Category Archives: God Loves You

See How Much Jesus Christ Loves You

It’s Time To Take Away The Stone

God Loves You

John 11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.39 Jesus said, “Take Away The Stone.”

Jesus has a word for you today and it is “Take Away The Stone.”  Most of you are familiar with the story of Lazarus, so I will not rehash the whole thing (if not, read all of John chapter 11 when you get a chance).

Before Mary, Martha and the people of Bethany could experience Jesus’ miraculous resurrection power, a huge stone had to be removed.  This stone is historically believed to be very heavy and not able to be moved by one or two persons.  Some historians consider it to be like a boulder, so I looked up the definition of boulder “a large rock fragment formed by detachment from its parent consolidated rock by weathering and erosion.”  Basically, a small (in some cases rounded) piece of a large and solid foundation that has broken off due to a natural process.  In this text, this stone was the only thing separating the power of Jesus from Mary & Martha’s dead situation.

What is your stone, what is keeping Jesus’ resurrection power from making those dying areas of your life new, vibrant, joyful and exciting?  Heartbreak, pain, hurt, disappointment, guilt, failure, insecurity and many other experiences in life slowly chip away at the solid foundation of FAITH that we’ve received from God.  Many of us, OK all of us have situations in our lives that have been dead or dying.  Whether it is a broken marriage or relationship; job lost; deteriorating health; miscarriage; dream shattered; wayward child; foreclosure, bankruptcy, or just an overall feeling of depression, we have all experienced the type of pain that takes a toll on us.  Devastating events like this can cause your faith to be fractured, producing stones that just like this text, stand between Jesus and our dead situations.

Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. “I hear what you’re saying, “I know Jesus can do what He did for Martha & Mary for everyone,” but the problem is you no longer believe that He can do it for your situation.  You won’t come out and say it, but your heart is full of doubt.  It is not because you’re some kind of weak Christian; it is because you are human (it’s natural just like the forming of a boulder).

The Lord’s miracles in our lives are activated by our faith.  When we believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that He has what the bible tells us He has, then He will do what He has promised us He will do.  Jesus is calling out today for you to “Take Away The Stone,” no longer allow the hurt and pain in your life to hinder the faith you have in your Savior, the Almighty God, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.  The Lord desires to breathe His life into your seemingly dead situations.  Jesus has given new life to a dead marriage; birth from a barren womb, a new business from a pink slip and vibrant health from a cancer diagnosis.  Jesus desires to show off His power in your life, believe in Jesus again and what was dead will come back to life.

Love Always Outshines Hate

God Loves You

Matt 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

As I was looking on the internet today I saw yet another article about a Pastor nearly threatening homosexuals from the pulpit.  I must say I will forever believe the bible and what it teaches us about homosexuality and sexual sin.  I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and just because I believe this does not mean I am homophobic.  What I cannot understand is why many Christians take parts of the bible and use them to emphasize on our pet peeves, yet completely go against other biblical principles as if they do not exist.  It is often hard for some to understand that we were all born with a sin nature and that all sin is just that; SIN (no hierarchy).

Jesus told us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and love our enemies as well.  Why not spend our time in the pulpit telling and teaching people about Jesus Christ, who He is, what He has done for ALL of us and all that He has empowered us to enjoy.  I currently live in CA (in the process of moving), so I’ve seen and heard much more than I’ve ever wanted regarding many LGBT agendas.  Even with that being said, it is clear to me that there is only one thing which will win the heart of a sinner, and that is the Love of Jesus Christ.  Let’s give people life and a chance to be introduced to the lover of our souls.  When we do this, we may be like Paul, doing all that he could to evangelize; “by all means save some (1 Cor 9:20-22).”

Jesus said to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.  He then uses the conjunction that, to show us why we should show this love.

