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?

Sweet Temptation?

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV Temptation...Satan has been playing that game for centuries and has he ever gotten good at it! Man however, is still falling for the same old thing. You would think we would catch on at some point, but he keeps dangling the carrot in front of us & we continue to fall for his tricks--pride, fame, wealth, drugs, relationships, etc. The result is ruined lives, fractured families, financial disaster and the like. On our own, we are not strong enough to withstand Satan's attacks--but, if we can overcome our own foolish pride (that Satan plays on so well) & learn to look to GOD & draw from His limitless strength--we can stand strong. Pride is what got Lucifer (Satan) into trouble to begin with. He, who was once a beautiful angel, allowed pride to over take him & thought he could rival GOD. His rebellion ended when he & his followers were cast out of Heaven. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall" & Lucifer's fall is a perfect example. Since he was forced from Heaven & knows what awaits us there as followers of Christ, it gives him all the more reason to desire to deter us from spending eternity in Paradise. He wants nothing more than to drag as many of mankind into the pits of Hell with him. What can we do? "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7b-8a). The closer we grow to GOD, the more distance we put between ourselves & the devil. But, don't be deceived into believing he goes away completely--he doesn't. We must always be on guard & not give him a place to sneak in--if he gets his foot in the door, he will barge right in. When we think we have come so far that we cannot fall, we are setting ourselves up for just that. We must remain humble before the Lord, we must remain pliable in His hands, we must seek Him even in seemingly insignificant matters because He is interested in even the minute details of our lives. If we pray, seek GOD, study His Word so we have the ammunition with which to fight Satan's temptations. "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" James 1:12. Jesus Himself endured temptation, yet remained without sin. When He was at His weakest point, Satan came to Him but He was able to use GOD's Word to withstand. We have GOD's Word available to us, if we will but tap into it, mine out those golden nuggets that will allow us to also stand when temptation comes our way--and come our way it will, it is only a matter of time. We must learn to rely on GOD rather than self if we are going to win the battle against the devil. In the end, we're already told we win. Along with that, we get a heavenly reward, a mansion in glory, a crown of life...why would we not want that? Blessings! Tony

What does it mean to be Free?

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 NKJV Today is Independence Day, the Fourth of July. It is the day we celebrate our independence from the tyranny & oppression of England. 237 years ago, patriots took a stand and proclaimed liberty. As a result, a great new country was formed. History records that America was settled by people who were in search of religious freedom--Christian people, who desired to worship their Creator in the manner they saw fit without that worship being dictated by the Church of England. These people overcame great obstacles to carve a new nation out of the massive wilderness that was then, these United States. Problems & plagues came their way, yet they stood strong--refusing to waiver in the face of danger, trusting in the will of The One who had brought them to these shores. I looked up the words "freedom" & "liberty" in my trusted Merriam-Webster Dictionary and found their definitions to be the same. Both read, "the quality or state of being free." That prompted my question, "what does it mean to be free?" I suspect individual interpretations of the word "free" vary from person to person. As a Christian, I take my cues from the Bible. I found many references to free, freedom & liberty within GOD's Holy Word. John 8:36 reads, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." Then there are a couple of my favorites, Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." and 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." I've come to the conclusion that freedom doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. Apparently, what I see as a freedom is seen by some as oppression. Because many people no longer wish to live in accordance to GOD's Word, they see GOD's commandments as oppressive & restrictive. Freedom should not & does not mean we can choose to live however we want to. We are still bound by the laws of the land & even moreso by the laws of GOD, because while America's laws may change with the winds of time & supposed progress--GOD's laws never change as stated in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I do not change..." However as we have seen in recent years--liberals have pushed through changes in our legal system that 30-50 years ago would never have been allowed. Progress is not always positive. Where are we headed as a nation? Only GOD knows. I don't like everything I see happening to the country I was born in & taught to love, but I know that while the future is a mystery to me--GOD is already there. While I can only look at the present & past, His sight & knowledge extend to infinity. I need only trust Him to use whatever happens to bring about good, even when evil seems to prevail. I pray that we as a people will turn back to GOD & that America will once again be a blessed nation. For what it is worth, those are my thoughts. Blessings! Tony

Hate the sin, love the sinner...

