FORGOTTEN JESUS

    For a period of about three months, I would drive by a Jesus statue.  It was sitting on a four-lane highway, at an intersection. Twice a day, I would see this statue and God would deal with me to write about how America has forgotten Jesus.  This statue probably was carried over to the highway from a nearby graveyard.

     I don’t know who sat the statute in the median at that intersection.  I don’t know where the statue went when it disappeared.  All I know is that it spoke volumes to me. Just as a relationship with Jesus is treated with care when we first become Christians, this statue was carefully and meticulously painted. At one time, the statue had been painted with a purple robe, brown hair, and olive skin.  Over time, it became faded and chipped by the elements. We are careful to pray for strength and guidance. We care about how our walk reflects on Jesus. We do all the things we think are required of us. This doesn’t keep us from growing cold. Our perceived duties do not keep us on the straight and narrow.

     How do we know we are on the right path?  Are we doing what is really required of us as Christians? Are we following a laundry list of what is perceived to be our duty? Hopefully, we are doing what is necessary to build our relationship with Christ. It is not about our lists of Christian things.

AMERICA AND THE CHURCH WORLD OF TODAY

      Many of the churches in America today have given over to the idea of Christianity without Christ.  Jesus’ blood is not preached anymore for fear of offending someone. They watch slasher films and true crime complete with blood and gore, but the message of the cross is too bloody.  The message of the gospel is as forgotten as the Jesus statue.

     If we can make radical changes in our lives and walk with Christ according to the word, we can change our world. Being a Christian is not about following a bunch of rules.  It is about a relationship. It is not about judging one another, but following Christ’s example by walking in love.

     Forgotten Jesus reminds us of how we have moved away from the old landmarks to a modern (wrong-thinking) liberal congregation.  We as Christians are not meant to be judgmental critical people.  We are supposed to walk in love.  However, standing for what is right and biblically true is not being judgmental.  If we handle it the right way, we can gain someone.

     For example, walking up to someone you know is living in sin and telling them, “If you don’t change you will split hell wide open.”  It may be true, but it puts them on the defense and they will feel attacked.  When a person is being defensive you will never get them to see your point of view.  It is much easier if you find common ground.  Try to build a relationship with them, for the purpose of showing them, love.

       Often, we don’t appreciate what we have until it is gone.  I am afraid that America is on that path.  The liberals that hate us so much will someday wish we were there to hear our sermons. There was a time that people made a conscious decision to turn their back on God. Many were raised in the church by God-fearing parents.  It was impossible to get away from a grandma’s prayers.  So, people had a basic idea of what it meant to be a God-fearing person.  Even if people chose not to follow Christ, they at least had respect for Christians.

      Then society started breaking down. Fewer and fewer people started attending church. In turn, their children were not raised in fear of the Lord.  They were never taught what it means to walk by faith.  Left with no choice they learned to make the best of their life on their own.

     2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Tim 4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  

     Today we even have a worse situation; the watered-down gospel. We have the mega-churches with all their “happy” doctrine.  God never promised that this life would be peaches and cream.  He never said the road would be easy.  He never promised the mountains would not be hard to climb.  He promised to go with us every step of the way.

     When people preach that God wants us to have this overly happy life, I wonder if they really buy that snake oil they are selling.  Do they believe it or are they up to something else?  It is all a part of the all-roads lead to heaven, do what makes you happy doctrine.  This doctrine is not accurate according to the bible.   

     If we are meant to be happy all the time, with no problems or struggles, then there would be no need for most of the Psalms, as well as a lot of other scripture.  We need to learn to navigate this life in order to be prepared for the next.  In other words, these people have forgotten the real message.  They have forgotten Jesus.

LONG ROAD? YOUR CHOICE

I was thinking about some of the stories in the Old Testament today, as I drove to a birthday party. There was a song I was listening to and it was all about saying, where you lead I will follow. I told my mom, I wish I could say that to God. I will go where you want and do whatever you send me to do. Because I am human, there is a little bit of fear in fully surrendering in blind faith. There is hesitation to be ready to run. What do we have to fear? We don’t go alone?

I told her we say, I will go where you want and do what you want as long as it’s easy. We don’t want to step outside of our comfort zones. In this age we live, it’s gonna take that very thing to win the lost. I am working on being obedient and stepping out in faith. God honors boldness, look at David when he faced Goliath. He had to be a little bit scared. But he was brave and did it anyway. This is why I encourage my readers to be bold and brave. God honors the bold and the brave.

