GREAT JOY FOR ALL PEOPLE

“I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. I stand before you today a Criminal guilty of breaking the law. I have broken ten very serious laws and I have not just broken them once but countless times. I am a criminal guilty but despite all I have done I have been set free, no longer held by the law. The crimes that I have committed are serious and the punishment is the death penalty but I have been let go because the judge Himself took the punishment in my place. And He is a good and just judge, being a good and just judge by His very nature He had to find me guilty but He also loved me so much that He didn’t want to punish me, so He Himself took the punishment for my crime and this is all He asked of me. To admit I had broken the law and deny myself the pleasures that breaking these laws gave me and put my trust in Him, to follow Him.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul”. Why is the law of the Lord perfect converting the soul? “For by the law is the knowledge of sin”. The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church in Rome: “I would not have known sin except through the law”. It was the law of God that showed Paul and me both that we are sinners (law breakers) in need of repentance. These are but a few of the laws I have broken. I have lied countless times, more times than I care to imagine, which makes me a liar. Have you ever told a lie? I have stolen things that didn’t belong to me, it doesn’t matter the value of what I have taken, what matters is it wasn’t mine to take, this makes me a thief. Have you ever stolen anything? I have used the Lord’s name in vain, I used God’s Holy name, the name of the one who gave me life, gives me the air I breath, the food I eat, the legs I stand on, and I used His name in place of a filthy curse word to express discuss, making me a blasphemer. Have you ever used the Lord’s name in vain? The law of God says do not commit adultery and I thought I was good on this one then I read what Jesus said, He said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. I have looked at many women with lust making me an adulterer at heart. Have you ever looked at someone you’re not married to with lust?

Now I have just mentioned four of God’s Holy Ten Commandments with six more to go, and I have broken these, a multitude of times. If you sin just five times a day, in one year that’s 1825 sins (that’s 1825 times you’ve broken the law in one year), and if you live to be 80 that’s 146,000 sins over the course of your life. Could you imagine all of those sins laid out before you and having to account for every single one of them? That’s exactly what will happen. The Bible says:”it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”. The Bible says that “God will judge the world in righteousness”. “Each of us shall give account of himself to God”. Now I ask you like I asked myself, when you stand before God on Judgment day and He judges you by His law, will you be found innocent or guilty? Will you go to heaven or Hell? Keep in mind that you have broken the law. The Bible says “No thief and no adulterer will inherit the kingdom of God”, “and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”. Speaking of the lake of fire and brimstone the Bible says:”And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”.

Jesus came into this world from God, born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem. He was both fully God and fully man, He himself being man was subject to the law but never once breaking God’s laws lived a perfect sinless life. Then He did something incredible, He who never sinned, laid down His life for guilty sinners like me and you. He was beaten and hung on a Cross crucified, dead and buried then on the third day He rose from the dead defeating death. He offers forgiveness of sins and this is available to everyone who will accept it. I began this with the Christmas message: “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. It is a message of great joy for all people because there is a savior, there is salvation from our sins in Jesus Christ and it is a free gift; it is the gift of God available to all who accept it. There is nothing we can do to earn it, what we have earned is death in Hell but “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus”. It is by the grace of God that we are saved, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”.

To receive this gift what you must do is Repent and trust in Jesus, turn away from sin and turn to the Savior Jesus. Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me”. To deny yourself is to turn away from the sins that give you pleasure, to take up your cross is to die to yourself admit that you are not good, that you have broken God’s laws no longer trusting in your own goodness but trusting in Jesus’ goodness to save you from God’s righteous judgment. So “I implore you on Christ behalf, be reconciled to God”. Repent of your sins, do a 180 degree turn away from the sins that give you pleasure and turn toward the saver, do it today, you don’t know when your life will end putting you be before the judgment seat of God. Repent and put all of your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will move from death to life, God will give you His spirit as a deposit for your salvation, He will give you a new heart with new desires. So go to God in prayer admit that you are a sinner, and say you’re sorry, commit your life to God. Repent and trust in Jesus. Do it today, receive the Christmas gift, receive eternal life in Jesus Christ.


