EXTRA resources

Freedom, freedom is found in the truth, we are truly free when we know the truth and stand firm upon the truth.  And we find the truth in the very word of God, Jesus said in John 8:31-32 "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  When you become a follower of Christ Jesus, you are set free from the bondage of sin, the chains of death, and separation from God, that is the freedom we have as the Holy Spirit of God enters our lives.  Most people do not see the oppression and bondage that comes with a sin filled life, it is just what they do, but when they see the light of Christ come into their life, it all changes and the realization of that freedom in Christ is like nothing you will ever experience.  Know the truth, Know Jesus, Jesus Saves!

Thomas the disciple, he gets a real bad rap for simply being a scientific disciple, he wants proof, evidence of what he is being told.  And Jesus is more than understanding, Jesus did not get angry and displeased with Thomas, no He fully understood his questioning, and gave Thomas the opportunity to do as he had requested.  At that moment Thomas declared to Jesus, "My Lord and my God", there was no question that Jesus was alive.  But the Lord makes a statement right then that would impact people for many years to come, a statement intended for generations to read and hear.  "Thomas, have you believed because you have seen me?Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"  People for almost two thousand years have read and have heard the Good News and believed without seeing Him, today we believe yet we have not seen.   "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" ~ Jesus Saves!

 How often we fail to see the goodness of the Lord when life is hard, when dark times come upon us...  Here the Psalmist, David had been pursued by the King of Israel, seeking to kill him for Saul was jealous, envious, and unstable in mind.  But David, rather than getting depressed and wallowing in self pity chose to seek the and praise the Lord.  And he wrote this psalm, O taste and see that the Lord is good, for God is good all the time, even when this life is difficult and challenging, God is still on the throne and God is still good.  For happy are those who take refuge in Him, those who seek the Lord, and look to Him to carry them through those rough waters and protect them when they walk through a wall of fire.  Like the old song written by Bill Gaither says, "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows", O taste and see that the Lord is good, Jesus Saves! 

Love and God are synonymous terms, God is love, God is the originator of love.  God's love for His human creation goes far beyond the obvious, it extends further and deeper than the surface that we can see.  God created all that has been created and then placed man within His creation and gave him dominion over it all, all for the love of God.  But the greatest act of God is His plan and the full execution of that plan to save His human creation from it's sinful nature, it's bent for wickedness, leading to sure death and destruction.  God loved mankind so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross, a criminal's death to pay their sin debt, then He was raised from the dead to give all who would believe eternal life.  That is the love of God, He is the giver of life, we live because God loves us.  Salvation in Christ Jesus is a matter of life and death, believe upon the Lord and live, or reject Him, deny Him and death and destruction will come, Jesus Saves!

You have heard the saying, "you have got to stand for something, or you will stand for anything", that is quite true, we all must be willing to take a stand, and in this case, we must stand for righteousness sake.  Blessed or highly favored are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for standing up for what is right, for standing up with Jesus.  Some of the major issues we stand for today that cause people to hate us are Abortion, we will defend those who cannot defend themselves, and we are severely hated for it.  Those who are encouraged to transition to a different gender at a young age, this is wrong and we will stand against it.  Or simply standing up for is right in a world that embraces wickedness and evil, it is the right thing to do.  When we are willing to take a stand against evil, we will be persecuted and hated , But God says our is the Kingdom of Heaven!  Do what is right and stand up for what is right. It is worth whatever cost comes your way, Jesus Saves!

Blessed, Highly favored are those who make peace where there is no peace.  These people are willing to step in and help others find common ground and come back to a place of peace.  This is not an easy task, listening to both sides without prejudice, hearing arguments, pleadings, and peoples justification for the battle.  Oftentimes people do not desire to have peace, they enjoy times when there is strife all around, but there must be peace, especially in the church.  Making peace requires several important things, truth, humility and patience, because truth wins the day and Jesus is truth.  Humility brings people to a place of realization that whatever is going on is not centered on them.  And patience is a must when we are bringing others to the table of peace, it does not always happen in a quick and easy manner, it requires patience.  
Blessed are the peacemakers,  for they will be called children of God ~ Jesus Saves!