Then I thought about Jonah, God told him to go to Ninevah and preach. He didn’t want to go there because they were evil and wicked. (The kind of place he should have been excited to go and win the lost.) Instead, he went the opposite way. The story goes he got on a boat, in the opposite direction. A storm came and he was tossed overboard. A large fish swallowed him. He spent three days and nights in the belly of this fish. He repented and God allowed the fish to throw him up on dry land. He was all too happy to go to Ninevah once he had been through that experience.

He ended up doing what God ask of him in the first place. He just took the long road there. I don’t want to have to go the long way around, for not being obedient. Because I will end up where he wants anyway. I want to be obedient to his will. It should be our prayer, where you lead me I will follow. I will follow because I trust you, Lord.

Take a few minutes to think about where you stand. Are you ready to go where he sends you or do you need to take the long road? Have a great week, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

Oh How I Love Jesus

The old hymn says, “Oh How I Love Jesus because he first loved me.” I was thinking today about God’s love for us. As a teenager, I would hear the older saint testify about how much they loved Jesus. He was their whole world. They would say how they couldn’t make it without him. Some would say things like they couldn’t breathe without him. They didn’t want to live even a second without him. At the time, I couldn’t relate and wondered how they got to that place in life. After all, I didn’t have any worries. My parents took care of me and I had a good life.

As an adult, I know what they meant. When we walk through some storms in life, we realize we cannot make it without him. The more things we walk through, the stronger our bond to our Lord. Hard things we face in life can kill us or make us stronger. They will help us grow or make us bitter. I choose to live with the hope that God is in control. He wants us to love him with our whole hearts.

( “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jer 29:13 KJV ) I believe this is what happens as we walk through life. We learn how to pray and to Love God.

We are not born knowing how to love God. That is something we learn as our faith grows.

That reminds me of something that happened years ago. We were having a family dinner. My oldest nephew was around four years old. They had been teaching him the little kids prayer, “God is great, God is good and we thank him for our food…”

He wanted to say grace, He didn’t do that prayer he said, “thank you for our food,” then he paused for a moment, so long that my mom finally asked if he was done. He then shook his bowed head and said, “help me love God. Amen.”

That was such a sincere prayer from the heart. I changed it a little, now I say, “help me Love You More God.” He honors that prayer daily.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

VALUABLE

John 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV

A thief will only steal what is valuable. We are all valuable to Jesus. The worst sinner or the most moral person, we are all loved by God. The devil is jealous that God loves us so much. (So much that he sent his son to die for us.) The devil wants to steal our souls. He knows we are valuable to God. That is why he wants to steal every soul possible. God doesn’t want even one to be lost. God didn’t want automatons, he gave us free will. It is his hope that we will use that free will to choose to love and obey him.

The enemy has unleashed the spirit of suicide to kill and destroy people. He knows if those people truly get a grasp on how much they mean to God, he has lost them forever. It is his self-appointed job to destroy every soul he can before he meets his fate. The devil uses every dirty trick in his wheelhouse to make that happen.

People need to know that they are valuable and loved. This is part of our mission, to show God’s love to those around us. We are called to walk in love. Be on guard and ready to defend our hearts and minds against the words of the enemy. Satan tells us we are not good enough. That is a lie from hell. Jesus’ precious blood makes us good enough.

It is time for the body of Christ, to allow the Holy Ghost in us, to arise. Making us the warriors we were meant to be; going forth in love and power. Looking for those that are valuable to our heavenly father. Before the enemy can spin his lies telling them they have no worth.

Many things that are considered valuable have a high cost. No greater price could be paid for us than Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. That my friends, is how I know I am valuable and you are too.

Until next time, BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

WALKING ON WATER

I was thinking about Peter today. This particular story can be found in Matthew 14. Jesus sent the disciples across a body of water to the other side, so they could rest from the crowd. Then they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. Peter said if it’s you Lord bid me come to you. Jesus said come and Peter stepped out in faith. He walked on water.

The winds started blowing and the waves got big, he lost his God focus and sank. Then he cried out to Jesus. He reached down and lifted him up. We can be walking out our faith. The enemy sends winds of doubt our way. He whispers that we are not good enough, we are not what God says we are, and many other lies. We start wondering if it is true. When we start wondering, we are slowly losing our focus on what God wants us to focus on.

Then the enemy sends a flood to drown us. But Jesus is there to hold back the flood waters and lift us up. He will not allow us to be overtaken. (Isaiah 59:19–So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.)

