WHERE HAS LOVE GONE

What kind of church body would you like to belong to?
     One that claims to love but you can see by their actions they don’t or
     One that claims they love and you can see by their actions that they do.

For me my choice would be the latter but to be honest I have experienced more of the former than the latter.

It is very easy to say we love but much harder to prove it.

Sometimes it seems like if we preach to people that is all we need to do to show them we love them. Well for me I would rather see a sermon then just hear one any day. Talk is cheap and easy---actions are much harder but they show and prove much more that we really love.

I’ve heard people say that they love me but when there was a disagreement about something they were gone. It’s hard to take when you hear someone say that you are their best friend one day and the next day they’re gone.

Where are the people that truly love? I mean through the good times and the bad times! Where are the ones that you can really count on that love you, not just for what they can get from you? It's a strange thing when people want something from you, you seem to have a lot of, so called, friends or what you might call fair weather friends. If that is the only kind of friends you have, then you really don’t have any friends at all.

It seems we are very good at judging the outside of a person—
his clothes           his hair      the car he drives
the job he has      where he lives      his outward appearance
and other things that are external without really knowing his heartI am so glad that God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart and not just the outward appearance. And I am so glad he loves me unconditionally and not for any other reason. And I thank the Lord for my wife also who I think loves me unconditionally. To be very honest I think God showed me His love through her love. Praise God! And I also thank God for my family that loves me.

It seems that if we don’t conform to what other people think we should, we will be the outcast whether we are Christians or not.

Tell me, who has all the answers and who sets the standard? No one, only God.

When I think of David and all the ways he sinned—
          he took a census                    he committed adultery
          he killed an innocent man         he lied
          and I’m sure there were many others sins he committed
          but even in all this God said that David was a man after his heart.

How could he say that?

Let’s read Psalm 51 verses 1-17
     David wasn’t a perfect man and neither are we.
The thing that set David apart from many others was that David had a humble and contrite heart and was willing to repent.  Because of it, and like I said earlier, God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Praise God and He does the same thing with us.

So it is important that we let God do the judging and that we continue to love and to be faithful friends to others.

I think I can relate to what the Psalmist said in Psalms 35:11 – 20 check it out.

Remember let love reign in our hearts and let’s love like:
     Jesus loved His disciples          David loved Jonathan
     Ruth loved Naomi                   Paul loved the brethren

Let us not just love in word, but in deed.

Jesus said the world would know us by our love.

Question: what kind of friend are you? God Bless you.

Glimpse at People and Gaze at the Lord

Let’s talk about this statement.

Question: What does it mean to glimpse at people?
              And what does it mean to gaze at the Lord?

If we glimpse at people we won’t always be comparing ourselves with someone else.

God didn’t make any mistakes when He created us in our mother’s womb.  God made us just the way He wanted us.  Our problem is we start looking at other people then we look at ourselves and many times we don’t like what we see.  We are so concerned about our outward appreance that we neglect what is really important and that is what’s inside.

The Bible proves this in 1 Samuel 16 verse 7 the Lord said to Samuel the Prophet, "do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

If we would look at things the way God does, we would save a lot of money.

Question: What are some things we spend money on just to make ourselves look good, and I mean a lot of money?
     How about makeup?
     How many different colors of lipstick, eye shadow, eyebrow pencils? 
     What about shampoos, hair colors, hairstyles and cuts?
     Then there are clothes, shirts, slacks, dresses, and shoes.
     Think about how many different pairs of shoes that you have, how many can you wear at one time? and what about coats, hats?
     What about jewelry?
          And most of these things have to be the latest fashions.
     What about diets, tanning beds, face lifts, plastic surgery?
     What about perfumes, how many different ones do you have?

And the same thing happens with us men, all of us do so many things and spend so much money to make ourselves look good on the outside when the inside is what really counts!

Tell me something, who do you think sets the standard? These are all worldly things that people are making millions of dollars on. We are making others rich at our expense.

We learn to do these things through the media, TV, movies, magazines, advertisements, radio and through other worldly means. Basically the world has a certain standard and we follow after it.

The Bible says this in Romans chapter 12, "And do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

At a very young age we have let the things of the world shape and mold us into what we have become.  How do I know that?  Just look at the things you are wearing, think about your speech, and many of your actions? God made us to be individuals, not one of us is alike.

One thing all of us have in common is that we were created in God's image and likeness.  Another thing we have in common is that we were all born with a sin nature.  So we have no problem living a sinful life.

I am not saying that it is wrong to have some things and to make ourselves look as good as we can but we need a balance in all things. If we keep our eyes on the Lord and seek Him above all other things He will help us to have that balance we need so badly.  God’s standard is so much different than the world's.

The Bible says that God’s purpose is that you become transformed into His image and likeness.  His purpose is to help you to become more complete in Him.

He wants to prosper you and not to harm you and to give you hope and a future. He wants to pour His love into you and give you the peace and joy that surpasses all understanding.  He wants to work all things out for your good if you trust Him.

God accepts you just the way you are, after all He created you in His image and likeness.  If you don’t meet the standards of the world the people of the world have a way of not accepting you and kind of throwing you on the sidelines because you’re not good enough for them.  God accepts you the way you are and then He makes something even more beautiful out of you because He loves you.

I encourage you not to allow yourself to conform to the ways of the world anymore but let the Lord transform your life into something beautiful from the inside. Think of the word metamorphose, the transformation of the caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly. This is not just a covering over of the caterpillar, but is a complete transformation into the butterfly.

