True LIGHT is Jesus

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

God loves the world. He sent his Son to die to redeem the world. But, the world does not love God. The world, its processes and powers, rejected his Son. Since we have become Christians, we are no longer part of the world opposed to God and his work. We should not be surprised when the world does not accept us. We should not be shocked when the world opposes and hates us. Jesus longs to protect us, but he does ask us to live in the place of risk; he calls us to join him in helping redeem people caught by the processes and powers of this current world. We are called to live on the boundary of darkness and light; we are to shine our light to help those trapped in darkness find their way to the One True Light, Jesus. As we do this, we know that Jesus is our advocate at the Father's side, asking that we be kept safe from the evil one.

"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:13-17

Grant me courage and compassion, dear Father, as I live in the place of danger and grace -- that place of redemption where light penetrates the darkness and lost men and women are rescued from the decay and tyranny of the world and its dark prince. Keep my heart on the light and my strength renewed when I face the powers of darkness and the hate this world might offer. Please, dear Father, guard my heart from cynicism and hate, so that I can be one of your many tools of redemption. In Jesus' name. Amen.

It's not religion, it's a relationship with Jesus!

Some people may say they have had religion shoved down their throats, and that is not right. This is the very thing God did not intend to do when he sent is only Son into the world. Man makes mistakes and adds more to God's plan than God intended, thats why things like this happens.

The Bible says in John 3:15-17 "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." It was not his intent to shove anything down anyones throat. "John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. "

In John chapter 4, Jesus, God's son speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well. Christ tells her in John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. " You see Christ offered this to her freely.

To have such a promise as this to know where you will be for eternity is THE WAY to have eternal happiness. To know that you have someone there for you at all times, when you are sad or lonely, Jesus is the way to find Hope in life. God is there for us at all times, whenever we need him.

Are you not worshiping and serving God in your relationship?

Christ Followers Wanted: No Experience Needed!

Perhaps you are going through a season right now where it seems a bit difficult to trust Jesus for very much. If that’s the case, rest assured the devil is loving it! That’s not a putdown, okay?

Christians who delight in constantly believing God to “do the impossible” for the primary purpose of glorifying Him are the ones the devil hates the most.

Then John gave this testimony:

"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him." John 1:32

The key to being trusted with faith, and more of it, is for the primary purpose of bringing glorifying to our Lord Jesus Christ. Lose sight of that, and one’s faith can diminish very quickly. The Holy Spirit bubbles with joy when we refuse to let fear and doubt and unbelief have the final say in matters, but press on to continue to believe Jesus Christ no matter how painful it can get at times.

When a person reads Matthew, Mark, Luke or John with an open mind, the one thing we clearly see about Jesus: He was constantly encouraged His disciples to keep stretching their faith – keep exercising great faith. Jesus knew how delighted His heavenly Father was when they believed Him to accomplish seemingly impossible feats, and He also knew the opposition they would face after Jesus resurrected and went back to heaven to be with the Father.

Be someone much more brave than a mere physical follower for Jesus. Rescue as many lost souls as you can that are sinking into the sea of eternal suffering. Trust God to give you a way to share with others that God desires above all else to become intimate friends with us. Jesus will supply all the faith to believe Him for the courage you need to accomplish each mission … if you don’t focus on your fears, but rather, focus on the huge smile beaming from the faces of Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the angels in heaven, and all the redeemed souls.

That person you are willing to confront might end up being one more redeemed soul in heaven … one day smiling down at you as WELL if he or she gets there before you do.

“Heavenly Father … I ask in Jesus name that you help me become a more brave and courageous spiritual Christ Follower from this moment forward. And I’m going to trust You that You WILL! Amen!”

Do I Really Have To Go To Church?

Every Sunday many people go to church while others are sleeping or engaged in other weekend activities. Since our weekends are limited, should we spend part of it in church?

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." - Hebrews 10:23-25

I love what Billy Graham says: "Being in church no more makes you a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car." So, the answer is, "No," you do not have to go to church to be a Christian, but attending church serves a purpose to help us to grow in our faith:

(1) It is an Expression of our Love for God

(2) It builds up our Spiritual Strength

(3) It brings a special visitation of the Lord's Presence (4) It provides fellowship with other Christians (5) It is an act of obedience to God (6) It provides accountability to spiritual leadership

Yes, you can worship God out on the lake, or on the golf course. But doing so only takes from the creation of God. We miss out on the encouragement of others and we miss out on being encouraged. While you do not have to be in church to be a Christian, it is certainly the place where you are needed and where the committed Christian wants to be.

Go to Church to get closer with GOD and HIs people!!!

Scars of LIFE

"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? I don't wanna die without any scars..." - Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club

Most people agree that a fight that's one-sided isn't really a fight. That's just a beating. That's a bully taking advantage of someone weaker than he or she is. A real fight is back and forth; you trade blows.

The keeping of one's faith is similar. If you want to be a Christian or even remotely God-conscious, this life will fight you for it. The world tries to take your joy and your peace with every unwanted circumstance, every unexpected tragedy, and every unforeseen pitfall.

So what do you do? You can curl up in the fetal position, block your face and just take it. Truthfully, there are times when that's the only thing you can do. Some hardships are simply tests of endurance.

You can help the enemy by inflicting wounds on yourself. That's when you just agree with every negative thought that comes in: "I'm not good enough, not smart enough, etc." Your opponent doesn't have to do anything then. You will beat yourself up.

Then there's the third option: you can fight. You fight by remembering God's promise that no weapon formed against you will succeed at taking you down (Isaiah 54:17). You hide His words in your heart and wear them out on your sleeve. You stand up against the lies that seek to sink your ship.

And it's going to be rough. You'll get wounded. You'll get dazed. The enemy doesn't fight fair, and he's very aware of your weak points. Don't think for a moment that he won't sucker punch you right where it hurts.

It's difficult to imagine emerging from any fight without scars. Even Jesus has scars. He showed them to the disciples after His resurrection (see Luke 24:39). In fact, His scars were proof that He had died and came back to life. I think our scars bare the same resemblance. They are the evidence that we are overcomers. They qualify us to speak to those in pain and say, "I've been there."

So, keep your head up. You'll lose a few battles, but remember that you've already won the war as a believer.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. -- I Timothy 6:12

"Born Again" Newsboy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvwhLUfxbrw