Choose Your Destination

13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

Many people don’t look forward. They don’t want to think about the future, only about the now. While the present is important, the future is just as important, if not even more important. Because the present won’t last forever because the future will become your present sooner or later. Not knowing what you want or where you are going is like putting on a blindfold and entering an obstacle course. Because that’s what life is, it’s an obstacle course filled with uphill battles, downward spirals, but most importantly, a finish line.

People love to say, “It’s not the destination; it’s the journey that counts,” but what’s the point of a fun journey if it lands you in jail? To some fun is drugs. Setting fires. Stealing. Murder. Sure those are extreme cases, but what’s the difference between drugs and sleeping around? They both land you in the same place, Hell.

We love to look at others and compare our sins to justify our behavior as better than others, but what good is being “better” if you’re going to the same place as them? We don’t like to talk about it because we don’t want to change, we don’t want to do hard things, we don’t want to let go, so we don’t want to think about the most important question, Where Will You Spend Eternity?

Eternity isn’t avoidable; it’s inevitable. Every one of us will have an eternity, and only we can decide where we will spend it. It’s our choice. But how can we choose if we don’t know the requirements? We love to say we’ll get saved when we get married, or when we hit a certain age, or when we get a certain amount of success. But what if those days never come? Tomorrow is promised to no person, so don’t wait for tomorrow. Accept your salvation today.

What seems important now won’t seem important in eternity. Those things that we want now that are holding us back aren’t going to mean anything when we’re in eternity. Life is precious; we only get one chance to get it right. So choose today to decide where you want to go. Don’t just wait for tomorrow because tomorrow never comes. Do it today.

Peace. Love Go Forth and Choose Your Destination.

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Ask God To Search You

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. ~ Psalms 139:23-24

Sometimes we live in sin, and we don’t even know it. We don’t even realize that what we’re doing is sinful. David was a man after God’s own heart; that didn’t mean that he was a perfect or sinless man. It meant that he wanted to love God with all of his heart. So, he asked God to search him and know his heart, but he doesn’t just stop there; he goes on to ask God to point out anything in him that offended God.

This is how we need to be today. We have to want to please God. We have to want to love Him and serve Him with everything in us. As Christians, we are fighting to be mini-Christs. The only way we can do that is to ask for the LORD to convict our hearts so that we may know what we need to change. This is the only way we can be changed so that He can guide us on the path to righteousness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ask God To Search You.

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Follow His Commands

42 So the people of Israel followed all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses. 43 Then Moses inspected all their work. When he found it had been done just as the Lord had commanded him, he blessed them. ~ Exodus 39:42-43NLT

The people of Israel weren’t blessed until they did everything the LORD had commanded them was done as the LORD commanded them. They understood that the LORD had standards that they had to meet. They didn’t make excuses; they didn’t get upset and call it unfair; they didn’t get offended; instead, they did exactly as they were told. They strove for God’s approval.

In our world today, we have no standards to reach. We’re easily offended. We make excuses. Why? Could it be that we’ve become lazy? Is it because we’ve become selfish? Or maybe we’ve become prideful, so everything offends us? I think the root of it all is the lack of love. Instead of seeing God’s commands as a guide to loving Him, we see them as a list of do’s and don’ts that stop us from having fun.

God doesn’t take away good from us; He protects us from evil. God’s commands are for our good, and yet we rebel and expect God to still bless us. We can’t live our lives as if He doesn’t exist and then expect Him to open the windows of Heaven and pour down blessings upon us. We have to abide in His love if we want to benefit from His love.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:9-11

Seek after God and follows His commands, then watch as the windows of Heaven open and pour down blessings on you more than you could imagine.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Psalms 23:5

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow His Commands.

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Obey

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” ~ Mark 12:29-30

We always quote this verse, but we never really explain it. We never really get deep. We are quick to say, “We love God,” but do we really understand what those words mean? See, we automatically assume that loving God is just this kind of mental thing, where we say, “yep, I love God. I’m a Christian,” and that’s it. But in reality, loving God is both a mental and a physical act.

Jesus knew this would happen. Jesus knew that we would only speak with our mouths, but never act on our words, so He explained to us in the book of John that if we loved Him, if we loved God, we would keep His commands. John 14:15, 15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Which we do, to a certain extent.

