Roman 5:2

We may not always have good circumstances around us that would cause us to rejoice. But we can always rejoice in hope. What is hope? Hope is a positive expectation for the future. Things may not
be great now, but you can have a hope that the future will be better. (Hope is always future, by definition, but can be in the near future -- not just when we get to Heaven.) According to Romans 8:24, hope involves what is not seen. The only way humans have of dealing with things that are unseen is by using our imagination.
Hope is not seen, or detectable by our physical senses. Hope is a positive imagination, something we can only see inwardly. As Christian believers we can rejoice in hope. We can rejoice when circumstances are not perfect. We can rejoice ahead of time.  As we mature as Christians, we are not to be controlled
exclusively by our physical senses. Being controlled by the physical senses is what the Bible refers to as being "carnally minded." Because we believe what God has said, we know that we have a bright future. A glorious future with God! In this we can, and should, rejoice now! And as we rejoice in hope, our present situation will also be affected for good.




through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

Be doers of the Word

Spiritual growth is similar to physical growth. Time, food, and activity are the requirements. God's Word provides our spiritual food.  A full supply of nutritious spiritual food is the main requirement for spiritual growth. But spiritual activity is also required for you to grow strong, instead of just growing fat.  Acting on God's Word is spiritual activity. Some examples are speaking God's Word, praying, praising God, being thankful,walking in love, and trusting God. Speaking God's Word is vital for spiritual growth. You must
personalize and internalize what God said about you. Then you will begin to think, see, and act in line with God's Word. This process is Bible meditation. Remember that growth is a process so don't become discouraged if you don't have abundant spiritual fruit immediately. Just keep feeding on God's Word and it will produce the fruit of growth.  When you grow spiritually, you will grow in faith and love. Lord God I want to bare good fruit that will glorify you, I want my life to speak of you, may the life I live speak of you. May your perfect love be reflected in how I love my wife and children and all that you place into my life. Let not my word speak of you but my actions would overflow with your love.


 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (James 1:22-23).

God's plan for us as His children here on earth is that our walk with Him be a walk of faith. Faith has to do with things that are not seen, or perceived with our physical senses.  God's Word is our evidence for our faith. We know God cannot lie. Whatever God says -- if it is not already evident to our physical senses  will eventually come to pass. For whatever God says comes to pass. According to the Bible, God only had to
speak and the universe was created. You will never grow strong spiritually until you learn to put what God says in His Word ahead of what your circumstances and physical senses tell you. God does not ask you to deny what your physical senses tell you, but to believe His Word above all other evidence. God simply wants you to believe that He tells the truth. In this regard, the Bible tells us Abraham was an example of
faith. God told Abraham he would be a father of many nations, yet Abraham had no children and his wife was too old to have children.  Abraham still believed God's promise, and it came to pass.  Faith is no different for us today. God is speaking to us through His Word, the Bible, and when we believe what God
said, impossible things become possible. As we keep our focus on God and His Word, we can be fully
convinced, like Abraham, that God is able to do all He has said. For faith comes by hearing the Word .

 
 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)

revival is needed in  America

If revival can come to a wicked city like Nineveh in response to the preaching of God’s Word by Jonah, then I believe there is hope for our nation. The results of the recent election show a definite move toward secularism and a shift away from Christian values and biblical morality. In some states, same sex marriage was approved and marijuana was legalized. Unbelievably, whether it was apathy or indifference, there were millions of evangelical Christians who stayed at home and did not go to the polls. Had more Christians exercised their right and privilege to vote in this election, perhaps the outcomes on the national and state levels could have been quite different. However, I believe that followers of Jesus Christ can still make a crucial difference in our country going forward. I would like to call on Christians in America to especially pray for our president and all those in authority. God desires that “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1–2 ).

While I don’t think our nation can experience God’s hand of favor if we continue to turn our back on Him, I do believe that praying Christians who take a bold stand for Christ can help stem the rising tide of godlessness in our nation. Because God is slow to anger and merciful to sinners, it is important that we do all we can to bring the message of repentance of sins and forgiveness through Christ to as many people as we can and to do so with a real sense of urgency. We need to pray diligently for the lost, for revival in our own hearts and in churches, and for a turning of our nation to God.

