What a deal!! You can’t beat it!

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. ~ Matthew 15:8-9 (NIV)

Religion versus Relationship.  What’s the difference?  Well, there is something called “head knowledge” where a person knows who God is, who Jesus is, and maybe knows there is a  Holy Spirit in the Godhead.  They may even attend church, possibly teach Sunday School or are involved in some other way in the church, but their worship in God’s eyes is considered vain.  Why?  Because they have Religion not a Relationship.

  • Religion says, “I believe in God; look what I’ve done for Him.  Look what a good person I am to do things in His name.”
  • Relationship says, “I believe in God.  Look what He has done for me.  All my works are as filthy rags compared to His glory.  Praise His name that He loves me unconditionally and has welcomed me into His kingdom through faith in Jesus!”
  • Religion says, God is untouchable, unreachable, the “big man” in the sky.
  • Relationship says, My God loves me and wants to have a relationship with me.  He has provided salvation to me through His Son, Jesus.  He welcomes me with open arms.  He leads me.  He has put the righteousness of Jesus upon me and remembers my sins no more!

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Wholeheartedly Worship Him

I heard this word the other day …. and it struck a chord with me.

Wholeheartedly

  • Jesus wants us to seek Him wholeheartedly.
  • Seek Him with all of who we are.
  • Seek Him for all of who He is!

The Word of God says in Psalm 119:2, “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ~ Isaiah 55:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6

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Are you Starving?

How often when we are hungry do we say, “I’m starving!?” I know I’ve said it. I know I’ve heard my husband say it, and I’ve heard others say it too. But, the Lord reminded me that there are people in the world who truly ARE starving. People who don’t have enough to eat, who don’t know where their next meal will come from, or even when they will have something to eat again. We’ve all seen pictures of the starving children with the extended bellies, dying from lack of nourishment. Breaks our hearts to see them, doesn’t it?

But we can still be starving even when our bellies are filled. We can be starving for love that God alone can give. Have you read His word today my friend? Have you gotten your fill of truth for your life today? Have you met with Him in prayer? Be still before your Heavenly Father and bring your requests to Him. He promises to meet ALL your needs.

                                                                                                                                                  

Psalm 107:9 : for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

John 6:35 : Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 4:14 : but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Revelation 7:16 : Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.

Be Still and Know

“God says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

So much to do, so many things to accomplish. Lord, where do I begin?

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Really Lord? Be STILL??

How can I be still when my mind is going in 16 different directions at once??  Well, maybe not 16…but a lot of directions for sure!

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Not my Jesus

I am intrigued by opinions some people seem to have about Jesus. Comments such as “my Jesus isn’t like that” when referring to whether or not a person will be welcomed into heaven when they leave this earth.  This is usually followed by, “I believe…” or “My Jesus would…” or even, “My Jesus wouldn’t…”

~ So, my friend, I ask you, Can there be more than one Jesus?  Can “your” Jesus be different than “mine”?

We all want to think we will go to Heaven when we die, don’t we?  We all want to think that people we love will go to heaven when they die.  Then we figure out reasons why we think our Jesus will accept that person.

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It’s In There!

Remember the Prego tagline, “It’s in there?”

Listening to Pastor George Pearsons from Eagle Mountain International Church this morning, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to write this when he made the statement, “It’s in there!”

Do you realize how many good things God wants you to accomplish?  Do you know for certain that everything you need to know for life and godliness is found in His word, the Bible?  Yes, my friend!!  It’s In There!! Continue reading

She’s a Good Person!!

She’s surely going to heaven because she’s a good person!

Conversation with a friend led to this statement, and this friend was so certain her loved one would surely be accepted into Heaven because of this.

Wow!  That would be great if all we had to do was be a good person to get to Heaven, wouldn’t it?

But, if that were true, why did Jesus suffer such a cruel death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins?  If we can get into Heaven just by being good, then His death was useless, in vain, meaningless.

Think about it.  God sent His one and only Son, the sacrificial lamb who took away all the sins of the world!  John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Continue reading