Merry Christmas,
Mike Peek


(Bible verses quoted NKJV: Luke 2:10-11, Psalm 19:7, Romans 3:20, Romans 7:7, Exodus 20, Luke 5:27-28, Hebrews 9:27, Acts 17:31, Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Revelations 21:8, and Revelations 20:10, Romans 6:23, Luke 9:23, 2 Corinthians 5:20)

WHAT ARE YOU WORTH

A question was posed to me earlier this week. What is your source of joy? Well my answer is the Lord Jesus Christ is my source of Joy but my explanation of that answer may surprise you. I came to grips with who and what I was several years ago; I am a criminal, that’s right a criminal.

Now to bring light to this subject of joy a separate question needs to be asked. What is value? For something to have value it must be valuable to someone. Nothing in itself has value unless someone is willing to pay for it. The Qianlong vase is an 18th century porcelain vase from the Qing Dynasty; The Qing Dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty in 1736. The vase was sold at auction for a reported $80 million making it the world’s most expensive vase. Now I ask you, is the vase itself valuable or is the vase valuable because someone was willing to pay a lot of money for it?

Is the vase pretty? Yes, but there are a lot of pretty vases. What makes this vase so special? This vase is special because it was special to someone, to the amount of $80 million. Is it worth that much to me, I should say not, in fact to me it has no value at all, I wouldn’t buy this vase, in fact if I saw it while out shopping in an antique store; not knowing it had value to someone else, I would pass it by not giving it a second glance.

Now I told you earlier that I am a criminal. What do criminals deserve? Criminals deserve punishment for their crimes. The punishment I deserve for my crimes is death and eternal torment. You see the laws I’ve broken are not man’s laws but are the laws of God the creator of all things. This is not a light matter, God gave me life yet I defied Him who created me and did whatever I wanted to do. He asked that I love and worship Him and not other things yet I have worshiped the creation rather than the creator, He said “do not murder” the bible says “If you hate your brother you are a murder at heart” and I have hated several people during this life making me a murder at heart, He said “do not lie” yet I have lied countless times. And this is just three of God’s Holy Ten Commandments with seven others. God said “He will judge the world in righteousness” also “each of us shall give account of himself to God”. The bible says “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”. I know who I am, I am a criminal, if I face God on judgment day and have to give an account for the things I’ve done in this life I will be found guilty and the punishment for my crimes is eternal punishment in Hell.

I told you earlier nothing in itself has value unless someone finds it valuable. My joy in the Lord is this; God found me valuable to Him. In fact He found me to be more valuable than the Qianlong vase. How valuable am I to God? What is the price He was willing to pay for me? You see I have broken His laws and the punishment for that is death, but He loved me so much, He Himself paid the price for My Crimes. God sent Jesus Christ His only begotten son to pay the price for my crimes and anyone else who will believe and follow Him. Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life”.

“I implore you on Christ behalf, be reconciled to God”. Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, Repent and believe the Gospel”. This is how to be reconciled to God, Repent (turn away from sin and turn to God) and put all of your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. If you do this you will be saved from the judgment of God and rejoice because God has found great value in you, He purchased your freedom from death and punishment with His own blood.


Mike Peek

(Bible verses quoted NKJV: Exodus 20, 1 John 3:15, Psalm 9:8, Romans 14:12, Hebrews 9:27, John 5:24, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Mark 1:15)

The Corners of a Building

Most all buildings have four corners especially very large buildings. A roof without walls requires four pillars to hold it up. It is this square structure that gives the building stability to withstand the weight of all the floors above and the four pillars withstand the weight of the roof above. Take away one pillar and the entire roof comes crumbling down. Take away one corner of a large building and the building will come crumbling down. Today I’m going to share with you the four pillars of salvation take away one of these and you have a lost soul.