Are any of us truly pure in heart?  No, of course not, but, if we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus and we have surrendered our will for His, and we have placed our full trust in Him, then we are covered with the blood of Christ and clean and pure and Holy in the sight of God.  This verse reminds me of David, a man after God's own heart, he was not perfect by any means, but he loved the Lord deeply.  When David was confronted with his sinfulness by Nathan the prophet, he realized his sin against God and he repented and wrote a Psalm, where he wrote  "Create in me a clean heart, O God"  The pure in heart are those who believe in the life saving power of the blood of Christ, that He shed on the cross of Calvary, where Jesus died for the sins of the world, then rose from the dead to give each believer eternal life.  We are saved by faith, made clean by the blood of Christ Jesus, pure and Holy in the eyes of God, Jesus Saves!

Are any of us truly pure in heart?  No, of course not, but, if we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus and we have surrendered our will for His, and we have placed our full trust in Him, then we are covered with the blood of Christ and clean and pure and Holy in the sight of God.  This verse reminds me of David, a man after God's own heart, he was not perfect by any means, but he loved the Lord deeply.  When David was confronted with his sinfulness by Nathan the prophet, he realized his sin against God and he repented and wrote a Psalm, where he wrote  "Create in me a clean heart, O God"  The pure in heart are those who believe in the life saving power of the blood of Christ, that He shed on the cross of Calvary, where Jesus died for the sins of the world, then rose from the dead to give each believer eternal life.  We are saved by faith, made clean by the blood of Christ Jesus, pure and Holy in the eyes of God, Jesus Saves!

God demonstrates mercy for us every day, but His mercy is beyond anything we can comprehend, Romans 5:8 tells us "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  Mercy is being reprieved when we absolutely do not deserve to be reprieved, even though we are guilty God redeems us and makes us clean of all of our sin.  And God expects us to do the same for others, we are to be merciful to those around us.  Jesus made this promise, Blessed or Highly Favored are those who show mercy, for they too will be shown mercy.  So, instead of demanding retribution and always holding others fully accountable for their actions, let us show more mercy and be loving and forgiving.  Blessed are the merciful, Jesus Saves!

Again Jesus is making a promise, an if-then statement to all believers.  Blessed or highly favored, Divinely touched are those who hunger, those who have a very deep longing or strong desire to see something come about.  And those who thirst, those who have a deep seated almost painful desire to see something come about.  And that outcome is to see righteousness reign supreme over all the world.  And the Lord says to those people who have these deep heart filled desires, you will be satisfied, not with food but with Joy, with Peace, and with the love of God.  One day this will happen, when Jesus returns and rules this world unfettered by evil and wickedness, righteousness will be the way of life at that time, and we do long for that time to come.  If you feel this very strong desire to see this world change, and you do not know Jesus, cry out to Him and ask Him to come into your life, Jesus Saves!

Let's start today with the word blessed.  Many people want to believe this word simply means happy, but in reality this word holds far more significance than a fleeting emotion.  Blessed means highly favored, Divine favor, a state of Spiritual well being employed through the Grace of God.  Blessed are the meek, another word that is often mischaracterized, meekness is not weakness.  Meekness is power under control, Jesus demonstrated this often during His life on earth.  The Lord Jesus had the power to destroy the world, yet chose to allow the world to kill Him.  You and I have the power to do many things, but we as followers of Christ choose to restrain ourselves  for the sake of our Lord.  In many cases, what good does it do to get angry and lose control ?  When remaining calm, cool and collected will win the day.  Jesus is a gentle Spirit, we are also called to be gentle in our lives, to show the world a different manner in which to live.  Gentleness truly is next to Godliness, Jesus Saves!

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord!  The word of God speaks a great deal about humility, being a humble person, and rightly so as the number one sin is Pride.  Pride is the attribute you do not want associated with your person, it is ugly, it is mean, and it is self centered.  The Apostle Peter tells his readers you are to be humble and to live under the mighty hand of God, surrender yourself to the will of God.  Prideful people rarely become followers of Christ as they are too self focused to look to another for salvation, they have it covered, they think.  Live a Christ centered life, willing to lower yourself to be His servant and to love others like He loves you, rather than a self centered life expecting others to bow down to your self deception of greatness.  Humility leads to submission to the Lord your God, which in time will lead to Him exalting you, Jesus Saves! 

Consider His great deeds, His great works, His love and compassion, for He is God, the creator of all and the keeper of all.  We do not need to stop and ponder God for very long and we are overwhelmed by all He has done, He created the world we live in, He flooded the earth to cleanse it, He called a man and created a special people, He parted the Red Sea to save them, He gave them a land of their own, He stopped time to give them victory.  When you believe that God has abandoned you, meditate on all He has done and remember His promise to all people who love Him, I will never leave you nor forsake you, I am with you always.  And the Biggest wonder of all, He died on a despicable Roman cross to save you, died a criminal's death to redeem you, and He rose from the dead to give you eternal life ~ How Great is our God!  Spend some time today to just ponder everything God has done in the past as we read in His word, His story, and then ponder all He has done in your life, then let us praise God for He is great, Jesus Saves!