  1. To Be His Sons:  [that you may be sons of your Father in heaven] The word be in this text means (to become, come into existence, begin to be, receive being), we become a Son of God when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, but sinners do not see that.  What do sinners see?  Love, when it comes from someone that they hate, don’t trust or are afraid of.  You become a Son of God, the very Jesus that they cannot see, when you love rather than spew hatred and ignorance.  Most unsaved people respect Christians that actions & words align.  Jesus would never say some of the things that we are hearing from Christians pulpits today.   When we apply His word, it speaks volumes even to our enemies.  Be a Son to those who need to see one.
  2. To Be His Blessings:  for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust Jesus reminds us a few things here, He (The Triune God) makes the Sun rise and the rain fall for everyone not just Christians but sinners also.  The sun always represents some aspect of Jesus’ character and the rain always represents the Holy Spirit.  It is a good thing too, because we were not always saved and had He not shined and rained on us, we would still be in the same category as other sinners (including unsaved homosexuals).  But check this out, when we love our enemies we are a blessing to them and give an opportunity for our enemies to experience the same sun & rain.  Bless those who we know need Jesus, because hate only brings about death (Matt 5:21-22).

Remember, we did not love Christ first; He loved us and then died for ALL of our sins.  He loves homosexuals just as much as He loves us so let’s get on His page and off our “high horse”.  I’m not telling you to go and participate in the many antics and presentations of the LGBT movement, nor to embrace their values.  We do not have to agree, but we certainly do not need to hate either.  We will never win a single homosexual to Christ by way of hate, but if our goal is not to lead them to Christ, we may need to reevaluate our purpose.  Just some food for thought!

Love ya!

IT IS FINISHED!!!

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

On Friday we remembered the night that Jesus was unjustly arrested, disrespectfully slapped, viciously beaten, wrongly accused, disgustingly spit on, illegally convicted, and hung on a Cross and left to die like a criminal.  Yet with all of that being done to Him, there was only one thing on His mind at the time.  Finishing His assignment, completing the work that He was sent to do; publically displaying the LOVE that He had for each of us (we were on His mind; you, me & everyone).  But on that night, what exactly did Jesus finish?

1.  Life under the LAW: God gave the LAW to Moses on Mt. Sinai, this LAW was a covenant that God made with the Children of Israel.  The LAW was a set of rules that all had to completely uphold in order to be in right standing with God.  If for any reason any one of these rules were broken, then it was as if all of them were broken and only a sacrifice could be made in order restore one’s standing with the most Holy God.  God had put in place a standard where man would be judged by his own righteousness, a righteousness the bible reminds us in Isaiah “(Isa 64:6) but we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”  How could this be fair, there was no way for anyone to keep this LAW, why would God make such a covenant?
We need God, and the best possible way to see our need, is to measure ourselves to this unbelievably high standard, a standard nobody but God could attain.  Jesus came to fulfill this LAW, so that we could stop trying to work for His attention and start trusting in Him as our true & loving Savior.  When Jesus yelled It is finished on Calvary’s Cross, He let us know that the LAW was no longer.  He had become our High Priest and when we accept Him as Lord “(Heb 8:6)…He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.”  This New Covenant, well let me just let God tell you Himself “(Heb 8:10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  The LAW, It is finished.

2.  Judgment for Sin:  Judgment is used 254 times in the bible (NKJV), God’s Judgment is simply put, God’s punishment for sin.  The bible shows us that God’s punishment for sin was shown numerous times, when Adam and Eve banished from the Garden; Able was sent away as a vagabond; the great flood came in Noah’s Day; 3000 died the day the LAW was given; the Children of Israel (including Moses) were not able to see the promised land; David’s son to an adulterous affair died; Israel was overtaken by the Babylonians and even the book of Romans tells us “(Rom 6:23) For the wages of sin is death.”  Yet, Jesus not only fulfilled the LAW but He also received every one of our sins on that dark day.  As if it were not bad enough, all of the beatings and ill treatment he received before crucifixion, while on the Cross all our sins, sicknesses and diseases were placed on him, “(Isa 53:6)…And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus knew that He was coming to the earth to die and be judged for our sin, yet he did it anyway.  His love for us and for His Father is amazing and was on display “Phil 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus yelled out Tetelestai, the Greek term for It is finished, the tem meant that a debt has been fully paid.  It signified that whatever someone once owed had at that very moment just been completely paid for.  God’s judgment for all of our past, present and future sins had come, He lashed it out on His only begotten Son, and even after all that Jesus was alive (He’s a powerful and awesome Savior) to let us all know that everything we would ever owe (be required to pay) was indeed PAID IN FUL!!!.  Judgment for Sin, It is finished.

