Do Something (Devotion)

Have you heard the song by Matthew West called Do Something?  I just happen to have the words to the song, let me read them to you:

“I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to heaven

I thought, God, why don’t You do something?
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me

So, I shook my fist at heaven
Said, God, why don’t You do something?
He said, I did, I created you
Now listen

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
Oh, it’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Na-na, na
Na-na, na
Na-na, na
Na-na, na

I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, somebody else will do something

Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says
I’m gonna do something

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something
Yes, it is, c’mon

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill
We’re never gonna change the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now
It’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something (na-na, na)

It’s time for us to do something
It’s time for us to do something (na-na, na)”

Songwriters: Matthew West. For non-commercial use only.

Men, we can’t sit on our hands, we need to be the leaders of the church.  Let’s see what the Bible says about Men in the church:

As leaders of the church, men have a great responsibility.  Paul told the elders at Ephesus “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

And elder must hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict: (Titus 1:9 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

Peter said, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2, 3 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)  

“Younger Christians are to submit to their elders: “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders.  Yes, all of you submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 Bible Gateway NKJV 2024)

Can we change the world?  We may not be able to singlehandedly change the world, but we can change someone’s world.

The floor is open to any suggestions on how we can serve the church and the community?

The Woman Who Fears The Lord (Devotion)

You may know that Manuela and the girls are out of town visiting family in Germany.  And I already knew how much she did for the family but, you really do realize how much of a contribution your wife makes when she is gone. 

Yesterday, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the heels of the bread.  And I normally go around the heels of the bread.  That is where I am at right now. 

Men cherish your wives.  They are a gift from God.  They certainly do a lot for us and others.

 Proverbs 12:4: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

Psalm 128:3: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

Proverbs 31 The Woman Who Fears the Lord 10-31 21 virtues of a God-Fearing Woman. I am not going to read that one to you.  When you have time read Proverbs 31 10-31.   

And there may be some men in here that the Lord has gifted with singleness.  You can use that to your advantage by having more time to serve.  

Proverbs 31 10-31 The Woman Who Fears the Lord

10 [d] “An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself[e] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in scarlet.[f]
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

God Chose Us

God Chose us first!  Let that sink in.  We didn’t choose God.  God came running after us. John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023) What! God Chose me, and I didn’t choose him?  Why is this blowing my mind?  It shouldn’t blow my mind. God knows everything!

Revelation 13:8 says “And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)

Our names were written in the book of life of the Lamb before the foundation of the world. 

That is mind boggling to me. 

This begs the question what about the people that were not chosen by God.  Why were they not chosen by God?  The only way I can answer this question is that God chose us because He knew we would choose Him. 

My wife is from Germany.  We moved from Germany to my hometown in Arkansas.  And I had strayed from God.  A prodigal child if you will.  My wife started working for someone at a homestead farm and thank God she did!  She was constantly being invited to church and I kept saying I am not ready to go back to church fighting it, knowing that attending church is a commitment.  And finally, she convinced me to go.  You can feel the love of the church when you walk in.  I am so glad and blessed to be back to worshipping and following Jesus Christ. 

Most of my wife’s family doesn’t understand why we go to church so much and worship God and why it takes up so much of our time.  We are supposed to put God first in everything we do.  Her family says we are in a cult and we have some of her family visiting us, they hope the returning family members don’t come back in a cult like we are in. (we know we will be ridiculed and made fun of for our beliefs).  So, my point is, God knows who will choose Him, and who will not.  If we are not going to choose God, then we are already not chosen, and He already knows who will choose Him. 

That doesn’t mean God doesn’t want everyone to come to the saving grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ as 2 Peter 9 says “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)

The only sin that can’t be forgiven is denying God.  Luke 12:10 says “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)

Q“ How many sins can you list that God won’t ever forgive? I worry about this, because I know I’ve not been a very good person, and some of the things I’ve done are probably on that list.

A: Only one sin that can’t be forgiven is on God’s list—and that is the sin of rejecting Him and refusing His offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ. This alone is the unforgivable sin, because it means we are saying that the Holy Spirit’s witness about Jesus is a lie (see Luke 12:10).

Why is it so serious to reject Christ? The reason, first of all, is because of who He was. He wasn’t just another religious teacher; He was God in human flesh—but when we deny this, we limit Him and assume He is unable to save us. But the Bible is clear: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18).