This reminds me of the blood of Jesus and the animal’s blood. The animal's blood was a covering over of sin but the blood of Jesus cleansed and purified sin so it was completely removed. The Bible says, though your sin be as scarlet they will be white as snow."  Praise God!

If God can do that for the caterpillar, how much more important are you to Him than a butterfly? If you allow Him He will transform you into something far more beautiful than a butterfly.

And remember people are not perfect and sooner or later they will likely hurt you and even let you down, even if they are Christians and you will probably hurt them and let them down also. But remember to love and forgive. And don’t forget that none of us are perfect only God is.

I started this message with 'glimpse at people and gaze at the Lord' for He will never let you down and He will never leave you or forsake you. Praise God!

Have a great day and God bless you.

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the past and to thank and praise God for His provisions, His blessings, His sustaining power and His precious love and grace.
Take some time and just think of what you are thankful for.

Do you ever count your blessings or do you just take them for granted?

The Bible says that, "a happy heart is good medicine."

It also says, "rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice."

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the cup half full or half empty?
Do you get excited when you hear about how God is working in others lives or does it make you a little jealous?

Do you ever thank God for what He is doing in your life and in your family’s or do you just think of it as luck?

How many of you, when something good happens to you, think you were just lucky? There are a lot of Christians that use the word lucky quite often. When we do we take the focus off God and place it on chance or happenstance and that brings no glory to God. Personally I don’t think the word luck or lucky should be used at all in a believer’s life. I think God should receive all the praise and thanks.

The Bible says, "the steps of a righteous man are ordained of God." That means that God guides our steps when we become Christians and walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. He allows things that happen in our lives whether good or, what we may think is, bad.

Nothing can happen to one of God’s children unless God allows it to happen. If the Lord does allow something to happen in our lives that we don’t like or we don’t agree with He knows what is best and there are some things we will never understand this side of Heaven that is where faith and trust come in.

So whatever happens, we need to have a heart of thanksgiving and praise. The Bible says, "that God inhabits the praise of His people." God loves it when we thank Him and praise Him. Should we praise Him and thank him only in the good times no! We should be willing to thank and praise the Lord in all circumstances and situations.

What does it mean when the Bible says, "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose?"  It means exactly that--all things good or bad.

Think about Job and his situation, did God allow it to happen? Yes!

Why did God allow Job to be tested? I think it happened for more than one reason.

One thing that came out of it was that God showed Satan that a man with a sin nature would still praise God and not rebel against him even when it may not make much sense to do it.

We all know that Job suffered many things but at the end of his first test, what did he say? This is what the NIV Bible says in Job 1: verse 20–22, "At this Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell on the ground in worship and said, ‘naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away may the name of the Lord be praised.’ In all this Job did not sin by charging the Lord with wrongdoing." 

Think about this, Satan was created a perfect angel without sin or a sin nature.  But instead of praising or thanking God for the position he was in, he chose to sin against God by not being content serving God but by rebelling against God, wanting God to serve him. He was determined to become greater than God. And somehow he influenced a third of the angels to follow him in his rebellion and foolishness.  And they all ended up being thrown out of Heaven and he became the Devil or Satan. They would have been far better off if they would have chosen to serve and worship God in Heaven.

By the way, if you don’t want to worship or praise or thank God here, then why would you want to go to heaven. Remember that in Heaven you will be worshipping and praising and thanking God, along with other things, so you might as well get used to it here.

Let’s read what it says in Luke 19: 36–40. Think about these verses, are you a person that is grateful or do you just take things for granted? Do you try to take advantage of the Lord or do you give the Lord what is due Him, like praise and thanksgiving, or do the very stones have to cry out for you?

I was blessed by God to write a song about this subject. It has never become a hit but I think the Lord is pleased with it and that’s what counts.

If you are reading this and have kids help the kids explore how different people in the Bible gave thanks for God’s blessings. Read and discuss how thanks was given for each portion of scripture:


1: Noah (Genesis 6:9-14, 17-22)  through his obedience
2: Moses (Exodus 15:1-6, 11-13) through giving glory to God
3: Daniel (Daniel 6:10, 16-23) through his loyalty
4: David (I Chronicles 16:7-14, 31-34) through his love
5: Mary (Luke 1:46-55) through praise　Do the little quiz with them and discuss it after they are done.

God Bless You!

Use the following number code to answer each question, then add up your score.
          0 = Never 3 = Usually not 7 = Usually 10 = Always
_____ 1. Are you happy when your friends get something new?
_____ 2. Are you pleased when someone says "thank you" to you?
_____ 3. Are you satisfied with what you have?
_____ 4. If someone does something nice for you, do you return the kindness?
_____ 5. Are you glad for whatever you receive on your birthday, even if it’s not what you hoped for?
_____ 6. Do you say "thank you" to others on a regular basis?
_____ 7. Do you make it a point to thank God for His love each day?
_____ 8. If you don’t get your way, are you sill happy?
_____  (Total)

I hope this lesson was a blessing to you.

Getting Ahead the World’s Way

Characters:    Narrator            Jimmy            Shelley
                      Sammy             Mike                John
                      Matt                 Sue                Sharon
                      Frank                Joe   

Narrator-- Jimmy and Shelley have been elected to be the most popular
                 students in their school. The vote was a tie so there is going to be  
                 another vote to determine which one is the most popular. 

