The source of hope...

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" Lamentations 3: 21-24 NKJV I, for one, am thankful that GOD is a GOD of second chances. I know that I have pushed the envelope on that one, but GOD is faithful--even when we are not. We have hope because of Jesus, because He was born of a virgin, because He lived a sinless life and willingly sacrificed Himself on the cross to provide our salvation. He didn't have to & we certainly didn't deserve it. We deserved the sentence of death and eternal separation from GOD in Hell with the devil and his demons. But GOD, in His great love for us, showed mercy & compassion towards us. We have reason to be thankful for His mercy & His grace. Left to our own devices, we easily fall prey to the wiles of the devil. Satan's tricks are not new, they are as old as time itself. He used them to persuade angels to follow him in rebellion against GOD. He uses them still to convince humans to live in rebellion, contrary to the Will of GOD. He perverts things GOD intended for good--look at what he has done to sex. GOD created sex as a physical, emotional & spiritual union of a man and a woman in a committed marriage relationship. Satan has perverted it by making it cheap through pornography, through pre & extra-marital sexual relations--worst of all, he has perverted it through homosexuality. GOD never intended for people to be intimate with those of the same sex--Satan did that! Remember Sodom & Gomorrah and what became of those evil cities & the inhabitants thereof? Satan has also twisted up our views of money, possessions & material things. There is nothing wrong with having things but rather than owning them, we've allowed them to become our master instead. They (material things, that is) have become idols to us. We think we can't live without the newest gadget, the flashiest car, a larger home, a fatter bank account--all at the expense of our relationship with GOD. GOD is a jealous GOD--He doesn't like to share our hearts with anything or anyone else. Deuteronomy 4:23-24 says, "Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." We are reminded of this same concept again in the New Testament, in Matthew 6:24 which reads, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Why then do humans struggle with this so? Why has it plagued mankind for centuries? Why do we allow Satan to exercise control over us in these areas? We are rebellious and disobedient children. Just like Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, we think we can live life on our own terms--but, it doesn't work that way. GOD will not bless a life lived in opposition to His Word & Commandments. He allows us to exercise our free will choice and suffer the consequences of those decisions. You see, often we blame GOD for the problems in our lives when they are the outcome of our poor life choices. Yet, while He could simply leave us to suffer--He extends grace to us repeatedly because He is loving and compassionate. He is our source of hope, He is our faithful Father, He is the breath of life and He delights in making provision for His Children. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy." (Psalm 147:11) How can we rebel against, be disobedient towards, or withhold praise from the Lover of our souls? My hope is in Him. I pray yours is as well... Blessings! Tony

Let's not play church...

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24 NKJV I think one of the major problems in the world today is that people are tired of seeing people play church. Those in the world tend to think those in the church are nothing but hypocrites and maybe there is some degree of truth in that. Maybe, as Christians, we've become so sterile in our approach to people that we turn them off. Maybe we've become so professional & polished in our Christianity that we've forgotten where we came from and especially what GOD has delivered us from. Have we been doing church so long that we no longer remember what a mess we were when GOD found us? We lived lives that were offensive to both GOD and man, but the GOD of the universe reached down into the filth of humanity, picked us up out of the muck & mire of this world and miraculously saved us! We've conveniently forgotten the path Satan had us on, the road to destruction that was taking us straight to the depths of Hell. On the other hand, we often look at those in the world like as if they are beyond hope. Many churches these days are exclusive rather than inclusive. We find ourselves unable to look past the outer cloak of flesh they wear--with it's bedraggled clothing, the unkempt hair, the multiple piercings and tattoos. We need to look at them through GOD's eyes, "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV) GOD desires that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), so that should be our goal as well. If we carry the name of Christ, we need to love others as GOD does and do what is in our power to see them come to salvation. Far too many churches are more interested in building bigger buildings, having bigger choirs, reaching the next level in attendance--but they have forgotten the purpose that the church exists for, to reach a lost and dying world with The Word of GOD. We send missionaries to foreign lands but we are afraid to walk across the street or speak the name of Jesus to another person in the supermarket. We are failing miserably in carrying out the Great Commission, especially in touching the lives of those closest to us. GOD forgive us! These are my thoughts, what are yours? Blessings! Tony

Lord, help me understand...

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV Lord, give me wisdom and give me understanding. So much has happened and so little of it makes sense to me. Not so long ago, America was a nation of people who trusted in You. She was a nation founded on Christian principles and because of that she was strong & blessed. Our military was second to none & the nations of the world stood in fear and in awe of our might because You were our strength and as long as we kept our focus on You, we were shown Your favor. So, how did we get to where we are now? Have we, as Christians, grown so pathetic and so complacent that we no longer stand for anything? We have allowed the voices of a few who claimed they were offended by "religion" to dictate the laws of our land. What must we do to get back to what we once had? How can we turn the tide of political correctness and reclaim what we have lost? I am sickened by those elected officials who claim to represent us when their only interests are in pacifying liberal leftists who cry foul at anything that doesn't agree with or endorse their views. I know You must be disappointed at what this country has become also. Christianity is on the brink of becoming outlawed because it speaks against immorality, homosexuality & other sexual perversions, idolatry, drunkenness, laziness, and many other ills that our society now embraces as normal. I know Your Word tells us "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14), but how do we get back there from where we now are? I am but one man, Lord. What can I do? On my own, I cannot & will not be heard. How can I rally lazy, complacent Christians to once again engage in the battle? We need a revival! Lord, let that revival begin in me and let it spread to my community, my state, my country & the world as a whole! Lord, make Your Presence known--fill Your people once again with a fresh anointing of Your Holy Spirit. Let us suit up with the full armor of GOD and fight the evil one that is overtaking this world. Give us boldness to speak Your Name & to proclaim You to everyone & everywhere we go. Let us not be the generation that sits back while one by one our freedoms are stripped away. So many have fought & died to preserve these rights--we cannot sit idly by. How will we respond to the generations to come? Will we tell them we gave up or will we tell them they are free because we stood in the gap & fought to preserve freedom for those who came after us? Give us courage so that we can say we fought the fight and finished the race and we can claim the crown of righteousness that awaits us when we reach Glory! Rally the troops, Lord, we have a battle to win! Who out there is with me? Who will help me fight for the Lord, for our freedoms and against tyranny?