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March 3, 2020

“Come and See For Yourself”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.– John 1:46b NLT

Come and See

Each of us must come to Jesus for ourselves. No one else can do this for us. Parents and Grandparents, regardless of how much they love and pray, cannot make this decision for you. It is personal and it is eternal. Just as Jesus knew Nathanael before He came to Jesus, so He knew each of us before we came to Him. He knows us at our very worst, He knows our unkind thoughts. No matter how sinful or how ugly it is, Jesus knows all about it but He still loves us. He is waiting with open arms to receive us. If you haven’t truly accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, then, please, “Come and See for Yourself”. Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you will never be alone again.

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

Post 03-03-2020

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July 10, 2016

The Desires of Our Hearts – Part 2

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14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.  — 1 John 5:14, 15 NLT
I believe God has obligated Himself to answer every prayer that a Christian prays.  I also believe that He does answer every prayer in one of four ways: Yes, No, Wait or gives a completely different answer than we expected and we don’t recognize the event(s) as the answer.  It would be foolish to think that God would give a positive answer to any request that required Him to violate His own Word or to give us something that would not be the best for us.  Just as parents, we realize that our kids often ask for things that aren’t good for them and we have to say “no”,  how much better does our heavenly Father understand and know what is best for us.  His great love for us requires Him to only give us His best.  The words we use or the format of the prayer are not the important things.  What is important is whether or not we have un-confessed sin in our lives.  Sin separates us from God and moves us from His umbrella of protection.  How much faith is required?  I believe that if we have enough faith to ask God for something, that is enough faith.  God has made precious promises to His children and He has never failed in doing exactly what He said He would do.  The fulfillment of those promises is based on His faithfulness, not ours.

 

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  — Romans 8:32 NIV

Post 07-10-2016

May 19, 2014

Proper Treatment of New Converts

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

8 Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us! 9 Surely you remember, our friends, how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News from God. 10 You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault. 11 You know that we treated each one of you just as parents treat their own children. 12 We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.–1 Thess. 2:8-12 (GNT​)​
​Once​ we have shared the Good News of how Jesus died and rose again for our sins, there will be those who accept it and there will be those who don’t. To those who refuse to accept the Good News, we are to go on showing them the love and mercy of Jesus. But the ones that do accept Jesus are to be treated like babes, in the sense that they have had a “new birth”. We cannot expect them to understand all the ins and outs of living a Holy lifestyle right away. They have just started on the road that we have been traveling for some time. We should not be a burden to them, but we should instruct them, comfort them, and encourage them just as a parent would do for their own children. We are not only to preach the Good News, but we are to make disciples. Making disciples takes a lot of time, patience, and love. We are not to grow weary of doing good. Always remember that we were once in the same situation they are in now and someone cared enough to shepherd and mentor us in spiritual growth. We, ourselves, are still learning to walk uprightly and we will always be learning as long as we are in these tents of flesh.
Post 05-19-14