Why do I say that our religion is elastic? Because in the last years we have seen our beliefs stretched beyond what scriptures says is truth. 

An elastic rubber band is used by orthodontists to correct bites, for sewing, the bands are available in different sizes, you can even exercise with rubber band.   Bands are easily stretched and can be expanded to go back to its original shape. Sometimes!  Other times, a rubber band can no longer go back to its original shape and if it dries out it can break apart.

Specifically, the evil one, Satan, since Genesis 3 has tried to change things up, to deceive us, to stretch the truth, to make us agree with him especially he uses to desensitize us making us think that things sound good but they are wrong.  Yes, we see those who mock God may I say…dear enemies of God brace for God’s wrath, because it is coming.  Or as we would says today: “Buckle Up…the Bible says that God is not mocked.”The Bible speaks quite a bit about the wrath of God and that includes the New Testament. 

Today, we have preachers who say that God has changed and that He isn’t the mean old God anymore.  Today He has been changed into a sweet socialist who wears sandals and has a universal view of salvation.  Yes, scripture does tell us that ALL can be saved BUT you have to make the right choice. 

But what has happened in this generation?   We all want to stretch the truth like the elastic on our sweat pants.  Our elastic religion would love it to be true because we want those we love and those who have never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior to be going to heaven.  But the wrath of God is visible as we read about the Cross and what Jesus did for us, He saved us by dying on that Cross.  You see if we go to church on a consistent basis, read our Bible, go to a Bible Study once in a while or do some good deeds then we think that we are lovely, holy, sinless people but Paul says: “O wretched man (woman and child) that I am. “ That is what we are!

Everyone seems to know John 3:16 and many times the young kids memorize it in Sunday school but there is another verse a little further down in John 3:36 that says: He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.  You do know that the Holy Spirit inspired both John 3:16 and John 3:36. 

Man was thrown out of the Garden of Eden after they sinned and God put the angels with swords just outside the Garden and that is why God sent His Son, Jesus to fix this mess and the choice as always is yours  to accept or reject Christ as your Savior. If you read through the Bible and go chapter and verse; you will see how people, churches and politicians in this generation have stretched the Truth of the Gospel to accommodate their own ideas. 

Consider all of the cults that have developed out of Christianity.  Did you know that there are over 30,000 Christian religious denominations?   Each of these groups tries to take our elastic religion, tries to accommodate scriptures, tries to accommodate religion and it takes up space in our spiritual lives that are not correct.  This stretching includes everything from how sin is dealt with to how you define life to how you define sexuality to how you define marriage.   Anything that is different from the scriptural definition creates an elastic religion which is not from GOD!

Remember, in the New Testament that Jesus spoke to the people and healed them, removed evil spirits from them and they crucified Him.  Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote 13 of the New Testament Books, he would start a church, get it up and running and then after they were established he would move on to the next areas only to get letters from those first established churches saying that they were wracked with division.  They were stretching out the doctrine to accommodate what they wanted to add into the belief system.  We add things to the bible that are not in there. The Bible says that we are going to have to contend for the faith.  Contend means to struggle, resist the devil. The apostles contended for the faith.  But today we have as many views on the Christian faith as there are Christians. 

I keep hearing phrases like, “Can’t we all just get along?”  We are hardly united by a common faith.  Our belief system is hopelessly fractured so how can we just get along? 

God has given us the way through His Son, Jesus Christ to unite.  Each of us will have to stand up for what we truly believe.  Ask what does the Bible say about this or that situation.  What chapter and verse says and in the right context.  Remember Satan hates God, dJesus and the Holy Spirit and he wants to destroy the church.  The correct approach is to humble ourselves and to confess that without God’s help we can do nothing.If we just follow the word of God and stop going down rabbit holes and there was a song  years ago that state: “God said it, I believe it and that settles it for me.”  If we stop stretching the truth of the Gospel to accommodate this group or that group, can you imagine how great life would be?

​1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We spend a great deal of our time looking at people from the outside but we do not really know who they are on the inside.  We do not know how or what they are thinking.  Sometimes we can’t tell by looking at a person whether or not they love Jesus.  In fact, it is difficult to tell if someone you interviewed for a job is the right fit in your group.

A sincere lover of God will seek to please Him at all times. The motive of his or her actions would be aimed at pleasing the Lord. As the Lord Jesus Christ, every believer should be able to say that " for I do always those things that please him." But today, a great deal of our time is spent on efforts to please others- our spouse, employers, relatives, friends and society for our anticipated personal gains; and without considering how our actions affect our relationship with God. Our selfish desire to gain human approval must give way to the need to do that which is acceptable and pleasing to God. We look on the outside of people and make judgments that are many times wrong. God never looks at the outside. God looks at the inside.  He looks at the heart.

