May 17, 2021

“When Will All This Happen?”

3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? – Matt. 24:3

Ever since Jesus ascended into heaven with His promise of returning, people have asked the question — When?The disciples had even questioned Jesus about this before His death and resurrection. Is “when” important and if so, why is it important? If we knew for sure Jesus was coming back at the end of this month, would it make a difference? Would it cause us to be more diligent in witnessing our family, friends and neighbors? Would we be more committed to living a Holy lifestyle? Would it change our priorities? Would we gather our families around us and hold on to them tightly? Would we mourn or rejoice? Would we say. “even so, Lord, come quickly” or would we ask Him for a few more days to be sure our families were all saved? If we are truly honest with ourselves, would it really make any difference? If it would, then why doesn’t it make a difference even now? Only the Father knows when Jesus will return and only the Father knows when each of us will leave here. Since we don’t know either of these times, doesn’t it make sense to assume that it is today and live our lives accordingly? Shouldn’t we live each day seeking first the Kingdom of God and trust God to take care of the rest? If we could get to that point, then peace would overflow our hearts and life here on earth would be “joy unspeakable and full of glory”! Then “when” would become unimportant.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:8-9 NKJV

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

January 15, 2019

“What Do We See?”

41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.” — John 9:41 NLT

John 9:35-41 NLT

Jesus had just healed this blind man by making mud with dirt and His own spit. Can you imagine anyone in today’s society allowing Jesus to put that compress on their eyes? Can you imagine how many lawsuits Jesus would have been faced with because of His actions? How many shots and vaccines would this man have been advised to take because the spit of Jesus had touched his skin? Even back then, Jesus and the once-blind man had to suffer rejection and persecution because Jesus did this good deed on the Sabbath. It is not recorded that even one person besides the blind man himself, was excited and happy for him. When called by the Pharisees, even his parents refused to stand up for him because they feared rejection themselves. Isn’t still that way today? When we see good things happen to people, don’t we question and doubt? Don’t we try to tear down rather than build up? Don’t we look for hidden reasons that this happened? After all, it is just smoke and mirrors, right? As long as we think we can see, we will not ask for sight. As long as we trust our own intelligence, we will not ask for God’s wisdom. We, like the Pharisees and religious leaders will remain blind and ignorant because we claim we can see and understand when we cannot even imagine what God has in store for us. Not just in the sweet by and by in heaven, but right here and right now. We must ask God to open our eyes to see and our hearts and minds to believe so that we can access all the power and wisdom that He wants to give us.

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

Post 01-15-2019

September 30, 2017

Can We Now See?

even-smaller-bug-light1

19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” – John 9:19 NLT

John 9:16-23 NLT

About Jesus, some said He can’t be from God or He wouldn’t heal on the Sabbath. Others asked: then how can He do these miracles? No ordinary sinner could do this.” So, the discussion goes on and on. The Pharisees asked the former blind man “….who do you say He is?” The leaders called the parents to confirm that this man really had been born blind. They testified that he was their son and yes, he had been born blind. But because of their fear of the Pharisees, they denied knowing who healed him or how he was healed. Instead, they said, “he is old enough to speak for himself, ask him”. How sad that these parents could not celebrate the healing of their son because of their fear. Now, we must ask the same question and answer it for ourselves. “Who do you say He is?” Was he just a man? Or was that baby born in a manger early Christmas morning really the Messiah? That baby grew into a man who divided history to “before” (BC) and “after” (AD). His name still divides families and nations today. But that Man also gave His life so that you could be redeemed and live without fear. Accept Jesus and live a life of peace and joy that the world can never know. “Who do you say He is?”

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

Post 9-30-2017

February 28, 2016

I Can See Clearly Now

even-smaller-bug-light1 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” 24 The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” 25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. — Mark 8:23-25 NLT

John tells us that if all the miracles that Jesus did were written down, all the books in the world would not be enough to hold them (John 21:25). What we read about is a sampling of the things He accomplished while He walked the earth as one of us. Those samples are given to show us not only His great love and mercy toward us but, also to show us that He uses all kinds of methods and people to demonstrate that love. Sometimes the healings were immediate, sometimes they were a process. Some required only a touch of the hem of His garment, others required a word and others a word and a touch from Him. He has the authority to answer our requests in any way or time frame He chooses. But know this, He always answers. Just because the answer wasn’t what we wanted to hear or did not come in the expected time does not mean that He didn’t hear and answer. Paul prayed three times for his “thorn in the flesh” to be removed. Paul could have said that God didn’t answer his prayer, but after the third time, Paul accepted “No” as the answer. God’s answers can be compared to a trafiic light, green is “go”, yellow is “go slow” and red is “no”. We always want the green light, but when we have the red light, it gives others the opportunity to move. We must wait our turn. When we see the yellow light, we know that there is danger in proceeding, so we must be careful and prepare to wait, but be prepared to go when God gives us the green light. (Isaiah 40:31) The old saying that hindsight is 20-20 is true. When we look back over our lives, we can see clearly that God’s answer was the correct answer. The times we refused that answer is the times we experienced our troubles and sorrows.

December 25, 2014

“Praise the Lord, I Can See!”

God is waiting to show you the Way.

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Is this the same man — that beggar?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, but he surely looks like him!” And the beggar kept saying, “I am the same man!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.’ I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked.”I don’t know,” he replied. 13 Then they took the man to the Pharisees. 14 Now as it happened, Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He smoothed the mud over my eyes, and when it was washed away, I could see!” —John 9:8-15 (NLT)
The crowd was so astounded at this miracle they argued about whether this was the same man or not. These weren’t strangers, these were neighbors and others that had seen this man begging everyday. In their hearts they knew he was the same man, but their flesh rebelled at the thought of admitting it. If they accepted this as a miracle, then they would also have to accept Jesus as who He said He was. We can apply this spiritually if we replace the mud over the blind man’s physical eyes with the sins that blind our spiritual eyes. When we accept the truth of who Jesus is, His blood washes away all our sins and we can see more clearly. It reminds one of the old Hank Williams song’
“Just like a blind man I wandered along
Worries and fears I claimed for my own
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light.”
1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.–Isaiah 60:1 (NASB)
So, this Christmas morning as you arise, before you starting gifting and eating, take a moment and let the glory of the Lord shine and remember the real reason for celebrating this season.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! “For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth!”:
Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!
Post 12-25-14

March 21, 2014

Live It, Teach It, and Encourage Others

God is waiting to show you the way.

11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. 15 You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them.–Titus 2:11-15 (NLT)
Jesus gave His life so that we might live lives free of sin. He cleansed us and made us His very own. when we need more wisdom to accomplish His purpose, He freely gives it to us. We are covered and bathed in His righteousness. There are certainly days when we almost lose sight of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. But because of all He has done and is doing for us, we should live lives that are devoted to Him holding on to the hope that we will see Him one day and we will spend an eternity with Him. We must not only hold on to this hope, but we must teach and encourage our Christian brothers and sisters to do the same.
Post 03-21-14

Morning Meds (Take 1 each Morning with all the Prayer You Need)

Lifestyle and Encouragement

sight