The Simple Gospel...

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 NKJV The simplicity of the Gospel is perhaps why so many can't or won't accept it. As we age, we become skeptical, cynical, doubtful--we lose that childlike quality of faith. We cease to take things at face value, always seeking an underlying motive. Jesus Himself stated that we must receive the Kingdom of GOD as a little child in order to enter Heaven (Mark 10:15 & Luke 18:17) Children are typically very trusting, very accepting and extremely non-judgmental. They love unconditionally... Our status in life & our education sometimes get in the way as well. It's hard for us to overcome our own intelligence & sense of reason and accept simple truths. Jesus also explained to Nicodemus in John 3 about the spiritual birth, or being born again, saying the Gospel was available to "whosoever believes." The Pharisees were well-educated, familiar with the Law and considered to be leaders in the community. How could someone of his caliber accept the teachings of a lowly carpenter turned teacher? He did... Oh, we say we believe in GOD and the teachings of Jesus but our actions say differently. Even the demons believe (James 2:19) but believing in GOD is not enough--we must place our faith in Jesus, asking forgiveness for and turning from our sins. We deserve punishment--eternal separation from GOD and sentenced to a hellish torture. But, GOD loves us enough to offer us a free gift of salvation if only we will overcome our foolish pride and ask for it. The Christian life is not merely a list of "thou shalt nots"--it is a deeply personal and intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe, the One True GOD. He desires to fellowship with each of us individually. There is no cookie cutter approach that works for everyone. GOD made us all uniquely individual, so each relationship is also unique. We must cease to judge others because we see their sin as greater than our own. That is between them & GOD, just as our sin is between us and GOD. Let's work to keep it simple. The message is, was, and always will be, the same. Jesus came to earth and willingly sacrificed Himself in order to reconcile man once again to GOD. He rose again and lives eternally at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf. Still, each person has a free will & has to choose for him/herself whether or not to accept GOD's gift of grace. Our job is to tell the story. We never know how or when GOD will use our individual story, our testimony, to impact the life of another & potentially change their eternal destination. "And they overcame him (the accuser of the brethren) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..." (Revelation 12:11) My own story is not pretty, yet I share it when the opportunity presents itself & I've seen it minister to others. There is great comfort in knowing we are not alone in the struggles of life. Share your story & keep the message simple. GOD will honor your efforts & allow you to see the fruits of your labor--either here or in eternity to come... Blessings! Tony

The Trials of Life

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." Isaiah 43:1-3a NKJV In times of struggle, this has always been one of my "go to" Scriptures. It offers me reassurance that I am not in the fight alone. It reminds me that GOD is always at my side. It calms my fears when I am facing the uncertainties of life. Lord knows I have experienced many of those throughout my life--both before & after my salvation. Granted, I made a lot of bad choices along the way & once those seeds were sown, the harvest was sure to come. There are consequences for our actions of willful disobedience to the Lord. It all comes down to that stinking free will He gave us! And, Satan--boy, does he know how to push our buttons... I am reminded of a story I once heard about a boy with a bad temper. His father instructed him to go out back & hammer nails in the fence when he lost his temper. Day after day, week after week--the boy beat & hammered nails into the fence boards working through his frustration. Slowly, he began to gain control of that terrible temper. Then, the wise father told him to remove a nail each day he didn't let anger win. Daily, the boy dutifully pulled one nail until the day arrived that he was able to tell his father there were no more nails in the fence. The father led the son outdoors & told him how well he had done but finished with a lesson about the holes left in the fence after the nails were removed. It is good to say I'm sorry, but once the wound has been delivered a scar will remain. Words & actions do damage... So, yes--we mess in our nest, so to speak, at times. We create our own problems by speaking or acting without thinking. We think GOD isn't acting fast enough, so we devise our own plan to get the process moving along. How wrong! Remember what happened when Abraham & Sarah tried to help GOD's plan by allowing him to create a child with Hagar? Remember when King David looked lustfully at Bathsheba & the disastrous events that occurred as a result? We are not alone in our desires. We are actually in great company. Many people in Biblical times tried to do things in their own way. It is not a new game at all. King Solomon stated "there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9) How true! Trials come our way in life. That shouldn't suprise us. If the King of Kings & Lord of Lords experienced the trials of humanity in His sinless state, how much more should sin-sick man encounter trials? James 1:2-4 tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Additionally, 1 Peter 1:6-7 states "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" Trials have purpose--they stretch us beyond our comfort zone, they make us think outside the box, they force us to look at alternate perspectives--in doing so, they grow our faith and deepen our trust in The One who walks with us through this life, preparing us for the Eternal Life yet to come. Fact is, we will be a work in progress until we draw our final breath--unless of course Jesus returns to take us home to Glory. Life is something like Spring training or maybe boot camp. It is designed to shape & mold us, to remove the rough edges & polish us up to be the jewels GOD sees us as. What wonders await us across that Crystal Sea and on those streets of gold! But until we get there, we must fight the battle here in a world seemingly gone mad--one that appears to have declared war on all things Christian. Tired, frustrated, battle-weary as though we may be--we must fight, knowing He walks with us through the fires of life... Fight on, fellow soldier--the battle is the Lord's! Blessings! Tony