A while ago I came across a great illustration that sums up this verse beautifully.  It refers to the 12 disciples of Jesus.

To: Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafter’s Carpenter Shop
Nazareth 25922
From: Jordan Management Consultants

Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.  As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance. This additional insight is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fees.

It is our opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely has radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely,
Jordan Management Consultants


For those of you reading this and not knowing who Judas Iscariot was, well, he is the Disciple who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.   As you can see in this illustration, even the "experts" cannot tell what goes on in a person’s life and whom you can trust-only the Lord knows.  You see the Bible tells us that Jesus knows even our motivation and most of the time we are not aware of what motivates us to say and do things we do.

As we start this New Year, ask the LORD to search your heart like the Psalmist did in Psalm 139 when he said:  "Seach me, O GOD, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"  

As we end 2022, I would guess that if we were honest about our feelings over these past two years, we would admit that we had found ourselves complaining about the difficult circumstances and choices and challenges in which we found ourselves.  I am quite sure that we would all be able to justify our reasons for complaining.  We would all say; “if it were not for these distressing conditions or those people who knows what great things we could have done for the Kingdom of God? “  But that is a mistake.  You see, we either serve the Lord our God in those distressing conditions we go through in this life or we will never serve the Lord, Our God. 

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 tell us  8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

After the craziness of the last few years many of us want to say “Come quickly Lord;” but you do know that the One who has allowed these difficulties is the Lord, our God.   He has sustained us through the tough times and the Lord reminds us that no one is tried to the extreme.  The Lord places the remedy near the evil.

Just recently in my daily reading I learned that in a tropical country it is reported that there is a certain grass that grows in abundance.  However, this area has a large amount of poisonous snakes and the article went on to report that when the animals are bitten by these poisonous snakes they can go instinctively to take a mouthful of that grass and they are healed.  That is something we need to be remind of, our lord has the remedy for each and every one of us no matter in which situation we find ourselves as long as we turn to our Lord.

We find it difficult to understand that our difficulties help us to become more efficient and useful for God’s kingdom.  Please, remember that those whom we study in the Bible evangelized the Gospel and God’s Word in difficult circumstances.  Some of their best works were done in hard moments but they pressed on and got the word of the Lord out to the world.

No matter what you went through this last year, the difficult decisions you had to make and the difficult decisions before you, this is exactly the time for you to serve the Lord so that all the glory will be from Him and not from you or about you.    The New Year is a great chance for us to renew our commitment to the LORD.   Even if you have gone through difficulties over the past few years remember, you can still have hope and rejoice, because, JESUS is still alive and is still the KING OF KINGS!   Embrace the hard moments of the past few years and start this NEW YEAR with a renewed focus on trusting and serving JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

Prayer is always an interesting topic for Christians.  We tend to talk about prayer, ask each other for prayer, but at most churches the least attended service is often "the prayer meeting".  So, what is so important about prayer?!?!?!  Well Hebrews 4:16 is a good verse that reminds us that we are to: “...come boldly unto the throne of grace (come unto the Lord humbly) so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
 
So praying is reaching the throne of God.  It is not just the saying or the utterance of words.  Prayer is really getting in communication with our God!  It is not just lip service-saying a bunch of words in the correct order.  Prayer, as someone defined many years ago, is like playing tennis; you hit the ball over the net and your partner hits it back.  Well, in prayer you speak to God then you let Him answer, literally you listen for HIS response.  Surprising as it may seem, sometimes the Lord will answer your prayer, but HIS answer may not always be what you want.   Remember, sometimes He will say: “Yes”  Sometimes, He will say: “No” and at other times He may say: “Not Yet, I Have something better for you in MY time.”
 
Believe me, power in prayer is very much the gauge of our spiritual condition.  Prayer comes spontaneously from those who abide in Jesus; prayer is the natural "out gushing" of a soul in communion with Jesus. 
 
For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons.

• For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.
  
• Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).   We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8).  Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.
  
• In other situations in which we do not know God’s will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside Jericho had not called out to Christ, he would have remained blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God’s power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18).

​May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

After we get saved and have been “born again” everyone tells me that I should have a personal relationship with the Lord.  Well, what does that mean?  How do I have a personal relationship with my Lord - someone I cannot even see?   

