"Holding On To Jesus"

"But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose".  Mark 9:27

I woke up with a song on my mind:  "I'll keep holding on to Jesus, I'll keep holding on to Jesus.  I'll keep holding on to those precious nail scarred hands.  I cannot see the way too clearly, and my path becomes so weary.  I'll keep holding on to those precious nail scarred hands".

Life is not always a bed of roses.  It is not always easy.  Sometimes it is hard and rough.  Sometimes life throws us a curve ball.  Sometimes it brings pain, grief and sorrow.  Life is unpredictable.  It is subject to change-- it can go from a really good day to an awful day in a split second. 

So, what do we do in the highs and lows of life?  In the ups and downs?  In the good and in the bad?  In times of joy and times of pain?  In times when our faith is being sorely tried?  In times when we are on the top of the mountain or down in the valley?  What do we do when the storm rages, the fire burns, the lion's roar and the earth is shaking beneath us?  We do what the lyrics of the song encourage us to do--- we keep holding on to Jesus!  We keep holding on to Him no matter what.

Whatever you are going through, keep holding on to the hands of Jesus.  They are the same hands that reached out and saved Peter when he was sinking in the sea.  They are the same hands that touched blind Bartimaeus and gave him back his sight.  They are the same hands that held the little children when the disciples tried to send them away.  They are the same hands that touched the lepers and healed them.  They are the same hands that were nailed to the cross so that you could be forgiven of your sins and receive eternal life.   

What are you holding on to for help?  Your money?  It won't help-- riches take wings and fly away.  Your own understanding?  It is limited.  Other people?  They are flesh and blood just like you are.  The system?  It will fail you.  The only hands that will never let you go and will hold on to you in the worst storm, the deepest pain, the most horrific tragedy and in the darkest pit are those precious nail scarred hands of Jesus.

Have a great day.  What are you holding on to for help in life?   I'll keep holding on to those precious nailed scarred hands.        

"Visit The Prisoners"

^"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."  Matthew 25:35,36

This verse admonishes us to minister to people in their time of need-- in hunger, in thirst, in sickness, in prison, to the stranger.  I want us to look at the part about visiting those who are in prison.  I have had a jail ministry in the past, and I have gone to the prison on a few occasions and preached.  I've had friends who are actively involved in prison ministry-- that is their particular calling.  Not all of us are able to go to the jailhouse or prison and minister to the inmates.  But we all are able to go to those who are in "prison".

There's more than one kind of prison.  Not all prisons are made of brick, mortar or steel.  There are people who are being held prisoner who are out walking around freely, and not behind bars. They are all around us.  They are in our families, among our friends, our fellow employees, our school mates and even our neighbors.

The ones I am talking about are being held as a prisoner to sin.  They are prisoners of addictions such as alcohol, drugs and pornography.  They are being held a prisoner by fear, condemnation, remorse, depression, anxiety, grief and guilt.  These are the ones we can go to.

We need to be going to these prisoners.  We need to be proclaiming liberty to these captives.  Jesus came to set the captive free.  He came to open the prison doors to those who were bound.  He breaks every chain. He destroys yokes.  He destroyed the internal prisons.  He defeated the power of sin so that it has no hold on us any longer.  He pulls down strongholds.  He has the keys to open any and all prison doors that we may be locked up behind-- whether it is in our minds, our emotions or some besetting sin. 

No, you may not be able to go to prisoners at the local jail or state prison, but you can go and preach deliverance to those who are being held as prisoners behind bars we cannot see.

Have a great day.  I was in prison and you visited me.  Jesus sets captives free.  Are you letting the prisoners know this?

"Whether I Live Or Die"

"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's".  Romans 14:8

This scripture has been on my heart for quite some time.  I have decided to make it my new "life scripture"-- or my "motto".  It sums up the whole of our Christian life-- those who have received Christ and made Him Lord of their lives.  We are the Lord's.  If we have been born again, we belong to Him.  Our life is no longer our own.  If I am alive-- I belong to Him.  If I die-- I belong to Him.

