Christmas

I John 3:16 we learn that ; "God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son . . ." that we all should have life and have it abundantly through Jesus. Not only do we have life we have a chance at life everlasting in heaven with God the Father and also with Jesus, IF we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. December 25th is the day we as Christians choose to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus. I really doesn't matter what day he actually was born. We can argue that point forever. What really matters is that God loves us and sent His Son. The words in the Christmas story proclaimed by the angels that we "FEAR NOT" should be words that we hold dear to our hearts all year long. Fear not, for the Lord is with thee! Fear not . . .because God is always with us. Think about that . . . God is always with us! No matter what we do or what we say, no matter what trials and tribulations beset us . . .GOD is always with us. He holds us and our lives in the palm of His hand. We have nothing to fear . . .EVER . . . AS BELIEVERS IN Jesus Christ. If you don't know Him as your personal Lord and Savior NOW is the time to call upon His name. Accept Jesus as Lord! 
 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

FORGIVENESS!!

We must all learn to forgive. Not just others who have harmed us or hurt us, but also how to forgive ourselves. God wipes away our sins the minute we are "born Again":

Ephesians 1:6-8 (King James Version)

6 "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;"


Matthew 18:15-22

15 "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

The problem is, that even though the Lord has removed our sins from us as far as the East is from the West . . . ( Psalm 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:11-13(Context)
. . . we have a hard time forgiving ourselves. Satan has a way of knowing our weaknesses and our "soft spots" in our human nature and he will use them at every chance he has! And if Satan can keep our mind on our sins that means he is successful in keeping us from concentrating on the Word of God and the purpose that God may have in store for us. The other thing is, that as long as he can keep us thinking about our own sins, he can keep us from forgiving others. Forgiving others is the only way that we can be truly free. And, that is truly free to love others. Love and forgiveness goes hand in hand. We need to forgive ourselves before we can really love ourselves and until we can really love ourselves we cannot truly love another. One of the other things that I had found difficult to do, was to forget my sins and to forget the harm I had felt from others. The old saying "Forgive and Forget" is much easier to say than it is to do. We MUST learn to do this if ever we are to mature as Christians. Being "Born Again" brings a great responsibility with it. Growth in the gifts of the spirit is what we all must strive for. It is imperative that we grow in our spiritual walk.
 
 Ephesians 5:9-10;  9 "(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord."
 
The way that we can do this is to strive to walk closer and closer with Jesus every day. We seek that perfection of the spirit that is Jesus Christ, and, unfortunately, we can never really attain that perfection, BUT we must strive daily to be more and more like Him. We must learn to surround ourselves in prayer every day and every hour that we are alive. It is like Paul said, that we must "pray continuously".

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (King James Version)

16 "Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

We must also learn to "walk in love" just as Christ loved us we must learn to 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." John 13:33-35( context)
 Ephesians 5:1-2  1 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."

We must also learn to be wise, and wisdom comes only from study of the "Word of God."

 Ephesians 5:15-21; "15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." 
 
I have been using a lot of scripture references in this entry and, I have meant to do just that. We are nothing without God, and the only way that we can learn about God, and learn about Jesus Christ is by study of the scriptures!  
 
2 Timothy 2:15
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:14-16 (Context) 

 
Romans 10:16-18 (King James Version)

16 "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."

1 Peter 1:22-24 (King James Version)

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: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:"

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: "
Ephesians 6:16-18 (Context)

Hebrews 4:11-13 (King James Version)

11 "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

So back to forgiveness! In order that we may learn to be more like Christ, and learn more about God we must study scriptures. In order to learn how to be forgiven and to learn how to be forgivers of others we need to study scripture! Do NOT just count on the preacher to tell you about the "Word of God" or tell you what the "Word of God" says; get a Bible and study it for yourself. Try to read the whole Bible, cover to cover! After you have done it once . . .do it again, and then do it again. Make notes, underline things that "move you" or things you don't understand and then look them up or ask someone you trust as a Christian to help  you understand it. Pray, pray every day. Pray that God will give you wisdom and understanding. Pray that God will show you how to forgive yourself. God bless you all, and I will pray that you learn how to forgive yourself.      