{We are all sinners}. The Bible says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. God has given us His law to follow and if you fall short at any point you have sinned; and we all have sinned. Take a look at God’s laws, His ten commandments.
1. I am the Lord your God and you shall worship only me.
2. Do not create for yourself any false God’s and bow down to them.
3. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not lie.
10. Do not covet what belongs to your neighbor.
They go even deeper, God is spirit He sees every thought we have, Jesus said: “whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment”. The Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murder”. Jesus expounds on adultery, He said: “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart”. No one can look at God’s laws and be clean. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

{Our sin separates us from God}. “For the wages of sin is death”. When you work a job you get a wage for the work you have done, the Bible tells us that the wage we have earned for the things we have done is death and it’s not talking about the death of your body but the death of your soul. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God”. “All liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”. “And they will be tormented day and night forever”. There is no soft way to put it; this is the wage we have earned by breaking God’s laws and sinning. This is hard to except, but it is the truth.

{Christ died for us}. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. While we were still sinners Christ die for us. Isn’t that just absolutely amazing that God the creator of all things was willing to take our punishment, the punishment that we deserved while we were still sinning, before we were willing to turn from sin and even before we accepted who he was. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. The God of the universe loves you; Jesus loves you he laid down His life for you despite all you have done.

{Through trusting in Christ we can be saved}. “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. You see trust goes beyond belief, the Bible says: “Even the demons believe-and tremble”! Yes Satan and his demons believe that Jesus is God, that He is the Christ that takes away the sins of the world but they do not except His lord ship, they do not trust in Him alone for salvation. You will be judged; “it is appointed men to die once then comes judgment”. So trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ to save you from the judgment for your sins. That’s right if you trust in Jesus Christ you will not be judged for your sins, for he has already paid the price for your sins. But you most trust in Him like you would a life preserver on a ship that’s going down, because in many ways we are on a ship that’s going down. This world is dying, our bodies are dying you don’t know for sure if this is the last day of your life, so trust in Christ for salvation today.

1. We are all sinners.
2. Our sin separates us from God.
3. Jesus is Lord and He died for us.
4. Through trusting in Christ we can be saved.



Trust in Christ alone for your salvation,
Mike Peek


(Bible verses quoted NKJV: Romans 3:23, Deuteronomy 5:17-20, Matthew 5:22, 1 John 3:15, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Revelations 21:8, Revelations 20:10, Romans 5:8, John 15:13, Romans 10:13, James 2:19, Hebrews 9:27)

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

“I bring to you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. “Taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient to the Point of death, even the death of the cross”.

Merry Christmas! Christmas is my favorite time of year because it is this time that I am reminded of the greatest gift of all, that even though I didn’t deserve it God gave his son Jesus as atonement for my sins. Yes Christmas is about Jesus, God sent His perfect and Holy son to dwell amongst us to be the perfect sacrifice that once and for all takes away the sins of all those who follow Him. There has been a verse out of the book of Romans that I have meditated on all week. “Now we know what the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the Deeds of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin”. This is talking about every man and women walking the face of the earth, we are all under God’s laws. Who among you doesn’t know that lying, stealing, murder, and adultery are wrong. God has written His laws on the hearts of everyone, He gave you a conscience. Con means with and Science means knowledge, so every time you Sin, every time you break one of God’s laws you do it (With Knowledge) that it is wrong.

Let’s go through just a few of God’s Ten Commandments, the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. While we do I want you to remember this, God is Spirit He knows your every thought. “You shall not murder”. Have you murdered anyone? The Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murder”. Have you hated anyone? “You shall not commit adultery”. Have you committed adultery? Jesus said: “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. Have you ever looked at another person with lust? “You shall not steal”. Have you ever taken anything, anything at all that didn’t belong to you? “You shall not bear false witness”. Have you ever told a lie? If you have broken these commandments you’re not alone, I have broken all of them myself. This is just four of God’s commandments with six more to go. How do you think you would fare with the other six, if you are like me not good, I’m guilty of those as well? But even if you are guilty of breaking one of these commandments one time you’re as guilty as if you had broken them all. God in His Holiness demands perfection in thought, word, and deed; and we all fall gravely short. “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”. The bible says God is a good and just Judge and He will judge us according to our works. If He judges you according to your works will you be found innocent or guilty, Heaven or Hell? If you said Heaven let me ask you how a good and just judge could let crimes go unpunished, if He did that, He would be nether good or just, He would be merciful yes but not just, Justice demands that the guilty be punished.