The main reason why it’s so serious to reject Christ, however, is because He is God’s appointed means of salvation. Our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven; if we don’t, we have no reason to expect God to welcome us into Heaven. But by His death and resurrection Christ provided the way for us to be forgiven and cleansed of all our sins.

More helpful links of Bible verses:

Mark 1:15 ESV

And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Acts 2:38 ESV 

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 20:21 ESV

Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9 ESV

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Don’t delay because time is running out!   

The Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

I went to see the movie Sound of Freedom and it has to be one of the best movies I have ever seen.  Maybe because I was drawn into the movie.  I have my own family and my heart aches knowing that every day 2300 children are missing just in the United States(safeatlast) And around 1 billion children are reported missing each year worldwide. (ICMEC) That is mind boggling.  According to Sound of Freedom Human Trafficking is a 150 billion dollar a year industry soon to surpass the drug cartel, which is number one.     

So, to see a movie made about a true story depicting the goings-on of innocent children being stolen and sold, well, it got my attention. (168) Sound of Freedom | Theatrical Trailer for July 4 | Angel Studios – YouTube

What I found disturbing though was when our theater played it.  The other movie being played was Barbie and while I won’t be watching the woke Barbie movie.  I found it disturbing that on one side of the theater were two totally different movies, one a Christian movie bringing awareness to the terrible problem of human trafficking and how we can take a stand and stop our children from being kidnapped and sold as sex slaves and the other movie promoting Disney’s woke agenda.

1 billion kids are being taken from their families a year because of greed, for the love of money.  Because someone would steal children and take away their innocence and sell them over and over again so they can make more and more money.  You can sell drugs once, but you can sell a child multiple times and it’s sickening.

Don’t get me wrong, we need money to survive.  We all have bills to pay, rent, mortgages, gas in the car, electricity, and food to eat are just a few reasons we depend on money, but the Bible says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”  What will people do for money and what will people do to get more and more money.  When is it enough money?  Greed comes into play.

Some of us are satisfied to just have ends meet and we don’t go to extremes to make more and more money.  We are satisfied with what God gives us.  You see everything good comes from God.  All our blessings come from God.   I’m thankful for the things God allows me to have and don’t forget to give back to God your tithes, at least 10%.  God allowed you to have what you have, so remember to give back.

So what can we do to fight human trafficking?  Hold your precious children closer and tighter and longer.  When you are in public, stores, airports, anywhere don’t let your children out of your sight.  1 billion kids a year are disappearing.  Don’t think for one second the people responsible for this aren’t looking for your kids and any opportunity to take them from you.

Pray to God that God will keep your children safe.  Beg God for your children’s safety.  I don’t know what I would do if something happened to my kids.  And I don’t want to find out.  FAST and PRAY for the poor innocent kids that are being abducted every single day and the kids that are already taken.  Pray that the people responsible for this are found and put in prison forever.  Mark 9:42 “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Isaiah 5:20 “ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”  (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)  

It is sad that we live in such sickening times, but we have to get through these times before Jesus returns and takes the church home. 1 Thesalonians 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Revelation 20:1 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

One day the devil will be bound in chains and thrown in the bottomless pit, but until then we have to comfort each other with these words.  And be very vigilant, always pay attention to your surroundings, how to escape a bad situation.  And PRAY that God will have mercy on us and keep our families safe.

Go watch and support Sound of Freedom, it’s an excellent movie.  You can go to Angel.com and give tickets to people that can’t afford them and guy their merchandise.  The movie is an independent film that was made five years ago but ran into any obstacle you can imagine.   Angel Studios: Stream Free, Original Shows for the Whole Family   

Anxious Heart

The Bible says in Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Or English Standard Version “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[d] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)

But it is hard not to have an anxious heart when you see all that is going on in the world today.  In our house, we cancelled DirecTV.  I did enjoy watching football, but the local games were being scrambled and I couldn’t watch my favorite team.  I had NFL Network and I only watched that one team, but every time I tried to watch it, it would direct me to a local channel, and it wasn’t available because the networks are fighting over money. 

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

That and all the other woke garbage on TV.  You can’t even watch something without seeing two men kissing and it made me sick, and in an effort to remove ourselves from the world and save money, we cancelled it!

