The World Needs God

04/14/2023

A beautiful testimony!

04/11/2023

Easter Sunday 2023 - our baptism day! Reborn in Christ! He is risen!

03/26/2023

Official lyric video for “Run To The Father” by Cody CarnesPre-Order the new album out March 13th: https://codycarnes.lnk.to/runtothefatherYDListen to song h...

03/26/2023

Psalms 22:1[GW] - My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away from helping me, so far away from the words of my groaning?

Have you ever felt so disconnected from God? Have you ever felt that He wasn't listening to you, or that He wasn't paying attention to your situation? Have you ever felt that sense of emptiness, loneliness or despair? Perhaps you feel hopeless or abandoned?

With Easter around the corner, we should take some time to reflect on Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. What CREATES that separation between us and God? Why is it there? Didn't Jesus die in order that we would no longer BE separated from Him? As it states:

Matthew 27:51[GW] - Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.

Upon Jesus' death, the curtain in the temple, the very same curtain that separated the congregation in the temple from the inner section, the Holy of Holies, was torn and cast down. A symbol that WE were the temple now. That we now had direct access to God, just as the High Priest did before. That now WE were the High Priests.

Yet, we still feel separation, don't we? We still struggle, we still go through trials and difficult times. And sometimes, we feel like God is nowhere around. Why is that?

Jesus died for us. He paid the blood price for our sins. But he was a sinless person. He could not have paid the price for our sins except for to take OUR sin upon HIMSELF.

1Peter 2:24[NIV] - "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."

Matthew 27:46[GW] - About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Imagine the anguish and fear Jesus would have suffered in that moment. Never in His life had He experienced separation from His Father. But at the moment He took our sins upon Himself, He felt as though God had abandoned Him.

SIN is that separation that you feel. SIN is what separated and continues to separate us from God. It was demonstrated in Genesis 3 when God cast Adam and Eve from the Garden.

Genesis 3:23[GW] - So the LORD God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden to farm the ground from which the man had been formed.

So how do we feel closer to God? We are still sinful, no matter that we repent, we still stumble, we still fall. Devoting your life to God, reading and understanding scripture and simply spending time with Him through prayer and meditation will draw you closer to Him. And you will FEEL the change in you, the understanding grow.

It's a process. And generally, doesn't happen overnight. And yes, we will still fail. But with our heart dedicated to Christ, even in our darkest times, even when we feel like God is nowhere around, we can trust that He IS there with us.

Psalms 139:8[NIV] - If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

03/21/2023

The world defines sexuality as who you are. But as Christopher Yuan explains, our identity shouldn’t be defined by our desires or sexual attractions. When discussing identity, we consider aspects such as our essence, the core of our being, of our personhood. It's about how we answer the question, who am I? And who would know better the answer to this question than the one who created us?

➡Click for more: https://youtu.be/EQF68WF-hWo

03/21/2023

https://www.angel.com/watch/the-chosen?gclid=CjwKCAjwiOCgBhAgEiwAjv5whF1VvUpJO3kMS5844Y8pa-IEiqDiSJ1xUJdEdCTQBumJp3NDbnfHRRoCYckQAvD_BwE

I prefer this to Da Vinci's painting. Same people, better portrayal.

03/21/2023

Ecc 5:13-17 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

Ecc 6:3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

How many believe that wealth or power determines their value? Why do we feel the need to horde possessions or money. I can tell you that it will NEVER be enough. No matter how much money you have, or how much power you have. We come into this world with nothing, and we leave with nothing. Dust to dust. Ecclesiastes 5:13-17 shows us that the acquisition of wealth is NOT the meaning of life. Not even generational wealth can be considered as that money could disappear in an instant. Wealth is meaningless in the end.

Just as life is meaningless without Christ. An atheist would believe that when we die, we simply cease to exist. Which, again, would make this life meaningless. Ecclesiastes 6:3 and the preceding few verses show us that wealth brings no eternal joy, peace, or security. If we are destined to return to whence we came and if everything in between is meaningless, what then would be the point of living? Would not a stillborn child then be better off than one who lives an entirely meaningless life?

Gaining wealth is not inherently evil. But we must not let that replace our love and devotion to God. We must not fall into idolatry where we worship money more than God. If you are blessed with riches, then enjoy that. Don't fall into the trap of needing more and more. Be satisfied with what you have and thankful to God.

Our lives DO have a purpose. Don't let that purpose be squandered by a rapacious appetite that can never be satiated. Focus on Christ, focus on prayer, and be thankful for every day you have. Every day is a chance to glorify God and His Kingdom.

Ecc 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

03/18/2023

How do you study the Word? How often? For how long a time? What does scripture teach you? What do you gain from it? How does it change you? How does it open your eyes to understanding?

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is alive and active...

The Bible is a living document. Reading it and studying His word grants you the strength of spirit, the power of knowledge and understanding, wisdom and discernment, peace and serenity. The more you understand, the closer to Christ you become.

John 7:38 (NIV) Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

03/17/2023

Just started watching The Chosen with my wife and we are loving it. I've already donated to help them continue filming and producing the show. If you haven't given it a try yet, I encourage you to!

https://new.thechosen.tv/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_MqgBhAGEiwAnYOAesuBJY96SSsYyqzoquZH-9awSjvAhRmZc4Q7NxdcPZkFxJLnssQZ0BoCPdcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

03/17/2023

"God never gives you more than you can handle."

I'm sure we've all heard this one. Sounds good, doesn't it? God won't ever give me more than I can handle, so I'm set. Stress, suffering, anxiety... all gone! Just like that!

Not quite. Let's check the actual verse I believe this came from.

1Co 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

I encourage you to read the entire passage for context and not just this verse. But the key takeaway here is that Paul said God would not TEMPT us beyond what we can bear.

Temptation is NOT a sin. Dwelling and acting on temptation is the sin. Temptation and suffering/stress/anxiety are different things. And when we ARE tempted, God provides us a way out, a way for us to endure it.

God WANTS us to lean on Him. To seek Christ in all that we do and for everything that we need. Our eyes and our hearts should always be on Him. Yes, we will stumble. We will fail. We will fall. Yes, we will suffer, we will hurt. We will be stressed, we will be anxious. We will sometimes be scared. Sometimes we will feel lost. He never promised that we would not still face adversity.

God OFTEN gives us more than we can handle. For me, it feels like he does this DAILY. Leaning on Him, focusing on Him, turning to Him for guidance is what gets me through it. It calms the storm in my heart and gives me patience and, with that patience, direction.

We mustn't rely on our strength alone.

Php 4:13 - I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

03/15/2023

https://www.facebook.com/MikeWingerBibleThinker

When God judges so many people, the rational thing is to conclude that we must be guilty of some serious moral failings, rather than concluding that God is bad.