Salvation

Are you Tuned In? Are You Listening?

george carver use this one

I got in my car on the way to work, and turned on the radio to FM. Nothing. Okay?? My display clearly stated that I was receiving radio signals from the station, but no sound. Hmmmmm. Scratching my head, I discovered that my AM stations worked fine. Hmmmmmm. Scratching my head again, I tuned back to FM, and cut the volume up as high as it would go. Faintly, I could hear the whispers of the talk radio show. Oh boy! Long story short, the FM relay wire is damaged and needs replacing.

Point is, there was nothing wrong with the Radio station or it’s signal. There was something wrong with my reception. That’s how it is with us, God is speaking (sending out the signal), will we receive it!

God speaks to ALL of us, regardless of our “spiritual status” in life!

His speaking to us has absolutely nothing to do with whether I read my Bible once or a thousand times, and absolutely nothing to do with the faithfulness of my church attendance. It isn’t about  whether I’m deserving.

But it has everything to do with the fact that God loves us…..He loved us so much that HE paid our sin’s debt SO THAT we could live an abundant, joy-filled life (John 10:10), full of all the good plans that God has for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Now that you know He’s speaking to you……..will you tune in?

He speaks to us because He loves us. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

 

reference for George Washing Carver by asquotes

Celebrate The Day It All Began

I recently celebrated my wedding anniversary. Four days before that, my son was blessed to marry the love of his life. And on this same day, my sweet in-laws celebrated 57 years of wedded bliss. WOW!!!! I thought, what an accomplishment. So, here they are 57 years later, celebrating the day is all began.

That’s what we really celebrate isn’t it? The day it all begins? A birthday celebration takes us back to the beginning! So here we are, approximately 2000 years later, celebrating The Beginning; celebrating the greatest gift to all mankind; celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Let’s be sure to go back to the beginning, and celebrate the glorious gift of God with Us….Emmanuel! He came to give us the gift of His favor, of hope, of peace, of joy, and best of all His Salvation.

If you’re a bit lost in this journey we call life, and you feel like you don’t have hope or joy; go back to the beginning, and start all over again. Jesus is waiting.

We celebrate Jesus’s birth, because without His life we would not have life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance-to the full, till it overflows”. John 10:10 amp

THIS IS WORTH CELEBRATING! This Christmas, celebrate the day it all began…..the day Jesus came into this world to save us, to give us a blessed abundant joy filled life!

I recently celebrated my wedding anniversary. Four days before that, my son was blessed to marry the love of his life. And on this same day, my sweet in-laws celebrated 57 years of wedded bliss. WOW!!!! I thought, what an accomplishment. So, here they are 57 years later, celebrating the day is all began.

That’s what we really celebrate isn’t it? The day it all begins? A birthday celebration takes us back to the beginning! So here we are, approximately 2000 years later, celebrating The Beginning; celebrating the greatest gift to all mankind; celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Let’s be sure to go back to the beginning, and celebrate the glorious gift of God with Us….Emmanuel! He came to give us the gift of His favor, of hope, of peace, of joy, and best of all His Salvation.

If you’re a bit lost in this journey we call life, and you feel like you don’t have hope or joy; go back to the beginning, and start all over again. Jesus is waiting.

We celebrate Jesus’s birth, because without His life we would not have life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance-to the full, till it overflows”. John 10:10 amp

THIS IS WORTH CELEBRATING! This Christmas, celebrate the day it all began…..the day Jesus came into this world to save us, to give us a blessed abundant joy filled life!

The Anchor For My Soul

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This WWII anchor of the Battleship NC weighs 25,883 pounds!!! It’s huge! Just seeing my husband and daughter standing beside it, gives you an idea of just how huge this anchor really is. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19). As my family and I continued the tour, Hebrews 6:19 began to mingle with snippets from that old hymn: “In Times Like these” written by Ruth Caye Jones during WWII.

In times like these, you need a Savior,

In times like these, you need an anchor;

Be very sure, be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In simple terms, we all know that the purpose of an anchor is to keep the vessel from drifting, to provide a stable place for navigation. This is what Jesus does for us: He keeps us from going astray… from drifting away from our purpose in life. When the rough seas of life toss you around like a rag doll trying to get you of course, Jesus is there to keep you steady!

The anchor for the Battleship NC was impressive, but the anchor chain was even more impressive.

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Dropping the ships anchor is useless if isn’t connected to the ship!

WE NEED A CONNECTION TO JESUS….OUR ANCHOR! We need a relationship with Him.

Romans 10:13 tells us that when we call on the Name of the Lord we will be saved. It’s that simple.

We’ve all heard that phrase, “I’ll be with you to the bitter end.”  Interestingly I learned that phrase has nautical origins. One end of the chain is connected to the anchor. One end is connected to ships “bitts” or posts. Sometimes, red scarves would be tied to the chains last links.  If those red scarves became visible when dropping anchor, the sailor knew he had reached the “Bitter End.” Jesus will be with us to the bitter end. He is true to His promise to never leave us! Let Jesus be the anchor for your soul!!

 

 

The Root of the Matter

What’s happening in society today?? One thing I think we can all agree on, is that it’s a mess!! Without question, injustices and unfair cruelties are evidenced at every turn. I don’t deny racially motivated acts that kill, destroy and divide. I don’t deny the imperfections of the institutions that surround me: flawed, faulty and failing.