Sammy, Mike and John are talking and kidding around with each other in the classroom

Jimmy and Matt walk into the classroom

Jimmy and Matt (walk over to Sammy, Mike and John)

Jimmy:  Did you hear about Shelley?

Sammy:  No, what about her?

Jimmy:   I heard Shelley was at the store today and she tried on a
      shirt and a pair of jeans and then she walked out with them
      hidden under her other clothes.

Matt:  Yea

Mike:  You mean she stole them.

Matt: Yes, and that’s not all.  I hear she does this all the time.

Jimmy and Matt: (walk out of the room)

Sammy, Mike and John walk over to Sue, Sharon, Frank and Joe.

Sammy:  Hey guys did you hear about Shelley?

Frank:  No, what’s up.

Mike:  Jimmy told us that he heard she was stealing clothes at the store.

Sharon: What?  You must be kidding!

Joe:  No, it is true.

Sammy: Boy she sure has fooled a lot of people.

Sue:  Isn’t there a vote Friday to see who is the most popular person
in school between Jimmy and Shelley.

Mike:  Yes, what are we going to do?

Sue: I am in charge of the school paper I will make sure that everyone hears about this.
(she walks out of the room)

Mike:  (to Sammy, John, Sharon, and Frank) It is hard to believe that Shelley
would steal anything.  She goes to church and she is always witnessing   
and sharing the things the Lord is doing in her and her family’s lives.

Sammy: Just yesterday she invited me to her youth group I guess
     you never can tell about people.

Sharon: Hey guys, what if this is not true about Shelley?  After all she has always been nice to us even when we haven’t been nice to her.

Mike: Yeah and don’t forget about the vote that is coming up maybe Jimmy is lying to win the vote and be the most popular kid in the school.

Jimmy and Matt: (walk back into the room) Hey guys what’s up?

Sharon: Are you sure about what you heard about Shelley?  You know she is a nice girl.

Jimmy:  Yes I’m sure and I have been telling everyone I know.

Matt: Me to!

Frank:  Yaw know Sue is going to write about it in the school newspaper.

Jimmy and Matt: That’s great then everyone will know.

Narrator:  The vote was taken and Jimmy won the vote. Shelley denied ever
        stealing and started crying. Her mother and Father and her sister
        and her Pastor even came to school to try to straighten things out
        because they knew it wasn’t true, but no one would listen to them.

Jimmy: (walking out very smug and happy walks over to his close friend Matt) I told you it would work. 



How would this skit make you feel if it was real life? For Christians it should give them a righteous anger. Think about the last time you had a righteous anger over anything.

Righteous anger is not sin. Jesus was very angry when he cleared the temple, did he sin? no

A righteous anger isn’t just rage and it doesn’t result in bitterness, unforgiveness or holding a grudge. Righteous anger comes when an injustice is done and brings forth actions that will remedy the situation.

One of the problems I see among Christians is they get angry and bitter over things that don’t really mean a whole lot just because their pride gets hurt and I am including myself also. Far to many times the things we should be angry over we just overlook because we have bought into the lie that we can’t offend anyone. Let me assure you that if you live a godly life you will offend people and you will be persecuted for it.

For many that are not Christians this skit would be no big deal just another way to get ahead in life.

To a believer this verse could apply to this situation, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It seems that many non-believers would like to change these words to, “do unto others before they do it unto you.”

This is very foolish when you think of what the Bible says about reaping what you sow. In case you don’t know what this means think of this, the way you treat others is the way you will be treated. In other words, your sins will find you out. Your sins may be overlooked on this side of Heaven but God knows and He never excuses sin. You can never get away with sin and there are always consequences for it.

God is truly a loving and merciful and forgiving God but He is also just. God never winks at sin and He never sweeps your sin under the rug, so to speak, no God hates sin and deals with it and at times very severely. The Bible says that, “the wages of sin is death.”

In other words, if you live a life of sin and never repent and confess your sins and trust in the Lord to forgive your sins and you die, you have chosen Hell as your resting place, but there won’t be any rest there just an eternity of pain and anguish. There are many people that think that God will never make anyone go to Hell because He is just to loving and kind and merciful.  They are right, all these things are true God will never make anyone go to hell but He will allow you to go if that is what you choose to do.

Remember this, man has been given a free will to choose either Heaven or Hell so if you do end up in Hell you chose to go there. Think about this, you won’t be able to blame God or anyone else for your choice. Hell wasn’t created for man it was created for Satan and the fallen angels who choose to rebel against God. But the good news is that we all have a choice.

Like I said earlier, the Bible says, “that the wages of sin is death,” but it doesn’t stop there, the rest of the verse says, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!” 

In John 3:16 the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Verse 17 says, “For God didn’t send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.”  Praise God!

This is great news God isn’t willing that any be lost but that all will come to repentance. This means that God loves us so much that He made it possible for us to make the right choice. God will do what you can’t do on your own and all you have to do is tell him that you are a sinner in need of His forgiveness and His grace. Tell Him you are sorry, ask him to forgive you of your sins and ask him to be Lord of your life.

If you mean what you said welcome to the family. Now go and tell somebody what you did and then find a Bible teaching church and start growing. And be sure to thank and praise the Lord and if you would tell me about it too, thanks. God Bless.

Choices We Make

What kind of choices do you make each day?
     Think about what you do on an average day.

When we wake up in the morning we start making choices.
     Our first choice is do we want to get up or not?

What do you think about when you first wake up, while you are still lying there?

