Eternity is a Long Time

  Even though our faith can be summed up in one sentence – “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) – it is so deep as to be unsearchable. This means we can never fully understand all of what our faith in Jesus means. Of course, if we could totally understand it, then our faith would not be worth much. However, we often feel overwhelmed by the enormous depth of our faith. So, it is good to look at verses which summarize what we are to do with our faith. Some of these verses are: Luke 9:35 35  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Matthew 11:28-30 28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   3...

When God comes through for you the sense of gratitude you feel – or should feel – is immense. Arguably the sense of gratitude should start at the moment of salvation. When you have been saved from the condemnation of this world through faith in Jesus, your thankfulness should be out of this world. If you truly understand what you have been saved from, then nothing else can come close. Sometimes we only look for the big, audacious miracles or instances in our lives where we can point to and say to others, “Look at what God does”. However, by being a little more soft-hearted and open, you will see beautiful “smaller” miracles, joy, gifts, doors that were opened or shut that are all the work of God. This is why it is so important to keep a soft heart so we can recognize the many movements of God in our lives. But we are soldiers of the God of Creation who loves us more than we do ourselves. Like any loving father would do more for his children other than providing half the necessary...

    How many times have you said something and then immediately wanted to take back what you said? Unfortunately, there is no delete key for spoken words. Often, it happens in moments of passion and emotion where we let our words get ahead of our brain and we wish we could be anywhere else in the world.   Our tongues can be so useful and helpful. We can educate, instruct, entertain, uplift, encourage and help people with our words.   We can also insult, condemn, put down, hurt, lie, discourage and injure people with our words which come out of the same mouth as the good words.   The tongue can be a mighty weapon which can be used for good or bad and the consequences, both good and bad, sometimes far exceed the initial intent of the words.     Two other points need to be made before we go into the Bible verses. First, there are times when words need to be used as a weapon. Secondly, the hearer of the words has a responsibility to have grace and understa...

  In a November 6 post on X , Candace Owens stated: The doctors who are performing these irreversible surgeries and prescribing these puberty blockers to children are going to burn in hell for an eternity. As will every person who has been complicit in or directly benefited from these satanic practices. No, Candace, these horrible doctors will NOT burn in hell because of prescribing puberty blockers and the rest. The only way you burn in hell is if you are not born again of the spirit ( John 3:5-8 ) and refuse to believe in Jesus as your savior ( John 3:16 ). THE. ONLY. WAY. That means if a doctor who has mutilated children, given them puberty blockers and done other horrible things repents, humbles himself to God and believes in Jesus then that doctor WILL BE in heaven. Jesus died once for all including those who do vicious, terrible things. Anything we do can be covered by His blood as long as we repent. I know that's hard for some people to deal with - but it is the truth. It is...

[ This is a devotional/study I put together for my department at work (Christian organization) ] Jesus talks about the sign of Jonah and the Queen of the South together in both Matthew and Luke’s gospel. He makes His point speaking to Pharisees and Scribes as well as to other people.  Can’t you hear some people saying: “Oh no, not Pharisees again. We do not have any Pharisees anymore and Scribes went out with the printing press. This is another example of how the Bible is not relevant these days.”  This is where we need to understand the principle Jesus is getting at and not get caught up with the particulars of the story. Too many people do not want the Bible to be relevant so it gives them the opportunity to do what they want with no consequences. As we go forward, consider that you may be the Pharisees or scribes in these verses.  Let’s first look at how Matthew relates the story.  Matthew 12:38-42 (ESV) 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, say...

Things that make you go hmmm... In 2008 I was deployed to Kuwait. While there, I walked past two guys who were sitting at a table outside the barracks where I lived. The Holy Spirit made it extremely clear that I was supposed to go over and talk with those guys - I didn't go. I've always wondered what would have happened if I had obeyed God instead of me. Today, I was reminded of how I used to climb through the window of the chapel of Norwich University at night just to sit there and ponder life. I wasn't a born again Christian in those days - that came 20 years later - but I was certainly open. Was someone supposed to come and talk with me during that time and, like I did years later, ignored the direction of the Holy Spirit? If so, what would have been different - for me and others - if I had given my life to Jesus in 1982 rather than 2002? In the end, it is what it is. God's ultimate plan will happen despite his children not obeying Him all the time. That being said,...