10

⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
¹⁰ As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

God is an all knowing and all seeing God.  What is done in secret is not kept from him and you will reap what you sow.  If you are a sower of fleshly things, living any way you want, talking any way you want, treating people any way you want and basically just sinning day in and day out, then your end will be corruption.  Sin when it is finished, brings forth death and the only thing that will keep death from having victory over a man and keep him from hell is the blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus loves you today and he desires fellowship with you.  If you are covered by the blood and become a sower of spiritual things you will reap eternal life and you will also enjoy the harvest of what you are sowing while on this earth.  Sowing spiritual things has rewards that are enjoyed daily.  When you do good for someone that you know can't repay you, you receive a reward of joy from Christ that warms your heart like nothing else can.  When you visit the sick that can't do for themselves, it blesses you in a mighty way.  When you share God's word with a stranger, your work will not go unnoticed by God.  We are taught by these verses that we are not to be weary in well doing, especially for our fellow Christians and this is good but don't let all of your well doing just be among those that are in your church.  Jesus taught us that those that are well need not a physician. 

Mark 2:17

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

He was sent to save sinners.  We too should be doing our "well doing" among sinners.  When we help a fellow Christian, that is good but if we let our light shine in the world and do good to those not of the faith then we are doing the work Christ would have us do.  These are the works that will draw a sinner to God.  Loving and doing good to those that love us is easy.  God expects more from us, he expects us to love those that don't love us, to help those that can never repay us, to do good to those that don't deserve it.  Our actions may be the only thing they ever know about God and as we are doing good unto others, God is forgiving us daily of all the sins in our lives. 

1 Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

I would like to encourage you today to sow more spiritual seed in your life.  Show love to someone that is down and out, lift them up.  Visit a nursing home and read awhile to someone that can't help themselves.  Just be there for someone when you see them in need.  Begin to let Christ shine forth more day by day and not only will your sins be covered by his blood, but your life will be blessed.  You will see changes in your life such as joy, peace and happiness.  You will begin to enjoy your harvest daily and you will reap life everlasting.   

You must believe

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Having our faith tried teaches us to be patient. God's ways are not our ways and he does things in his own time frame. Many times when we ask something of him, we expect an answer right now, but God, knowing our every need will give the answer when it is best for our good. James goes on in this chapter and tells us exactly why we don't always get what we ask for. He tells us that if any wants wisdom to ask God and it shall be given to him. James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. We all know that everyone is not wise. You might say, I ask but I am still not wise. I asked for good health, but I'm still sick. I ask for friendship, but I'm still alone. There is a good reason why you don't receive what you ask God to give you. You are not patient enough to keep faith in him until he gives it. If he doesn't give you what you ask for immediately, your faith begins to dwindle and fail. James goes on to let us know that when we ask anything, we must ask "in faith" and never doubt that God will answer. James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. If we doubt that God is able, then we will not receive what we ask for. WE MUST BELIEVE. Lack of faith is the reason our prayers are not answered. Lack of faith is why we are not seeing miracles today like they saw when Jesus walked the earth. Lack of faith is why we are sick. James told the people if you can't have faith, then don't expect God to answer you. James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.Mathew also told us how important having faith was. Because the people from Jesus's hometown knew him and didn't have faith in him, they did not receive their healing.
Mathew 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. We must believe that he is. If we can't believe, he won't answer. We hold the key to everything we want. Paul knew this and taught us that if we don't have faith in him, we will never please him.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. If we believe and have faith, he rewards us with answered prayers. He is a rewarder of those that seek him.
I encourage you today to seek him. Read his word and build your faith. He is listening and wants to give you all that you ask for.

There is so much more that can be said about believing and seeing our prayers being answered.  I did a post awhile back with some other thoughts on this.  Click the link to read that post.

Why prayers are not answered

The right path

Mathew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.


13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:


14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.


15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.


16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?


Jesus was a living example of how man should live and the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you is still the best way to live. Jesus knew when it was time to turn the other cheek and he also knew when not to. He showed his knowledge in this matter when he threw the people out of God's temple for buying and selling in a holy place. The world today has become so corrupted with sin that it's sometimes hard to know which way to turn. When the laws uphold evil and punish good, we have to look to the word of God for the truth and then stand upon his word. Jesus knew that this would happen. He knew that with the law on the wrong side that the broad way to destruction would be an easy path to take. He also knew that the ones that would stand upon his word and declare his name to be the only way to the Father would still find themselves upon that narrow path leading to life. He left us with a warning: Beware of false prophets. We have so many churches today that have chosen the broad path and accepted sin as being ok. These so called pastors are false prophets and they are leading their sheep straight into the path of hell fire. You can not compromise with the word of God. If a church is teaching anything that doesn't line up with God's word, then they are WRONG. There is no in between, there is no compromise. We must stand upon God's word if we are to stay on the right path. Jesus left no doubt as to how you would know the true men of God from the false prophets. He said you know them by their fruits. If their lives are not reflecting God's word clearly as being the only truth to live by, then they are false prophets and teachers. Jesus knew all about persecution and Paul taught us that if we suffer with him, then we will reign with him. 2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:There is a big difference between persecution and standing up for what is right. We will truly reign with Christ if we suffer persecution with him and just as he threw out the sinners that were in the holy temple doing wrong, he expects us to know when to stand up and say enough is enough.