Do you ever say to yourself, Heavenly Father I love you, Jesus I love you Holy Spirit I love you, you are all precious to me and I want to be like you?
     Maybe I am a little odd but I have tried to make that a choice for awhile now. Most every day before I speak to my wife I have already expressed my love and praise to my heavenly Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I will always try to make this a priority in my life.  My wife and I have this little thing that we do most every morning. We tell each other that we love each other but we take it a little farther than that. We will say something like this, "I love you lots and lots and lots of big huge, gigando, colossal bunches and bunches and bunches." It is something we have done for many years now. Even that is a choice, we can do it or we don’t have to do it.


The Bible says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you."  This verse talks about choices also. I know that this verse is talking about food and clothing but I think it goes beyond that.

The Bible says that we should give the Lord the first fruits.  I relate this with spending time with the Lord early in the day and so that’s what I try to do.  When I give the Lord the first part of the day it seems like the day goes better. I have found that the choices we make either result in blessings or consequences.

Think about this: Our prisons and jails are full of people that made bad choices.  Every day we are faced with right or wrong choices.

Over the years there have been many church people and some of your own friends who have made the wrong choice and now they are not in church anymore, they drifted away and became spiritually shipwrecked. I want to make this very clear not all the people that leave a Church have made a bad choice. Many pastors have bought into the popularity system and they’re so afraid to offend anyone that they preach watered-down sermons. They start catering to their people instead of honoring God, which is a formula for disaster. If the people are being entertained and just catered to and not changed they need to find a church where the truth is taught and where they will be convicted through the Holy Spirit and repent through godly sorrow and confess their sin so that they can grow to be more like the Lord. Being stirred up emotionally to make a decision just wont cut it.
There are many examples in the Bible about people that made good and bad
choices.
     Jonah made a bad choice and ended up in a big fish’s belly.
     Lucifer made a bad choice and ended up thrown out of heaven and became known as the Devil—God’s enemy.
     David made a bad choice and ended up committing adultery and killing an
innocent man.
     Ananias and Sapphira made a bad choice and lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit about some property they had sold, saying they got less than what they did and they lost their lives.
There are others I could mention but I think you got the message.
David and Jonah and many others made good choices also and were blessed because of them but every one of the bad choices resulted in sin and every one of them brought severe punishment.

Now I want to ask all of you a question:
Have you made some bad choices this week or maybe even today?
　
Out of all of these examples I mentioned, only one truly repented and that was David and that wasn’t until a year later when God sent the Prophet Nathan to David to confront him with the sin that he had committed with Bathsheba and against Uriah.
You can find his repented prayer in Psalms 51.
David had lost his fellowship with God and he was a very miserable person.
His joy was gone and he felt like all his bones had been crushed. Sin always separates us from God and should make us feel miserable. Think of what David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Now you have a choice to make--you can deal with your sin now and repent or
you can continue to be separated from God and be miserable. This is between you and God, not you and me.

Remember when Lazarus came out of the tomb he was still bound with grave clothes, he was alive but he wasn’t set free until they removed the grave clothes.  Just like Lazarus we are alive too but, if there is still unconfessed sin in our lives that has not been repented of we are also bound.

So let’s do business with God and let Jesus set us free! Seek godly sorrow and confess your sin and repent, then you will be free indeed. The Bible says when the Son sets you free you are free indeed!
Praise God!

Consequences of Sin

I want to talk about sin and its consequences!

I want to start with this, sin never builds up it always tears down.

Let me start with these two sins: lying and deceiving.

I have noticed that many people that claim to be Christians have no problem committing these sins. I don’t know how many times I have been told by someone that they were going to do something and they never did it. I don’t make a claim of perfection in this area either I am also guilty at times, to my shame. My purpose here is not to condemn anyone but to make us all aware of these sins because that is what lying is ~ sin.

How many times have we tried to encourage people with lies? For instance, how many times have we said to someone you look great or said about something they were wearing that it was beautiful or something close to that and we really didn’t think that at all. That is the sin of lying and deceiving. Because you not only lied but you deceived that person as well.

How many times has someone asked you how you are doing and you respond with great and you knew that you weren’t doing well at all. That is also lying and deceiving. To be honest I have had so many people tell me things over the years that didn’t happen that I only believe it when it happens. I am talking about people in and out of the church. I hate to say this but it is true in many circumstances and situations you can’t tell the difference between the church and the world. Oh how we need the Lord to pour out his Spirit and cause a great revival to take place in the universal church and I pray it will start in me.
What happens when we lie and deceive people?


When we lie about people we not only hurt ourselves, but we encourage the people we lie to, to look at the people we lie about in a different way.

Lying and deceiving, gossiping and backbiting are all basically in the same category.
Why? Because they can all destroy the person’s reputation that does it and the other people’s reputation they involve in it.

Let’s read 2 Kings 5: 25 – 27.

How do you think Elisha knew where Gehazi went?
Because God told him and he also told him what he did.
Back in the days of the prophets, God spoke to His people about different
things.

How do you think Gehazi felt when Elisha confronted him and told him about
where he went and what he did?

What about Elisha, how do you think he felt when Gehazi lied to him?

Now, what do you think about the consequences?
I want you to know when we sin there will be some kind of consequence or punishment. Sometimes the punishment can be very severe such as the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. Their sin was that they lied to Peter and also to the Holy Spirit and they both died because of it. The Bible says, "that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." When they were confronted by Peter they could have repented and confessed but they choose not to. The consequence was very harsh and swift but I see something good that came out of this and it was that the fear of the Lord came over the whole church and all who heard about these events. I think when the fear of the Lord comes to the church, the church is much healthier and I think we desperately need the fear of the Lord in our churches today. Without this kind of fear, God’s people will always try to take advantage of him. Remember the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

In Hebrews 12: 6 it says, "The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." We rejoice in many things that God does but how many rejoice in his discipline? We all should, it proves we are God’s sons and we know "that all things work together for good to those who love God to those that are the called according to his purpose." Praise God!

