The day of the Lord is when Jesus will return to this earth. First He will gather all the saints, past and present, with Him in the clouds. Then Jesus will return to reign and rule on this earth. Of course there is going to be a battle, where man thinks he can defeat God. The name of the battle is Armageddon. It will take place in the valley of will rule from Jerusalem. He will reign on the earth for 1000 years because the devil and his crew are locked away in hell. But God will release the devil at the very end and many people will join his side. After knowing Jesus for a 1000 years and being able to walk up to and talk to Him, they will chose the devil’s side. And they will die in their sins. At which point the devil and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire. It has always astonished me how many people choose the wrong side. After knowing about God and His mercy, they still choose sin. God didn’t make it impossible to come back from sin, but there is a cut-off point people can reach. It is the point of no return. God wants all people to come to Him. God loves us more than anyone ever could or would. Let’s face it there are some really unlovable people in this world. I know because I was one of them. I wanted what I wanted, not what other people said or did. God loved me back into the fold. It took years, but I just couldn’t resist God’s love for me. You know what is the most ironic thing of all? It is that God loves everyone including the ones who choose hell. It is time to make your choice. You have to choose one or the other. Even if you don’t make a choice, you have chosen. So get off the fence and join God in His life for you. Then when the day of the Lord comes you will be on the right side.
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As I was growing up I read stories in the bible about what God did for man. People who were rescued from lions, bears and any natural disaster that happened. I would think about the power it take to perform those miracles. When I was 12 years old, lightning struck a tree about 6 feet from me. It was 10pm and the sky became like daylight. I wondered about the power it took to make that bolt of lightning. I know of a preacher that was in Mexico and a bandit held him up. The bandit pointed a gun at his face. The preacher told him no and the bandit fired. He emptied his gun and all the bullets went between the preacher’s feet. The bandit handed the gun to the preacher and asked how he could meet Jesus. The power of God is very real. It is important in the work God has for us to do. When I began to walk with God, I wanted the power too. I saw how God gave His power to man to use in all kinds of situations. I definitely wanted this power in my life. God said if you want the power, you will have to be put into the situation before I give you the power. Elijah lived in 31/2 years of famine. He had to keep moving because most of the people wanted to kill him. David had to flee for his life because his father in law, King Saul wanted him dead. They killed Jesus because of the miracles He performed. You see God doesn’t give His power to just anyone. But when He does miracles happen. I held my 6 month old son as I walked into the hospital. He had spinal meningitis. The doctors if he lives, he will probably be a vegetable the rest of life. I had to be in the middle of the trial to see God’s power work. In 3 days God healed my son. The doctor didn’t know what had happen. But I told him it was a miracle from God. It is an awesome thing to move in the power of God, but remember it is for circumstances that need His power.
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Here is one subject most people don’t want to discuss. Being humble isn’t in our DNA. That’s an understatement. There are more I’s running around than you can shake a stick at. I was one of them. I’m not talking about self-esteem. I am talking about Ego. When you look at children, you will see this trait in them. It is part of who we are. We are born with it. We want to be #1 ahead of everybody else. And most of the time at the cost of everybody else. This is a very destructive form of human nature. That is why our parents tried to teach us to control this urge in our lives. But some people live by it and destroy the world around them. This is a trait fueled by the fires of hell. It is the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. God says it plainly that pride goes before a fall. We are social beings that are meant to work with and help other people. And the only way we can do this is by humbling ourselves. That is a mouth full. You have heard the expression of eating crow. But what God does is the show you who you are and what you can do in this world. He doesn’t knock us to our knees unless it is the last resort in our lives. I have been humbled before God and it isn’t fun. It is very much like getting your teeth kicked in. Today I chose to be humble before God. This is what God wants and it is how to stand before God. You know what has surprised me the most is that humility has drawn people to me. They see that I am accessible and they walk up to me. Then they ask me questions about God. Humble is who God really is. Walk up to Him and ask Him a question about your life.