I don’t deny the hatred and anger devouring this land like an out of control wildfire leaving ruin in its wake. Protests, riots and angry exchanges are the norm, not the anomaly.  People shaming the skin that covers God’s most treasured creation is not a solution-it’s an abomination.

So what is the solution? Well …effective solutions are only found when the root of the problem has been identified. The problem is not police; white supremacy groups; statues; terrorists; Obama or Trump! The root of the problem is the heart of man. But God knew this already. He warned us many times.

The heart is the most deceitful thing there is!- Jeremiah 17:9

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil:
for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.-Luke 6:45

Every crime, every unfair act, every hate filled word, every wicked and depraved thing that mankind does and says is a direct result of what is in his or her heart.

It is the reason God sent us a Savior, One to save us from our sinful heart. We need a Savior folks! We need Him IN our hearts! Jesus Christ is the solution! If HE is in our hearts, He will be in our homes! He will be in our schools! He will be in our churches!

It’s time to take inventory. What’s in your heart?

Here’s the good treasure we should store in our hearts: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalms 119:11.

If we believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord – then saying it out loud is the confirmation. This is what Romans 10:8-10 tells us: it’s salvation in a nut shell. But it also mirrors the fact that what a man speaks confirms what is indeed IN HIS HEART!  No wonder God told us to guard our hearts. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

It’s time to take inventory. What’s in your heart?

 

My Messy Life: God Loves me Anyway!

You know you messed up yesterday at work when you lashed out at your co-worker…..and remember that time you expressed a little road rage?……..recall that grudge you’re still holding against Jane?…..Oh and don’t forget the bad decision you made when you clearly knew God was against it…. And there’s the impure thought…..the unfair treatment to your spouse…the list could go on, and I’m sure you get the point.

We all mess up right? Right. Does it ever make you feel like you don’t deserve to be loved by God…..ever make you feel condemned during a church service…..feel unworthy and undeserving? I’ve felt that way before, but that is wrong thinking. The truth is, when we think that way WE are the ones placing conditions on God’s love. We are in essence telling HIM how to-OR-not to love us.

This kind of thinking can make you hold back during praise and worship service, keep you from getting involved in ministry, and sadly it can even keep people from attending church all together. All because we don’t feel like we deserve love when we have messed up so bad.

I have a surprise for you: God loves you anyway, whether you want Him to or not! As a society, we tend to place conditions on everything, including love. But God’s love for us is conditionLESS.

I’ve seen a lot of information out there that disagrees with me, so allow me a chance to explain. I’m not saying that you don’t have to repent of sin, and be saved to go to Heaven: you most certainly do. I’m also not saying that you can sin to your heart’s content and have God’s approval.

I’m simply saying there is NO condition to simply be loved by our Creator. Let’s look at the definition of unconditional love:  affection with no limits or conditions; complete love.

His Word tells us that He loved us when we were still sinners (Romans 5:8))! In other words, He loves us BEFORE we have a chance to get our messy lives ‘right.’ He loves us BEFORE we love Him (I John 4:19). Our sin….our mess ups from last week…..our stinky attitudes could never limit God from showering His perfect love on us. You want to know what that looks like: it looks like the cross, and it looks like an empty grave. He loves you to death!!

Let’s get something straight here. God doesn’t love us because we are lovable or good. God loves us simply because He Himself IS Love.

So go to church!
Sing loud during praise & worship!
Say Amen to the preacher!

Don’t let shame and condemnation cause you to disengage from God, from church, from people, from His plans for you! God loves you: messy life and all.

Where’s Jesus?

Here we are just a few days away from Christmas: 6 days to be exact. We are busy with hustle and bustle: attending holiday programs galore, cooking for family gatherings, and prepping for parties at the work place. And so the list goes on. Needless to say, we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

It is no wonder that we can actually find ourselves irritated and aggravated this time of year.  

Meanwhile, celebrating the birth of Christ becomes lost in the commotion, and is just another scheduled event. Church calendars are planned out with special Christmas programs, and everyone knows exactly where to go, and when to arrive: for Christmas programs that is.

This is a good time for us to ask ourselves what the Wise men asked: Where’s Jesus?

Do we look for God only when problems arise……have we hidden Him in that dusty Bible on the shelf…..do we invite Him to attend an occasional church service….is He in an infrequent prayer……a random work conversation…..a few good deeds…… a Christmas ornament……..an afterthought?

Jesus wants to be just like the star of Bethlehem in our lives: a constant light shining big and bold and bright!

Mathew 2 introduces us to the Wise men. “About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

They had a need: to find The King. So they went about asking and seeking. God tells us when we seek Him we WILL find Him.  And when they found Him, they worshiped.

We also have need of Jesus. And when you ask yourself the question, ‘where’s Jesus’……I hope the answer is that He is in your heart. That’s the best way to worship Him!

But if you don’t have Him in your heart, there is good news. He is standing at the door your heart knocking, and calling out to you. He is waiting for you to invite Him in. Revelation 3:20.

It’s a good time for all of us to take spiritual inventory and asking ourselves exactly where Jesus is in our lives. Someone reading this may to rededicate their lives to Christ OR someone reading this may need to accept Jesus into their heart.  If that’s you today, you can say this prayer:

Dear God,
I’m praying because I know I have need of You Jesus. You are my Savior. I believe that Jesus came to earth as the only begotten Son of God, that You paid the price for my sins on the cross, that You rose again on the third day. I know that I have sinned so I ask you to forgive my sins.  I believe these things, and confess them with my mouth. I know that I am saved in Jesus name.  Amen.

 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13