God did something so that you could escape judgment and punishment, that’s right escape. The Christmas Gift! God sent His Son Jesus to suffer a sinner’s death on the cross for your sins and mine and all you and I have to do to receive this gift is follow Jesus. The bible tells us that God did this for His righteousness, so that He could be both just and merciful to all who believe. I implore you, turn from your sins today, confess your sins to God and put your trust in the saving Grace of Jesus Christ! If you will do that God will give you His spirit as a deposit for your salvation and will give you a new heart, His heart.


God Bless I hope you will trust in Jesus today,
Mike Peek

(Bible verses quoted NKJV: Luke 2:10-11, Philippians 2:7-8, Romans 3:19-20, Romans 2:15, Deuteronomy 5:17-20, 1 John 3:15, Matthew 5:28, James 2:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 3:26)

EXAMINE YOURSELF

I began writing this blog for one reason and one reason only, to seek and save the lost of the world. I was on the brink of death and Hell I didn’t even know it, I was blind; God reached down from heaven and rescued me, saved me and healed me. My passion in life now is to help other lost sinners find healing from the Great Physician. You see I was like many walking the earth today, I thought I was saved but I was dead. I was not living for the Lord I was living for myself. It was when I realized I was a sinner and my sin wasn’t what I did to other people, it wasn’t the consequences of sin; I realized that my sinning was against God my creator. Have you ever come to that lowly place yourself? The best Biblical description I find of this and what happened to me is in the book of James. (Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. ~James 4:9-10) It was when I realized that my sins were against God that my heart was broken and I found myself in gloom and despair humbling myself before the Lord casting myself at His feet on the alter that He reached down from Heaven and lifted me up and healed me, He said follow me and I did. He said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” ~Matthew 11:28, and He did. There isn’t one thing you and I or anyone else can do to save ourselves “Salvation is of the Lord” ~Jonah 2:9. “For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. It is out of this Grace that God begins to transform you and mold and make you a new creation for His workmanship.

Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” ~Matthew 16:24. But He makes a promise that what you give up in this life you will receive a hundredfold as much in the life to come and inherit eternal life. So I began following Jesus hanging on His every word living this life for him instead of myself. I found out that I had no idea how sinful I was until I began following the Lord. The Holy Spirit makes you aware of every temptation to give you a way out. Something happened to me that was totally unexpected and came out of nowhere. Jesus said “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of Men” ~Matthew 4:19. This wasn’t meant for certain followers but for all followers. I never asked to be a fisher of men, never wanted to be a fisher of men, but Jesus has made me a fisher of men. (Now then, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God were speaking through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God ~2 Corinthians 5:20)

I ask you, have you been reconciled to God by the saving blood of Jesus Christ? I called myself Christian but until 7 ½ years ago I wasn’t following Jesus. Are you following Jesus? Have you realized that your sins are directly against God? A lot of Churches tell you that you shouldn’t question your faith but that isn’t what the Bible says. The Bible says: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” ~2 Corinthians 13:5. So I implore you on Jesus Christ behalf, examine yourself, test yourself? Have your repented (denied yourself) and are you following Jesus? If after doing so you realize you are in the Faith then continue on and live for Jesus but if after examining yourself you realize you’re not in the faith then; humble yourself before the Lord, Repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation and He will lift you up!

FREE GIFT

Next week is Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for all that God has blessed me with. He has given me far more than I ever deserve and there is no way I could ever pay Him back. He has shown me love when I was unloving. He died for me while I was still sinning how wonderful is that? (For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast ~Ephesians 2:8-9) God has given me a free gift and there is nothing I can do to earn it. He has given me Grace for my sins; there is nothing that I can do to earn this grace, the gift cost more than I could ever earn. Yes, the gift has a price just as all gifts do but I didn’t pay the price; the price of the gift was paid for by the giver, Jesus Christ. (For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him ~2 Corinthians 5:21) I have sinned and broken God’s laws and the bible says (the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord ~Romans 6:23a) I have received the gift of eternal life not because of what I have done; but I have received the gift of eternal life despite all I have done.