God is With Me - Psalm 91

For as long as I can remember this Psalm was one of my mother's favorites, and it has come to be one of my favorite passages. When I need a "little time" with God , and a little reassurance of His presence in my life. I turn to the Psalms. The Psalms are full of comfort and peace. They are also the place where King David left  some of his notes and prayers to God. King David was a sinner of the highest magnitude, BUT, he also had God's ear, and God's favor. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, and actually had her husband sent into the heat of battle to be killed so he could marry her. He became convicted of his sin and David got on his knees and begged God for forgiveness. He admitted his sin, publicly, and David was forgiven by God. God elevated him to the status of one of Israel's greatest kings. God was also faithful to David's children. Read in 1 King, 2 Kings, 1 Cron., 2 Cron, and the Song of Solomon. Do you ever feel like your sins are so bad, so horrible that God could never forgive you for them. Well, forget that notion. God is all powerful, all seeing and always faithful. God doesn't want any of His children to be condemned in sin and be cast into the firey pit with Satan. God wants all of us to be heirs in His kingdom through His Son Jesus Christ! Paul also thought that he was the worst of sinners, yet all of his sins, and they were terrible sins, were forgiven and God elevated him to a place of honor. He filled him with the Holy Spirit through knowledge of His only Son Jesus. Remember that  Paul was first a pious Jew, as were all of the deciples, and had been persecuting those who followed Jesus and His way of life. Paul was even present at the stoning of Stephen. He was trained in the traditions of the Pharasees. BUT, he was forgiven all of that and ended up being one of the strongest believers in the "Good News" of Jesus Christ and worked hard all the rest of his life to spread this Gospel to the world.
Romans 8 (KJV)

16 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. . ." 
 
 John 3:16 (KJV)
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
 
While we were yet sinners God sent His only Son, Jesus to die for us!
 
Romans 5:8(KJV)

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-9

 Galatians 3:26-28(KJV)

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus

Psalm 91 (KJV)

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

All of the Psalms are wonderful revelations of God and God's love and faithfulness to all of His children. God does not want us to be cast down and depressed. He wants us to be at peace. We can have that peace through a personal relationship with God. The best way for us to do that is by accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and savior. When we are in Christ , we are counted as one of God's children. See the verses from Romans 8: 16, 17 above for the Biblical proof of this. I urge you to repent of your sins and sinful ways. Turn to God. Turn to Jesus to be your pathway to that salvation trhrough the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus knows you and knows your sins. They are what He went to the cross for. Jesus was beaten, spit on, mocked, and the hairs of his head and beard were pulled out. Imagine that suffering. Imagine all of that pain. Imagine the pain and humiliation of being nailed to a cross.  Now believe that He went through all of that and went to the cross to die for you so your sins could be washed away by His blood. Jesus was the final and perfect Lamb, sacrificed for your sins!     

Thoughts on Winter storms / God's Creation & God's Plan For Our Salvation.

Howdy folks; Well, here it is the 10th of January and snow is predicted for our afternoon forecast! I have to say I have had enough snow to last me a lifetime after all the years I spent in New England. The last year I lived in Northern Maine we had a season snowfall of 22 feet, yup, that's right, 22 feet! Most of that was still on the ground in April! We had to use a bucket loader, sometimes, just to clear our driveway and door yard. I can remember climbing out a second story window so I could shovel down to the back door to get out of the house. I loved it back then. I was a lot younger and I loved to cross country ski, snowshoe and go sledding and snow mobiling with friends. A buddy of mine and I also ran a trap line back then and we were out in it every day or at least every other day to check our traps. A very dear friend of our family used to call spring snow "God's fertilizer" because it would make the ground softer to plow and it seemed to give the spring planting a "boost" in it's sprouting and growth. As I got older I noticed it really did give things a bit of a head start, at times. The very best thing about it is that when the days  started to get longer and a bit warmer you could really tell that spring was just around the corner. Folks would say that "winters back is broken" and some of us would even have mid-winter parties to celebrate the death of winter and the new birth of spring. Having grown up in an agrarian community and living in small farming towns most of my life I could really see why the ancient prehistoric societies would have winter solstice celebrations. Native Americans also had such celebrations. The "circle of life" had a deep and rich meaning for all people, as it still should for us. As we have "progressed" into an industrial society we have lost the connection to the land. We have lost our connection to the "Circle of Life".  What has always amazed me is that ALL of the world's religions have creation stories (much like Adam and Eve), flood stories (like the Noah story), special "king" or leader stories (like the David story), and Savior stories (like our Jesus story) and many other similarities. My Honor's Thesis (which I got an A+ on, by the way) for my Philosophy degree was just that. It was based on the concept that God has revealed himself to many peoples in many different ways. I firmly believe that. We serve an awesome God! The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to His people and the story of the history of His creation's relationship to Him. I accept the Bible as the inspired word of a living God, and how God has revealed himself to many people, and how they wrote God's stories down after years of oral tradition, and finally when He saw just how far people had fallen from His path, and the Law, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to be the "perfect Lamb" sacrifice for all of His creation.