God doesn’t punish us because He doesn’t love us, He punishes us because He
loves us beyond what we can comprehend.

God will always forgive us if we truly repent and ask for forgiveness.
Discipline will help us have a healthy fear of God and keep our feet on the
straight and narrow path that leads to God’s kingdom.

It would be good to memorize these two verses: Hebrew 12: 5 - 6 and in the future if you are tempted in the areas we just talked about maybe knowing these verses will help you to resist the temptation. When Jesus was tempted he came back with scripture; doing so he set the example for us to follow, let’s walk in it! Praise God!

Resisting Temptation

I would like to talk about temptation. I am writing this to young people and adults because we all need to hear these things. None of us are beyond temptation.

Question: What does the word tempt mean?
The Webster Dictionary V.T: tries; try to persuade, esp. to evil.

Question: Do you think that everyone is tempted? The answer is yes even Jesus was tempted but He never yielded to the temptation.Temptation comes from different sources.

Question: Do you think Jesus could have sinned?
Yes, Jesus could have chosen to sin just like satan chose to and also Eve and then Adam. None of them had a sin nature but they all had a free will. The difference was that Jesus never even gave a thought to sin.

Question: Does God ever tempt anyone?
The answer is no
James 1: verse 13 says, "Let no one say when He is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone."

Question: How are we tempted?
We all know about how the Devil tempts us to sin, for his purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. Now what about our participation. Check out James 1: 14-15. Now turn to James 4: verse 7 – 10.

Question: How do we resist the Devil?
Turn to Matthew 4 and read verses 1—11 and see how Jesus did it.

Question: How many of you have gone without a meal or how many have not
eaten for a whole day? How did you feel? Now think about not eating for forty days and nights how do you think you would feel then?

Think about the time when your day seemed unbearable nothing you did seemed to go right. Think about times when you worked hard and long hours and you were dog tired just exhausted. Young people think about the times when you struggled to pass a test and failed and in doing so the stress overwhelmed you. There are many scenarios that I could use but you got the picture. Sometimes we bring circumstances on ourselves.

Remember this when we experience hard times, whether we bring it on ourselves or it comes to us by outside sources, the devil loves to use these times to bombard us with temptations. We need to be careful with the stress and trials that come from living life, and there will be many, that we don’t yield to satan’s temptations.

In case you don’t know how the devil came about let me give you some background on the devil. At one time he was a beautiful angel whose name was Lucifer and he stood in the very presence of God. What a position to be in but this beautiful angel threw it all away. Because of his choice to sin he was thrown out of Heaven along with a third of the angels. He not only sinned but he also influenced all those angels. If angels can be deceived and chose to sin being perfect be alert it can happen to you. Now you know how he became satan or the devil.

Question: What was his sin?
Something that God hates---pride
This is something that all of us have in our lives.

Just as Lucifer and all the angels choose to forfeit their position with God the same thing can happen with us. Sin separates us from God. We should be so thankful for his promise in 1 John 1:9 that says, "if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness."
So as believers if we are truly sorry and we are willing to humble ourselves before God we can always find forgiveness when we confess our sin to the Lord. Praise God!

The Bible says that, "God draws to the humble but he resists the proud." So humble yourselves under the mighty Hand of God and He will lift you up."
The Bible also says that, "Pride goeth before a fall and a haughty Spirit before
destruction."

Satan was trying to get Jesus to sin in the same way that he did~through pride. Jesus could have said to Satan, "Who do you think you are, have you forgotten who I am I could do all these things and many more things, after all I Am God’s Son."

But Jesus didn’t come to earth to brag about Himself but to do the will of God, His Father, and to be a servant. So instead of bragging He came back with scripture and in doing so He resisted the devil and the devil had to flee from him.
Why is it so important to memorize scripture, and not just memorize it but to understand what it means? So when we are tempted we can use it just like Jesus did. Praise God!

Question: What are some of the things you are tempted with?
Stealing ~ cheating on tests ~ lying ~ swearing ~ telling dirty jokes ~ maybe bullying other kids ~ gossiping ~ smoking ~ taking drugs ~ watching bad things on TV or on the computer ~ looking at magazines you should not be looking at ~ maybe you’re tempted to go places your Mom and Dad don’t want you to go ~ maybe it’s music ~ maybe skipping school ~ maybe just being the class clown or disobeying your parents or giving your teachers a hard time ~ maybe listening to dirty jokes.

And there are many more ways we can be tempted.

The good news is that the Bible says in 1 Corin. 10 verse 13 that, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you will be able to bear it." The big problem here is many times when we are tempted we don’t look for the way out, at least this has been true in my life at times but maybe you are more spiritual than I am, think about it.

1st Peter 5: 8 says "be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
It also says, "If we resist the devil he well flee from us."

Praise God--so let’s use Jesus’ example and memorize scripture. And use it when we are tempted to sin. Don’t forget the word says. "Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world." It also says when the Enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him. If these things are true, and they are, then we have the power to resist sin Praise God!

Fear

I thought we would talk about fear today. Towards the end of this lesson I have placed a few verses that you can look up and meditate on which I think will help you to overcome negative fear.