"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." 1 John 4;20-21 NKJV I am on my soapbox again about political correctness. Much is said these days about "tolerance" & to the point it becomes nauseating. I say this because Christians are told we must be tolerant of any & everything the world throws at us. I'm not sure tolerance is a correct term. Tolerate, according to my much-referenced Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means "a: to allow to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction b: to put up with." I've stated my dislike (many times) for preachers & ministries who preach GOD as only a loving GOD who would never sentence any soul to Hell because it is against His Holy Character. Truth is, GOD is a GOD of love--but He is also a GOD of righteousness & judgment. As Christians, we are called to love & accept others--to look past their sin & love them in spite of the ugliness of the choices they have made. We are still to use the wisdom & discernment GOD gives us to judge sin as sin, but we are not to judge the soul of the person---only their behavior. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Prior to our salvation, each of us walked in sin. We all made poor choices. Still, GOD looked past that & loved us. We were--and are--sinners, but we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ our Lord. If we truly love our fellow man, rather than demean & belittle them, we should look back at where we came from. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb & the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). We cannot point people towards GOD if our life does not reflect the love of GOD. We should make them aware of the penalty of sin, but love them and help direct them towards salvation. But not for the people GOD put in my life through the years, I'd still be lost--were I still alive at all. Worse yet, had I died during my period of rebellion against GOD--my soul would now be burning in Hell for all eternity. GOD loved me enough to guard me through that period of my life & continually give me additional chances to know His love. During a time when I was steeped in alcohol, drugs & a promiscuous lifestyle--or in simple terms, SIN--GOD still loved me & desired to restore me to a right relationship with Him so I could fulfill the plans He had for my life. He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Some Christians & churches are exclusive--they don't want to dirty their saintly hands with the things of the world. But, how can we be effective in ministry if we don't reach out to people where they are? Jesus went to the sinners. He walked where they walked & in doing so, He called them out of darkness & into the light of GOD's love. Referring back to 1 Corinthians 6, it says "and such were some of you". Someone came to where we were, someone took a chance on dirtying themselves with the filth of the world in order to reach out to us. Because He loves us, we are to love others. We cannot profess Christianity if we don't love people. GOD help us to not think so highly of ourselves that we fail in our mission to reach out to others. To love them, we must accept them as they are--we must be "inclusive". Accept (once again according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary) means "to receive willingly", that sounds so much better than "tolerate". I'm reminded of the old altar call hymn, "Just as I am". GOD accepts & receives people just as they are. We should too. We should hate the sin, but love the sinner. Blessings! Tony

Our sins have been absorbed...

"And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 1 John 1b-2 NKJV According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the word "propitiate" means to appease & "propitiation" means something that propitiates; specifically: an atoning sacrifice. Think about that--Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. It is difficult for me to imagine a love so deep, a love so pure, a love so sacrificial that it would compel someone to give Himself to death in order to save others. Yet, Jesus willingly gave Himself to do just that. It gives me reason to be thankful for the fact that GOD loved me so much that He sent His only begotten Son to, in effect, serve as a sponge and absorb my sin. Just as a sponge absorbs liquids, Jesus Christ came to soak up the sins of the world--my sins, your sins, everyone's sins. One man, one sinless man, served as the substitute & took the penalty for the sins of the entire world. As His precious blood drained from His tortured & tormented body, hanging there on the cross of Calvary--it covered our sins and as the earth soaked up that blood, our sins were totally & completely done away with. Logically, it is hard to wrap one's mind around that fact. However, logic plays no part in faith. Faith calls us to believe that which seems illogical. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Therefore, we have hope. Lamentations 3:21-24 affirms that saying, "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!" All we have to do is accept His free gift of forgiveness & surrender our lives to Him. Why do so many refuse that gift? Why do so many despair? Why are so many fighting addictions, joining gangs, living in torturous torment at the hands of the devil? They are lost, dead in their sins because they have not allowed the Jesus of the cross to take those sins from them. As Christians, it is our responsibility, our duty & GOD's expectation of us to reach out to them--to tell them about the Jesus who died to atone for those sins, to show them the way of reconciliation & the hope they have in GOD. I am well aware of my shortcomings in witnessing for the Lord & I pray daily for boldness to speak openly of GOD's faithfulness & the forgiveness that is available through Him. He has delivered me from so much. Without Him, I am nothing. I desire that my life is a mirror that reflects the love & mercy of GOD & tells those I come in contact with that Jesus is the sponge that absorbs the sins of the world--theirs included. What are your thoughts? Blessings! Tony