3.  Condemnation:  Jesus told Nicodemus of his purpose for coming into the world, “John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  His purpose was to save us and not condemn us.  Paul also tells us this awesome truth for believers “Rom 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Condemnation is the Greek word “Krima” meaning judgment or damnation; essentially it means declaring an evil doer guilty.  Satan uses condemnation trick believers into thinking that God disapproves, blames or is angry with us because we have sinned.  We have often felt so guilty that we give up on living for Christ and choose to live sinful lifestyles.  Even worse we begin to hide condemnation so deep in our hearts that the guilt impacts our health, we begin to see sickness in our bodies, depression in our minds and pain in our hearts.  All Lies!!!
God is just and Jesus received all of God’s judgment for our sin on the Cross, everything past, present and future sin.  If we were still being judged for our sin today, then it would mean a.) God would be unjust (can’t happen), b.) Jesus’ sacrifice was not good enough (not possible), c.) We are just so bad that God is not smart enough to figure out how to cover our sin (really??).  God’s word is true, it will always be accurate, and will accomplish everything is has set out to do.  God’s salvation plan in Jesus Christ, was more than enough to cover all our sins and allow us to be loved and adored by God forever; “(Jude 24) Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise,Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.  Amen.”  All Condemnation, It is finished.

Hold Me Lord

God Loves You

Matt 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Hold me Lord, when my feet will not stay,
and my only thoughts are to go astray.

Hold me Lord, when I slip and when I fall,
and Your Glory & Righteousness seem way too tall.

Hold me Lord, when all I want is to let go,
when things seem so tough that quitting is the only thing I know.

Hold me Lord, when the weight just ain’t fair,
and I feel like the pain is just too much to bare.

Hold me Lord, when life is going great,
and I need to feel like we are on a date.

Hold me Lord, every single day,
so that I can lead & others can see The Way.

Hold me Lord, so I won’t ever let go,
and with your favor wisdom & favor every day I’ll grow.

Hold me Lord, I need You to hold me!

God Was Thinking of You on Christmas

God Loves You

Matt 1:22-23 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

As Christmas nears, many prepare to celebrate with family and friends, while others attempt to hold it together because of the sadness this time brings.  Regardless of which side of the fence you stand on I want you to know that God is always thinking about you.  This Christmas as we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season, I propose to you that God would say that You are the reason for the season.  What?? You arrogant, selfish, blankety-blank!!!  Hold on, give a brother a chance and hear me out…..

God had you on His mind when He created Christmas, you were the reason He sent His Son; let’s look at Matthew’s Gospel:

  1. Christmas Fulfilled the Word: So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord.  The prophet Isaiah declared a Word which was spoken by the Lord over 700 years prior to what we celebrate every year.  It is amazing, the glorious plan that God put in place for each one of us so long ago.  Isaiah’s prophecy was not the only Word from God that has been (will be) fulfilled because Jesus came on that day we would come to know as Christmas.  Lives were saved, bodies were healed, hearts were restored and miracles were witnessed just as it was previously declared, God’s word was fulfilled because Jesus came.  Christ’s birth initiated the fulfillment of a series of Old Testament scriptures, which includes the day He declared you would become His child.  Oh, you have not accepted Him as Savior yet?  Don’t worry; Scripture is still being fulfilled as you read, so it is just a matter of time.
  2. Christmas Fascinated the World: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son.  Have you ever heard of a virgin having a child?  Neither had Joseph and Mary, or anyone else for that matter.  But this would not be His only mind boggling miracle, He would continue to blow the minds of everyone you could imagine. I know that He blows my mind all of the time.  Jesus fascinated the Wise Men and Shepherds the day He was born, then later He has fascinated so many by feeding thousands with a couple of fish; stopped a hurricane with a simple word; told a dead man to get up; took a wretch like me and declared me righteous, his miracles never cease.  Oh, He hasn’t fascinated you yet?  Don’t worry minds are still being blown as you read; yours will too.
  3. Christmas Finished the Work: and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Because God Himself came to live with us, we no longer have to continue to work for God’s presence.  You see there was a time before Christ that we were required to uphold a set of regulations larger than the entire constitution, just to be considered in good standing with God.  We could not keep all but one and be in good standing.  Nope, if we failed to do one we were condemned.  All of the good we could even think to do would not matter because when Adam sinned we had nothing to offer.  Paul said like this in Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.  Most know these as the commandments, but God would refer to them as the “Ministry of Death.”  Oh, but on Christmas, it is God with us  that allowed a way for all work to be finished; our sins covered forever and the Law to be fulfilled.  We never have to work for God’s acceptance, because He is with us.  Before Jesus came we needed a mediator, but when He came everything has shifted. Oh, you’re still working to get to God?  Don’t worry I have some good news for you, Christ finished that work for you on Calvary.

Conclusion:  As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, never forget God had this day in mind as the beginning of a great plan that we now are able to receive as a gift today.  It is a gift that keeps on giving to us, and they shall call His name Immanuel.  Merry Christmas!!!  Jesus is the reason we celebrate but we are the reason that God did initiate.

God’s Love vs. Our Fear

God Loves You

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so are we in this world.18 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.19 We love Him because He first loved us

What is the opposite of FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real)?  If you said faith, you are absolutely wrong.  What??  How in the world can I say that?  Well I’m not saying it, the “Word” is very clear, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.”  We can trust Paul when he reminds us in 2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  The real opponent to Fear is Love, and the more we know about God’s Love for us, we will be able to truly overcome the “Big Bully” of every believer (FEAR).

Since I’m pretty sure that we all can read, there should not be a great deal of arguing with vs 18 and the fact that God’s love cast out fear.  The “perfect love” refers to the agape love of God that is unlike any love that we are capable of.  This kind of love, we find very difficult to even comprehend, and therefore realize that only God’s love can indeed be “perfect love.”  It should also be easy to agree that “casts out” means to throw out, toss aside, get rid of or kick out.  This is what God’s perfect love does to our fear:

God’s Love Gives Confidence: Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. While we know that Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was the greatest act of love mankind has ever witnessed.  It is His finished work on that rugged cross that provides “boldness” to all that have accepted Jesus as Savior.  You see we now know that in that day of judgment we do not have to be afraid of the eternal punishment that those who have not received the free gift from God, will receive.  When you know that you have won the game before it started, it gives you confidence going in. It’s like when Q (my best friend) and I play spades against anyone, we already know the outcome before a card is played, we have confidence!  Just as we
can go boldly to the throne of Grace (Heb 4:16) because of Jesus our High Priest, His sacrifice on the cross allows us to “have boldness in the day of judgment.”

God’s Love Perfects Us: because as He is, so are we in this world. Jesus is perfect and when He walked
the earth as man He did so perfect.  In fact it was not until he was on the cross that anything negative was ever
associated with Him.  You see it was then that He became as we were, so that we might be “as He is.”  In this world we have been afforded everything Jesus has access to. It is our inheritance, so whatever our Daddy owns we own.  It is God’s love that has made us the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21), by allowing our sins to be exchanged for Jesus’ righteousness.  Jesus has made us like Him, His blood has covered all of our imperfections.  When we know & believe this, fear can have no chance power over us .