There are so many reasons to be fearful in today’s world.

It seems like our world is out of control:
>There are many gangs in the streets.
>There are many young people that carry guns and knives to school filled with anger and bitterness.
>We hear of stabbings and killings and rape and robberies almost everyday
>There are many kinds of diseases, some with no cures in sight.
>I don’t think anyone will forget what happened on 9-11-2002.
>There are terrorists that hate our country and us.
>We are in a war in Iraq.

The Bible says that men's hearts will fail them from fear.

These truly are uncertain times and it sure does seem like the world is spinning out of control and I’m sure there are many that feel there is no hope.  

But I’m here to tell you that there is hope and that hope can only be found in Jesus.

But those that reject Jesus Christ have no hope whatsoever.

That is the reason so many are depressed and many commit suicide.

There are many that are mentally, psychologically and emotionally drained.

Without the Lord most people live miserable lives. They live in uncertainty and many are paralyzed by fear.

Fear is an emotion that everyone of us needs to have. But fear can be positive or negative. 

I think we all know that it is important to have a healthy fear. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom so it is important that we have a healthy fear of the Lord.

If we are Christians we should not be overcome by fear.

God is on the side of those that love Him and nothing can happen to them unless God allows it.

 If He does He will give us the courage and strength to go through it.

One thing we can be sure of, if we are Christians, we never have to worry about being separated from God for the Bible says that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Paul says in Romans 8 verses 35-39 that we will never be separated from God’s love. Open up your Bible and read it for yourselves.

In 1st John 4 verse 18 it says “there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  And that is true but I have never seen a perfect person and I have never seen anyone demonstrate perfect love.

Outside of the Lord himself, my wife is the only one whom I think loves me unconditionally and I thank the Lord for her. 

Not even the apostle Paul claimed to be a perfect person but he did say that we should strive for perfection. But one thing I do know is that Paul did not have any fear, not even in death. Paul knew whom He believed in and He knew that God was able to keep Him safe. And even if He did have to give up his life for whatever reason he knew that He would be with the Lord, which would be a far better place.

 We can have this same assurance. Paul said in the Word of God, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

Remember, fear that steals our peace and joy and harms our relationship with God is from Satan.

Jesus said in John 14 verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.”

The Bible also says to, “cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you. Praise God.”

I have put here a few verses that deal with fear check them out and be encouraged, trust the Lord and fear not for the Lord loves you and He will work all things out together for your good.

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

Joshua 1: 7-9

Psalms 3: 6

Psalms 18:30-36

Psalm 27:1 - 3

Psalm 56:3-4

Psalm 118:6 - 7

Isaiah 41:13 - 14

Matthew 10:28-31

John 14:27

Romans 8:35-39

2 Timothy 1:7

1 John 4:18

Jeremiah 29: 11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Praise God!

I also want to encourage all of you that are not born again.  If you can relate to this message and you feel your life is spinning out of control and fear has overcome you, let me give you some hope today. The Bible says, “all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God” it also says, “there is none righteous no not one.”  It is not your fault that you were born with a sin nature. But it is your responsibility to admit that you are a sinner and that you have sinned. If it is your desire to make Jesus the Lord of your life please repeat this prayer, Lord I know I am a sinner in need of your grace and mercy. Please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me of all unrighteousness with the blood of Jesus. Come into my life and set me free of sin, I thank you in Jesus’ name amen. If you meant what you said, welcome to the family of God. Now talk to him about all your cares and fears and pray and ask Him to help you overcome all these things and don’t be shocked when it happens. God bless you!       

A Testimony to the Lord

I would like to start off with thanking all the veterans that read this testimony and those that don’t. I thank you for your willingness to fight on any battlefield you were called to fight on. You were willing to give your lives for your country. And because of your sacrifice our country is still free. I know that when many of you came back you weren’t treated very nice. And some of you paid a dear price and are still paying that price. I just want to say that I am sorry and I personally congratulate you. Thank you all once again for your dedication, commitment and sacrifice to keep our country free. The Bible says greater love hath no man than that he would lay down his life for a friend and all of you were willing to do that, thanks again.


Now I would like to talk to you about a man that left His Father’s side in heaven  to come to earth, His name is Jesus Christ.

He also came here to fight a battle, but his battle was not against people and it wasn’t for land. His battle was against the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm. His battle was for the hearts and souls of man. He came to preach the gospel, heal the broken hearted, to set the captive free, to give sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Check it out in Luke 4:18, 19. He came to break the devil’s grip on mankind.

Here was a man that never hurt anyone intentionally because his purpose was to seek and to save mankind.

In John chapter 3: verses 16,17 it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Jesus fought the battle and won. And just like those who fought in the different wars and suffered so that we could live in freedom Jesus suffered also that we could be set free of our sins totally forgiven and live in Heaven with him Praise his Name!

Now I would like to share a little about how my life was and how God
miraculously changed it.