That brings me to the Grammy’s and the disgusting display of abomination devil worshipping by a person that considers himself a they and non-binary performing a song that is called “Unholy”.  Call me naive if you want, but I had to look up what non-binary means.  I can’t even keep up with all the different letters of the alphabet they are using to describe themselves (LGBTQIA+).  What happens when “they” run out of letters, oh that is what the + is for.  And they (he) preformed the song with a person that is transgender, again I know what that means, but I don’t’ want to know what that means, and I don’t want it displayed on my television!  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in the Bible for something similar.

Genesis 19:1 “The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.[a

23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)   

And let us not forget the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria where the death toll rises to 31,974: Disaster management authority.  Luke 21:7 “And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Does it seem like there are more storms lately, flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes?  It certainly feels like God is pouring out his wrath on the world.     

What about Russia attacking the Ukraine for no good reason except for booty and plunder.  Russia wants the resources that the Ukraine has. 

Don’t forget about the chicken phenomena and no I am not talking about what came first the chicken or the egg.  We all know the chicken came first because God said so.  He made the animals first. Genesis 1:20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2023)

However, I am talking about the supposed avian bird flu and the killing of over 1 million chickens, making chickens and eggs scarce, and according to the law of supply and demand when the supply goes down and the demand goes up the prices go up.  The best thing you can do is get your own chickens, including a rooster(s) and incubator and hatch your own eggs.  And with the prices of everything going up and the economy crashing, I would also suggest buying some canned goods and keeping them for when times get hard and maybe even planting your own garden.  And while you are at it, if you hunt or fish, keeping some meat in the freezer. 

And I would be remise, if I didn’t include the “spy balloons” or “UFO’s” being shot down in the United States.  The current count as of 14 February 10:32 is four shot down.    

Therefore, what are we to do?  It’s hard not to be a little anxious, but we are supposed to pray and stand fast in the storm knowing and having faith that Jesus will return.   1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [b]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [c]sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [d]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)   

However, God is longsuffering and is waiting for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

And finally, we are to comfort one another.  1 Thessalonians 5:1 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be [a]sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

11 Therefore [b]comfort each other and [c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

So, if you are feeling troubled or anxious like I am, know that everything will be alright in due time, in God’s time and God’s timing is perfect.

Let’s Talk About Love

The date is January 22nd, and we are getting close to Valentine’s Day, so I wanted to talk about Love today.  And I’ll tell you, I am madly in love with my wife. 

According to Google the word Love is mentioned 442 times in the KJV Bible.  There are verses like:

  Luke 10:25 ”And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Or John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Those are just a few verses about love and how to love but the scriptures I really want to focus on starting on Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.  (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

Our minds can’t fathom what unconditional love is, and we won’t experience unconditional love until we are in the presence of Jesus and it’s going to be like nothing, we have every experienced in our earthly lives.  It’s going to be overwhelming. And I am sure I can’t even describe what it will be like.   

Jesus loves us so much he lived a perfect and sinless life, died on the cross, and was resurrected for you and me and in the process defeated death so you and me can have everlasting life.  Men, that’s how much we are supposed to love our wives, enough to lay our lives down for them.        

My hope and prayer is that our wives would marry us all over again.  I know I am not perfect, and I may be hard to love sometimes, by my hope and prayer is that Manuela would marry me all over again.

Revelation 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  (Bible Gateway KJV 2023)

You want to read a romance novel?  Read the Bible.  The Bible is the greatest Love story ever written between Jesus the Bridegroom and us the church!  We are going to have an amazing feast and celebration and we are going to live forever with Jesus.  Isn’t that the greatest love story ever written! 

To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father thank you so very much for the opportunity to stand before the church and to grow spiritually with the church as I deliver this message.  But I certainly can’t do this without you.  I can’t do anything without you.  I Thank you for your grace, mercy, and patience with me.  There are many people hurting in our community and all over the world.  I lift them up to you, heal and comfort as you see fit.  Please bless Youth night this evening and I pray the community will see the love if Jesus Christ in us and that if there is someone that doesn’t have an intimate relationship with you that they would form a relationship with you through the planting of the seed.  If it not by us, by someone else.  In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Turn to Philippians 1:21 

This is the Word of God King James Version: Phillipians1:21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Amplified Philippians: 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. 22 If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. 23 But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; 24 yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your rejoicing for me may overflow in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”

I love this scripture:  Let’s look at the first part.  For me to live is Christ.  We live for Christ.  Christ lives in us and we have eternal life because of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, everything we do should be centered around Christ.  We should live the same way on Monday and Saturday as we do on Sunday at church.  