God’s Love Endures: We love Him because He first loved us.  No matter how far we run, or how much we try to hide, we cannot escape the Love God has for each one of us.  No amount of foolishness or bad decision, no amount of rebellion or unbelief can keep God from loving us. His love continues to chase us down and overtake us, after all God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).  I know that your life might not seem like it right now, your circumstance might make you feel the very opposite but, I guarantee that God’s love will never cease.  He has sought us out in our lowest moments, protected us from our greatest enemy (ourselves) and forgiven us of everything, even when we paid Him
no mind.  God has provided us every opportunity to receive His unbelievable love, but the problem is we do not
believe it.  Check this out, the Greek word, euaggelion, which was translated “gospel” in seventy-four New Testament verses, actually means “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news.  The reason we have such a hard time believing just how much we are loved by God and that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins is because it is literally “too good to be true,” but it is VERY TRUE.  The Lord’s agape (unconditional love) for us is amazing and with a love like that we cannot help but love Him back.

Conclusion: God’s agape love cast out all fear and when we believe His love for us, our fears can be removed.  They are removed because we can be confident in the day of judgment, made perfect under the cover
of Jesus’ blood and unable to escape His love no matter how hard we try.  This love does not puff us up, as a
matter  of fact it is very humbling, and should help us to stop allowing FEAR to render us powerless.  Know that God first loved us because He wants us to be fearless.

Your Brother,
Mark

A Loving Touch

God Loves You

Mark 1:40-45 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

Have you ever felt like an outcast, one that does not belong? “One of these kids is not like the other; one of these kids is one and the same….” Has that ever been you? Do you feel like your life is different from everyone around you? Then maybe you can relate to this Leper. Leprosy was a dreaded and fearsome disease. It caused fingers and toes to fall off, as well as many other physical deformities. Lepers were banned from society and be quarantined in leper colonies. It was thought to be highly contagious and that simply touching a leper would transmit the disease. Imagine the angst and courage it took this exiled man to go after Jesus and cry out to Him for his deliverance. Many of us have felt like this, so this is what we can expect from Jesus. {Side Bar: this is happening right after Jesus spent “quality time” with God; check out the previous verses.}

1. A Compassionate Touch: Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him. Jesus did not judge the leper, nor was He afraid of being stricken with the same disease. He was moved with compassion and it was that compassion that reached out and touched a leper with an unconditional love. It was at that point that the leper became a man again. What? You cannot imagine how long it had been since someone had actually touched him. Can you imagine how it must of felt to have someone actually reach out to him, how he longed to be touched. Jesus knew both the leper’s need (healing) and greatest desire (a loving touch) and He loving met both. Jesus desires to meet our needs as well and His loving touch will comfort even our greatest pain. This was also typology, giving us a little precursor as to what was soon to come. Jesus touched that leper, which for any man would transfer that disease on to Him, then healed the leper and removed that disease forever. Yes, Jesus would later do the same for each one of us on Cross. Our sins were imputed (transferred, accredited) onto Jesus and His righteousness and healing was imputed onto each one of us that believe on Him, what a compassionate touch He gave.

2. A Completed Word: and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.” The touch from Jesus was extra; Jesus’ word healed the man, check the scripture. (As soon as He had spoken) The touch was to show the man how much he was loved. It was also to show how Jesus felt about the ceremonial law, His love and compassion for us covered all of the rules, rituals and results of the law (old covenant). Yet, there were three simple words from the Lord that we all should receive; I am willing. He was willing to heal the disease for the leper and He is willing to heal the sin disease we were all born with. He was willing to come down from Heaven and speak a word of salvation over us all. Then after the completed word, He fulfilled the promise from God with a completed work. Therefore, we should all remember that God’s Word completely heals us and note the importance of what Jesus did for each of us on Calvary’s cross. The Lord was so willing to love us, that after Jesus touched our sin, sickness and disease on the cross, He completed the work required to fulfill the law (Rom 8:4) when He said It is finished!!!!

Conclusion: There are many lessons in these few verses but we want to focus on just a couple. The loving touch of Jesus is not intimidated by any of your problems (hurts, sicknesses or perceptions). He is willing to touch you and meet your needs for a loving touch, and his touch is better than that of any parent, sibling or lover. You see He IS ABLE to heal us of anything by just speaking a word, but He is relational and desires an intimate relationship with us. Relationships are two way, not just one person doing all of the giving. Jesus gave it all on the cross because He wanted us to see: (John 3:15-17) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.