Yes, He is Holy, and pure and without sin and I am not. While not everyone is a child of God, Jesus extends the invitation to become one to all. I pray for everyone to know what it is like to be a child of God, to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to experience the forgiveness and love of the Father. 

So when we get saved does that mean that we are perfect from that time on? NO!   So how can I have a personal relationship with a Holy, perfect and sinless Savior, while I am not perfect?
 
This personal relationship with God is not as hard to find as we might think, and there is no mysterious formula or incantations for getting it. As soon as we become children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit, who will begin to work on our hearts. 

Oh, you mean we are a work in progress? YES!
 
We should pray without ceasing, read the Bible, and join a Bible-believing church; all these things will help us to grow spiritually. Trusting in God to get us through each day and believing that He is our sustainer is the way to have a relationship with Him. Although we may not see changes immediately, we will begin to see them over time, and all the truths we are taught in scripture, will become clear.
 
Having a personal relationship with God begins the moment we realize our need for Him, admit we are sinners, and in faith, receive Jesus Christ as my Savior.  God, our heavenly Father, has always desired to be close to us, to have a relationship with us.

I don’t know if you know it or not but before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 3), both he and Eve knew God on an intimate, personal level.  They walked with Him in the Garden and talked directly to Him! This was God’s plan for us.  BUT…….due to the sin of man, we became separated and disconnected from God.

What many people do not know, realize, or even care about these days, is that Jesus gave us the most amazing gift—the opportunity to spend eternity with God if we trust in Him.
 
 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
 
God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ to take on our sin, be killed, and then be raised to life again, proving His victory over sin and death.
 
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

If we accept this gift, we have become acceptable to God and can have a real relationship with Him!

Those who have a personal relationship with God include God in their daily lives.  They pray to Him, read His word, and meditate on verses in an effort to get to know Him even better.  Those who have a personal relationship with God pray for wisdom (James 1:5), which is the most valuable asset we could ever have. They take their requests to Him, asking in Jesus’ name (John 15:16). Jesus is the One who loves us enough to give His life for us (Romans 5:8), and He is the One who bridged the gap between us and God.  So, when we are saved: We have God the Father, Jesus the Son who died on the Cross for our sin and the Holy Spirit working in us.
 
I want to encourage you to know that there is something better still for you, you have not yet received the full reward   You who are beginners in this new life, for now you are a new creation.  You may not know what God has planned for you, yet there is something better still for you.
 
I can tell you that over the years I have people tell me that all humans are children of God and it does not matter which religion (if any) we follow.  Doesn’t that sound so cutesy and fuzzy, and comforting; but that is not what the Bible teaches.  Yes, we humans were made in God’s image with a moral compass that sets us apart from the animal kingdom, but the Bible makes it clear that we are NOT all His children.  Actually, in Ephesians 2:3 we are told that before we are saved we were called children of wrath.  There is that sin nature that is hostile to God, and that is why there is so much hate for Christians. Jesus told the religious people of His time that the devil was their father John 8:44 and we become children of God only when we are born again of His Spirit  (John 3:3) and it is only then that we can call God “Father” (Romans 8:15).
 
The Bible leaves no room for homemade religion.  We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe.  So we are going to have to pray for clear vision so that we may know where to stand and what to stand for or we shall fall for anything.
 
You will have happier views of heavenly things as you climb the hill in your spiritual experience.   As you abide in Christ your confidence will begin to grow in the Lord.

Just as when you are an infant and you begin to grow up, it is the same in our spiritual lives when we abide with the Lord,  Of course, there are those in this world who do not ask,or seek or knock of their Lord.  There are many who keep away from Jesus who do not pray to Him . Their attitude is “che sera, sera, whatever will be will be!”
 
You see a true relationship with the Lord can best be described as when we fall in love.  

Have you or a friend ever fell in love with someone special? You can’t stop talking and thinking about the ‘love of your life‘. 

That is what it is supposed to be with each of us and Jesus.   He is now the love of our lives. Yes, Jesus loved us so much He went to the Cross for us.   In todays’ language we would say He took the bullet for us.

If you don't have a personal relationship with JESUS the Savior, why not start today.  Allow HIM to be LORD and the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, you won't regret it!

The first thing I am going to say about abortion is that it is a sin.  Most people do not want to hear that word -- SIN.  Everyone wants to eliminate it from our language, but it is a real thing with real consequences. 

According to the Bible, abortion is equal to murder, yes, the murder of an unborn infant.  You can call it a  “blob of flesh” or a non-entity but the sonograms show us that human life is an infant and it is real. They suck their thumbs, they move their hands and feet.  They are just smaller than we are, but they are a life.
 
