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May 26, 2021

“Receive A Hundred Times As Much”

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28 Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “I tell all of you[a] with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel 30 who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come. – Mark 10:28-30

God has nothing against rich people or people that are successful from a worldly viewpoint.  Riches, power and position are neutral and can be used for good or for evil. It is the misuse of these things that causes our issues with God.  He allows us to have those things for His honor and His glory.  We are to use whatever we have, be it little or be it much, as a means to an end, not the end itself.  We should use those things for His glory here and now and be ready to give them up completely, if necessary.  Any good thing that we have now comes from God and belongs to God.  When properly used, it will bring glory to God now.  If it is necessary for us to give it up to bring glory and honor to the Father, we will receive a return now and rewards in eternity.  It is not about the amount we give, it is about the sacrifice we make in giving to God.  The poor widow put in two small coins, others gave much more, but only she received praise from Jesus.  She gave her grocery money, they gave from their surplus. When we have the heart of the widow and give like she gave, then the blessings will come. Not because we gave a lot, but because we gave sacrific​i​ally, trusting God to meet our every need.  Don’t be concerned about the amount or the percentage, don’t quit giving when it hurts, just keep giving until it feels good.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

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December 21, 2020

“Share With Those In Need”

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16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. – Hebrews 13:16 NLT 

Hebrews 13:14-16 NLT

We are foreigners and aliens here on earth this is not our home. We are citizens of heaven. God has chosen to leave us here for a while to be ambassadors for Christ.

20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. — 2 Cor. 5:2​0 NIV

An ambassador is a person who has been sent from his home country to a foreign country as an official representative. God has chosen each of us, individually and specifically, to represent Him while we are here. A really good ambassador always speaks highly of his home country and its leader(s). In other words, he heaps praise upon them.  He does everything in his power to try to get visitors to come to his country.  That is our job. We want to get people to do more than visit our country (Heaven), we want them to stay for eternity. We do that by praising God continuously and telling others about the amazing love and grace of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.  We show them what a wonderful thing it is to accept Christ by our praise, prayers and our walk.  Jesus went about doing good and that is our example. We need to share with others and that takes time and effort.  God is extremely pleased when we sacrifice our time and resources to honor Him.  Investing our time and resources into harvesting a soul for Jesus is a high profit endeavor. The blessings will start here and the rewards will continue into eternity. There is no other investment that will pay those kinds of high dividends for eternity. Practice being a good ambassador for Christ. The rewards are out of this world!

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.– Rev. 22:12 KJV

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

March 18, 2020

“And the Man Believed”

50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. – John 4:50 NLT

Believe

Jesus went about doing good, healing all kinds of diseases and sickness and raising people from the dead. When the official heard that Jesus was in Galilee, he went to Him and begged Jesus to heal his dying son. Jesus said “Go back home, your son will live.” The man believed Jesus and started home. On the way home, he met some of his servants who confirmed that Jesus was indeed correct. When we hear the words of Jesus spoken to us either orally or by the Holy Spirit abiding in us, do we believe? If we can believe Jesus for our eternal salvation, why is it so hard for us to believe that He can and will heal us? Paul tells us there is no reason for us to ever doubt that God will give us everything we need.​

Romans 8:31-35

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-18-2020

May 16, 2018

Keep Focused On Our Eternal Home

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13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 
​- Hebrews 11:13 NLT
​Hebrews 11:13-16 NLT
We, like the prophets and leaders of the past, should consider ourselves foreigners and aliens here on earth.  We need to hold onto the things of earth very lightly and be ready to let them go at the slightest urge of the Holy Spirit. God puts people in our path and gives us resources for a reason and a season.  The why, what, when and where are His prerogative.  Our love for Him requires us to allow Him to use us for whatever purpose and plan He has for us. It is our “reasonable sacrifice” to mortify our flesh and focus on Jesus.  We walk in faith and live in the hope that we are headed for a country and a city not made with human hands.  We have confidence in our hope because it is based on the same faith that Jesus had that He would be resurrected.  Because of His resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are assured that our hope is not just wishful thinking but a fact guaranteed by our Lord and Savior.13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. —Ephesians 1;13-14 NIV

When soldiers are fighting a battle in a foreign land, the hope that keeps them going is the thoughts of returning home. They talk often of the day they will be leaving their post and you can believe there are smiles on their faces during those conversations.  We should live our lives with that same anticipation of the fulfillment of every promise of God realizing that the joy we have when we receive earthly blessings are only small samples of the joy we will have when we get home.

 

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 05-16-2018

May 11, 2018

Homeward Bound

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14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. ​- Hebrews 11:14 NLT
Perfection could never come through man. The law that established a human priesthood was given to show us that we could never live up to the standard that God required — perfection. Knowing this, the Trinity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, set in motion a plan for our redemption. A new priesthood wherein the new Priest would not come from the tribe of the Levites, but rather through the tribe of Judah. This Priest would not be ordained by man but by the Creator of heaven and earth, God Himself.  This Priest would lay aside his royal garments and become like man in every respect. He would be tempted and suffer persecution but still remain obedient, even unto death on a cross. He was and still is our Shepherd and our Savior. He has every right to expect us to allow Him to be Lord of our lives. We do that by following His example under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Our allegiance is changed completely. Once we walked in darkness on a path of constant chaos that led only to eternal death.  Now, we walk in the light on a path of peace that leads to life everlasting in our Father’s house. Every day, from the day we accept Christ as our Savior until we arrive in heaven, we are on our way, we are going home.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”— John 14:5-7 NIV

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 05-11-2018

January 2, 2018

Covenant – Agreeing Together

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17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. – Gal.3:17 NLT
Gal. 3:15-18 NLT

Just as Jesus used everyday examples to teach, Paul does the same thing here. Everyone who had ever made a purchase of home or land, easily understood that once the transaction had been completed and witnessed, it became a legal contract. While contracts and covenants are both legal and binding, the big difference in the two is this; A contract is valid only as long as both parties do what they have bound themselves to do while a covenant is binding on one party even if the other party fails to keep their end of the deal. So, since God knew man would not keep up his end, He made a covenant that bound Him regardless of what man did. Once God made the covenant promises to Abraham, God was bound by His own word to keep it forever. Nothing man did or does or will do can change God’s plan. He was faithful to Israel even though they failed Him time after time. The new covenant is not a change in God’s plan, it was decided on long before the foundations of the world were laid. Under the new covenant, God is faithful to all who receive Jesus as Savior, even though, we, like Israel fail Him time after time, He is bound by His own Word to remain faithful to us.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-02-2017

December 15, 2017

Giving It All Up For HIS Sheep

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Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. – John 21:17a NLT
 
“Do You Love Me?”

 

They had caught 153 fish in one haul, talk about an abundance! Jesus came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10). This was the third time they had seen Jesus since the Resurrection, so they knew who He was. Now, Jesus asks Peter a simple question. “Do you love me more than these?” Peter answers “Yes, Lord, you know I love you”. Jesus then said to Peter “take care of my sheep”. It is as if Jesus is saying to Peter, do you love me enough to leave these other disciples to go and feed my sheep. The third time Jesus asks He uses a different word for love that is asking Peter how deeply do you love me? Jesus says for the third time, “Feed my sheep”. The question for us then is this: Do we love Jesus enough to leave family, friends and home to feed His sheep? We come to the same question that we must ask ourselves everyday. Are we willing to give up everyone and everything to follow Jesus?
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.—Luke 9:23, 24 (NLT)

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-15-2017

August 22, 2017

Will We Believe?

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50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. – John 4:50 NLT
Believe

Jesus went about doing good, healing all kinds of diseases and sickness and raising people from the dead. When the official heard that Jesus was in Galilee, he went to Him and begged Jesus to heal his dying son. Jesus said “Go back home, your son will live.” The man believed Jesus and started home. On the way home, he met some of his servants who confirmed that Jesus was indeed correct. When we hear the words of Jesus spoken to us either orally or by the Holy Spirit abiding in us, do we believe? If we can believe Jesus for our eternal salvation, why is it so hard for us to believe that He can and will heal us? Paul tells us there is no reason for us to ever doubt that God will give us everything we need.


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 08-22-2017

April 2, 2017

Fight the Good Fight

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12 Fight the good fight for the true faith.  — 1 Timothy 6:12a NLT
1 Timothy 6:11-16 NLT
 

We are to “reject every kind of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22). In Matt 5:6, we are reminded “to hunger and thirst after righteousness and we will be filled”. Every day, there is spiritual warfare being waged around us. We must fight the good fight and stay committed to obeying Jesus Christ and His commands to us. We must continue this fight until we are called home to be with Jesus or until He returns to take us home with Him. If we remain steadfast in the faith, Jesus has a home waiting for us that is so magnificent and wonderful that the human mind cannot even imagine what it will be like. No matter how hard the struggle here on earth, heaven will, indeed, be more than worth it all.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 04-02-2017

December 12, 2016

The Hunted

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7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. — Isaiah 55:7 NLT
 
Isaiah 55:6-9 NLT

How can we change our ways (actions)? By changing our thoughts and thought patterns. How do we do that? Truth is, we can’t, we have to seek the Lord and allow His Holy Spirit to do that work in us. That means we have to forsake or change our way of thinking about things. Changing our thought patterns requires us to change our focus. It requires us to ask ourselves this question: What is really important to me? God or self? We know the right answer, but we often choose the wrong answer. When we fail, we “seek the Lord”, which means we return to God and ask His forgiveness. Because God is love, he has mercy on us. He is waiting to pardon us and restore us to a right relationship with Him. We are all familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal Son related to us by Jesus in the Gospels. God is a much more loving, forgiving Father than any earthly father could ever be. If we have strayed from the path of righteousness, we must be aware that God will come for us and bring us back to the fold.  He won’t give up!  And when He finds us and brings us back home, He and the angels will have a great party in heaven.

Luke 15:3-7NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-12-2016