We say nothing is impossible with God, or with God, all things are possible, but do we really believe it? I believe it is possible to do all things with God’s help. We are only limited by our faith and our God focus. In order to have the kind of faith Peter did, we need to walk with Jesus for a little while.

When we fall or start to sink in the attack of the enemy, it is important that we not beat ourselves up. Everyone stumbles, and everyone falls down, the important thing is to remember who is there to pick us up and cry out to Jesus to save us from the storm. It is possible to regain our God focus even in the deepest pit of fear, anxiety, depression, or sin.

How do we develop a clear focus on God? One way is to pray and worship God. He wants us to be in his presence with our minds on him. Another way is to dig into the word, devour it, study it, and search it for hidden gems of truth. It is God’s love letter to us.

In the lyrics of a Jason Crabb song, “It’s not how you walk on water, its how you walk on land.” In other words, this life is not about the huge things, but about all the little moments lived well. Then maybe God will trust us with the big, “walk on water” moment.

Have a Blessed Week! BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

WORRY IS NOT FAITH

I often tell the story of a little preacher that attended our Sunday School meetings. Since giving up being a pastor, he rarely preached. One Sunday morning he got up to testify and said, “I thank God for all that he is, and worry is not faith.” I didn’t hear another word that was said for the rest of the service.

I was a chronic worry wart. I was bound by fear, anxiety, and worry. I began to ponder what he had said about worry. When we ask God to handle something and then turn around and worry about it, we are not trusting God. It is like we have no faith that God can handle it. We say we trust him, we say we believe the miracles in the Bible, yet we worry.

It is hard to change our thinking patterns. Worry is a way of life. It took me battling depression before I could break free. I am thankful for all my time in the pit of depression. It was in the darkness that I learned to pray. It was during that time that God help me change my mindset.

Take a moment today and think about how much you worry. If it is an issue, ask God for help and then remember, Worry is not Faith.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

Strongholds

2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds)

How often do we have a place where the enemy has dug in and will not let go? This is referred to as a stronghold. Then we try to fight the enemy with our willpower and our strength.

No one has ever overcome Satan’s strongholds by sheer will and strength. It takes God to help us.

Strongholds are lies we tell ourselves that keep us bound. Until we accept God’s truth about the situation we will stay bound. It is when we quit telling ourselves we are stuck that we truly find freedom.

If Christians could learn to not listen to the lies of the enemy, we would be free from ever falling into a situation that is a stronghold in the first place.

So, identify the strongholds and ask God to help you to tear down the strongholds of the enemy.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

Reflections

We often do a lot of reflecting over the past year at the beginning of a new year. We find much lost motivation to change and make life better. We look to the future with hope that the upcoming year will be a good year. Everyday, should be met with such hope that the old is gone. Our past is that, where we have been. The future is what God has ordained. Look to him today as you think about the future; because only what is done walking in God’s love counts. ❤️ BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS.

God Is With Us

I sit in my quiet living room this evening and thank God for his many blessings. Life gets tough sometimes and we often feel like the pressure of the waves is going to be too much to bear.

Then I am reminded that I am not in the swift current alone. Jesus is there reaching out his hand and pulling me up so I can breathe.

He is our life, our breath, our strength. We are never alone he is with us.

May you have a blessed week ahead. Be bold, be brave and keep your God Focus.

GOD CANNOT FAIL

Deut. 31-6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Fear is all around us, trying to close in on us. If you watch the news for any length of time you will be scared and depressed. I am not saying we should bury our heads in the sand and pretend everything is fairy dust and unicorns. We need to be wise and not allow the news to be our emotional navigation. The word of God should guide us, not the media. The word says to not fear for God is with us. We need to stand on that word. It is our guide. We belong to a loving heavenly father that cares about what happens to us. He will not fail us. Take in those five words. HE WILL NOT FAIL US. Say it out loud. Many things in this life will fail us, people will fail us, and family sometimes fails us, but God will never fail us. Even if he doesn’t give us the answers we want when we pray sometimes, it is not a failure on his part. It means he knows best and has answered no. Later down the road we often understand why he said no. Regardless of his answers, he cannot fail. The Bible is full of his promises to us. I like to think of it as a LOVE letter to his bride. It is full of battles won; declarations of his love for us. It shows his character and strength. It shows how he will protect his bride from the evil one. It ends with the total destruction of the evil one and all of his servant. If you find yourself feeling hopeless, remember you belong to a God that cannot fail.