In the Bible, in the Old Testament  in Genesis 9:6 and Exodus 21:12 the penalty for murder is laid out.  In the New Testament the death penalty for murder is also clearly implied in Romans 13:1-7 and in Revelation 21:8 and Revelation 22:15 it says that murderers are kept outside the heavenly Jerusalem.  So, to God, the killing of an unborn infant is murder. You are guilty of that murder just as if you pulled a trigger of a gun to kill a person.
 
The Bible also teaches that the baby (fetus), from conception is a person, a living soul.  Psalm 51:5 when King David said: I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  David was saying from the moment of conception he was a person.  He was indeed a person.
 
If we go further on with that thinking of killing someone who is not wanted, then what happens to theperson that is handicapped or to the aged or the senile.   Some states have been looking for ways to condone the murder of babies even after the moment of birth.  But, what is next?  What is to stop the murder of a two year old who is “in the way" or the 50 year old that no one bothers with, what about a disrespectful teenager, what is next.   Consider what happened during the Holocaust when Nazi Germans murdered Jewish people because they were believed to be useless members of society.  The Nazi's murdered 6 million Jews.  And in case you are wondering, yes, the Holocaust really happened.
 
The question we should all ask ourselves is "what is the next category of human beings who someone will make a case, that need to be destroyed"?   There is a quote from a Martin Neimoller concerning what happened in Germany:
 
In Germany they came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left
to speak up for me.”
― Martin Niemöller
 
 
Something to think about:  It is not about convenience and all the other things that people use to justify their choices today.   Remember God’s command; Thou shalt not kill.

Maybe you have had an abortion or have encouraged others to have abortions and now you feel guilty.   The good news is that there is still forgiveness of sins.  When JESUS died on the cross for our sins, he didn't die for just some of them, he died for ALL of our sins.   Seek JESUS today and ask him to forgive you for ALL of your sins.   Get involved in a good, CHRIST centered / Bible based, recovery group and you can live in the joy that comes through forgiveness.

​Every Christian should know the gospel and be able to explain the gospel. Sadly, some Christians struggle with knowing what passages or truths to reference when sharing the gospel, or they know a few basic truths like, “Jesus died for your sins,” or “God loves you.” As believers, we ought to “…..and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

But how can we do this effectively? The Romans Road can be a fantastic tool for learning, retaining, practicing, and then sharing the gospel. This “journey” through the gospel message comes straight from the letter of Romans and allows a believer to easily turn to passages of Scripture if sitting with someone who needs to hear the gospel, or to remember passages that highlight the foundational elements of the gospel.

Here are the 5 “stops” you should make as you journey along the Romans Road:

Stop #1 | Romans 3:23“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
The word “gospel” literally means good news! The reason it’s good news is that there is bad news. Why would anyone ever believe they need to hear the gospel or believe the gospel unless they understood their need for the gospel? That’s where this passage comes in. Romans 3:23 is a foundational reminder that we are all sinners. No one is righteous (Romans 3:10-12), no one is good, and no one keeps the Ten Commandments perfectly. God is holy, and every single human being who has ever lived does not perfectly live up to God’s standard. Whether you’ve sinned once, or are serving a life sentence in prison for murder, whoever fails to keep the whole law in one point is accountable for all of it according to God’s standard (James 2:10).

Sin is a reality that needs to be presented if we are going to understand the gospel. Everybody is a sinner. Being a sinner separates us from having a relationship with a holy God.  We all need a solution.


Stop #2 | Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The second stop on the Romans Road emphasizes the unconditional love of God towards the sinner whom He is willing to save. We were unlovable, but He loved us. We were hopeless, but He gives hope. We couldn’t save ourselves, but Christ could. In our spiritually dead and sinful condition (Ephesians 2:1), God chose to show mercy, love, and kindness to us.

This passage brings Christ into the forefront and provides an opportunity to integrate Him into the good news.  JESUS IS THE SOLUTION to the separation from GOD that we all face!   If it wasn’t for God sending His Son to deal with sin, we could never be saved from the penalty of sin. That is where the new stop on our journey comes in.


Stop #3 | Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
After stops 1 and 2, a person might readily accept that everyone is a sinner, that God loves us, and that Jesus died for us. But stop number 3 takes us deeper into the bad news, before highlighting more of the good news.