Romans 5:7-9 (King James Version)

7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.



 I also know in my heart that the God of Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners!   I know a lot of folks will say that it is narrow minded and not "politically correct" to say that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way for one to find salvation, but that is too bad. I have to stand on the truth! And the truth is, that God created all of the universe, the earth and all the things in and on it, and that looking down on it He saw how His creation had moved away from Him and His plan for us in the garden of Eden and through one man,Adam, sin entered the world.
  
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
 

 
          Psalm 14:1-3 (King James Version)


1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23 (King James Version)
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

God wants ALL of us to be saved. He wants us to WANT Him! He wants us to be with Him through out all of eternity. The only way that He saw for His sinful and willful creation to find that salvation, and be worthy of a place in heaven was through the one PERFECT Lamb sacrifice. Jesus Christ! Time is growing short my friends. The time of Salvation is at hand. If you are born again then you are sealed in God's book of life and if you are NOT yet born again ask God NOW for Him to save you. Admit you are a sinner, tell Him you are sorry for your sinfulness and that you repent, Tell God you believe His Son Jesus was sent to be our savior and ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart! That is all you need to do to be born again. Jesus is the path to your salvation!     

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HOWDY FOLKS; I don't know about the rest of you but as for me, and my house we are happy to see this past year fade out and a new year begin. With each new year we are given a chance, with God. He has washed away all of our past mistakes and sins and now we can look forward to the forgiveness that God has in store for us as believers. It is written in scriptures, that God removes our sins from us as far as the East is from the West! God does that for us the moment that we decide to follow His Son Jesus Christ and be born again. God keeps his promises and NEVER forsakes those who will believe in Him, His Son Jesus and obey His commandments! He did it for Noah, for Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, for all of His people of  Israel and for all of His Prophets and Saints, AND He will do it for you and me too.  This scripture in Isaiah is one we need to remember throughout the new year:

Isaiah 43:16; 18-19
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.

Read all of Isaiah 43 because there is a lot there for us.

          God and God alone, through the power of the Holy Spirit and by the power of our faith in Him and His Son Jesus Christ, can bring forth new things in our life. It is only by faith that we can move ahead in our walk with Christ, and by His grace keep sin away from us. In James chapter 4 we are taught that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil he will flee from us, and if we come close to God He will come close to us. It also says in James 4 verse 10 that if we humble ourselves before the Lord that He will lift us up! The book of James in the New Testament is one of my favorite books to study. There is a lot of wisdom for new and old Christian's alike there. With God ALL things are possible! There are times when Satan comes against us and tries to hold up our past sins in front of us and rub our noses in them, like some folks try to train a puppy when it has an accident in the house, (so to speak) but God has washed them, our sins, ALL away the moment we became believers, as I said before! If we let God have His way in our lives we need never to think about or be bothered by those things of the past. We have a new year ahead of us and with God in our lives we have a new chance to live according to His Commandments. People are always making "New Year Resolutions" every January, and usually end up breaking them in just a few weeks or months. The thing is, if we let God have His way, and keep or own willfulness under control with the help of the Holy Spirit, we really can make the new year one in which Christ rules our every thought and action. We can be a true heir to the Kingdom of God, and have all that is promised us, as believers and brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. If you don't have a Bible find one, borrow one or buy one, and if you cannot afford one, talk to your Pastor. I'm sure he will find one for you. Study Scriptures EVERY DAY if you can. Pick a time when you can sit down un-interrupted and read and study the word of God. When I worked days and had to get up early I used to get up an hour or so early for my study time. Same thing when I worked nights. Now that I am retired I like to read and study in the mornings before I take my dogs for their play time. When ever you can make the time. Study. You won't be disappointed. The best thing you will ever do in your life is to spend time with God. Do not ever let Satan have his way. Cast him out with prayer by the power of Jesus Christ. Alone we cannot prevail, BUT with God in our corner and Jesus on our side and the Holy Spirit in our hearts we can do anything. Philippians 4:13 says; "I can do all things through Christ which strengthenst me." Believe it. Hold on to it always. Don't let things get you down. Read John 14 all the way through when you can, but for today I have included verses 1-3 here:

John 14:1-3
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.
 