Paul, a man called by Christ to come and serve Him as His Apostle to the Gentiles.  For most this seemed a very unlikely choice as he was so zealous to stop The Way, and kill the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  But Paul heard the call and fully accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, he was all in, fully committed to the Lord.  This verse shows us that Paul had no desire for self, but only to do the work the Lord had drawn him into.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it"  This life we live here on earth is nothing more than a vapor, it is gone quickly, we must then make the best of it, spreading the Good News of Christ Jesus must be our life's goal, and to finish well, Jesus Saves!

Here, near the end of Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, he explains a mystery, one many of us believers are patiently waiting for, and the Victory we have in Christ Jesus.  The mystery is the Rapture, the taking up of believers into Heaven without death, it is real and it will happen.  Then there is the Victory in Jesus, When the Lord Jesus died on that cross He paid the sin debt of every person, sin had been defeated and remains a defeated foe to this day and into eternity, Victory over sin.  When Christ was resurrected from the dead, He defeated another dark and ugly foe, Death.  Death no longer has a hold on us, we can know with confidence that we will not be chained in death, but be in the presence of our Lord, Victory over death.  Now, let us live in the Victory that God had given us, keep your eyes upon Jesus, and look up for your redemption is very near, Jesus Saves! 

The writer of Hebrews brings to mind the times in which the Lord Jesus, in the flesh, fully man went to God the Father in desperate prayer.  We can read how deeply troubled Jesus was as his hour had arrived, He knew what the hours just ahead of Him held, it was deep dark waters he was going to be walking through.  Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed that His Father would take that cup from Him, but knowing that God is all good and all knowing surrendered His will for the will of the Father.  We can learn a great deal from how Jesus prayed, and even more about how Jesus reacted, "not my will, but yours be done".  There are times in our lives when we know a difficult season is upon us and we pray simply for relief, to be delivered from this time of trouble.  But we need to remember those hard times are what strengthen our faith, and God knows what you need, and the trials of life will help us even though they are hard.  "Even though my friends may fail me, sin and death and Hell asial me, I know my Jesus will never fail me", Jesus Saves

God desires that His people be comforted in times of need, distress and sorrow.  Isaiah spoke a similar message in his time as well, he said "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God"  We serve a God of all comfort, one who knows our every need, every tear, and every sorrow that comes our way, and He comforts us in many ways.  One way that God comforts is through others who have experienced the love, mercy and compassion themselves from the Lord.  Paul is writing to the people in Corinth to encourage them to be God's comforters, to ensure their community is being given the comfort that the Lord has poured out upon each of them.  Paul is making a strong point in these opening verses of his second letter to the church at Corinth, the word comfort is used some ten times in the beginning of this letter.  As followers of Christ, we are to be comforters to others, just as Christ is to us, comfort, comfort my people, Jesus Saves!

The Apostle Paul in his letter to his young protege, Timothy, is writing to encourage him, to lift him up as he goes off to start a new chapter in his life as a pastor in the city of Ephesus.  Timothy was known to be timid and nervous, but was good at what he did.  But because of his young age, Paul wanted to give him assurance his age should not be the problem as long as he carried himself in the right manner.  Paul says to him, let no one despise you because you are young, but be set apart for God, set an example of what a young believer in Christ looks like, acts like, and speaks like.  Love like Christ loves the church, have a strong, bold faith, and stand above reproach, walk in Christ's righteousness.  Age should not be a deterrent for anyone, young or old, if we live as the Lord Jesus has taught us.  Let them see Christ in you, Jesus Saves!

This piece of Scripture is one of those that can be taken out of context in many ways.  We live in a very fallen world and we also know that bad things happen to good people.  Not all things that happen are good in any way shape or form, they are just plain bad and ugly.  But God, God can work miracles and God can make a way where there is no visible way to you and me.  It comes down to trusting God, that He will indeed work all things out for good, and for those who love Him and trust Him, we stand on this promise.  For we can know for certain that all things will work according to His purpose and His will.  If we look at the lives of the disciples, they looked to God and trusted God in all things, knowing how ever it worked out it was God's will.   God has a good plan, a plan that is unfolding day by day, and one day in the future it will be complete, we need only trust Him, Jesus Saves!

