Psalm 119:It's All About the Word of God!

Wow! Have you ever read something that was life transforming? That impacted you so deeply you had to tell people about it? That happened to me this morning. I read Psalm 119.

I was having just a horrendous start to my day. I had to get out of the house and clear my head and think. So, I took my Bible, got a venti Americano with hazelnut and cream at Starbucks and headed to the marina on Foster Avenue in Sayville. God's word, coffee and water. That's the combination I needed to get me back on track. I was soon to realize, though, that it is God's word that would clear my mind and focus me back where it belonged.

The author of Psalm 119 is not known for certain. And, really, it's not important. What is important as you read this Psalm is that the author fully understood that their comfort, guidance and delight came from the word of God. Whether they used the term precepts, commands, word, law or promise, it all points to the word of God.

We don't get guidance from Oprah or Dr. Phil. We don't get comfort from Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyers. We aren't put back on track by a book by this author or that televangelist. The Bible, the word of God is where we get all of this.

Here's an extra, for no extra cost. If a person says they know better than the word of God, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM! Case in point. All this hoopla about this Saturday being the rapture is UNBIBLICAL and therefore SINFUL! Mr. Harold Camping /Family Radio is a FALSE TEACHER! He has already been wrong about the end of the world in 1994. The word of God says in Matthew 24:34-36:

³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

That means that no one knows when the end will come except God the Father. Not Harold Camping. Not anyone who follows him. No one! You can't figure it out with numbers or calendars or being clever with twisting what God says.

So, friends, read the Bible. Do what is says and you'll be sure to be doing God's will. Psalm 119 makes it clear that the word is the beginning and the end of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Anything else is just a waste of your time and your life.

Psalm 40 - God's Plan

Psalm 40 is such a comfort. Read as David recounts how God "heard my cry" and "lifted me out of the slimy pit".

Are you in a "slimy pit" right now? Have you ever been. Oh, yes, know it well.

What a picture this psalm paints. God lifted David out of the slimy pit and put his feet on a rock.

Being out of work, this really speaks to me. Unemployment can feel like a slimy pit, for sure. I feel like I'm sinking. Like I'll never work again.

The first line of this Psalm is key, though. The Psalm starts off, "I waited patiently for the Lord". No! Ugh! There's that "waiting" thing again. Oh, waiting is not my favorite thing to do, but in David's case, he waited "patiently". If that's not the hardest thing to do, I don't know what is.

We have to wait patiently on God. Why? I wondered that, but I think, and this is just my opinion, is that it shows our faith in God. If we are patiently waiting on God, we show Him that we trust Him to do the right thing for us at precisely the right time. Not easy. No, not easy at all, but we see what the fruit of waiting patiently is. The Lord hears us and lifts us out of our slimy pit.

Then, later in the Psalm, David talks about "proclaiming righteousness in the great assembly". Once God pulls us out of that pit, we should tell everyone we can about it. Shout it! It says that "many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord" because of what He's done for us..

How can people see the love of God, unless we show them how He loves us?

So, we cry out to God, wait patiently for Him to answer us, then we proclaim that to as many people as we can and then people will come to know and put their trust in Him!

That's God's plan.

Sound like a good one!

Sounds PERFECT to me!

God bless you.

Wow! It's been a Long While!

It's good to be back. Lost the writing bug for a while, but it's back. I got very political for a while. Yes, I still can't wait to elect a new President. I think this one is just not right for the country and he proves it just about every day. Looking for the right person to come along and run. Not sure who that will be. But, now I want to write about Jesus. About faith. About Christianity. And, hopefully, it's what God wants me to do.

We're in the Lenten season. Easter is coming. Today, as a matter of fact, is known as Ash Wednesday in some faiths.

As we close in on Easter, this is a good time to reflect on what Easter is really all about. Is it about bunnies and candy and new hats? Or is it the culmination of God sending His Son to redeem the human race from our sins?

Easter is a celebration. It's different than most as it's beginning is a sad event, namely death. The death of Jesus. However, it ends in a grand celebration of LIFE. That life is the resurrected Jesus. It is proof positive of who Jesus is. He is God. Always was, always will be.

As we approach that Easter weekend, it's time to examine yourself and take account of how Easter is reflected in your life. Do you live a life that reflects the Risen Savior? Take time this Easter season to honestly look at yourself and see what you can do differently to reflect the awesome fact that God sent His Son to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins, so we could once again enjoy a relationship with Him!

Does Standing Up for Christian Values Really Matter?

I have been wrestling with this question. Does it really matter, in the long run, if we Christians stand up for Christian values, speak out on issues like abortion and traditional marriage, and get politically active? In the long run, since it seems like we are losing all these battles with more states legalizing homosexual "marriage", no real progress being made against abortion and more and more of America tending towards secularization, are we just wasting our time and energy with these things? Can our time, talent and energy be better spent?