And also John 16:33:
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

I have added a little list of  12 Things that God wants you to remember for 2011:

God is for you. Who can be against you?
God loves you. He did before you were born and He loves you now, and He will always!
God will guide you. As long as you study His word and believe.
God will not fail you. God keeps all of His promises!
God will be with you. Acts 2 tells us He sends His Holy Spirit to in-dwell us!
God will provide for you. All our needs will be met!
God will bless you. He has already and will continue to do so!
God will give you rest. This is one of His promises (see John 16:33 above)
God will strengthen you. Always! No matter what comes against us He is always with us!
God will answer you. It might not be the answer you want, but He will answer you!
God will uphold you. If we humble ourselves (James 4:10)
God will keep you. God knew you from your mother's womb and as a believer you are His child!

John 10:7, 9-10
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior ALL these things are yours as a child of God. If you have not yet accepted Jesus and been Born Again do it now.
      Ask God to forgive your sins, tell Jesus you believe that He is the only Son of the living God, and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Do this and you will be born again. Find a good Bible believing church and be baptised in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and by the Holy Spirit. Then attend regularly  because fellowship with other Christians is VERY important. It is how we learn to live and grow as a Christian. It is also how the changes we begin to see in our lives once we are "born again" can be supported and nurtured. We can change ourselves to be more like Christ when we fellowship with other Christians. We can see Christ in others by the way they live, the way they share, love, care for and respect each other. When I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior I had to turn away from some of my old friends because of the lifestyle I, and they, lived. I had to put away from me those things, and those people, that were NOT supportive of the life in Christ that I had chosen. We are known by the company we keep. It may be unfair, it may be wrong, but others do judge us that way. It is a reality of life. I witnessed to old friends, and I rejoiced when they came to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Once they did, I could be in fellowship with them again. Those who did not come to accept Jesus I had to drop as friends. I moved them into the group of people I considered as acquaintances. I would still witness to them when I saw them or bumped into them, I still pray for them, but I could no longer include them in my circle of friends. If you come to love Jesus and accept Him, the more you want to be like Him! The more you want to be in fellowship with people who are also striving to be more like Christ! Folks; trust me, it is worth it! God will bless you for it! There are also family members that I have that have not yet accepted Jesus and I have to do the same thing for them. I still witness to them, I still love them, I still pray for them, and I spend time with them at family get togethers . . .but until they come to accept Jesus they are not included in that special group of family members that are true believers and true born again Christians. Don't ever give up on them. Keep them in your prayers. My mother never gave up on me . . .thank God! She kept praying for me, and praying that I would come to accept Jesus, and when I finally did . . .she rejoiced with me and praised God with me, and we lifted up our prayers of thanks together. We added something special to the bond we already shared as mother to son. We were now  both born again!   When people are born again you can tell. There really is something "different" about us. We have Jesus! There is something special you feel inside when you know that God has a special place reserved for you in heaven because you have accepted His Son  as Lord; when Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell you. I know I am different . . . I know Jesus . . . I know that He knows me!  I also know that the Holy Spirit is within my heart. I do not want to live the "old life" of sin!  I'm glad I am different. I rejoice that I am a true child of God and an heir to the Kingdom because I know Jesus. Please, I pray you . . . if you don't know Jesus . . .pray the prayer I have shown you above. God loves you. He wants you to come to Him through His Son. Do not disappoint Him do it now! If you do come to accept Jesus let me know so I can rejoice with you. God bless you.      

PEACE and a Healthy, Prosperous, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all.



JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Howdy y'all; it has been a couple of months since my last posting so an apology is in order. I have been pretty busy, but I have to say that some of it is procrastination! How many times have you used or heard the words in the title of this posting? I know I have used it a lot and I even made a bunch of buttons with my button machine that said it. I also made a bunch that said "Merry CHRIST mas" on them. Our society here in the good old U.S.of A. has, in recent years, tried to "numb" us to the Christ in Christmas. For years we have been bombarded with all of the commercialism, and "politically correct" desensitisation to this special time of the year. I remember when I first saw "Xmas" when I was a kid. I thought the people were just to lazy to write out "Christmas" and didn't think too much about it! The "wrongness" of it finally hit me when I experienced my first Christmas as a born again believer. Suddenly it ALL seemed so wrong. I looked around me with the new eyes of a true child of the Living God and really SAW all of the world's commercialism, all the "hype" for toys, cards, expensive gifts for your "special someone" and decorations that left Jesus out of the picture. I was actually nauseated by all of it. We, as believers, must take a stand and say a loud "NO" when we hear of someone calling it a "holiday tree", even though some really fundamentalist Christian's believe that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol, and that it wasn't popularized in this country until the 18th century. From a certain perspective it's history does hearken back to pagan, or at least "non-Christian" roots. It really doesn't matter! What really matters is what it has come to represent with it's star or angel tree-topper that symbolizes the night when the star shown over Bethlehem and the angels proclaimed the good news of Christ's birth, and the lights that represent the good news that the "light" of truth and Jesus Christ has come for all of mankind. Granted a lot of folks over do it a bit, but it is still Jesus that is to be worshipped and recognized as the true and everlasting truth and light for all of us. It is a shame that "Jesus is the reason for the season!" has become so cliched. It has lost some of it's punch. Freedom of religion is one of the fundamental "RIGHTS" provided for us by the constitution of this great country, and I stand by it and believe it deep in my heart. Some people have perverted the right to freedom of religion to mean every other religion EXCEPT Christianity. I had a teacher in my high school civics class (it was called "Problems of Democracy" at that time) who taught us that my rights end where another persons begin and their rights end where mine begin! I took that to heart. Everyone in this country is guaranteed the right to worship as they desire, or NOT to worship anything if that is their belief. I don't have a problem with any of that. Really. I believe that they are wrong not to worship Jesus Christ or to believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and that God was, is now and will be for ever and ever, or that God created the whole universe. BUT. . .I will never try to cram Jesus down their throats or condemn them for not believing. I must confess that I would, and do, talk to non-believers about Jesus. That is really one of the main reasons why I started this blog; to try to introduce folks to Jesus. I find it a bit odd that in some communities it is okay to display a Jewish menorah   or other symbols for other religions but it is against the law to display a Manger scene, Creche or other Christmas decorations. It is okay to display Santa Clause in some cities but it is considered a religious symbol in others. There are a lot of other religious blogs out there in cyber space and they have a right to run them just as much as I have the right to run this one! Back to the title of this posting. Jesus IS the reason for the season. When you say it . . . mean it! When someone says "Happy Holiday" to you , don't be offended; just say "Merry Christmas" to them. I love Jesus! I love Him for going through all of the torture, the punishment and finally going to the cross to die for me and my sins! Without Jesus I believe I would have been condemned to hell for all of eternity. With Jesus in my heart and being born again. I believe that I am saved from that condemnation and that I will be in heaven with my loved ones who were born again believers, and better yet I will be in the presence of my creator, God and with His only son Jesus Christ! How wonderful is that!? The only way that can happen is if you are truly "Born Again"; and the only way to be born again is to accept Jesus Christ as you personal Lord and Savior.  How do you do that you may ask. First, you must truly repent of your sins (". . .for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"). Second, you must ask Jesus to come into your heart and to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Finally, you must confess that Jesus is the only Son of the ONLY Living God. It is one of the hardest choices you can make and also one of the easiest things to do. Pray this prayer:
       "Lord God I know that you are the creator of all things and that you sent your only Son Jesus Christ to die for me and that His blood was shed to wash away my sins. I confess that I am a sinner and I do truly repent of my sins. I thank you for sending Jesus for me and the rest of the world. I believe that He is no longer among the dead, but that He was resurrected to sit at Your side to rule in heaven. Please, Lord God, send the Holy spirit into my heart and give me the strength to turn away from my sinful ways, my evil thoughts and wash away any doubts you may find in my heart. Please, Lord God give me the knowledge, strength and faith to stand up for you in the world and to spread your word by teaching others about your Son Jesus." 
            God is ALWAYS faithful and true. He always keeps His word, and He  promised that if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and truly believe that Jesus is His only Son sent into this world to die for our sins that we would be "saved".  Without Jesus we are not worthy of being in God's presence or going to heaven when we die. God's grace is a free gift! It is only by our faith and by God's grace that we can be saved. I don't know about you . . . but as for me I want to go to heaven and be with God; and I want to be with Jesus through all of eternity! I also want see my brother, dad, mom, grandma, great grandma and the rest of my family that were/are believers! To be with all of those believers that have gone on before me, Moses, King David, Peter, Paul and the rest of the disciples. I want to see and reside in that heavenly home, that mansion not built by human hands. Thank you God. Thank you Jesus! I truly love you and want to please you Lord.
 YES; Jesus IS the reason for the season! AND, He died for you and me, He was raised from the dead to rule in heaven with His Father  so that we could claim eternal life and so that we could be washed clean and worthy of that place in heaven!                   

