Category: Truth

Deceived

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To be deceived is a horrible thing. There was a time in my life where I really thought I deserved whatever would make me happy. Because I made a good living it meant if I wanted something I should have it. I pursued things that struck my fancy. I was very selfish but I didn’t see it.

I was very deceived by our enemy and I grew apart from the Lord. I was doing so many sinful things and with poor motives. I had been raised right in a Christian home but I was blinded by pride. Finally I got mixed up with a married man and had an affair.

I was messing up my life all by myself. I had a wonderful husband and we had a great marriage but I was filling passing fancies I guess. My husband has forgiven me and is very supportive but we did divorce after my stroke and moving away to be taken care of.

After my stroke I had plenty of time to think and devoted my life to doing what God wants for me only. I still am very much interested in deception and the effect it has on people. My heart goes out for people who are lied to and taught untruths all their lives.

Deception is to mislead by false statement or action. I heard a minister speak one time about doing things for God. He said find the one thing that you can’t take anymore of in this world and that’s a need you can fill. Well for me it is helping others overcome deception.

I did a biblical study on deception in the Bible and there are things that cause deception and things to prevent it. First the devil is a liar and the father of all lies so he will deceive. Hanging out with sinners and bad company will bring deception.

Watching bad movies (rated R), poor music, spending time in the wrong places.

All these things will mislead you. But there are many things you can do to avoid deception in your life. Spending time reading the Bible and Christian books, listening to praise and worship music. Watching faith based encouraging movies. Attending church and socializing with other Christians.

Spending good quality time talking to God and praying for others. These are all things that will edify your soul and bring you closer to God. Don’t let anything else become an idol in your life. You should desire more of the things of God in your life then you will be able to see deception coming and flee from it.

If you keep yourself in a right relationship with God you will see the devil coming. His Holy Spirit will warn you. And if you have been taught wrong things they will be exposed. Walking in a right relationship with him and believing in Christ promises us eternal life with God in heaven.

“Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest

If we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

Many will grow weary and stop serving the Lord but if we want to go to Heaven for eternity we will persevere. Do not be misled God should not be mocked. What you reap you will sow. So sow good things in life. To reap eternal life with God.

God’s Calling

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“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

We were all destined to be great. Do you want to be average when God wants you to be great. Before you were ever born God had your life planned out. You could say he had a book on just you that told all the great things you would do to further the kingdom and bring glory to him.

That’s the reason we were put here on this earth. We were not put here for us. We were put here for God. He wants us to have a great life, but to do that we need to focus on God and seek his desires. Now remember that the greatest commandment he gave you was to love God and your neighbor.

To truly love others you will want to fill others needs. So do all you do as unto God. Don’t do it for the money or prestige, but do it out of love to fill a need.

“But seek first his Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things, shall be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV

You don’t have to worry about the money for things you need because when you’re seeking his plan and his righteousness for your life the money will come. It we take faith also because we haven’t read his book. We don’t know how it turns out in the end.

Now don’t expect it to always come easy. You have to have scary complicated moments to grow. Trials bring on that growth that you need to get where God wants you. If you don’t want trials and want the easy life, you won’t get greatness either.

The pressure and breaking you go through brings about that greatness and the greater you want to be the scarier and harder it will be. It all starts with you. It doesn’t happen till you make the first move. God promises to help you but he can’t do it for you.

You have to be walking forward or stumbling or crawling, but unless you are moving forward it’s not happening. And it’s never too late, look at Moses who was in his eighties before God called him to lead his people out of Egypt. Many great people didn’t start being great til later in life.

Colonel Sanders didn’t start Kentucky Fried Chicken til he was in his sixties. And there are KFC,s around the world. There is timing involved but we don’t know what that is without trial and error. Be willing to take risks.

Look at your trials and errors as blessings because they will get you closer to your greatness. Remember the book is all ready written and it has a great ending if you follow God’s lead.

All of God’s Words

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“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteous, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I have done a lot of thinking about this scripture lately. I want to be equipped for every good work and I don’t want to do bad works that my father doesn’t like either. I worry about being deceived by not knowing God’s true and perfect will for me. Many people I know skip around in the scriptures from Psalms, Proverbs, to the gospels, but there

is so much rich understanding throughout the Bible that I don’t want to miss.

