Mark 1:34…..and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

According to a 2011 study, there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. In 2010, the estimated global population was 6.9 billion. That means roughly 32% of the world population claim to be Christian, leaving 68% of the population to account for the remaining religions, of which there are 5 major ones according to http://www.everystudy.com. One of the five religions is Christianity, so, the math for the remainder of religions is clean. 68% divided by 4. Roughly 15% of the remaining population follows to remaining four major religions of the world. The numbers are not exact; there is of course an acceptable margin of error. The numbers are simply intended to show that Christianity is the predominant religion world-wide. that is a comforting statement right? Or is it? Of the 2.18 billion people in the world that profess faith in Jesus Christ, how many actually know Him?

I may shock you to learn that you can go to church, volunteer at the local homeless shelter, and never miss a bible  study and when you die, you will still be sent to hell. The bible tells us that we can only be saved by the grace of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2;8-9: ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Jesus is in the salvation business not us! 

My heart breaks when. in the process of sharing the gospel, someone says to me, “Oh….I get it, your right. But don’t worry, I know God.” Then they proceed to list the may things they do that make them a good person.

Or, they’ll say, “I believe in a ‘supreme being’ and when I die we will have a chat. I’ll get my way.”

My pastor reminds us regularly that we are not out to condemn good people. On the contrary, we need as may good people in this world as we can get.  Unfortunately, good people don’t go to heaven; good people who know God don’t go to heaven either. The truth is there will be many “good” people who won’t be in heaven when we get there. Conversely  there will be many, “bad” people in heaven when we arrive. So what is the difference? Why will there be some mass murderers in heaven while the guy that lived down the street and volunteered every weekend at the homeless shelter won’t make the list? The answer is sin.

 Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Sin is the barrier that separates us from the father. God is perfect man is not and God cannot have communion with an imperfect being.  For those that might say they keep the commandments and therefore are covered, I ask, do you know the commandments? If so, you mean to say you have never broken one? If that is your story then, you’re lying. The commandments are not possible to keep in their totality.  The most striking truth is, if we break one commandment we are guilty of them all.  James 2:10: ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  The uncomfortable truth is that we are sinful, we were born into it, and can not escape it. There is no amount of good that we can do to erase it; there is no escape but one.

John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  To those who say they believe in a supreme being or the man upstairs, I’m sorry to say it but that belief and a nickel won’t get you a cup of coffee.  Jesus is the only bridge between humanity and God. His blood, the blood shed on the cross is the only atonement for the sins we have committed. How do you receive the forgiveness of Jesus? by accepting it. there is no thing that can be done to earn forgiveness. What needed to be done has been done already, at the cross.

The striking thing about this weeks verse is the demons knew Him. The minions of the devil himself knew Jesus Christ; of course they did! A pastor of mine once said, “You want to divide a room? Mention the name of Jesus.”

Everyone knows Jesus and everyone has an opinion. Jesus Christ is the single most polarizing figure in the whole of history. Why? Because He demands that we decide what to do with Him. He refuses to be ignored. Why is He so persistent? Because our decision holds the key to where we will spend eternity.God loves you and scripture tells us that  it is not his heart that anyone should perish  Do you know Him? Good. Now accept Him and His eternal gift of life.

Grace & Peace,

LD

*If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, email me at savedIIserve@gmail.com and let me know! I will be happy to lead you through what the bible says about salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.*

Matthew 25:35 (NKJV) for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

A month or so ago, I entered into a debate with my best friend over the validity of a post he had sent me to read.  While I do not recall the title of the article, I do remember the first six words, …”You can’t be a Christian if…” I contended that while the statement itself may have been well intended; there was a better and more loving way to say it. A way that would lead people to faith not slam the door on their hands. Since then, I have come to understand that there are certain truths that cannot be sugar-coated, truth that must be laid out for people to accept or reject. These are foundational precepts and as such, are non negotiable.

One of these truths is a Christian’s belief in the sanctity of human life. God gives life and only God has the authority to take it away.  Please don’t misunderstand, I am in no way speaking of police officers or military personnel; those who are called to protect and serve. Nor am I speaking of the man or women who is protecting his or her family. No, I am speaking of the willful act of murder specifically as it applies to abortion.

The abortion debate is  the most divisive issues facing Christians today. However, for those that follow Jesus, the decision should be clear; choose life. To the secular , non believing world,  It is cliche’, it’s a bumper sticker, it’s the punchline at the end of an argument but to the believer in Jesus it is truth. When we make the decision to follow Jesus, we choose life. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God gives life to all who call on the name of Jesus, therefore, if God is the giver of life, then He is the only one that can extinguish it.

Further, It is God that places us in the womb. We are His creation. Although science has created impressive sounding names for babies in utero: zygote, fetal tissue, and fetus just to name a few; the life in the mother’s womb is a human life it is a baby. When we refer to it as anything less than that we desensitize ourselves to that truth. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before  formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”  Before babies are born to their earthly parents, they are known by the Father, they are sanctified (set apart) by Him for a purpose; not our purpose but His and His alone. 