Thanksgiving & Fall Posting

Howdy y'all; I know it has been a while since I last wrote and for that I apologize. I was doing a study in the Muslim faith and the impact it is having in the world, and I want you all to know that all around the world Muslims are impacting life, laws and the way of life in England, Germany, France, Switzerland and Spain. They are moving in to all of the countries in the European Union and are bringing court cases to the forefront for rulings on Sharia Law. They are trying to push for Muslim women to be forced to follow Sharia law and wear complete veils, and to be able to punish women if they break any of the rules put forth in the Koran! So far ALL of the countries have been successful in blocking their efforts, thank God! IF they are ever able to have their laws passed into national legal systems we are all one step closer to being attacked and killed because we are Jews, Christians or any other faith but Muslim (Islam). I urge you all to keep praying that all of their efforts to get Sharia Law into ANY country. Especially the United States, fail. We are in danger because we have a president (for a little while longer anyway) who is very supportive of the Muslim faith, and has even put them into positions of leadership in some of our Federal departments.
We have a lot to be thankful for as this year comes to a close! We are still very blessed even though we are heading for financial ruin as a country. God will continue to bless us and protect us, BUT it is our responsibility to keep OUR religion and our beliefs in God and Jesus Christ lifted up, and to keep reminding our senators and representatives that we need to keep our country ". . .under God,. . .". We are a christian nation even though it is not specifically entered into our Constitution and Bill of Rights. More than half of the framers and signers of the Constitution were ordained clergy! Many of their private letters and writings support the Christian faith and the importance of keeping it part of what we do in the world and in this country. See for yourselves if you feel so inclined. Google the writings of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Hancock, George Washington and the other founding fathers and you will find out just how much they valued their Christian beliefs. Even Benjamin Franklin, who was a professed agnostic, still valued the "Golden Rule" and the Christian Faith. They did want to keep a separation between "church and state" ; BUT that was only because they wanted to guarantee that EVERYONE was able to worship as they pleased! Freedom of religion was the promise and yes, that goes for everyone; Jew, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Bahia or whatever. The RIGHT guaranteed by our Constitution was to guarantee our worship as we pleased; but NOT to keep others from the practice of their faith or to demand that all signs of their religion be destroyed or removed from public view! Long ago I had a teacher who taught us that; "Our rights end where another one's right begins." What that means is that I do not have the right to infringe or prevent another person's rights and that they do not have the right to infringe upon or prevent their rights! Kind of a different way of saying; "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Jesus Christ's greatest commandment was; "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and spirit and to love your neighbor as yourself." we are all commanded to do so and the Ten Commandments are also a directive to Christian and Jew alike. One of the other things we should do is to continue to pray and to pray continuously as Paul directs us. Pray for our loved ones, pray for our country, pray for all of those we know who are not "Born Again", pray for our military, pray for every person who asks us to pray for them and also to pray for our enemies!
Now IF you are not "saved" or "Born Again" I ask you to pray this prayer; Dear Lord, Father God, I believe that Jesus Christ came to earth to be your representative and that He is your Son. And that He came to suffer and die and then be raised again for my salvation. Lord, I repent of all of my sins and I ask that you cleanse and purify me and my heart and take away my sinfulness and my sinful nature so that I may be more like Jesus, and be worthy to enter your kingdom when the time comes. Lord God, I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you God for your Son Jesus Christ, thank you for your forgiveness and you grace. I praise you and worship you! In the name of your precious Son Jesus I pray; Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer and REALLY mean it you are saved and you are "Born Again". PRAISE GOD!! I praise God and pray for His blessings on you and your life. If you have a Bible I suggest you start reading it every day. If you have been doing it, keep it up. I find that if I study a few verses in the Old Testament and a few verses in the New Testament every day you will find that you will be able to read it cover to cover in less than a year. God bless you all. In Jesus Name I pray! Amen.

Revival is still going on!