If you have seen any of my Facebook posts, you know I don’t hide my light underneath a bushel. 

The other day, a rogue deer that was bent on crossing Highway 8 E plowed into Manuela’s van and did a pretty good number on it, but thank God, no one was hurt.  The Lord was with us and protected us. 

While I was waiting on someone to tow the van, I had K-love on, and I was praising the Lord that no one was hurt in the accident. 

I sent an email out to everyone, just to bring awareness about crazy deer out there. 

I will read it to you. “Good Morning Team

Ya’ll be safe out there!  A deer decided to commit suicide and run into our van; photos attached.  Praise the Lord, no-one was hurt.  There was absolutely nothing we could do to avoid the rogue deer that was running full throttle.

Anyway, ya’ll be safe and watch out for deer.” 

Jerry  

I am a K-love supporter and I get prayers sent to me every day.  And I share them on Facebook and at work I stumbled upon, no God uncovered this USDA Faith at work group on Microsoft Teams and I share these prayers with them every day.  I’m blessed to be able to share these prayers with others, again live through Christ in everything we do.

Let’s look at the second part of the verse.  And to die is gain.   You see when Paul was writing this, he was torn between staying on earth and being persecuted and going home to be with Jesus for eternity and we may feel the same way.  In one sense we may want to stay here on earth because there is more work to do.  There’s more kid’s camps to have, there’s more Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames to have.  There’s more Youth Nights to have.  There’s more people to talk to about Jesus.  There’s more seeds to plant and more people for God to save.  And more sermons for Brother Zack to deliver.  But isn’t it going to be awesome to go home to Heaven!  Amen!  Come on Eddie where are ya?

“If you can really grasp what Paul is saying here, then you will truly understand the meaning and context of Philippines 1:21 For Paul to keep living would be beneficial for the church in Philippi and everyone else he was ministering to. He could keep serving them and be a blessing to the body of Christ. (That’s to live is Christ). 

However, understanding the sufferings of this life (remember Paul was in prison when writing this letter), and all of the challenges he faced, he understood that as great as it is to serve Christ in this life, it was better to die and go be with Christ forever. This does not mean you should want to die, it just means that you understand that death for a Christian is not the ending, but just the beginning. In death, you lay down your struggle. You complete your race and you enter into the presence of God for all eternity. That’s the experience for every believer and truly that is better.” (Clarence L. Haynes Jr. August 2022)

People That Don’t Care If They Go To Hell Scare Me

Let Us Taco Bout Jesus!  Get it?  We just had lettuce and tacos.  That was my ice breaker.  You can thank Brother Eddie for that one.  He wanted me to fit that in.  We’ll talk about Jesus in a few minutes.

But, have you heard of Elon Musk? If you haven’t Elon Musk is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer of SpaceX;  CEO, and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc.; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. With an estimated net worth of around $266 billion as of August 17, 2022,[4] Musk is the wealthiest person in the world according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes‘ real-time billionaires list.[5][6]

I have a Twitter account.  I am just trying to be cool, and I saw this Tweet from someone named Muhammad somebody to Elon Musk That said:

Quote “You won’t die before your day Elon. Anyhow, you are/were a unique figure in this world. I’m only wondering one thing: As a genius, haven’t you find out that there is a great creator of this world yet? If you did, make sure you confess this before your last heart beat. Bless u”

Elon Musk wrote back, and I quote “Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.”

What?!?  Someone that is so no nonchalant about going to Hell scares me.  That scares the crud out of me, or you could say it scares the fire out of me!  Elon Musk is supposed to be a smart man.  He was just called a genius.  But he’s not that smart after all.  Apparently, Mr. Musk doesn’t understand what Hell is and he sure doesn’t understand what Heaven is and how amazing Heaven will be. We can’t even fathom how awesome Heaven will be.  And he sure doesn’t understand what Hell will be like.  That Hell is the absence of God and light.  That God is love and light and that Hell is the opposite.  The Bible says in Hell there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and the worm never dies.  That means it will never end.  It’s forever and eternity.  It’s not like going to visit your Month-in-law for two weeks.  Although, two weeks is a long time to spend with your Mother-in-law, no Heaven and Hell are for an eternity and Eternity is a long time, it’s forever! 