I used to zip thru from beginning to end only picking up small truths along the way. Every time you read thru the same words you will get something new. It is such an exciting book and really does need to be pondered. I guess that is why God tells us to meditate on his words. This time through I decided to read thru very slowly, but try to really digest what I was reading.

Reading only a chapter or two a day. That was so easy as I went through stories of Noah, Abraham and his sons, Moses and the Israelites, and David, but there is a lot of other stuff too. What was it really saying to me in my life? I remember recently watching a movie about a mob king turned minister and his take on the Bible. He said there are some really messed up people in the Bible struggling to make it through this life from generation to generation.

Look at King David. He was messed up in affairs, murder, and fleeing for his life. Yet he was a man after God’s own heart. Someone to aspire to be like. One time I was deep in prayer and listening to God as to what he had for me to write about in one of my books.

I heard him say to me, “ I love you as much as I loved my son David.”, well that meant so much to me to be compared to David. But then David was far from perfect, having screwed up time and time again. But one thing he did know was how to come before God in repentance and say I really screwed up. Will you forgive me? He humbled himself in the sight of the Lord and received what I like to call, a do over.

All right God forget that it was wrong let me start all over. And God wants that. He knows we are living in an imperfect world and at times we will make mistakes. No one is without sin not even one. Only Jesus, who we should aspire to be like but probably won’t come close.

What about Numbers and all those incredibly difficult names to pronounce. I am getting pretty good at shortening and simplifying some of those names so I know who I’m talking about but able to pronounce them. Like Queen Esther’s husband Art.. For King Ahasuerus or Xerxes. So much easier to get through that chapter saying Art every time and not King Xerxes.

There are so many people mentioned in that chapter. Forget remembering who each one was and who they were related to. But God I his infinite goodness loves each and every one of us, generation after generation, just as much as David . Good or bad he will always see us as his dearly loved children. See all that we have potential to be.

That is very important to me because again I am not perfect but he thinks of me and smiles and that makes me smile too. He looks at you too and loves you just where you are. He will always remember you and your family line and the importance you will make in the world.

How about Moses and those cantankerous Israelites. They saw some of God’s greatest works but they still did not get it. They whined and complained something awful. And read some of those commandments he had for them. I have been reading in Leviticus lately and I am just glad He chose to put me where I am in history.

The grace of Jesus Christ is something I will never take for granted. The old law was so exact. So hard to keep. Because God is so Holy it really took a lot for his people to be Holy also. You can see how you would have to trust and revere God so much to keep those commands.

There were laid out rules for everything. We are not really told why for a lot of them but they are very specific. You would really have to love God and know him to remember all of them.

I want to be more like some of the great prophets and teachers of the past. Leading His sheep into all truth and love just like Jesus. I don’t want to miss anything that might help me be better at that.

Forever

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“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” Mark 13:7. NIV

We have been hearing these things for years, but the end is sooner than we think. It may be twenty more years or tomorrow. It will come though so where will you be? Where will you spend eternity? This life we live in is really very short. It all depends on how we live this life as to where we will end up.

“By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35. NIV

“If you love me, keep my commands”. John 14: 15. NIV

It is easy to love God but not always easy to love others. It is not a request though. God has commanded us to love him as well as those who hate us. If we love, we will keep his commands. Boy we are extremely lucky we live in this day and age because back when Moses was in charge there were so many more commands to keep. You could hardly breathe without screwing up.

Now that Jesus has redeemed us it is so much easier, but our actions are so important. Imagine with me for a minute that the doctor just told you that you only have 24 hours left to live. How will you spend that next 24 hours? Where you will end up for eternity is in the balance.

We watched Scrooge for years turn from the Scrooge he was to the loving person he was meant to be. Yet we never really take it to heart. Every action we make has long lasting consequences. This life is but a blink of the eye compared to 10,000 years in eternity.

Back to my imagining. Would we not take seriously our actions for 24 hours? Do we obey his commandments or do we really need his forgiveness. All sin and all need forgiveness from those sins. One sin is not any worse or less than others. That little white lie is as bad as murder. Sin is sin.

Am I close enough to God. Is my relationship as good with him as I can make it. Many of these same questions would be going through your mind. We need to spend every day with him as if it will be our last, because it may. Nobody knows if they will wake up tomorrow or if we will be in a tragic accident.