Well folks; I have to say that our four days of REVIVAL at my church went very well! Brother Lamar Denby brought the message with power from the Holy Spirit. Awesome! What is even more wonderful is that the Spirit of Revival is still going strong. I have been attending services here for quite some time, and I have prayed about joining the church long and hard. I felt my prayers had been answered, and I had expressed my desire to formally become a member to our Pastor, and he brought it up to the church membership. Leona and I were officially made members of the church after my Baptism on Sunday. Even though I had been Baptized by "Immersion" twice before it was my pleasure to be Baptized once again in New Hope Baptist Church. Baptism is the outward symbol of an inward commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I felt, once again, the Joy of knowing Jesus, The Holy Spirit and God the Father. The Power of the Holy Spirit flooded over me as I was lowered under the water and symbolically buried with Christ and then brought up out of the water to be resurrected and reborn of the Spirit of God! It was wonderful! I felt brand new, Born Again and revitalized in my Spirit. God is so good all the time! It is funny because I had been feeling far from God, and felt like my Joy had been slipping away for a little while and the Baptism was exactly what I needed. God answered my prayers once again because I had been praying about those feelings for a while! I am flooded with the Power and Joy of knowing the Holy Spirit strong within me. All Glory to God. I have been reflecting on what it means to be an Heir to the Kingdom of God. We are promised, in scripture, that once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and our name is written into the "Book of Life", we are then Heirs with Jesus to all the Powers and Riches He has inherited as Son of the Living God! Romans 8:16-18 states; "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children the heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we also be glorified together.". It is also confirmed in James 5:5 "Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him". Being Heirs to the Kingdom is also mentioned in: Hebrews 11:8-10, Titus 3:6-8, Ephesians3:5-7, Galatians 3:25-29 and many more places in both the Old and New Testaments. What does it mean! It means that we are truly heirs to the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ as we are joined with Him as brothers and sisters. That means that we can have the same powers to heal, make the blind see, the lame walk and cast out evil spirits THROUGH Jesus Christ. We cannot do it under our own power but we can by faith through Jesus Christ! God said so, He promised us and we all know that God keeps His promises. It is where we fall short in our faith and obedience that keeps every born again believer from performing these miracles. We pray, but we pray weakly at times, we don't pray in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I says in James 3 that if we are "double minded". The whole book of James teaches us how we can be completely filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. James is an awesome book, and one we should read often until it becomes implanted in our hearts and minds. James 1:5-8 tells us exactly how we should pray, and how we can receive from God. Look it up! As believers we are heirs to the Kingdom, but just as Deuteronomy 28 tells us about how we can be blessed by God as heirs. Chapter 29 tells us exactly what we can expect if we are not obedient to God. Open you Bibles my friends. Don't rely or expect your Pastor to do all the work for you. "Study to show thyself approved". We can expect ALL of our needs to be met as Born Again believers, and IF we can come into obedience with God and are not "double minded" we can also expect to perform miracles through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit! It is God's promise! God bless you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Well here we are . . .another New Year. There are times when the past year seems like a dream, with things that just "happened' outside of any control at my hands. And other times it seems it is all blur that just sped by so fast I barely saw it all. Leona and I are so blessed! Like everyone else out there this year has had some very bad financial reverses, but so far (praise God) we still have a roof over our heads, food on the table, sufficient clothing and a bit of money for gas for the car and diesel for "Harvey". We have decided to try to travel around to the various arts & crafts shows and flea markets around Texas instead of doing the E-bay / Internet E-business to supplement our income. It is hard sometimes to stay positive when so much pounds down on you from the everyday cares of the world. The only thing I know of as being constant in life is change. Good times pass and bad times pass and the route we travel is thus filled with ups and downs. BUT . . .through it all I KNOW as sure as I know my name that God is ALWAYS with us. God never promised us that life would be easy BUT He did promise to be ever with us. Psalm 94:12-19, Psalm 119 is one of the longest Psalms and through out the whole thing is blessing after blessing for us. If ever you are feeling down go to the Psalms! Psalm 91 is another one. Psalm 146 speaks to us about not putting our trust in worldly things but to trust in God vs. 7 (God)" Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners." Many of us are prisoners, maybe not behind actual bars, but prisoners in our own hearts because of our doubts and fears. Fear has been defined as False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is what Satan uses to cripple and imprison us. As long as we are gripped by fear Satan has power over us; our mood, our words, our actions and our reactions to the cares of the world that press in upon us. Once we break the bonds of fear we are free of his evil influence. The minute we put our trust in God the bonds of fear are broken . . .we are free. We are free to trust God and know in our hearts that ALL things are under God's control. God wants us to be free from fear. We can find freedom through His word. Turn to scripture when you have doubts or fears. In Timothy 3: 16-17 we find that; "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
As believers in God through the blood of Jesus Christ we become sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:16-17 / Ephesians 3: 5-8 and many others). In Matthew 7:7-12 begins "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." and goes on to say that if your son asks for bread would you give him a stone or if he asks for a fish would you give him a serpent and we are human and weak yet we want the best for our children what then should God , as our eternal Father and creator, want for us !? Of course He, our God and Father, would want the very best for us. What is required of us is our faith and our obedience to His word. If we are obedient and try to live by His commandments and believe in Jesus Christ as His Son then we are most assuredly heirs to the Kingdom of heaven and we can also expect the blessings He promised us. God shall not be mocked. Neither will He be a liar. God does not lie . . . He promised us all blessings in abundance, full, packed down and overflowing IF we are obedient and try to live by His commandments. Knowing we are human and imperfect because of our sinful natures He sent His Son Jesus Christ to intercede for us the second we finally believe in Him. We all can be heirs to the kingdom just by praying a simple prayer: Lord God, I know I am a sinner and I am not perfect. I repent of my sinfulness and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to earth to die on the cross for me and that His blood washes me clean of all of my sins. I love you God and I ask for you to fill me with your Holy Spirit and guide my steps from now on. Amen. If you took the time to pray that prayer you are now marked as a child of God and as such you are heirs to the riches of His Kingdom now and forever. God loves you and wants the best for you