Fear is a good emotion in times of danger, when we need to be alert and ready for what seems to be imminent.  But fear in general is wasted time and usually drives us to act in irrational ways.  The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control", let us use the power God has given to us.  The fear of man is a problem, a snare, and it leads us away from God our protector.  The Psalmist wrote in psalm 118 "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" ~ Whoever TRUST in the Lord is safe.  We must trust in the Lord in all situations for He is our Savior, our refuge, and our protector, what can man do to me, Jesus Saves!

At face value the words of this statement do not tell of the gravity of the work done in delivering us from the domain of darkness.  The act of delivering you and I from Satan's grasp required death.  God's plan of redemption of all of mankind required sacrifice, and not just any sacrifice, it demanded a perfect sinless lamb of God  to lay down His life.  There was no other way, and Jesus willingly went to the cross to pay the sin debt of you and I, thus delivering us out of the evil ons domain of darkness.  And in doing so, we have been transferred into the Kingdom of God's beloved Son, Christ Jesus.  The Lord Jesus, by sacrificing His life, created a bridge to deliver us from sure death and Hell to Eternal life in Heaven, Jesus Saves!  

You know, if life was always bright and happy without any problems, we would not appreciate all that God has done for us, we would take it all for granted.  But we all know life has its ups and downs, good days and bad days, and days we hope we will never see again.  As David writes this song of praise to the Lord, he knows that God's anger is very short lived, He does not stay angry for long periods of time because He is overflowing with mercy and grace.  But above and beyond that, God's favor is for a lifetime and beyond, for God's favor will carry us into eternity.  Those days of grief and sorrow, nights filled with tears are short lived, our weeping may stay with us for a night, but come morning, we will have a day filled with Joy.  Look up, keep your eyes upon Jesus, a new day is coming, Jesus Saves!

 The mind is a powerful thing, it thinks, it commands, it creates, and it develops, most of which is good, but some of what the mind conjures up is untrue.  Have you ever had a thought come into your mind, and you thought to yourself, where did that come from?  We can allow thoughts and arguments to create an opinion within our own mind that is absolutely not true, it is a lie.  Here the Apostle Paul tells us in his second letter to the church at Corinth that we must not listen to those lies, arguments and opinions, but we must take them captive in order to be obedient to Chridt Jesus.  Who are you?  Many of you might respond immediately, I am a child of God, others might say a title, a name, or something else, but who you are is critical to making this happen.  If you know you are a child of God, then do not allow any lie, argument or opinion to say otherwise, take captive anything that says you are not a redeemed child of God, Jesus Saves! 

This verse in the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation should give us so much hope, for a better time, a much more pleasant time, a time filled with love and joy.  Today, our world is filled with wickedness, evil, and hate is everywhere, there is a lot of pain and sorrow filled with tears.  But there is a day coming in the not so distant future when all of this will change, the Lord is going to renew this earth, eliminate all of evil, all the bad, death will be dead,  all the pain and sorrow and He will wipe away all the tears that come with it.  The Lord is going to make all things new, it will be the way it was intended to be from the beginning, all of this sadness and misery will be passed away, God is going to make it all new and right again, Jesus Saves! 

Jesus has just told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector both in the Temple praying and the pious Pharisee says thank you God that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  And the Tax collector beats his chest and says God forgive me a sinner.  The differences in these two men is obvious, one is self righteous and proud, the other humble and knows his own heart.  God knows the heart and simply says the humble tax collector will go home justified, he is humble and honest with himself and others, but especially with God. Pride is the number one sin that keeps people away from God, they see no need for God, they are their own God, prideful people believe they are self-sufficient.  Humility will lead to exaltation by the Lord, Pride will only lead to a fall and being humbled, Jesus Saves!

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day the Christian Church was birthed, the day the Holy Spirit came to dwell within all believers.  This is the day Jesus told His followers would be coming soon, they were to wait in Jerusalem and this day would be fulfilled.  Today's verse is actually a result of what had happened days or weeks before, the Disciples were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and they spoke boldly of their faith and the one in whom their faith originates, Christ Jesus of Nazareth.  If you are a follower of Christ, a Born Again believer, then you have been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, you have the same power within you that we read of here in the book of Acts, earth shaking power.  Jesus said that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains.  When Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica, it was said of them "They turned the whole world upside down", today, let's all go out and by faith turn our world upside down for Jesus, Jesus Saves! 