To start out I grew up with many fears and was sick often. I never remember being hugged by my parents and never remember being told that they loved me until after I became a Christian. I was over fifty when my Dad told me he loved me I can’t remember if my Mom ever told me she loved me. There were fourteen in my family counting my parents and money was kind of scarce. Because of our circumstances when I finally went to school I didn’t have nice clothes to wear and I wasn’t too popular. I remember at one point of my school experience the soles on my shoes would flop up and down when I walked. I had a very hard time in school and over time I hated to go. I dropped out when I was 16. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to get an education, looking forward to getting a good job and making something out of themselves. I went to work for the Endicott Johnson shoe factory because I had to help my Mom and Dad because we were very poor some times eating one or two meals a day and I hated every day I worked there. You might say I hated life! All I seemed to want to do was drink and party and I did it quite often. I started smoking at 15 or sixteen I guess I just wanted to escape reality.And as time went on I ended up getting married at a young age and it was like a nightmare. It seemed like all we did was fight and argue. That lasted about five years and ended with her getting a divorce. I never gave up my drinking and smoking and I was a terrible husband. Thinking back I can’t remember many happy times in that marriage.


One of the good things I do remember happened on a night I was going to go out drinking.  I was just about to leave when I heard someone knocking on my door. I opened the door and there were three guys standing there. They were out witnessing--going around telling people about Jesus. I let them in and they told my wife and I about Jesus and I asked Jesus to come into my heart. At that moment it felt like someone had run their hand across my chest and I felt so light and so different it seemed like I could have jumped as high as a building. I would like to say that is when all the terrible things I was doing ended but I can’t. The result was that my wife at the time just laughed, acting like it was a joke and I went out drinking like usual. No one ever came back and I didn’t know what to do. The next day I remember telling some people at work about what had happened but none of them understood either, so I was right back where I was.

My problems just seemed to escalate and I was getting into a little marijuana.

After my marriage ended I went to Texas thinking I could run away from my
problems. I got a job at Sea Arama Marineworld in Galveston where I started in their landscaping department. Then I went into their animal training department and found myself riding their killer whale and even got a chance to wrestle an alligator twice.

I started attending a church there and things seemed to be going better. I had stopped drinking and smoking but I still had emotional problems and a terrible temper. It wasn’t long until I was back to my old lifestyle because one of my main purposes for being there was to find girls.

My life was steadily going down hill and I was right back doing all the same things I was doing before

As time went on I returned to NY and I got married again but that lasted less than 2 years and she left and got an annulment.

I was a terrible, miserable person and no one could put up with me very long.

It seemed like I was always losing everything and I was getting hard. I felt like a part of my heart was missing and I couldn’t love. To be honest I never knew what love was, I don’t think I ever experienced it and I don’t think I ever gave it. To me love was nothing but lust.

I was still drinking and doing what I always did but now I was popping pills and
had gotten into the chopper motorcycle scene. I was becoming a real freak. Partying had gotten to be a regular thing.

As time went on I met another girl and we were both into the partying and the drinking scene. Two and a half years later we got married and when I married her I didn’t even love her.

We started raising a family but I started running into problems because my heart had become so hard that I couldn’t go to my kids, they had to come to me.

I still had a very bad temper and was a very miserable person, what I considered a total freak. I don’t know how my wife put up with me. She had quit smoking because she said she couldn’t afford to smoke and she didn’t drink much either. She faithfully stayed home and took care of the kids while I would be out drinking and partying.

As time went on something seemed to be happening to me, I started thinking
about spiritual things.

Jesus said no one can come to me unless the Father draws him in John 6:44.
I didn’t know this scripture at the time but it seems to me now that is what God was doing with me.

So about 30 years ago I committed my heart to Jesus and He started transforming my life. I remember pouring liquor down the sink, the cigarettes were gone, the drugs were gone and I know now that God had done something
miraculous in my life which He continued to do.

It wasn’t long after that when my wife received the Lord and she began to change which was another miracle, Praise God!

Satan tried to destroy our lives but Jesus had a different idea, he healed the years that the locus’ had devoured. He did in us what He came to do, He set us free. Then I felt like there was a purpose for my life

I can’t thank and praise God enough for what He has done over the last 30 or more years: 
**He has taught me what love is about and has helped me to love people. 
**He has given me a wife that is far beyond what I could ever hope for and has shown me His love for me through her.
**He has also given us 5 great kids that I love and that love me.
**He has taken all desire for alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other things from me. 
**He is helping me to overcome my temper and helping me to overcome my psychological and emotional problems and I can’t thank Him enough.
**He has put a peace and joy in my heart.
**He continues to bless us beyond our understanding.

I am not trying to say that we have not had any struggles or problems over the
last 33 years. We have experienced some very tough times. I am not trying to say that Christianity is a rose garden, it is a very tough life at times, but it is also exciting and rewarding to see how the Lord always gets us through our tough times and it is the greatest life you will ever live.

Sometimes you may hear that if you give your life to the Lord your life will be sort of like a bowl of cherries but the truth is sometimes it may seem like the pits. Sometimes you may feel like you are on a mountaintop and everything is going great and you find it so easy to Praise the Lord, then, other times you may feel like you are in a valley and everything is going wrong and you don’t know what is going on and you are devastated and you find it very hard to praise the Lord. I want to encourage you to try to praise the Lord as much in the hard times as you do in the easier times. If you do, then you will have a different perspective and the hard times won’t seem near as hard. Remember the Lord said He would never leave us or forsake us and He never lets us down.

August 13^th we celebrated our 33^rd wedding anniversary and our love just seems to get stronger and stronger for the Lord and each other every year.  I can’t believe what a great marriage we have and I know it is because my wife and I have always tried to put the Lord first in our marriage. We know unless the Lord build the house you labor in vain that build it. It takes three to make a great marriage The Lord first then you and your spouse. Without the Lord being in charge of your lives I think it is almost impossible to have a great marriage.  I am totally convinced that if any married couple would put the Lord in the center of their marriage, and honor him with their lives that the Lord will help them and it won’t just be a marriage but it will be a good marriage.