When we realize that we truly belong to the Lord, in life and in death, then let come what may, we don't have to be shaken, destroyed or defeated by it.  I don't have to worry; He has my life-- it belongs to Him.  If storms rage against me, if sickness touches my body, if pain comes upon me, if enemies rise against me, if the mountain is looming over me, if the waters try to consume me, if failure is taunting me, if death is waging war for me, if confusion tries to oppress me, if a bad report tries to shake me, if the ungodly attack me, if a weapon is formed against me, etc., I can still say, "It is well", because I am the Lord's. I have surrendered my "here and now", as well as my "eternity" to Him, so He has my life and every moment in His hands.    

I belong to Him so He will either deliver me, heal me, protect me, provide for me, make a way for me, or take me home.  Whatever happens I am in a win, win situation because if I live, I am His and if I die, I am His.  Whatever comes your way, don't be fearful or anxious about it.  Whatever happens-- good, bad or otherwise-- you belong to Him so it will be all right.

Have a great day.  Whatever happens to you in life, even if it brings death, you belong to the Lord, so it is well.   

"As Much Now"

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"  Romans 8:31,32

These are some of those verses that you need to read and reread, listen to what it is saying, meditate on it, renew your mind with it and absorb its meaning.  The Lord God did not spare even His Only Beloved and Begotten Son for you.  He sent Him to die so that you could live.  He sent Him to give His life as a ransom to pay for your sins.  Since eternity past, the Father and Son had never been separated.  The Son is the Greatest Love of the Father.  Yet, He gave Him up to come to earth and be crucified for you.  You who was a sinner.  You who was an enemy of God.  You who was living in rebellion against God.  You who was a blasphemer of God.  He gave Him for you who was self-centered, self-seeking, not God-seeking, a rejecter of God, an opposer of God and a hater of God.

If God did this for us before we received Him, loved Him, followed Him and surrendered to Him, in order to have us as His children, then why do we think that He would do less for us now that we are in His family?  Why do we think that He won't bless us, meet our need, take care of us and give us all that He has promised after we have come to Him? 

Does He love us more before or after our acceptance of His Son?  Does He love us more before we surrendered our lives to His Lordship than He does after?  Does He love us more as rebels against Him or as faithful loving children?  We act like He loved and was willing to do more for us before our salvation than after.  We act like now that He "has us", He has abandoned us and stopped caring about us.  This simply is not true.  He loved us so much then as to give up His Son for us, and He loves us so much now as to give us all things freely through His Son.

Have a great day.  God didn't love you more when you were living away from.  He loves you just as much now that you are His.     

"The Storm's In The Book"

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen".  John 21:25

There were so many things that Jesus did while He was on earth that if they were all written down there are not enough books to contain them.  The Bible says of itself that it was written by holy men of God as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  That means that the Lord made sure that the things we really needed to know where written down for us in the Bible-- since it was too much to write everything. 

One account that He made sure that was in there was the account of the disciples in a boat on the sea when the storm came up and threatened to destroy them.  You know the story I am talking about.  Jesus was in the back of the ship asleep, and they woke Him up to save them from drowning. 

I, for one, am so thankful that the Lord placed that account in the Bible because it gives me hope, comfort, peace, faith and reassurance when I am going through a personal "storm".  We all face storms of some sort, no matter who we are.  Some storms are physical, financial, emotional, mental, in our relationships, and so on.  This story lets me know that when I face storms, I am not alone.  Jesus is with me.  It lets me know that He can take care of the storms.  It lets me know that He has power and authority over the storms that rage.  It lets me know that He can speak peace to my storm and it has to cease.  It lets me know He cares about me and will take care of me.  This is why I said I was thankful-- thankful it was written in the Bible so that I could be encouraged by it.   

Have a great day.  Whatever storm you are going through, God made sure we would know that He is greater and in control of the storm you are facing.
Scripture references:  Mark 4; 2 Timothy 3:16