 The apostle Paul is getting near the end of his letter to the church at Corinth, he has taught them many lessons in this letter, some of the lessons were spelled out with brutal truth.  In that context, Paul is here guiding them to be on guard always, to be watchful in every way, because there is always trouble and destruction lurking around every corner.  He tells them to stand firm in the faith, do not allow yourselves to be led astray, to be lured into sinful actions by evil men, and never allow these things to creep into the church.  ACT LIKE MEN, this statement is absolutely directed to the men of the church, they are to be the Spiritual leaders of the home and of the church, they are the protectors of the flock.  Be strong, stand strong in the Lord Jesus in all you say and do, do not waiver, do not compromise, do not allow the slightest sin to come in and take hold within the body of believers, Be Strong.  And finally, Let all you do be done in love, people have problems, help them, people need guidance, lead them, and people need to be loved, encourage them, Jesus Saves!

Many people over the last almost two thousand years have willingly given their lives for the sake of the Gospel and their Savior Christ Jesus.  But even though their bodies were killed, they live on in Christ Jesus.  Being born again means surrendering your life and your will to the life and will of the Lord who saved you, the old self dies and the new creation in Christ lives.  Being a Christian does not mean you live a double life, not at all, it means you live a new life, a life shaped and molded by God to bring Him glory in all you say and do.  Being a follower of the Lord Jesus is a commitment to live for Him, all in, not lukewarm, not on the fence, but all in for Jesus.  Have you decided for Jesus?  If not it is quite simple, as Paul wrote in the book of Romans, if you confess Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you are saved, Jesus Saves!

In the context of this writing, David and his men had just brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel and placed it in the tent where it would stay until the Temple was built.  And David writes a song of Thanksgiving to the Lord, and the people celebrate and praise the Lord.  As part of our giving thanks to the Lord, we are to be in intimate relationship with him, we are to be seeking His face and His presence.   We are to seek the Lord and His strength, for we cannot do this life in our own strength, we need the strength of the Lord to carry us through.  And this is to be a continual part of our  communing with God.  
     Seek God in all things, seek His strength in all you do, Jesus Saves

Psalm twenty three is a beautiful picture of an intimate relationship with God, the psalmist, David, a Shepherd in the field paints  for his reader a picture of love, mercy, and hope.  Even though his enemies, and they are not specified, they could be perceived or real, but he knows the Lord always provides for him, even in the dark days that he travels through.  My cup overflows, showing that the Lord always welcomes him, and that he wants an enduring relationship.  And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, here is that eternal perspective we must all have, this life is short, but eternity is forever, and eternity is with the Lord in paradise, in perfect communion with God.  
    As you read through this psalm, meditate on the relational perspective that is spoken of, the intimate relationship the writer has with the Lord, the relationship we can all have with the Lord, Jesus Saves!

How many of us go to bed each night filled with worry about the problems of tomorrow and beyond?  The Lord does not want us to worry about anything, especially those things we have absolutely no control over, which is most everything.  Anxiety is wasted time and effort, because we worry about things we cannot change, of which most of it never happens.   Let us remember who is in control of the life we live, is God not far more powerful than that little problem you perceive is big enough to destroy you.  God is Bigger, bigger than your financial problems, your marital issues, your medical diagnosis, your relationship disagreements... God is Bigger.  Rather than worry and get all anxious about these things, stop and get on your knees and give it to God, He already has a plan to resolve whatever might be going on in your life, God knows and God will, Jesus Saves! 

Children, in general, are fully dependent upon their parents for all their needs.  They depend upon adults to feed them, clothe them, help them in times of need, give them direction, offer discipline when it is needed, and love them at all times.  Jesus here tells the reader that unless you become like these children, fully dependent upon Him for all your needs, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  As well, having the humility of one who understands the need of the Lord is critical to an intimate relationship with Jesus.
     Jesus then says that these little ones are so precious to Him, that He compares taking care of them to being in relationship with Him.  As children of God, we are to trust Him and obey Him, following His guidance daily , Jesus Saves!

The Prophet Isaiah lived and prophesied some seven centuries prior to the life of Christ on earth, this is not a trivial telling of what was to come.  And what Isaiah wrote is not even up for argument, history tells us this happened, Jesus of Nazareth was indeed crucified by the Roman government at the urging of the Jewish religious leaders.  Not because of any wrong He had done, but because of the plan of God to save the world.  Jesus paid the ultimate price for your salvation, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, His punishment brought us peace beyond understanding, and by His many wounds we have been healed.  The Old Testament leads us to the point of redemption, God's story, God's plan to save humankind from sin and death, Jesus Saves!