We keep the commands that suit us. We cherry-pick the commands, and we think this is okay. We think that it’s not as bad as others, so it will be overlooked. And sometimes, we just straight up refuse to believe that something is a sin because it is tradition. It is something passed down. It is something we feel was built into us. When we do this, it’s like the young man that committed adultery in the book of Proverbs. Just as “he [did] not know that it [would] cost him his life,” we do not realize it will cost us our life.

Just as the young man knew deep down that it was wrong, but nevertheless made excuses for himself, we do the same. We read it’s wrong. We know it’s wrong. But yet, we still do it. We convince ourselves we’ll get away with it. Not realizing it will cost us our lives.

Obeying is love, and love is obeying. They are inseparable. You can’t cherry-pick the bible and then try to make up for it in other areas. That’s why it is said in the book of 1 Samuel 15:22, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” In today’s world, we don’t go out and sacrifice rams or lambs; we sacrifice other things.

Giving to the poor is a sacrifice. Clothing the naked. Feeding the hungry. Going to Church. These are all sacrifices. And yes, each and every one of them is important, but if you do not obey, your sacrifice is meaningless. Anyone can give money. Anyone can give food. Anyone can do these things, but obeying, obeying very few people can do. That’s why it’s how you love. Because you’re putting God’s desires and plans, first. When you obey, you are cleansing yourself from all unrighteousness and getting one step closer to that initial creation you were meant to be. You are one step closer to getting back to the image of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Obey.

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God Understands

He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” ~ Luke 9:59-62NLT

Jesus called a few people to follow Him, but they all made good excuses not to go, at least initially. Whether or not they were planning to go later, or after they had accomplished the things they said they needed to accomplish, is left to be seen. Jesus, on the other hand, equated it to putting their hand to the plow and looking back. Now, no one can deny that these men had some really legitimate reasons not to go.

The first man requested that he go and bury his father. To us, who are living in the 21st century, it would appear to us that his father has either just died or is about to die. The fact is that he was requesting a leave of absence to go home and perform his earthly duty as a good son, more than likely, firstborn son, that is, to take care of his parents until they died. We can’t argue the nobleness of that gesture. Yet Jesus says there are more important things to be done.

What about the other man? All he wanted to do was to say goodbye to his parents. Again, maybe in the time we are living in that would entail sticking our heads into the front door and yelling, “Bye.” But not in that culture. They would have a goodbye celebration that could take days.

These are all good excuses. What about us today? We have the same legitimate excuses not to follow or do what we are called or asked to do. And we say something like, “God understands.” Yes, you are right; God does understand. He understands that He has called you, and He wants you to respond right away without excuse. We’re only fooling ourselves when we say, “God understands.” It’s just another excuse to ease our conscience and let us feel that we have a legit reason not to obey. So the truth is, what God understands is that you do not want to do what He has told you to do or called you to do, and He understands that that is called putting your hand to the plow and looking back.

Heavenly Father, I ask You to help us make good, righteous decisions when we are called or asked to do something for Jesus. Help us to not to make excuses or to fool ourselves into believing that You overlook everything. Yes, LORD, You are merciful, and we thank You for that, but You expect us to be obedient as well. So, help us, Father, to fulfill our calling in Jesus’ name, amen.

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What’s Your Soul Worth?

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” ~ Matthew 16:26

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day worries of life, so much so that we place our worship and prayer life on the back burner. We get so distracted with the here and now that we lose focus with eternity. It’s no joy when the pressures of life, family, relationships, or work envelope us.

But God is faithful, and though we are hard-pressed on every side, we are not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but we are not destroyed, praise the LORD. Let us, then, take time to set our priorities and refocus our sights. God will lift our heavy burdens when we set our eyes on Him.

Our Father and our God, You are the Great I Am, the one and only true God. We seek Your face and call upon Your mighty name. We lay our burdens at Your feet. Help us, O LORD, to leave them there and not carry around those heavy burdens. Teach us to trust and obey, even when we see no possible way. For You alone call those things that are not as though they are, You alone see the end from the beginning. So help us to increase our faith and our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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It’s Just A Little Leaven

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.~ Galatians 5:9

We often believe that we will be justified if our good outweighs our bad. But is the truth? Can our good deeds outweigh our bad ones? I believe this is what Paul is addressing in this verse. In other words, even a little sin makes the whole person sinful.

