Are You Sure You Belong To God?

To truly know if one is or to become a child of the Living God through Jesus Christ, I believe there are four elements necessary in starting this amazing journey with God.

1. Believe: Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He came in the form of man to, through His redemptive work on the Cross, take upon Himself the sins of man - past, present, and future. Acts 16:31, 1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 2:24

2. Confess: Confess you are a sinner. Breaking the laws of God - use the Ten Commandments as a guide - Are you lying? Are you stealing? Are you looking at a man/women with lust in your heart? Are you committing murder? (Jesus said being angry with someone is as committing murder) etc. If so, then confess it - tell God, I am a sinner and I need your Grace. 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 10:9

3. Receive: Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, and allow Him to be Lord of every area of you life - Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.
Colossians 2:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:9

4. Repent: Repent of sin. Stop doing the things you know are against what God wants for you (You learn this through reading the Bible, going to a solid faith based Church, and fellowship with other believers.) Acts 3:19, Acts 20:21, Colossians 3:16, Romans 12:10

**The Scriptures above are but a few examples to glean from, good Bible study reveals much.**

Do these things and you are well on your way to an abundant (not always easy) but absolutely abundant (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, goodness, self-control, just to name a few) life!

A Simple Prayer Can Begin to Change Your Life...

God, I realize that I have done wrong by not listening to what you ask me to do with my life. I have sinned against You and I confess my sin. I believe You sent your Son Jesus Christ to take upon Himself all my sins, and through Him, I can be made right with You. I believe He died and rose again and is alive! If I ask for forgiveness, I can receive it and become Your child. Please forgive me God, I receive Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for setting me free! Help me to turn from sin and live my life, Your way. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

Tell Your Story

We all have a story to tell, especially as Children of the Most High God. TELL YOUR STORY. Tell of the pain and the heartache. Tell of the sadness and the hurt. Tell of the disappointment and rejection. Tell of all the mistakes you made and thought you were never going to get out of. Tell of the lying, and the cheating, and the stealing. Tell of being a drug addict. Tell of being abused as a child. Tell of the times you ran from God. And when you are done with that, TELL YOUR STORY! Tell the story of how Jesus came into your life and swept you off your feet! Tell of how He came in and cleaned house in your heart! Tell of how through His redemptive work on the Cross you ARE SET FREE! Tell of how you will spend all eternity with God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and those you love who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb! We all have a story to tell, tell yours today and believe God to send Holy Spirit to save a life. God Bless

The Lost are Important to God

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people -- even eating with them!
So Jesus used this illustration:
"If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?
And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders.
When you arrived, you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.
In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
"Or suppose a woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it?
And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she has found her lost coin.
In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents." LUKE 15:1-10

God is teaching us here that as the lost sheep and lost coin are important to the Shepherd and the Woman, so are lost people important to Him. As the two go to great lengths to find the lost sheep and coin, so God goes to great lengths to find the lost of this world. And finally, as the two take great measure in rejoicing over finding that which was lost, God and His angels rejoice when a lost person (unsaved / back sliden) is found! If the lost are so important to God (remember, we were once lost ourselves) shouldn't they be important to us too? God Bless.

Small Mind.

God cannot be kept in the smallness of our minds, so why try and keep Him there? Let go, and travel with Him, through the journey of life. Look for Him in the unusual, not the usual. Look for Him in the illogical, not the logical. Look for Him in the places that don't make sense. Look for Him with your heart - Jeremiah 29:13. We are but finite creatures, why try and hold down our infinite God? If you don't let go, you cannot grow! Christian, stop fooling yourself into believing it's about this life. God bless.

Change It!

Tired of the same ol routine? Then change it! We decide what each day will bring, and the best decision one can make is to include God in everything. Wake up, include God. Brush your teeth, include God. Eating breakfast, include God. Get it? Want a real pick-me-up? Stop and pray a few times throughout the day, the Lord will refresh your soul like nothing else, Hallelujah!

Just Talk To People, You Might Save A Life.

By God's grace and His love, I get to stop and talk to many people. People from all walks of life and from varying religious ideas. Very few people are rude to me, maybe it's my winning personality and dashing smile, he he he. I think it's more because people are people and we all like genuine personal contact with each other. Hey, who hasn't been warmed by a hello and a smile from someone just happy as can be? As I talk to people however, it becomes very clear that many are not happy. I can see it in their eyes. And so I talk to them about God and about His plan to make them one of His own. His desire to bring peace and security to lost and hopeless people. Most are receptive, some don't want to hear it (here the mood changes at times). But hey, as Christians, were not called to make a change in a persons thinking, only to share the good news and love on people ~ The Almighty does the rest. It is interesting though how sometimes, it quickly goes from very friendly conversation to not. A great majority of people I meet are into religion and philosophies that when you really hear it, is quite fantastic ~ I mean, parting an entire sea in two is something, but the things I hear. And these folks are convinced that what they believe is the right thing. I like to ask, "so what happens when you die?" I get answers that really breaks my heart because I know that if Christ doesn't become real to them real soon, they are going to suffer an eternity apart from God. But I trust my King to do as He says in His word and so I press on and share with as many as I can. Please join me in prayer and let us together ask God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit to give us many opportunities to share Jesus with those around us. God Bless.

My Prayer For You

My prayer for you from Philippians 1:9-11

I pray that your love will keep on growing and you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God. God Bless.