“I’m not sure if deathbed confessions of faith are real,” she informed me. Like so many, my friend had the wrong view of Christianity. She viewed it as a chore, a list of don’ts, a stumbling block to her fun. If this is your view of Christianity, then yes, it doesn’t seem fair that after you have denied yourself for years, made sacrifices, that some joker could wait until the...
Nothing is Impossible
“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”” Matthew 19:26 NLT This was Jesus’ response to the disciples question, “Who can be saved?” You may read this and think, it is possible for every person to go to heaven because of God. While that is true, it’s not complete. Saved is “Sozo”. It means to protect, to heal, to prosper,...
Kissed by Mercy
Do you have any “grace suckers” in your life? You know that person who has that way of exhausting your grace. You may love them but you can only take them in small increments? Yesterday, it seemed all hell was breaking loose. I try to write two hours a day after work. But yesterday was filled with interruptions. Business that needed tending. Correcting mistakes I made. And yes, it required...
Requirements
What does God require of us? Do justly, love mercy and walk humbling with our God? Live sinless? Church attendance? Give to the poor? Baptism? Preach the gospel? Lay hands on the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons? No! According to Jesus there is only one requirement: Believe in Jesus. That’s it! All those other things are the fruit of believing. They are a response to...
Setting the Story Straight
“If God loves me, why would He send me to hell?” Every Christian who has shared their faith with someone has probably been asked that question. I guess Christianity has been presented as this elite club you must join. And to get in this club you must follow a list of do’s and dont’s, think the same way, vote the same way, and generally condemn anyone who worships differently, looks...
He Is Coming
I was talking with someone the other day about church and God. (By the way, it was in a public school.) We were talking about church doctrine. He was all excited because his church had begun a series on end times. “This is important because you have to make sure you are ready. Everybody is not going and you have to make sure your heart is right,” he explained to...
It’s Time to Re-Rag
Recently, I lost some weight. As a result, I had to get rid of my former clothes and buy new ones. Before I lost the weight, my former clothes were comfortable but now they were uncomfortable because I was constantly pulling on them or making sure nothing was showing. I remember one day praising God with one hand while holding up my jeans with the other. This Christian life can...
Need a Ride?
How can a loving God, condemn me to hell? I hear this question quite often. My answer, “He doesn’t!” Picture this: you are drowning in a lake, and a boat comes to rescue you. The captain of the boat extends his hand and offers you safety. But you survey the people currently in the boat. You see them backbiting and quarreling amongst themselves and you think, I don’t want to...
Got Wine?
Jesus has come! The Savior of the World. God incarnate. Love personified. To announce His coming, He performs His first miracle – Turn Water into Wine. Why wine? Wine symbolizes life. Jesus came to give us life abundantly. In turning the water into wine, Jesus took the ordinary and made it extraordinary. He wants to do the same with us. He has come to take our day-to-day, ordinary lives and...
He Loved the “Hell” Out of Us
Just a reminder my friends that God’s gift of salvation was just that – a gift. You did not earn it. You didn’t deserve it. It was given freely to you because God is good. Because God loved you when you were unlovable. God accepted you when you were unacceptable. God pronounced you righteous when you were unrighteous. God is faithful even when we aren’t. Let us extend that same...