This is why Jesus’ blood cleanses us of our sins, and the Holy Spirit transforms us into a new creation. We can’t live our lives however we want and then try to justify our sin by the good that we do, but none of the good we do matters if we don’t have Christ in our lives. Without Christ Jesus, no amount of good deeds can save us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Dump The Leaven.

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Who Do You Seek To Please?

16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” ~ Matthew 11:16-19

A lot of the time, we strive to get approval from the world. We change how we think and act, what we believe and say just to fit the ever-changing image set by the world. Why do we strive for approval from the world when we will never be good enough for the world. As soon as we fit the mold, they will change it. If they ask for apples and you give them apples, they will say they want oranges.

As a child, my favorite Musical was Cats, and one of my favorite songs was Rum Tum Tugger. The world is like Rum Tum Tugger because no matter what you give him, no matter what you do, he isn’t satisfied.

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat
If you offer me pheasant, I’d rather have grouse

If you put me in a house, I would much prefer a flat
If you put me in a flat, then I’d rather have a house
If you set me on a mouse, then I only want a rat
If you set me on a rat, then I’d rather chase a mouse

That’s what we are trying to satisfy nowadays, a Rum Tum Tugger. We seek approval from a world that doesn’t give approval. A world that doesn’t want you to be happy but wants you to chase an unattainable goal. We will jump through hoops and run through obstacle courses just to try to please the world when we have God who sets a standard, tells us what it is, tells us how to achieve it, and gives us all the tools we need to achieve, as well as lending a helping hand when we need it.

Why do we seek after things that will never satisfy us and will never bring us joy? At the end of the day, no matter what the world says, it will never be satisfied or happy with who you are, so don’t seek to please it. Seek to please God because His standards don’t change.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Please God.

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The Days of Noah

“On that very day, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons entered the ark…The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.” ~ Genesis 7:13,16

According to Scripture, Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and he preached to his generation. But the flood, something they had never heard of before, took a long time in coming. I’m sure there were some people who downright did not believe. Likewise, there were those who believed, but since it took such a long time in coming, 100 years, they began to doubt or got sidetracked with life, as usual, until the door was shut and the rain began to fall. Does any of that sound a little bit familiar?

We are promised another great event, the Second Coming of the LORD. The door is now open, salvation is freely offered, but it appears to be taking a long time in coming, just like the flood. Everyone is busy with business as usual and personal activities. We don’t have time to go to church or to have a real relationship with God, but one day the door of grace will be closed by God Himself, and no one will be able to open it.

Parents and children alike will be left on the outside banging on the door begging for mercy, at least for their children, just like in the flood. The only difference is, Noah was warned against water; we are warned against fire and brimstone. Don’t get caught up in everyday life and the pleasures of this Earth thinking that you will always have tomorrow to get right with God. Get right with God today, for tomorrow, the door may be shut, and it be too late.

My Heavenly Father, help us to take seriously Your soon appearance and help us to love our children enough to get them ready so that they can have a choice to choose life. Open our eyes to see the traps set before us and realize our own mortality, and consider the question, “Where will I spend eternity?” Revive our land and heal Your people, bring water to our dry and thirsty souls. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Walk Into The Room

“You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.” ~ Haggai 1:6-7

The people of Israel were more concerned with their own lives, their own homes, their own success more than they cared about the Temple, or God, or His will, or His Kingdom. Why does this matter? They put themselves above God; in doing so, they separated themselves from God. In doing so, they walked away from God. By walking away from God, they walked away from His blessing. They were no longer receiving the blessings that God had bestowed upon them. Their success began to dwindle because they walked away from God.

We still do this today. Church takes a back seat to sports, sleep, family time. Prayer takes a back seat to T.V., books, videogames. God takes a back seat to our lives. We remove ourselves from His presence and still expect the blessings that come from being in His presence, from being in His will. We pray and don’t get a response because we’ve walked away from Him. It’s like walking out of a room, closing the door, and walking down the stairs while talking and then blaming the person you’ve locked in the room for not responding. God can’t hear you unless you’re in the room with Him. Unless you’re in His presence, God can’t move in your life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Into The Room.

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