Posts

GOOD NEWS

-
Romans 1:16-17 (NLT) For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes–the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." What Good News God our Father has given us, that through the cross of Jesus Christ, all those that have accepted this amazing gift are made right with Him!  When I think of the fact that at one time I was totally separated from God with no hope, and without any chance of getting to Him, I am amazed! Now, by what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary, I am forgiven, restored, and set in His family.  I like the way the second part of this verse states this: "This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.”  I now have to accept what Christ has done, not by how I feel about it, but by what His Word s...
Read more

LET’S GROW UP

-
1 Peter 2:2-3 (NKJV) …as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Each of us, when we come into the kingdom of heaven, is what the Bible calls: "born again."  So, just as a baby is born into this world and has to grow up, we, when we are born again, have to grow up. This verse makes it pretty clear how we are to grow up in God: We need to desire the milk of God's Word, get hungry for the Word of God, make it our delight, mediate on it, chew on it, drink deeply of it, and as we do these things, we will see that we will grow.  I have watched in my own life that as I stay hungry for the Word, and the things of God, I grow! I believe, just like in the natural, that we have to grow from a baby, to a toddler, to a child, to a teenager, and then to an adult.  That is also how we grow up as Christians.  We do not become a mature Christian overnight; it happens in ste...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

STOP THE FLOW

-
Proverbs 17:14  (AMPC) The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out. Oh, how true this is!  We all know it.  When we say, “Man, I wish that never came out of my mouth,” but it is too late.  We just had to give him or her a piece of our mind.  We let it flow, and then it was like a crack in a dam, and we cannot get it back. This verse is talking about more than just what we say, but it does seem like what we say causes a lot of issues.  James says it like this in James 3:6: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” We let things out of our mouths that cause explosions, and then we say, “What caused that?”  Well, here it says that it is our tongue.  Let us watch what comes ou...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

GOD’S EYES

-
2 Chronicles 16:9a (NKJV) “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” God has eyes?  Well, according to this verse, He does.  What does He do with them?   He looks.  What does He look for?  Is He looking for me to make a mistake?  No, He looks for those who love Him, and whose heart is towards Him.  He looks for those He can pour out His blessings on. Our Heavenly Father is a good God Who loves us and wants to bless us.  However, He can only do this when our hearts are right.  If our hearts are full of pride, fear, and hurt, it is hard for God to pour out His blessings.  Someone who is keeping his heart right before Him, or as this verse says, “…whose heart is loyal to Him,” He can bless abundantly.  That is the kind of heart I want and I endeavor to have.  How about you?  Make the decision today to hav...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

THERE ARE MORE ON OUR SIDE

-
2 Kings 6:17 (NKJV) And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Oh, if we could ever get our eyes open to the army that God has all around us!  It is an army of mighty angels.  It is an army of powerful beings that could take care of any situation that comes against us. In Hebrews 1:14 it says this about angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”  Who are those who will inherit salvation?  That is us!  We are the ones that are born again, new creations in Christ, and God has sent His angels to help us in life. As children, we used to call them our guardian angel, and we thought of them as little cotton puffs that floated around.  But now we see from the Word of God that these heavenly beings are mighty and...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

WE HAVE NOT BECAUSE WE ASK NOT

-
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"  So God granted him what he requested. I love this story about Jabez.  Here is a man whose mother gave him a bad name, but he would not accept it.  He did what we all need to do when life throws us a curve ball: he called on God.  Each of us has stuff from our past, yet, even with all that stuff, we can let life make us bitter, or make us better.  It is really our call how we want to live.  Do we want to be blessed?  Then call on the Name of the Lord.  Do we want to stay in bitterness?  Then do not do anything. The old saying is so true, “When life throws you a lemon, ma...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

LOOK TO JESUS

-
Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. There is a song we used to sing, and it went like this: “Look to Jesus and believe, look to Jesus and receive.”  That is the truth!  When we look to Jesus believing, He seems to get everything put together for us.  I want my life to be a reflection of Him.  The way that I see a reflection is by looking into a mirror. This verse is saying to us to look to Jesus.  He is the One that began this work in us, and He is the One that will bring it to completion. The NASB says it like this, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”  I like that!  What I have to do is fix my eyes on Him, and He will do the rest.  He started this work in my life many years ago.  For some of you, it could be many years, or just a few days, but it does not matter.  What matters is that He is going to do a perfect work within us. I always say it like this:...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more

OPEN DOORS, SHUT DOORS

-
Isaiah 22:22 (NKJV) The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open. Our Lord Jesus is the One who can open doors for us and also close doors for us.  What a comfort to know this.  Many times I come to a place of prayer, and I do not know what to do, or what decision to make.  So I pray this prayer: “Heavenly Father, You said that You would open doors for me and also close doors for me.  I have this decision to make, and I am not sure what to do, but my trust is in You.  I believe that you will open this door if it is Your will, or shut this door if it is not Your will.  I thank you for this in Jesus’ Name!” In a prayer like this, we put our complete trust in the will of God, which is always the best.  Now, in saying that, we have to accept what God knows is best for us, and that might not always be what we want.  We might want what we just ...
Location: New Jersey, USA
Read more