We have a right to believe for the salvation of all our family members. God's desire is for everyone to know Him and enjoy life with Him. God never forces anyone to accept Him and love Him. But when we
pray for people, God releases His forces and strongly influences them with His truth. When people are confronted with the reality of God, they will accept Him. Spiritual blindness is the only reason anyone rejects Jesus Christ. Praying for those we love, gives God a valid invitation to work in their lives, so they can know the truth. We should also use the authority of Jesus' Name to break the devil's blindness over our loved ones.  There is a spiritual reason why people have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. We must deal with the root of the problem, not just the outward circumstances. We can command the devil to release them and stop blinding them to the truth. When we pray for others it may not seem like anything is happening outwardly, but behind the scenes we can be certain that God is working. We should continue in faith and resist any
thoughts of doubt.

           
 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Act 16:31).

Since the Bible reveals that we, who have been made righteous by receiving Jesus Christ, are to live by faith, we need to know what faith is. Faith is what you believe. In the New Testament, faith is the noun form and believe is the verb form of the same word. Faith is not difficult to understand. If you believe something,
that is your faith. Faith and belief are the same thing. A belief is something you have accepted as truth and consider to be true, whether it is actually true or not. Faith is not a feeling, attitude, outlook, or state. Faith is
primarily a choice, a decision of your will. Nothing can force you to believe. What you believe is a decision you make. Here is a definition: Faith is always a decision, based on some evidence, resulting in some action.
So faith is when you are persuaded by the evidence you have been presented, and you make the decision to accept it as truth worthy of action. If you were told the building you were in was on fire, you could say all day "I believe the building is on fire." But when you actually believe it, you will leave the building.
Faith in God is a choice to believe what God says is true. It is accepting God's Word as evidence worthy of acting upon. Faith in God and His Word operates on the same principles as faith in anything else. There are no special rules. It is all a matter of what you believe.







 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony (Hebrews 11:1-2).

God is clearly "the Lord, the righteous judge", but He is also "the God of love and peace". Not only in our text verse but also in another place, we are reminded that "God is love". Of all the attributes of God, His nature of love is the most definitive. God is love!

It was not His omnipotence nor His omniscience that constrained Him to create men and women in His image. It must have been His nature of love, the desire for fellowship with beings like Himself. There is not much revealed on this question--only hints. "I have created him for my glory"

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

If you want to grow as you should as a Christian  feed on God's Word just as a newborn baby desires to be fed. If you know anything about babies, you know they require regular feeding! It's not just a quick reading of the Word that you need. You must chew the Word to get the "milk" out of it. This just means you need to meditate on God's Word to get all that you should from it. You can't just gulp it down quickly and expect to
receive all its nutrition. It takes some time and effort to think on the Word and digest it, so that it becomes a part of us. The food we take into our physical bodies does not nourish us unless we properly digest and assimilate it into our cells. Spiritual food is the same. The Word you read has to "become flesh" in you. It has to become part of you. As it nourishes you, it will change you by changing the way you see yourself and the way you see others. It is possible to study the Bible and not believe it, not personalize it, and not internalize it. This type of mental study does not feed your spirit. Personalizing the Word and speaking it, helps us digest the Word so it becomes part of us. This, along with thinking and seeing in agreement with the Word, is Bible meditation. You are who God says you are. You have what God says you have. You can do what God says you can do. You need to say whatever God has said about you. This is the primary way you will be fed
and grow spiritually.  God's Word produces faith in our hearts and renews our minds. It is vital for our spiritual growth. God's Word is our spiritual food.



 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

If we truly want to understand why people do what they do, realize that we are created to need love.It is not just a desire, but a need. If humans are not getting love, they will do whatever they can to try and get it.
Many foolish and harmful things are done simply because people are craving love. We want someone to value us, to even delight in us. We are driven by our need for love and acceptance. All of us want to
be special to someone. Insecurity is the lie from the great deceiver that tells you and I that we are not good enough, that no one will ever love someone like me and I'm not worthy or good enough to ever be loved.
However your Heavenly Father  knows everything about you, and He still considers you so valuable that He was willing to die for you! Who sends his son to die for no good reason? God sent his son because he loves each us and to Him we have a value. If people only knew the truth about the Father and the depth of his love for you and I, that He truly loves them and wants them to simply turn from sin and turn to his loving arms that are open wide waiting for them to run right into them. Have you told someone today that God loves them? After all we are God's representatives on earth the hands and feet the only way for the world to know about the love of God is via us. Unless we love people, they will not believe God loves them. So start pouring out Christ love on all those that you come into contact, you can never pour out more than Jesus can fill you with. So holding onto he wants you to pour it out so he can fill you with a new love daily.