The God of the Universe.  The God that created 200 billion-trillion stars and two trillion galaxies.  The one and only God knows your name and wants a relationship with you.  God wants a relationship with all of us, and we have nothing to give to God.  We come to God empty handed.  You see the richest person in the world.  The most prominent person in the world can’t buy their way into heaven.  The ONLY way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ.  

This is where we taco Bout Jesus.  You see Jesus will change your life forever!  Jesus died for our sins on the cross and resurrected three days later, and he sits on the right hand of the Father in Heaven and anyone who believes in Jesus and has repented of their sins (or turned from their wicked ways) that has a relationship with Jesus will spend forever with Jesus in Heaven.  If you ask Jesus into your heart, into your life he will change your life forever.  Romans 10:13 says “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”—Romans 10:13, King James Version. Meaning of Romans 10:13 God is impartial, and he extends to all people the opportunity to be saved and gain everlasting life, regardless of their nationality, race, or social status.

I didn’t write that, but that was exactly the point I was trying to get across.  It doesn’t matter who you are and how much money you have.  God just wants a relationship with you.    

Sing I want to know more about my Jesus. 

That was free.  I won’t charge you for that.  But if you want to know more about Jesus.  There are people here that would love to talk to you. 

Kids don’t be like Elon Musk and the others that don’t care where they spend eternity.  Get to know Jesus.  Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you, surround yourself with people that have a relationship with Jesus and love Jesus.      

Don’t Turn Back Towards the World

It seems like we are in the last days before Jesus returns to gather the church, or his bride.  The world is sick.  We are killing each other on the streets.  There are plagues, earthquakes in diver’s places.  We have run out of names for hurricanes, record breaking tornadoes (over 200 miles on the ground).  It’s difficult to find things that we need to live, staples are increasingly becoming harder to find (things we need to sustain ourselves).  Gas prices have skyrocketed, and there is a shortage of baby formula. 

Signs of Christ’s Return

Matthew 24 “Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the [magnificent and massive] [a]buildings of the temple. 2And He said to them, “Do you see all these things? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will not be torn down.”

3 While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, “Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?”

4 Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. 5 For many will come in My name [misusing it and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many. 6 You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

We are in the times that Jesus speaks of above.  But there is good news, great news, Jesus is coming back to gather the church. 

John 14 1. “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. 2. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” 66Jesus said to him, “[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

We don’t know when he will return. 

Matthew 24:36 “But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment]. 40 At that time two men will be in the field; one will be [h]taken [for judgment] and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left. 

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others [in the house] their food and supplies at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that [faithful] servant when his master returns and finds him doing so. 47 I assure you and most solemnly say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware, 51 and will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

No one knows the exact day or hour but when Jesus does return for his bride (the church), do not look back towards the world.   Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Lott’s wife turned back toward the world and was turned into a pillar of salt.  Lott’s wife was safe from God’s destruction, but she apparently couldn’t help herself and was more concerned about the welfare of the world and turned back her eyes toward destruction. 

We see this more and more these days.  There was a bad wreck here in Arkansas a few days ago.  There were vehicles on fire and people badly hurt that needed help, but instead of providing much needed assistance, you could see people on their phones video tapping the event. 

 Genesis 19: 24 Then the Lord rained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she [d]became a pillar of salt.

Don’t be like Lott’s wife and look back.  The same thing happened to Peter.  He took his eyes off Jesus, and he began to sink while walking on the water to Jesus. 

Matthew 14:28 “Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus extended His hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you [c]doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped Him [with awe-inspired reverence], saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

The point is that Peter lost focus on Jesus and was more concerned about the wind and lost faith on Jesus.  Don’t lose focus in Jesus in the last days.  Jesus will return, keep working until his return.  Keep spreading the good news, the gospel about Jesus Christ.  God Bless you.  Let’s make Jesus famous (he already is famous), Heaven crowded and don’t forget to love, pray and fish (for men).

How Hot Is Hell?

It’s starting to get hot here in Arkansas.  Yesterday’s high temperature was in the 90’s but it felt even hotter.   Last weekend my family and I were camping at Gilham Lake, and I was in the sun longer than I should have been, fishing, playing, and swimming with my girls.  At the end of the day, I felt terrible.  My face was burning hot, and I felt like I had heat exhaustion.  My wife said I looked like I had a 2nd degree burn on my ears.  I laid down to go to bed and I just didn’t feel good.  I had a cold bottle of water on my chest to cool me down and another cold bottle of water to drink.  I thought I needed to go to the doctor, but I laid down and prayed that God would make me feel better and that I would be alright.

