A matter of Life and Death!

Is it important to believe in Jesus as your personal Savior? What does God say about it? Please read these verses and decide for yourself:

1st John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Now, after reading these verses, you might think that God is narrowed minded. Well, He is, but as narrow minded as He is, He is also giving us a great opportunity to be forgiven and to have eternal life by believing ONLY in Him. Many don’t choose His way, and create their own path to reach heaven, but according to God, which is what matters, they won’t get there. We need to get there on His terms, and that is “receiving the forgiveness of all of our sins through the blood that was shed on the cross when He died for you and me.

Jesus said: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Mat 7:13-14. Are you one of those few?

The Bible - The Words of God!

If you want to know about God, where do you find information about Him? If you want to know what is God's will for your life, where do you look for it?

The Bible is God's Word. In it, there is all God wants to reveal about Himself to us. By reading it, you will find who God is and what He is like. You will find salvation, transformation for your life and guidance. Yes, we can know about God through looking at the splendor of His creation, but He revealed Himself in detail through the Bible. II Timothy 3:16 says: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

Reading it has many benefits, the most important being "salvation." The lost paradise and eternal life of Genesis are gained back by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and given to us as a free gift, when we confess our sins and receive Him by faith, trusting that His blood washes away our sins, by believing that He died and rose from the dead. Romans 10:9 says "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." and 1st John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The Bible is Truth. Jesus Christ said in John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." So, if you are looking for the Truth, there is nowhere else to look, read it in the pages of God's Book. Many try to get satisfaction in life without it, or apart from it, but I've found that the only way to contentment is found in reading, believing and following what God says through His Words. Jesus Christ also said in Matthew 4:4 "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Feeding our stomachs only satisfies our bodies, but our spirits and souls stay empty. The Bible (every word that proceeds from the mouth of God) is the only food that satisfies the inner person, our spirits and souls.

Read it, believe it, follow Him; you will never be disappointed.

PRAYER AND FAITH

The Lord puts us through different circumstances in life so that we grow closer to Him. And, what is better than being close to Him? Have you experience being in God's presence? Prayer does just that. It transports us from the natural, the physical to the invisible, the spiritual.Faith is seeing and touching the spiritual realm.

Prayer takes you there. Faith and prayer go together. When faith stops to pray, it stop to exist. Faith does what is impossible, because it brings God into the picture, and for God "...nothing is impossible." E.M. Bounds, who wrote great books on prayer, wrote once: "Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God."

In the latter days, the faith of many will diminish. This is affirmed by our Lord Jesus when He said: "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8. We know by reading passages such as 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 that a time is coming and it is now where people will abandon and even deny their faith. So, we need to pay attention to our walk in Christ and make sure that our faith is growing by exercising it through prayer.

2nd Peter 1:5 says "... giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to your virtue knowledge" Peter knew that the ground on which christian character was to grow was faith. The words "giving all diligence" makes it an urgent matter. He had experienced a moment in his life where he needed faith to continue. When Jesus was looking forward into Peter's future denial, He told Peter: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desire to have you, to sift you as wheat; BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR THEE, THAT THY FAITH FAIL NOT." Jesus was interested in Peter's faith.

When our faith is gone, our spiritual life fails. Inject faith into your spiritual life by starting and maintaining a life of prayer.

UNTAPPED POWER!

My wife sent me this article about prayer this morning, and really encouraged me to persevere in prayer, no matter how the circumstances may be.

When We Pray – God Works!
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

(1) God listens when we pray. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Mark 11:24). You may not have much clout anywhere else, but when you pray God listens.

(2) We seldom pray. We've the greatest privilege imaginable - access to the control center of the Universe - yet we rarely use it. And our lack of prayer surprises God. Through the prophet Ezekiel He lamented: "I sought for a man among them who would . . . stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one" (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV). Upon learning that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed, Abraham didn't rush to warn the cities. No, he chose to "[remain] standing before the Lord" (Genesis 18:22 NIV).

When God said the golden calf warranted a nationwide death penalty for Israel , Moses interceded and saved them. One translation of Exodus 32:11 says, "Moses soothed the face of his God." An obscure priest by the name of Phinehas begged God not to send the plague, and it was checked. (Psalm 106:30 NIV).

You say "Why place such a premium on prayer?" Simple. Because when we work, we work. But when we pray, God works! Scripture attaches breathtaking power to prayer. "When two of you get together on anything . . . and make a prayer of it, My Father in Heaven goes into action" (Matthew 18:19 TM). Does any other activity promise such results? Did God call us to preach without ceasing? Or have committee meetings without ceasing? No, but He did call us to "pray without ceasing."

HE DOESN'T LIE

The Bible is full of God’s promises. They are waiting for us Christians to tap into them by praying and believing. 2nd Peter 1:3-4 says “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” These are incredible words when you stop and read them and meditate on them. Read them slowly…. He has given us all that we need in the life to experience God and His character in our lives (godliness). We can experience Him by praying and believing God’s “precious and great promises.”

This is an amazing way of life, when we truly dip into God’s Word and through prayer, ask God to fulfill these promises in our lives according to His will. That’s what this passage means: “Ask anything in my name, and I will do it.” No just anything that we want, but anything that pertains to life and godliness, any of His promises; anything related to His Word, His will, everything that He wants. In His perfect time, He will answer.

Regarding God’s promises, the apostle Paul says: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2nd Corinthians 1:20. Let’s take a minute to practice this now: God promises “peace” to His followers. Now, how do we experience that peace? Take one of His promises; for example, Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” The promise is: perfect peace. Our action is: trust in God, fix our thoughts continually in Him. When we do our part, His perfect peace will fill our lives. It is His promise, and He doesn’t lie.

Now, go and do it!

TROUBLE: A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

The psalmist wrote: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statues. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” Psalm 119:71,75. I don’t know about you, but troubles always draw me closer to God. They make my prayer life come alive. They are the conduit for experiencing strength that comes from God through prayer.

Life in itself is full of problems. Everyone knows of the Bible’s greatest example of trouble: Job. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 14:1. No one is exempt from it. The Lord Jesus said: “In this world, you will have trouble.” John 16:33. Notice that He said “you will,” not “you may.” Granted, some have more than others, but the issue is: what do we do when trouble comes our way? Do we curse God, get far away from Him and try to fix life our own way? Or do we bless God, get closer to Him and let Him fix our lives His own way? The choice is ours to make. Chose right.

Jesus’ complete statement in John 16:33 goes like this: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." His Word is given so that we may have peace, consolation, tranquility. Trust Him, He defeated the world.

THANK YOU FOR.....!

“The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” Psalms 126:3 Thanksgiving is born from a clear understanding of God’s goodness to us. What great things has the Lord done for you? Well, let’s think about salvation for starters. Because of our sins, we deserve hell, being eternally separated from God in hell, but God in His goodness, provided a way for us to be eternally together with Him by forgiving our sins through His sacrificial death, the shedding of His precious blood on the cross, and His resurrection. Isn’t that big enough cause to be thankful?

Prayer and thanksgiving go hand in hand. Where there is true prayer, there is true thanksgiving. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; ” Colossians 4:2 And then in the letter to the Thessalonians, it is written: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. .” 1st Thessalonians 5:16-19. Wow! Here is the solution to the problem of anxiety: “Prayer with thanksgiving.”

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. .” Philippians 4:6-7

Now, don’t just read this; to make it work you need to try it; just pray to God and tell Him: “Lord, thank you for…..”