I am torn. As much as it bugs me to no end when I see another state fall to the homosexual pressure and pander to a very vocal minority or I see organizations like Planned Parenthood, who admittedly are one of the nation's largest abortion providers or enablers bankrolled by your tax dollars getting even more of my money (in tax dollars) or I see the country voting for more and more liberal candidates by a wide margin, I wonder if I should be fighting even harder against these things. Or should I be praying more? Or should I be more faithful to living out the Gospel every day? Or should I be loving those around me more and showing them who God is through what I do and say? And just let God take care of the rest?

It's hard to sit and do nothing about these issues. It's hard to see our country ravaged by people who hate who we are and what we stand for. It's hard to see God smeared and mocked and believers persecuted and made fun of. It pains me to see people like Bill Maher hate God and those who love Him. I find it difficult to watch a news report about someone like Miss California, Carrie Prejean, getting vilified in the media and then all Christians getting raked over the coals because, after all, we're not perfect, even though we don't claim to be. This is all hard for me. I find myself getting angry. Wanting to yell and pound my fist and shake someone so they'll WAKE UP. Then, I wonder what God would have me do and I have to tell you that I just don't know. I want to do something. I want to make a difference. That's why I do this. Hopefully, this blog will impact someone somewhere for the good; for God and for our country. But, in the end, when Jesus returns, will all that effort have made any real difference? Will the world have been a better place because of what I and others have done or is the slide of society an inevitable thing that just signals the more imminent return of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ?

It's a question I hope that I can answer someday. Right now, I don't have the answer.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Marriage: One Man, One Woman; It's Biblical, not Political!

But, Is He God?

I bet the majority of people believe that someone named Jesus Christ lived at some time about 2000 years ago. They know what's been said about Him. They probably know the basics. He was born to Mary and Joseph in a manger in Bethlehem. Mary was a virgin. Christmas is the celebration of His birth and many probably think that's when He was born, but that's not the case. Most probably can identify that He had twelve Apostles. I'm certain that a great number of people can tell you that Easter is about when people claim Jesus was crucified, although Easter is when we celebrate his resurrection, not death. That's Good Friday. I'm guessing that's about all that most people can tell you about Jesus.

All of that, of course, is true. But, there's so much more. Jesus is God. He, the Father and the Holy Spirit are all God. Three in one. We call it the trinity, although you won't see the actual word trinity in the Bible. It's one of those God things that's hard to explain.

Well, we know that Jesus was a human man. He was born to a woman, which is one of the prerequisites of being human. He grew up and became a man. At about thirty years old, Jesus started what's called his public ministry. That means He started talking to people about God and life. He went from town to town telling people how God wanted us to live. He talked about love. He talked about not being judgmental. He talked about being honest. He talked about trusting God and having faith. He performed miracles. He healed people's illnesses. He raised some people from the dead. All these things He did, but I'm sure people just thought He was just a good guy. A good teacher. No one really could think of anything negative about Him, because there wasn't anything to tell. It's not like he was telling people to do one thing and He did the opposite. You know and I know, if someone had dirt on Jesus, it would have come out. That's the way people are. No, this Jesus, was perfect, because, after all, He is God and God is perfect.

Admittedly, all of this, except the miracles of course, could have been done by any common man. However, there was one event that proved beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus was who He claimed to be. He proved He was God by dying on Friday and coming back to life on Sunday. His resurrection is the defining moment of His life as well as Christianity. Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. And in all these years, approximately 2000 of them, no one can dispute His resurrection. There's no evidence to the contrary. There are no credible claims to discredit the accounts of His resurrection. No one has or can prove that Jesus Christ did not come back to life that glorious Sunday morning.

Jesus is God and that means that His teachings, His views, His life are to be dealt with by every living human because He came to earth to seek and save the lost. Who are the lost? You and me. What does being lost mean? It means that you and I do things our way instead of the way Jesus taught. We don't live to make God look good. Even when we might do a good thing, we don't give God the credit. We take it ourselves. In essence we live a selfish, self-centered life with God nowhere in sight.

We need to accept the gift Jesus offers. The gift made possible by His death and resurrection. That gift is the cleaning or forgiving of our sins which keep us from having a relationship with Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Look at the evidence. You know for sure Jesus is a real person, who is also God because of the perfect life He led, the miracles He performed and His resurrection from the dead. It's overwhelming evidence as to who Jesus is.

He is God.

He has a gift for all who will accept it.

Now you know.

What will you do with Jesus?

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

Sunday-The Empty Tomb

So, Sunday came and the tomb was empty.

So, what?

Well, I'll tell you, it means everything if you call yourself a Christ follower. Without the resurrection, Christianity is a sham.

Thanks to God, however, that aint so.

Jesus was not in the tomb.