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How do things change? It is said that a person has to repeat an action for 30 days before it becomes a habit. Undoing a habit is just the same but in reverse. So man has to learn to do anything. He has to repeat an action for it to become part of him. After WWII, China wanted a way to reach the masses and teach them their doctrines. So they looked for a successful way of doing this. Guess what, they saw how much comic books affected American children. They began to publish their doctrine in comic books and it worked very well. The process always begins with a thought. To capture someone attention, you must show them something they have never seen before. Once you capture their imagination, it is easy to teach people. Then you need to get them to talk about it. When the conversation begins, people come to an understanding of what it really is. With the understanding, the next step is the doing part. If you ask man who invented this, they will say they did. This doctrine became popular in the 20th century. You want to guess how old this doctrine is. It is a fundamental principle of God. He put it together in the beginning of time. It is very simple. What you do is put forth a principle or commandment. Then you preach this principle to everyone. Then get them to talk about, which products faith. Then faith works on you to believe what God is saying. Then once you believe it is time to put the principle into action. Which in God’s realm produces a positive outcome. For without faith it is impossible to please God. And faith without works is dead being alone. So the process is read the God’s word and think about it. Then talk about what you read with other people. Then do what the word is saying. This is how miracles are done. It is in Thought, Word and Deed.
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You know what is really strange is that the Christians of the 1st century didn’t have a bible in their house. This is why Paul and the other preachers went to the local synagogue. Each one had a bible on hand. The bibles were expensive and hard to come by. Back then the Preachers had to talk about what God was saying. Today the bible is the most published and purchased book of all time. There are at least one bible in every home. Most homes have several. The beginning of Western Civilization started with the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. This one book has impacted more people than any other book. It is divided into books, chapters and verses. The Old Testament was one continuous scroll. Today’s bible is writing in every language. It is also written in many versions. So we can read for ourselves what God is saying to us. What is even stranger is that we have the bible laid out before us and most people don’t want to read it. In the 1st century Paul wrote letters or epistles to different churches to reinforce the truth. People were coming behind the preachers and trying to stop people from being Christians. Paul wrote many letters. He wrote to one church 3 different times. They weren’t doing so well. Today you don’t have to take any bodies word. You can read it for yourself. Once we have read these things, God wants us to think about them. What are we talking about, well the truth. I not talking about our truth. What I am talking about is God’s truth. Think on what is just or right. Think on what is pure and lovely. Think on what is of a good report. God say that if we think on these things, that the peace of God will keep our hearts and minds.
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It always amazed me how that Jesus went to the cross freely. He wasn’t made to take on the suffering of a lifetime. Jesus chose to bear the death on the cross with joy. Joy and happiness aren’t the same thing. Joy is the comfort in your heart of knowing that what you are doing is right. Happiness is just momentary pleasure. It is why God said that the joy of the Lord is my strength. As you well know that life isn’t fair. Bad things happen to good people. As well as good things happen to bad people. God says that rain is a blessing and it falls on the just and the unjust equally. How we can walk through this world is for the joy that is set before us. I can’t say that I have been happy walking through this world all the time. But I can say that I have had warm blanket covering my heart as I walked through trouble. I have has people fuss me until they were blue. Then I told them thank you and be blessed of God. They didn’t know what to say after that. It was because the joy of the Lord kept me safe. I smile and laugh at trouble. People have looked at me sideways and said he is crazy. I would turn around and say no, I am a fool for Christ. I always ready to give answer to anyone who asked why I believe. God saved me from death. He raised me up and made me a son of God. He blessed my life with a wife and family. He has kept my family and I from disease and death and destruction. I am on my way home. My home isn’t this earth. My home is heaven with my Father, my old Brother and the Holy Spirit. And I am homesick and very tired of this world. It has nothing in it that is worth my life with God. For all the plans of mice and men, everyone will die and stand before God in judgement. What you do here will determine what will happen to you on the other side.
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All throughout history there has been kings and there has been priest. The king ruled over the people in civil matters. The priest ruled over people in the spiritual matters. It was very rare all over the world to have a king that was a priest. The English king Edward the Confessor was the exception. In Israel, it was the rule rather than the exception. Moses was priest and judge over Israel. That was until Israel asked God for a king to be like the other nations. God gave them their wishes and the heartache that went with it. The kings of Israel didn’t work out so well. The people regretted their decision to choose a king. God wanted all of Israel to be priest to God. But they refused God’s offer. It cost them dearly for that mistake. God was going to set up a kingdom where the people were kings and priest to God. It took over 2000 years for the kingdom to arrive and it did with Jesus. As a king and priest you would have access to God and the authority to carry out His will on this earth. This is something that God has always wanted for man. It began with Adam in the Garden of Eden. When Adam lost his authority, God has been trying to restore it man. It took a very long time for man to accept it again. Man’s rightful place is in the kingdom of God. God has been patiently waiting for man to come home. Where are you today? How far are you from the kingdom of God?