Have you ever felt this way?  Did you ever get too much sun and just feel terrible?  Maybe some of you have had heat exhaustion or heat stroke.  I can’t imagine what hell will feel like, but I wonder if that is anywhere even remotely close to what hell will be like?  Probably not, hell will probably be much more intense, and it lasts forever, for eternity.  There will be no relief from it. 

What perplexes me is when people say they don’t care if they go to hell or not.  WHAT!  You don’t care if you go to hell?  You must not understand what hell is?  That scares the hell out of me, people that (think) they willingly want to go there.  Elon Musk, I would submit that he is not as smart as people give him credit for.   Or maybe he is too smart? 

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Replying to

@Almisehal

Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.

5:57 AM · May 9, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

Elon Musk on Twitter: “@Almisehal Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.” / Twitter

The Bible says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  People in hell will be in so much agony that they will gnash their teeth down. 

Mark 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into [g]hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 [h][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.] 45 If your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, 46 [i][where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.] 47 If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, throw it out [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)

We just had someone die in our family.  My Sister-in-Law’s Father-in-Law and we weren’t sure of their salvation.  We are questioning ourselves, did we do enough.  Did we talk enough about Jesus?  Did we shine our light?  I believe that people can be saved through the loss of others, so I pray that his death is not in vain. I pray for people that do not know Jesus Christ as their savior.  I pray that someone will be sent into their lives to set an example to at least plant a seed so that God can do the rest. 

Hell according to the Bible

Heather Riggleman 2021 says “Hell is a place of sorrow and torment. This truth is seen throughout the Bible in the Old and New Testaments. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin. Christ talked a great deal about this subject. He describes “Gehenna” as a place where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44, 46, 48). He spoke several times about weeping and gnashing of teeth for those who are “cast into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30). He also gives the parable about inhabiting a “place of torment” (Luke 16:28). Jesus spoke about hell more than anyone else in Scripture.”

Heather goes on to say “As of right now, whether or not you believe in God—you are still experiencing His blessings. Even if your life is less than ideal. Even if you are sick, poor, or suffering in some way. You woke up this morning to the blessing of His breath in your lungs. He is ensuring your needs are met. If you’re alive and living on this planet, you have already benefited from God’s grace and goodness. Every sinner, saint, atheist, agnostic, and doubter have all received His gifts of being alive, witnessing God’s hand-painted sunsets, the breath in their lungs, or the love of a parent. Everyone has benefited from the goodness in this world that God not only created but provided. He’s given you free will and in Him, you live, move, and have your being—mind, body, soul, and spirit.”

“Hell was created for the rebellion of Satan and the angels that followed him (Matthew 25:41; Romans 6:23). Scriptures indicate God never intended Hell and the lake of fire for mankind but that is where all will go who choose not to put their faith in Jesus Christ. The most important question is not where hell is or even when it was created but how to avoid going to hell. We avoid hell when we choose to believe in Jesus Christ—the One who died to pay for your sins and all who choose to put their trust in Him.” (Heather Riggleman 2021)

When I started out writing this article, I certainly didn’t mean for Heather’s article to take over, but her article is so good. 

And finally, how do we insure we don’t go to hell? 

“One day each of us will stand before God and Jesus will say, “Depart from me for I never knew you.” After God’s judgment, seated on the ‘great white throne, (Revelation 20:11), anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life [will be] thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). God has been patiently waiting as He does not want any of His children to perish. We can avoid hell by choosing to love God—by accepting His plan of salvation (Mark 1:15).”  (Heather Riggleman 2021)

Here is a link to her entire article.  What Does the Bible Say about Hell – Location and Description (crosswalk.com)

Hell is real and it is a place of constant sorrow and constant torment.  It’s a place I don’t want to go.  And anyone that wants to go there, quite frankly, scares me.  It’s hard for me to believe they even have a clue as to what they are talking about.  Don’t be like Elon Musk and believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ who died for you and me, so that we don’t have to endure the agony of hell. How hot is hell? I don’t know and I don’t want to find out! However, I do know that the rich man wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue. Luke 16:24 “And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony.” (Bible Gateway Amplified Bible 2022)  God Bless You!