What would you do differently if you knew Jesus was coming today?
Acts 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
“Before you judge someone else, stop and think about all that God has forgiven you for.”
Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
“Don’t put your Pastor on a pedestal where he can be knocked off, put him on your prayer list where he can be lifted up.”
Today most of us will be going to church to worship our Savior, and the Pastor has the responsibility to feed his flock, preach to the unsaved and lift up the broken-hearted. He needs your prayers. Pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit on your Pastor today. Put your Pastor’s name at the end of the following verse:
Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
Today many children will be looking forward to tomorrow when they will celebrate Easter with egg hunts, baskets filled with candy, the Easter bunny and maybe a day that they will be with family and friends. Something is missing.
The most important reason why all these things are in their lives: the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The focus should be on Him. Make sure that the true meaning does not get lost in all the preparations and plans.
My favorite memory of Easter is my grandmother taking me to a sunrise service outside looking over a beautiful view from on top of a hill. Then we would go to breakfast and on to church where the hymns about Jesus would be sung and the resurrection story would be told.
We serve a risen Savior, let us make sure He is first in our celebration on Easter Sunday.
Matthew 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
“Without religion this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company, I mean Hell.”
JOHN ADAMS, letter to Thomas Jefferson, Apr. 19, 1817
Quote by John Adams 2nd President of the United States of America. He may not have been a born again Christian but he did honor God as did most of the founding Fathers. He believed in freedom “of” religion not freedom “from” religion. We need to get back to honoring God in our country once again.
1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
God gives His children many blessings. The challenge for you today is to stop and name ten blessings the Lord has given you. It would be a good idea to do that daily. Sometimes we as Christians can be negative. Let’s look at the positive every day and our negativity will disappear.
My ten blessings for today are as follows:
1. Salvation (He took me out of the mire and placed me on solid ground)
2. The Bible (my guidebook for living)
3. Prayer (He hears and answers)
4. My spouse (my friend, companion, helper, lover)
5. Children (sons and daughters who love me and are there in times of joy and sorrow)
6. Grandchildren (the little ones make me smile and the older ones give me joy as they serve the Lord)
7. Great grandchildren (it is a blessing to see them born and watch them grow)
8. The promise of Heaven (many of my loved ones have gone on but I will see them again, glad reunion)
9. Friends (people who love me and stick by me through whatever happens, most of all they pray for me)
10. SOS Events ministry (many opportunities to see people come to Christ and a way I can serve the Lord)
These are only 10 of the many blessings God has given me. How about you?
Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
Today in the USA is important in the area of politics because in several key states it is primary day. This is the day when registered voters go and vote for who they want to be their candidate for the next President.
There has been great controversy this election and unrest with the American people. The whole world watches as our Country is deteriorating before our eyes in the press, on radio and television. There is hope for unity in America and though it is every citizen’s privilege and duty to vote that is not the answer for peace.
The answer is in the Bible in 2 Chronicles 7:14:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The last reason Christians do no win souls according to an article by Lifeway.
We’ve forgotten our source of power.Lastly, we don’t evangelize because we’ve mistakenly put ourselves at the center of evangelism. For many of us, our fears, our frustrations, our inability to talk about Jesus stems from a man-centered view of salvation. We really think it is us, our ingenuity, our power, our technique that delivers a soul from death to life. But salvation is not work we accomplish, but a work of the Holy Spirit. It is God who “quickens” the dead heart (Ephesians 2:1). It is the work of the Father to draw people to his son (John 8:44).
This means that in obeying the Great Commission, we can’t fail. Our job is not to do the saving, but do the sharing. Our job is to simply be faithful in declaring the word to those who haven’t heard. We are the ones God is using to share his message with the world. There are no others. (Romans 10:14). But we can rest in God’s sovereignty, motivated by the knowledge that if we share the news, people will repent and put their faith in Christ.
If Jesus is real in us, if Jesus is real in the people we lead, sharing Christ will be a natural outflow that will burst forward into our friendships, our neighbors, and our coworkers. The mission of God won’t be something we do on Sundays, but will be a way of life.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Second reasons why we don’t win souls according to Lifeway article:
We’ve lost our love for neighbor.Today our world is divided along political, racial, economic lines. Every day we are tempted by the ease of social media, by the tribalization of our politics, and by racial and economic differences. We’ve lost the art of loving people with whom we disagree. Just check your Facebook timeline. Consider the harsh and often vulgar language often used, by professing Christians, to describe politicians they don’t agree with, people groups they are afraid of, and religions they don’t agree with.
You will not share the good news of the gospel with someone you do not genuinely love. We need to teach people to love their neighbors and not just the neighbors that look like them. This means we need to teach our people what the gospel is doing in uniting people from every race, tribe, and tongue in the Church. In America, this means God is helping us obey the Great Commission by bringing the nations to our doorstep.
This means our people need to stop seeing missions as something we only do when we write checks to support missionaries. Every follower of Christ is on mission in his own community.
SOS Events ministry teaches how to evangelize and win souls using the simple plan of salvation “3 Things God Can Not Do”. It is nor offensive to anyone and with love you can be successful to your friends and neighbors.
Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
The first of three reasons why we don’t in souls according to a Lifeway article:
We’ve lost our wonder.In Matthew’s account of The Great Commission it seems that Jesus is not imploring his disciples to share the gospel. He’s expecting it. And why not? They’d just witnessed a man brutally crucified, buried for three days, now risen. If you had met Jesus, if you’ve seen him first dead, then alive, nobody would have to convince you to go tell someone about this miracle.
Why don’t we evangelize? Not because we don’t have the right tools or the right spiel. We don’t talk about Jesus because those of us who know Jesus have lost the wonder. If you’ve been with Jesus, who was raised from the dead and has given you new life, if he’s indeed the reigning King of the Universe, if you know and love him, of course you are going to tell people about him. A Christian’s first obligation is to lift up high the risen Christ, invite your people into the wonder of his love. If you do this and get a glimpse of Christ, you won’t be able to stop telling your friends and neighbors and coworkers. We are all evangelists for the things that capture our hearts. Think back to your last several conversations. Think about what animated you, what got you talking, what gave you excitement? Did anyone have to prompt you, beg you, guilt you? No, it came naturally.
If Jesus is the center, talking about Jesus will be natural.
Matthew 20:17-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