Human life is precious in the eyes of God. It is precious enough that He sent his son, God in human flesh, to die a horrible death on a Roman cross. Why? Jesus tells us Himself: John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It was not the steel spikes that were driven through the hands and feet of our Lord that hung Him on the cross at Calvary. It was not Pilate, nor Caiaphas, or the enraged crowds that put Him to death; it was love, His love for us , for you and me, for the whole of humanity, for God’s children that put Him on the cross so He could pay the penalty that was ours to bear.

God gave everything for us. The God of the universe sacrificed His Son for the lives of all humanity. That being the case, who are we to hold life in any less esteem?   There is no debate, it is not about a woman’s right to choose but the choice of God, it is not about when life begins; humans don’t get to make that decision. God placed us in the womb not man. In the final analysis, shouldn’t we hold human life in the same regard as Jesus did? He laid down His life for us when we didn’t deserve it. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Luke 12:48….to whom much is given from him much will be required. 

Have you been touched by abortion? Was this a difficult post to read? Did you shed some tears? if you did, there is good news. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world; the sins that were committed yesterday, today and tomorrow. Ask for forgiveness and repent and God will hear you. As for the unborn children that fall victim to abortion, they are in the arms of the father. Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

No matter the circumstance, the child growing inside the womb of its mother is an innocent creation that God placed there. Christians must speak for those who cannot speak, defend the defenseless, and provide help to the helpless. We be called to account for all that we have done and said in this life. The big question will be, what did we do about Jesus? Did we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and tend to His sheep? I want the answer to be a resounding yes. Speak God’s  truth, trust Him when you’re not sure how it will come out. If we do not speak  for the innocent no one will.

For those who would say, “I’ll pray and stay out of it. I’ve got too much to lose.” I say only that I am glad Jesus did not take that stance with us. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it best:

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Grace & Peace,

LD

*If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, email me at savedIIserve@gmail.com and let me know! I will be happy to lead you through what the bible says about salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.*

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.

I am driven. Are you? I have been blessed with a desire to succeed, a need to overcome adversity that borders on the obsessive, and a competitive fire that always burns and never goes out. To borrow a reference form a popular 80’s film, I’m not happy unless I’m going mach 2 with my hair on fire. While that is overstating things a bit, the point remains, the Lord has blessed me with drive.  As with all things, the question becomes, will the gifts given by God be used for His purpose and glory or my own?

Romans 12:2  (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. For Christians this verse is both a comfort and a struggle. On the one hand, it represents the sanctification of followers of Christ – the promise that Gods perfect will for our lives. On the other, it can, in its sanctifying power, be a source of loneliness and frustration for believers. A new believer is often faced with loneliness as “friends” from their old lives abandon them in favor of their secular lifestyles. This process of separating the chaff from the wheat as we see in Matthew 3:12 is a painful process: ( NLT) He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”It leaves the new believer desperate to bring those he knows and loves into a relationship with the Father.

For the follower of Jesus, that has been walking with the Lord for many years the pain of sanctification is different. For the seasoned believer, walking through this life often feels like watching a movie at the drive-in theatre; a movie that is absolutely free, a movie that the believer cannot opt out of, a movie that must be viewed. Further, those that have accepted Christ as Lord of their lives must  interact with the pain, suffering, and perversion of this world. A believer does not simply hide their eyes and wait for the second coming. To the contrary, the believer is called to go forth into the perverse, broken, and pain filled world. Matthew 28: 16-20 (NLT) ¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[b] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Being a light in the darkness, a balm for the pain, a splint for the broken, and the uncomfortable truth that countermands the lies is a lonely and frustrating calling no matter where you fall in your walk with Jesus.

 I heard a pastor put it this way, “Once Jesus has gotten hold of you, you will do things that you never considered before.” Things like pray, read your bible, donate your resources and time to the less fortunate (for free!) and yes, ask God, for opportunities to share the gospel. That’s right, Christians seek out chances to share the gospel truth of Jesus Christ. We share that truth with those same “friends,” that mocked and ridiculed us when we were saved; with the shattered world that we are sanctified from. Why would Christians do this?  Why would we place ourselves before those who often don’t want to hear what we have to say, who many times can and do cause us harm be it physical, emotional,or economic?  Does almighty God need us to do this? Can’t He just reach down from heaven and make everyone believe? God doesn’t need us to do anything He wants us to do it of our own free will, in doing so we choose Jesus for ourselves and give ourselves to His purpose for our lives. Man chose to disobey God by eating of the tree of life (Genesis 3), man must choose salvation through Jesus Christ, John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

To my brothers and sisters around the world who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ though the personal risks and sacrifices are great; I say we the redeemed are with you. You are in our prayers as we intercede on your behalf before the Father.  When the frustrations  of your calling seem to be too much and you don’t feel like you are doing enough or what you are doing is ineffective, remember God is with you, directing your steps. Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.  We are all called to be messengers and in sharing the message that is the saving power of Christ, the Lord uses us to reach a dying world; bringing the lost to Himself. By answering the call to preach we take part in building God’s church, a church made not of frame, plaster, and paint but of the souls of those that are saved. It is the body of Christ a church without walls. A church without limits!

Grace & Peace,

LD

*If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, email me at savedIIserve@gmail.com and let me know! I will be happy to lead you through what the bible says about salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.*