Faith, Works, Unity, etc...

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10 NKJV Is it just me? Do others of you grow weary in your efforts to minister to "the least of these" as directed by our Savior? The demands of life, work, family & church sometimes feel like weights, pulling me downward & wearing me out in my struggle to continue forward--reaching for the prize. As I reflect back on my life, I wonder sometimes if what I do & have done really matters. Yet, I know that is Satan working on my mind, trying to render me ineffective for the ministry GOD has called me to. That ministry is, for now, a part-time endeavor because I must work to support myself. I pray that GOD opens doors for me to make it a full-time ministry at some point in the near future. Still, at times I wonder--Lord, where is the harvest? Am I impacting this world for You? Must I wait til I reach Heaven to see the results of my efforts?Is there something in me that is hindering the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those I am trying to reach? I pray daily for those in ministry & missions. I know the task is a difficult one. I know we must all maintain faith & intercede on one another's behalf. At the same time, we must hold to our faith and continue working for the Kingdom. Am I saying works gets one into Heaven? NO! What I am saying that is out of a heart of gratitude to our Lord & for our own salvation, we "work" to spread the Gospel because of our faith in The One who saved us by His grace. In the book of James,(2:17 NKJV)--we are told "faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Then, there is "the household of faith" thing. Oftentimes, church people shoot their wounded. We tend to treat those outside the church body better than those in our own family of faith. We criticize, we gossip, we judge. Fact is, each & every one of us is accountable to GOD alone. That is not to say we are not to hold our brother accountable--we are. We should address our concerns to the individual rather than talking about them behind their backs to others. Matthew 18:15-17 gives instructions on how to deal with church disipline, however, many an issue can be resolved without the involvement of others and restoration can be accomplished one on one between two brothers/sisters. On the other hand, there are some who appear to thrive on being offended. They wear their emotions on their sleeves & wait for someone to say or do anything that can be taken as offensive. Many a friendship has ended, many a church has split over seemingy trivial instances where someone got offended. The offending party may be totally unaware they have done anything--then again, it is best to address things one on one to restore the relationship to avoid a festering fued. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1 NKJV Unity is yet another issue. Various churches & denominations look down on one another & speak ill of one another. What we seem to miss is that we are all on the same team, the same mission--bringing lost souls to salvation. We should work together to accomplish that rather than in direct opposition to one another. Our goal should not be to steal members from one another--there are far too many lost people out there in the world! If we are fulfilling the Great Commission, all our churches in every Christian denomination will be filled to capacity & the need to build more churches will then become necessary in order to minister to all those we are bringing to faith in the Lord. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" Lord, my prayer is this--Fill us with your precious Holy Spirit & help us to realize that Satan is our enemy, rather than one another. Draw us together in Christian unity in order that the world might see & be drawn to You. Grant us wisdom, Lord. Help us to overlook one another's faults & shortcomings and be a true family of faith, working to build your Kingdom rather than our own. AMEN. Are you working for the Lord? He has a place that only you can fill. Surrender your will to Him & allow Him to use you for His purposes. That is my goal! Blessings! Tony