We need to spend time with him every day. Get to know him just as a loving father and close friend. The more we know him, the author of love, the more we will be like him and be full of love. Love for him and all men. He will help us to love even the unlovely.

Then we can know for sure that we may close our eyes in this life, but when we open them again we will be in heaven. Spending forever in his presence. In that perfect place where no sorrow or pain exists. Only joy and peace forever.

He is Alive

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As I look back to all God has done for us this Resurrection Sunday I see a picture in my mind of a young man. With all the love of the Father in him. Remember this is a picture of what God is like a God that jealously loves us more than ever and wants us to have and be everything we can through him. He is standing at that door.

There is no hardware on the door, it can not be opened from the outside, only we can open that door. Open it to all the love, joy, peace and life out there that he has available for us. It is totally our choice. Life abundantly or death. Not only is it an eternal choice of life ever after we die, but true life right now.

Freedom from sin, death, hell, and the grave. That same power that raised Jesus back to life from that tomb of death, brokenness and darkness is available to everyone. It is free for the asking.

Are you suffering from an addiction that you have no control over that has you imprisoned in a spiraling downward motion of destruction. Are you hurting from unforgiveness towards someone who has caused you great pain in the past, something that has robbed you of all your joy and peace. Are you struggling from day to day with why you are even alive.

You can be free. Jesus is reaching his arms out to you. Arms that want to hold you and never let you go. To give you answers and hope. To make you happier than you have ever been. Help you have purpose and meaning in this current life. Won’t you let him in. Change is available through that door for you just open it.

It says in the Bible that all we have to do is ask Jesus to come in. Tell him that you have sinned and are not perfect. Ask him to forgive you for your past. A past that you have tried to do on your own. One that we truly need his help and power to enjoy. Ask him to help you to have the life he has for you. Ask him to help you do his will.

He will gladly hold your hand as his child today. He will give you a future and a hope.

The prison doors will swing open and you will walk into that glorious light.

That is not all! Talk to God have him show you what’s next. Read his words in the Bible so you will know how to live right. And lastly find good Christian family to unite with and to help you grow in this new life. They can show you truths that can help you have the most successful life ever.

May God our Father and Jesus his son richly bless your lives with the help of their powerful spirit to fulfill all they have for you forever and ever. Amen!

The Wages of Sin

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The wages of sin is still death. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. You can’t expect to get a get out of sin card free no matter what. The gift of God is a free gift and God will never leave you or forsake, but you can leave. It is a thing called free will. You can’t expect to get into heaven just by doing your own thing. God has promised to forgive your sins. Have you asked him to lately.

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7. NIV

I believe I saw an ‘IF’ in there. If we walk in the light. So how we act is important. We no longer sin or if we do we sincerely ask forgiveness for that sin and promise never to do it again, and mean it. We can’t get by with habitually sinning and expect him to overlook it. At some point God will leave you to your own desires that rule over you.

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. NIV

“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6. NIV

Jesus did not sin. Although we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have hope. We a talking about trying to live a sin free life. A life of integrity. Trying to do all he wants us to and truly loving him and others. Not doing the things we know he does not want us to.

It sounds like hard work. But he will give us strength when we are week and help us turn from sin if we ask. He has given us everything to help us the minute we believe on him and ask his forgiveness. He loves all of his children and is always drawing you to the light.

He has also promised to bless us many ways in his word. You can actually live a blessed life by following his commands. A win win situation. Eternal life in heaven and extra blessings. How awesome. Reading his word helps to know his will for your life. How can you know his commands if you don’t read?

Practice the ACTS of prayer. Adoration, confession, Thanksgiving, and supplication.

This is a good tool for prayer. Tithing is the one way God asks us to test him. You can not out give God just try. Helping those in need. And fellowshiping together. These all bring blessing to your life.

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:17 NIV

Go out there and enjoy doing the things that will get you to heaven and bless you.

The Puzzle

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God showed me that life is one extremely large puzzle that He is putting together. Every piece is lovingly placed where he knows is best for us. Only he knows what is best for us. He knows everyone he has ever made over thousands of years. He places other people in our lives just when we need them.