Happy New Year!!

Howdy to y'all! It has been quite a while since my last posting so a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. It is hard to believe that we are almost finished with the month of January already! There is still time for a "new years resolution". If you need to "change" a few things in your life, NOW may be the time. The older I get the faster time seems to pass. The nice thing about growing older though is that I have lived long enough to know that EVERYTHING that happens, happens for a reason! It may take a long time for us to find out WHAT the reason is, but it sooner or later becomes apparent. But we may never really know until we come into the presents of the Lord. My favorite saying or phrase in the Bible is . . ."and it came to pass." The only thing that is really sure or constant in life is CHANGE! Nothing EVER stays the same. Every mountain top needs a valley. AND Every valley needs a mountain top. We can be sure that if we are going through a "rough patch" that sooner or later we will be back on top of things again and the rough patch will smooth out. I always say that "things will work out" or "it'll all be okay" I don't mean that everything that happens is "good" or "bad" or whatever, BUT it will always "work out". Bad things or "bad" days WILL END just as surely as the really "good" days will also end. Change in and of itself is neither "good" or "bad" it is inevitable! AND that my friends IS a sure thing and we can depend on it. We, as believers in God and Jesus Christ, can also be sure of one thing and that is that whether or not "good" or "bad" things are happening to us or to people we love it is that God, through His Son Jesus, IS ALWAYS with us! It is because of our FAITH in GOD that we can survive! We can thrive! Philippians 4:13 has been one of my favorite verses of new testament scripture. It states; "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthenest me." Good, bad or whatever happens, Christ gives me the strength to bear it all, and to be able to move ahead in my life. I have also found out that I am nothing without HIM! It has been so long now that I have been a believer that it is hard for me to remember when I did NOT have Christ in my heart or my life. I do remember that without Christ I was NOT a very nice person. I was truly lost in sin! My life was "garbage" but I thought it was great. The trouble was that I was always filled with guilt and often depressed because of the evil things I was doing and had done. Illicit Sex, drugs and alcohol could NOT "fill me up". I was "empty" inside, lost and in pain 99% of the time. Tormented at times because of the things I had done. It was ONLY with Jesus in my life that I REALLY found true fulfillment and true happiness. I know some of the folks who might read this do not have Christ in their hearts and will probably think I am nuts, but remember I was where you all were at one time in my life and I would have, probably, have thought the same thing. Any of those who read this and already have Christ as their savior will know what I am writing here is TRUE! For those of you who are NOT believers and are feeling that "emptiness" that I wrote about above . . . PLEASE believe me, it does not have to be a permanent condition. You do not have to remain in that sinful state. How can it all change you ask. It is EASY to decide BUT is definitely the HARDEST choice you will ever make. All you have to do is to ADMIT you are a sinner! TRULY repent of those sins, and ASK Christ to come into your heart, forgive you and CHANGE your desire to sin! It is a simple prayer. Pray this way: Jesus, I am a sinner. I am truly sorry for committing those sins and I ask you to come into my heart now, fill me with your Holy Spirit and cleanse me. Thank you Jesus. Amen . . . If you have prayed that prayer and REALLY mean it, it is a "done deal". Then find your Bible and start reading it. Try Romans or Hebrews to begin with and move on to James or to a book that may come into your mind. Read it and believe it! It is God's word. The change you feel may be immediate or it may take time. For me it was like a strange heat that moved through my body and then an icy cold that flushed through me and I knew I would NEVER be the same! God can work miracles. He can change you and your desires IF you let Him do it. Study His word every day, ask questions of someone who you know to be a true believer if you don't understand something. OR you can email me at poppatom1948@yahoo.com if you like. I am NOT and expert or a theologian but I have been around the post a few times and I may be able to help, and if I cannot answer your questions I can put you in touch with someone who might be able to. God bless you, and keep you, and may His face shine upon you and give you peace. Yours in Christ; Poppa Tom