No one stole His body, because, for sure it would have shown up and killed the Christian movement. How could the disciples have stolen the body? They all scattered when Jesus died. They were scared. They were confused. There's no way they could have gotten past the Roman guards, much less moved that stone covering the opening. Then, if they did take the body, would they have taken the time to carefully leave the linens behind? I think you would have to say, no! And, the Romans or Jews didn't take the body. If they did, surely they would have produced it to put a stop to these religious rebels. That never happened.

Maybe Jesus was not dead. Well, not so fast. Then, how did He unwrap himself from 75-100 pounds of linen and then move that stone out the way all by himself? No, that's not it either. Besides, the Roman guard at the crucifixion pierced Jesus's side with a spear and water and blood came streaming out. That's a sure sign He was dead.

No, there's no other plausible explanation except that Jesus miraculously came back to life and removed Himself from that tomb in the rock. He showed Himself to over 500 people. That recorded in the Bible. Surely, if that did not happen, someone would have reported that to someone. However, that report never came because it really happened.

Jesus came back to life proving to the entire world who He is; God. The Messiah. The Savior. He is who He claimed to be and He proved it once and for all by being resurrected from the dead.

He is the sinless sacrifice for our sins. He is now alive, in heaven, awaiting His return.

He is risen!

He is risen, indeed!

God bless you.

May God have mercy on America.

A Genuine Faith

In a Gallup poll, more than 80% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. When you see how society is going with abortion, gay marriage, legalizing drugs and so forth, you have to wonder how a nation with a supposed 80% Christian population can embrace these ideas and ideals.

Well, the answer is they can't. So, what's the reason behind that?

I can identify myself as just about anything, a chef, a pro baseball player or even the governor of New York. That doesn't mean, that I am what I say I am. How can you ascertain if I'm telling the truth? Well, the easiest way is to observe me and see if my life reflects my claim.

Christianity can be boiled down to two tenets; love God and love people (Matthew 22:36-40). Now, if someone is not living their life this way, you pretty much can be assured that they are not a Christian. John 13:35 gives another proof of being a Christian. Although, loving people is not the acid test, because I'm sure there are non-Christians that love people, but that is one of the tests of knowing a person could be a Christian. Loving each other is an essential, but without also loving God, one cannot be a Christian.

And how does loving God manifest itself in the life of a Christian? Well, we do the things God has set out for us in the Bible. Now, this is why most people cannot identify who is a true Christian because most people are not familiar with what God teaches in the Bible. To love God we have to be obedient. Let's face it. When a child truly expresses their love for their parents, they are "perfect". They clean their room. They do their homework. They get in by their curfew. They show their love by "listening" to what the parents say and then doing it. It's the exact same way with Christians. If we truly love God, we'll do what He says to do. We'll love people. We'll do good works like helping the poor. We'll take care of our brothers and sisters in Christ when they need help. We will pray. We'll look to God when making decisions. We'll be the best employee we possibly can be. We'll go above and beyond the call. We will just be perfect.

And when a Christian lives out their life according to God's plan, they will stand out from the crowd. They will have a light shined on them. People will start to wonder what is different about them. Then questions get asked and then the Gospel can be shared.

A genuine faith in God will show itself in a crowd. It will be life a big neon finger pointing to the person. Why? Because a Christian is DIFFERENT from the crowd.

So, although 80% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, you can see that the number of genuine Christians is probably much lower than that.

Is your faith genuine today? Are you different from the crowd around you? Take an objective look at yourself and your life. If you fall short, and who doesn't, ask God to make you genuine. Commit to being a genuine Christian by first and foremost, loving God and then letting that love of God manifest itself into loving those around you.

God bless you.

May God bless America.

A New Year, The Same God

Someone who I know does not have a relationship with God once remarked to me while discussing some hot button topic that "times have changed and I cannot believe that what was written so long ago can actually apply to today". That was a comment directed at Biblical teaching and how the Bible and its contents really weren't relevant.

Thank God, that's not true. Could you imagine if the teachings of God changed on His whim or just according to how man deemed necessary or relevant? What a horrible picture that would be. How could anyone know how to live? What was true one day would be false the next. Who determines that? Even if it were true, how would believers be told of these changes? If this indeed is true, how do we know what's changed and what has remained the same?

The answer is simple and it is found in Hebrews 13:8. Isn't it comforting to know that God never changes? When we wake in the morning, we don't have to wonder what is right and what is wrong. It has all been laid out for us in the Bible. Sixty-six books written over many, many years by many writers that never met. Yet, it is so cohesive. It's consistency is amazing. It shows that the Bible is truly "God breathed".

So, in the uncertainty of today with the economy, world violence, plunging moral values, know this for sure, that God never changes. He still loves you. His son's atoning death still stands as the payment for your sins. There's still only one way to a relationship with Him and that is through Jesus Christ. And, it still is simple to have forgiveness and everlasting life and that is by giving your life over to Christ. It's the same as it was yesterday, today and forever.

To God be the glory!

God bless you and may God bless America!