I can look back over my life and see where people have come into my life at just the right moment that I truly needed them. Just before my stroke I had strayed away from the Lord and was living”my” life my way on my own. After my stroke God sent a beautiful woman that I highly respected to me. I was hurting mentally from the recent stroke. God sent her to read the Bible to me and pray for me. It was a very big turning point in my life. I saw how much I need God and began reading every day on my own and twelve plus years later I wouldn’t miss a morning.

I have learned so much about the Lord and his ways over those years. The more I know him the more I want to know. I went to live in Phoenix at a nursing home with rehab to work at getting my life back. It was a difficult move but God placed me there with wonderful people who had great influence on my life.

I have learned how to serve them and influence others with God’s love. He has shown me that my handicap is not stopping me from making a difference in the world.

He once told me “Bloom where you are planted” and that is what I have done. In my time here he has helped me to write three wonderful books that honor him. Because I can’t make money or have much money. I have been able to give my books to others and bless them.

Now he is moving me to another part of his puzzle. Back to the town I lived in at the time of the stroke. My previous business partner offered me his home to live in and it benefits both of us. He has always been a father figure to me and mine has passed on. We need each other right now. His wife died a year ago and he is lonely. It gives both the opportunity to be needed I can be there for him and watch out for some of his needs and he can be there for me. Living together is like family again. I love him dearly and want the best for him.

That is what being part of God’s puzzle is all about. You never know when a new or old friend is coming into your life at just the right moment for just the right time. Anyone you come in contact with might be God’s special puzzle piece.

I have been reading lately about faith. Faith is doing what God has for your life even if you don’t know how it will work out.

Jesus Our Savior

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“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,”Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will bring great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

It has been hundreds of years since the Lord spoke to his people. Even if you were Jewish and knew all about the prophecies of a coming king. You had probably given up hope, but an angel appears to shepherds. Ordinary guys like you and me just doing an ordinary job. Late at night, it was probably quite dark, cold, and quiet and along comes an angel. That in itself was quite unexpected. I can understand their fear.

To us that would be like a UFO landing in our yard. Then the glory of the Lord shone around them. Worthiness had to be on their minds. “What are you telling me for?, I am nobody special.” I am just a shepherd with all my flaws and sins.” Yet they had to see him. This was a once in a lifetime event to tell people all about for years.

They rushed to Bethlehem to find this new born king. When they found him they were flooded with joy. Could our Lord come in any more humble of way. Just a perfect simple little baby to young struggling parents that were probably wondering how they ended up being the parents of a king.

How could they raise this kid properly. But with anything God calls us to do. God equips us to do it well. Jesus grew up in a struggling family full of brothers and sisters. Living a life just like you and me. This helped him understand what you and I go through.

Our Savior was just like you and me. But he was perfect. He did it all willingly just so he could be part of a family with those of us who accept him. A family that will live happily ever after.

Following Jesus

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“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24. NIV

What does it take to be a follower of Jesus?

Jesus never said it would be easy or that many would make it to heaven. Actually he said that the road to heaven was narrow and few would find it. Most people don’t make it. Do you want to be part of the crowd? If they don’t make it then that’s probably not the way to go.

Sure the free gift of Christ is eternal life. Accept him and you are on your way. If it’s that easy then why can’t everyone get there? If you read God’s words there is more.

Love your neighbor as yourself. One of the greatest commandments. Do you love everyone you meet? Do you prioritize people, wanting to be around a certain people more than others. Do you shun some people that don’t come up to your standards.

If someone was in need of help would you give them the help they need no matter who they were. What about a homeless, or handicapped, or sickly person. Loving your neighbor can sometimes be difficult. I like myself pretty much all the time. But can I love others all the time?

“If you love me keep my commandments.” John 14:15 NIV

Do you keep all the commandments? Do you even know them? There are a lot of commandments to keep. This is starting to sound like a commitment. I guarantee the more you commit the more you get back. Not just life eternal but, abundant life forever with him. Since I started serving him and following him wholeheartedly my life has gone from ok to amazing. The blessings just keep flowing my way. I still have difficult times, but they seem to come further and further apart.

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2. NIV

“”Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”Matthew 7:19. NIV

Are you producing fruit in your life? What are fruits? Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Are these showing up in your life? Some off the time? What can we do to see these happen more often?

God’s word has all the answers if you look.

There is so much more to being a follower than saying I’m a Christian. Truly following Jesus is more than just a commitment. You need to get to know him. You need to have a relationship with him. He will give you all the help you need if you will just ask him.