Upon hearing that “the wages of sin is death,” someone might ask, what does that mean? This stop provides you with the opportunity to highlight God’s wrath towards sin, His dealings with the unrighteous, and the reality of a literal heaven and a literal hell (Romans 1:18-32; Matthew 13:42; Revelation 21:8). The earned payment for sin — all sin — is death. Much like a human court system has a standard of law that if not kept leads to punishment, God has a law and there is punishment for not keeping it. More than that, as human beings who readily admit that we are sinners, we must also admit that we cannot keep God’s law faithfully. Therefore, we all are condemned in God’s court and deserve the wages for our sin: DEATH.

But Romans 6:23 also includes good news! In contrast to our inability to keep the law of God and our wages earned by sin, God gives the gracious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. This aspect of the gospel provides you with the opportunity to know and share what Jesus did on the cross. He died in the sinner’s place. He paid the penalty for sin so the sinner wouldn’t have to. He gave His life so you could live. By “eternal life,” the Bible means that you don’t need to die and end up in hell forever. You don’t have to experience the judgment of God upon sin for all eternity. You can live in heaven with Him for all eternity after this life ends. The Bible teaches that everyone will die (everyone knows this is true) and that after death in this life comes a moment of judgment (Hebrews 9:27). That moment of judgment does not need to end badly.
God has given us a gift. His name is Jesus Christ.


Stop #4 | Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ…”
This is really good news! If you are “in Christ”, that means you’ve put your faith in Him, believing that He died for you and rose again from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4).  Anyone in Christ is not going to be condemned for their sin and will not go to hell. If that’s you, then you don’t need to walk around feeling guilty or shameful over your sin once you’ve believed in Christ because your sin is washed away (1 John 1:7).


Stop #5 | Romans 10:9 “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…”
The final stop is where the rubber meets the road! 
     Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?
     Do you believe He was the Son of God who died for your sin and rose from the dead?
     Are you willing to confess your sin, accepting the bad news that you are spiritually bankrupt without God’s help?
     Are you willing to accept the good news that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him and be saved from the penalty of sin, which is His wrath?

Through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s power can change you!   You don’t have to live a life of brokenness and bondage, you don’t have to be hopeless. Jesus can set you free.  Jesus can give you hope that we ALL need!

The question is often asked, how do I know if I’m saved? The simple answer is that if you have truly believed in Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him, God will transform you.  The old ways of sin that you used to enjoy are going to fade, and the new life you live in Christ will dominate your passions (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In a world looking for solutions to the brokenness of human sin, the gospel declares that Jesus is the ONLY answer.   Trust HIM as your Lord and Savior today!

How do you handle challenges in your life when they rear their ugly heads?

Do you retreat and pout and play the “victim” and accuse everyone else stating that it is their fault? 

Or do you see it as an opportunity for God to show Himself strong?
 
In the verses found in Mark 6:30-44 we have the familiar passage where Jesus fed the 5,000 men besides women and children.  This means that it could have been anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 plus for dinner.  If you read the passage, you will see Jesus had been rejected at home, misunderstood by His nation, and He became the object of a king’s superstitious dread.  But Jesus continued to act with compassion, and He displayed His power in the feeding of the multitude.  In these verses it says, “Looking up to heaven” this reminds us that no matter how misunderstood we are on earth, Jesus maintained a secure relationship with His Father.  No doubts, and no rejections by mere men could affect the channel through which Christ’s power flowed.
 
It is the same with us.  We may be misunderstood.  We may even feel rejected by those closest to us.  But God can use every problem in our lives to move us to a new level.  Perhaps you don’t know the name Bernie Marcus but you probably have heard of his company- Home Depot. 

In 1978, Bernie was fired from a home improvement chain called Handy Dan.  That left him jobless and frustrated.  However, Bernie was faced with a whopper of a challenge.  Bernie was determined to succeed and he decided to not run away from the home improvement business defeated.  Instead, he learned from experience and decided he wasn’t going to work for anyone else ever again.  He began His own company.  Today, Home Depot is the largest Home-Improvement retailer in the world.
 
You see, God can use every challenge in our lives to thrust us to a new level.  But we have to have a good attitude and keep our eyes on the Lord.  Follow the example of Jesus when He was to feed 5000 men and thousands more women and children with only two fish and 5 small loaves of bread.  He did not get angry.  He did not complain to His Heavenly Father.  He did not see Himself as a victim.  He saw the situation as the beginning of a mighty miracle.  He prayed and God blessed that small lunch with enough food to everyone and to spare!
 
Whatever you are facing today God is well able to handle it.  Give it to Him and breathe a sigh of relief.  That thing, that situation that is challenging you is only an opportunity for God to show Himself strong on your behalf.  Success is only moments away.  Ask Him to help you!