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You don’t know how many times people have told me that I need to be consistent. It became a broken record in my ears. I would try to be steady but something would always happen. I would never try to be a screw up, but it just seemed to happen to me. If I got angry then I would be as big a screw up as possible. I never tried to compare my sons to each other. Boy, would I get how my brother did this or that. Just look how well he is doing. I wanted to throw up. Consistency was always my goal. I wanted to be able to achieve things in life. Especially things that were near and dear to me. When I was 12 years old, I built a swing made from a car tire. I tied the tire to a rope and hung it in my favorite tree about 4 feet off the ground. I got a 6 foot ladder and sat on the top holding the tire. I jump on to the tire and swung out. When the tire was about 15 feet off the ground the rope broke with me in it. I hit the ground on my back. I woke up about 10 minutes later. I definitely had a concussion. It cause all sort of problems for me. In particular, it cause dyslexia, problems with hand and eye coordination. It took a lot of work all through high school to correct this. When I got to college I wanted consistency. As hard as I looked for it in this world, I never found it. It was only when I met God did I find consistency. You see God is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He doesn’t change at all. God is there for us all the time. And as a side note, God healed me of Dyslexia.
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Do you ever think about what people say to you? As I was growing up, I would listen to my mother. She always didn’t know what to say to me, but she tried. For a long time I would just do what she said. When I actually started high school, things began to change. As I would think about what was being said and what I wanted to do, well. It didn’t always work out to my benefit. Sometimes it was a real disaster. I know my parents wanted the best for me. I was an individual all my life. I didn’t want to graduate from high school because I knew what was coming. I would have to grow up. People were always telling me things. Sometimes I would listen, sometimes I wouldn’t. I was going to do what I wanted. So I thought. We don’t live on an island, myself ourselves. People will always be part of our lives. That means social interaction. If you don’t behave, people will have nothing to do with you. If you let people run over you, you won’t accomplish much in your life. So you have to be somewhere in the middle. I thought my parents were idiots until I grew up and saw them differently. But I still didn’t trust too many people’s opinions. When God came into my life, it took a lot for God to break that exterior shell I had erected. But when He did and won my trust, the world opened for me. I know that when my heavenly Father talks to me about a subject, I have to consider the end of our conversation. God doesn’t talk to me about unimportant topics. We have had conversation about nothing, like the weather or shopping for clothes. But when He talks to me about heavenly things, I know that I need to pay close attention. My life is hanging in the balance when we have those conversations. Think of what God is saying and consider the end of His conversation.
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Would you do some of the things that you do if your parents or grandparents were watching? I would hardly think so. Just think to have your family watching as you go clubbing. Some people have lost all their shame. Still there are some that still have it. Yes I said shame. It is a natural response to getting caught doing something bad. Do you remember the red face when you were caught in a lie? It is called shamefaced. It was put into your life by God to help you to make the right decision. I have seen people work hard at getting rid of their shame. The bible says that bad company corrupts good morals. This is very true. You hang out with the wrong crowd and all that it comes to is a death spiral. Look at the young people in gangs. Most of them are dead by 21 years old or in prison for life. I hear people say they never had a change. It is too hard to break out of the death spiral. Yet, I have seen people come to this country with nothing, but the clothes on their back. He went to work and college. He graduated as an architect, then sponsored his brother who graduated from college. Together they sponsor the rest of the family. Today they are successful, because they worked at it. They choose the right way and followed it. There are many people who are successful because they work at it. God said by the sweat of your brow shall you eat. Let me get back to the great cloud of witnesses. Your parents, grandparents, cousin, relatives and friends who have gone on before you are watching you every day. So when you go clubbing and act the fool, they see you up close and personal. Shame isn’t a bad thing. It is a necessary thing.
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