 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

Which Jesus do you serve

 December is a month of that we celebrate our Saviors birthday, Our Savior should be number one on your list. Its back again I will continue to repeat this till i know that each of us has answered this question for ourselves. This for me is probably the most important question that  I could ever answer for myself.  Father help me to be a earthly representation of Christ my Lord and Savior, I want to be more like Jesus and less like me. I want to ready willing to lay my life down for my wife as Christ did for the Church, not for just for a bullet but daily that she would know that I love her like Christ loved the church. I want to love my children like Christ love the little one's. I want to be a true brother to my brothers, by putting them first and even be willing to be servant to them. As Christ washed the feet of his disciples. That is the Jesus I want to serve what about you!!!!


Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

 The call to imitate God is a call to separate ourselves from the world though we may be in but not of it  (Ephesians 4:17-19) and how we have been made new (Ephesians 4:20-24) and then gave us specific ways to do that (Ephesians4:25-32).

Our call is to live with the same love that Christ has demonstrated.  Jesus laying down his life for us, was first of all an expression of his love for his Father. Jesus did it, not only because of his love for us, but because first of all he loved the Father and this was  the Father’s will. This ‘life of love’ is not to be something we do to make ourselves feel good or appear good, it is to come out of and be an expression of our love for God Himself.  When John says, “We love because he first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). The first thing we need to do in the Christian life is become utterly convinced of God’s love.

On Sunday they raise their hands to heaven and declare that it is Jesus that they serve.
Then why do we look so much like the world?
Did you know that the wheat and the tare, the world can't tell which is which and quite frankly neither can I. So I pose the question again, which Jesus do you serve?

My Savior bleed and suffered and died and rose again for a sinner like me. My Savior, was a friend to friendless, He remembers the forgotten ones among us, Which Jesus do you follow?
 Which Jesus do you serve?
Is it this picture of the American dream that you chase after? Is the prince of this world who you serve or did you miss that part when you decided you want fortune and power?
If Jesus was here would you walk right by him or cross over to the other side of the street?
Would you even recognize him or have time to speak to him?
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a white complexion Michael Angelo version of Jesus ,is that the Jesus you serve? My Savior was battered and bruised for my sins, did you miss that part? Sometimes I ponder do we really understand what the price he paid for us?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they understand and they know My Savior. So which Jesus do we serve. is it the one whom we pray to bless us with great wealth? Or the Jesus who said
blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness?
 So who do you serve? The one whose promises are like shifting sand?
Marine says it God , then country and the marine Corp, what comes first for you?
My Jesus would he be accepted in your churches today? All bloody and bruised with no shoes on his feet, would we want him sitting next to us?  He was not rich he didn't have a pillow to lay his head upon. Today my Jesus would look like a homeless man or perhaps we would see him  as mentally insane.
He spent His time with criminals and those that are considered the least among us. Did you know he had a heart for the poor, so which place would  He come to eat Sabbath meal at your house or among those that were forgotten by society?
Its time we decide which Jesus do we serve but I'm not sure we understand what that means to be like Christ,
Jesus said to live like HIM, love like HIM but then does that mean we must be willing to die for HIM as he died for you and I???
Can we be Imitators of Christ? Can we live like our Savior?  Which one do you want to be ? I turned on the TV set today and heard a man preaching Jesus wants to make you rich and that he never intended for us to be poor.  Is that the Jesus your seeking??? Heard a pastor say that his Jesus says that we should never be sad. Yet my Jesus wept when heard his good friend was dead. So which Jesus do you serve?  I know that I want to be more like my Savior and less like me.  I want to be an imitator of my Savior what about you????