If you are reading my testimony and would like to experience some of these things in your life and you are not a Christian, all you need to do is to pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and life.

Tell Him that you are sorry for your sins because the Bible says that we all have
sinned and fell short of the glory of God which means that we need to be forgiven, then repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you, and if you really mean it, it will happen. Praise God. Then find a good Bible believing church and start growing in the Lord. And don’t be afraid to share your testimony with someone. I sure would love to hear it, thanks Praise God!  

FORGIVENESS, PRAYER and ANGER

Everyone has been hurt and probably offended by a fellow believer, or a nonbeliever, maybe in the last week or so. I think this is one of the biggest problems in the church.

I know, I have been hurt many times from those in and out of the church.

Why do we get offended?  If we were completely honest more often than not, it is our pride.

Let’s face it, if we were completely free of pride in our lives it would be very hard to offend us. That is probably one of the reasons God hates pride.  I’ve heard that pride stinks and everyone can smell it except the person that has it.

Many people in the church are angry at someone and they either don’t know
how to deal with it biblically or they won’t let go of it and allow themselves to be set free. When you forgive, you not only set yourself free but you empower the one you are angry with to be set free.

But what we all have to understand is that this forgiving others isn’t a suggestion, it is a command ~ you have to forgive or you will never be forgiven. This is very serious stuff; this is not something to play games with.

When we stand before the Lord someday we will have no excuses and I can’t stress this enough.  I know it is extremely hard at times but it is not impossible and it is a must ~ no ifs, ands or buts about it ~ you have to forgive.

Think about what Jesus went through, and through it all while hanging on the cross and suffering excruciating pain from His enemies He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” 

Jesus didn’t have any pride, He was perfect but we are imperfect and because of pride we find it hard to forgive. Remember Jesus could have chosen to hold a grudge and not forgive. Jesus could have chosen to sin but he refused to entertain that thought for a moment.

If Jesus could forgive in that situation, and we having the power of God in our lives, how can we not forgive?

Now let me give you another example in the New Testament, just think about Steven when he was being stoned to death, what did he say? Check it out in Acts  7: 54 – 60

Think about it, here Steven is doing nothing wrong, he is just giving these
people a history lesson. But because of it, they got so angry they could
think of nothing but to stone Steven and kill him and these people were
supposed to be religious people.

Why would they do that?  because Steven told them the truth and their pride was hurt and their anger rose up and destruction took place and death was the end result.

Don’t be surprised when people get angry at you, even those in your church, they are not all Christians, many are, but some are just full of religion.  But even Christians hurt people and they also get offended.

The Bible talks about people that have the form of religion but lack the power therein, many of them are in the church.

And how did Steven respond? He basically said, “Lord don’t hold this sin against them.”  In other words He forgave them. Have you been stoned lately or ever?    

Forgiveness is a very hard thing to do at times, but Jesus never said it would be easy, but He did say that we have to do it.

We are not the only ones that have had a problem with it, Jesus’ followers had a problem with it too. Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18: 21-22 how many times should I forgive my fellow believers when they sin against me.

I heard that the Jews thought that three times a day would be sufficient.  But Peter asked if seven times was enough, he must have felt real good about himself saying this.  Peter may have thought that was going the second mile that Jesus related to in Matthew 5: 38 – 42. But Jesus said you must forgive seventy times seven or as many times as they ask for forgiveness.

Mathew 6: 14 – 15 says, “If you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11: 25 says, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone forgive him, that your father in heaven may also forgive you for your trespasses.”

How do we biblically go about approaching a brother who sins against us?  It tells us the steps to take in Matthew 18: 15 – 16

This is such a big problem in the church and Christians need to deal with it and not take it lightly because in the end God will deal with it very severely.

One day Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and in the prayer Jesus makes this point ~ if you want to be forgiven then you must forgive.  It is the Lord’s prayer.  This prayer is found in Matthew 6: 5 – 13  Why don’t you look it up and read it.

If you say this prayer and you won’t forgive don’t expect to be forgiven.

If you have a hard time forgiving and loving people, continual prayer is the answer, trust God and He will be faithful to help you for that is his will for your life.

Now I want to touch on anger, just briefly. This is something I have had a problem with for years and I know others struggle with it also.

I want you to read Matthew 5: 21 – 24, Jesus is speaking some very strong words here and we need to learn from them and not wait until it is too late.

Now remember this, anyone who has heard these things is responsible to put what they have heard into practice. The Bible says we are all responsible for what we know.

Question: would you be honest enough to admit that you have this problem if you do?

Matthew 18: 18 says, “Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

So make it a priority to always forgive and leave the consequences to God. And keep short accounts with God, don’t wait a long time to get things right with God or with those you need to forgive, seek the Lord let him do the healing work. Pray and tell the Lord that you choose to forgive and to love all that have offended you and ask Him to help you to love them and forgive them from your heart.

Do what David did in Psalm chapter 51 -- Repent, confess and ask the Lord to forgive you, then try to make it right with the people that offended you.

If you are not a Christian and you are reading this I hope you will want to be. If you do, you can say this prayer, “Heavenly Father a know that I am a sinner in need of your forgiveness.  I am sorry for my sins and I ask you to forgive me and cleanse me through the precious blood of Jesus.  Please come into my heart and take over my life and help me to live for you and I thank you so much for making me your child. For it is in Jesus name I pray, amen. Then go find a Bible believing church and start growing.