In talking to people I have found that most people think that they are good people; now there are a few that think they’re bad but very few. Well if you are a good person than this gift may not be for you. Jesus said: “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” ~Matthew 9:13b. To paraphrase, Jesus said: “If you think you’re a good person I didn’t come to save you I came to save those that know they are bad people”. Jesus walked up to people that considered themselves to be bad people and told them one thing “Follow Me”. (After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the Tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him ~Luke 5:27-28.) Now Levi was a bad dude and he knew he was a bad dude. He was an extortionist; he himself was a Jew and he was extorting money from the Jewish people and he was using the Roman government to do it. Not only had he abandoned his own people to become rich but he was taking from the poor as well and doing it for the love of money. Now this is the dude Jesus walks up to and says “Follow me”? Then he tells the religious people of the time; the scribes and Pharisees who were trying to live a righteous life “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. So couldn’t you just here these guys saying “now he claims to have come from God and he chooses to hang out with sinners and tax collectors instead of us”. What’s up with that? Not only does he hang out with the bad of the bad but if they choose to follow Him he promises them eternal life (see Luke 18:30) So Jesus the son of God offers bad people eternal life if they will follow him and offers good people nothing.

You see there is a problem with thinking you’re a good person and it is something that Jesus knew and it is the reason Jesus said: “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. What Jesus knew is that there are no good people. Yes that’s what I said there are no good people. The bible and Jesus Christ himself say this. The bible says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ~Romans 3:23. Jesus said: “No one is good but One, that is God ~Luke 18:19. Now when people say they are good that’s because they compare themselves to other people and when comparing themselves to other people they always pick someone worse than themselves. The problem with this is God doesn’t judge us in comparison to other people he judges us in righteousness compared to his law (see Exodus 20). There is one thing that Levi the tax collector knew that the scribes and the Pharisees didn’t know that caused Jesus to say to Levi “Follow Me” and that is that Levi knew he was not good. Jesus is saying to you the same thing He said to Levi “Follow Me”. Today not tomorrow but today for you don’t know if you have until tomorrow but today do what Levi did; leave all, rise up and follow Jesus.


God Bless and peace be with you,
Mike Peek

Remember Me

(Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Lord, remember me when You come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”~Luke 23:39-43)

There were two men crucified along with Christ one on His right and one on His left. One of these men was saved from judgment and entered into the Kingdom the other did not and would face the wrath of God. Both of these men had committed the same crime both the gospels of Matthew and Mark said they were robbers. (See Matthew 25:38 and Mark 15:27) Now what did the criminal that went to heaven have that the other criminal didn’t have? He had Knowledge of three truths and he accepted those truths and did not deny them! It was these truths that caused him to repent and put his trust in Jesus Christ.

First he understood that he broke the law, that his crime was wrong. Have you broken God’s laws? (For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ~Romans 3:23) What is sin? 1 John tells us what sin is. (Sin is lawlessness ~ 1 John 3:4) Sin simply put is anything that breaks God’s laws. What are God’s laws? You know the Ten Commandments: (Exodus 20)
1. You shall worship no other God’s but God the creator (the God of the Bible)
2. You shall not worship false God’s (a God you make up, if your God is anything other than the God of the Bible your worshiping a false God.)
3. You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.
4. You shall honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
5. You should honor your mother and father.
6. You shall not murder. (The Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him ~1 John 3:15.”)
7. You shall not commit adultery. (Jesus said: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart ~Matthew 5:28.”)
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not lie.
10. You shall not covet the things that belong to your neighbor.
This man’s crime was that he was a thief. What is yours? No one can look at these commandments and be guiltless. (Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin ~Romans 3:20.)

Second he had knowledge and accepted the fact that there is a price to be paid for breaking the law. (He said: “we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds ~Luke 23:41a.”) He broke the law and knew it because he had knowledge of the law; he also had knowledge of the penalty for breaking the law. He knew because of the crime he committed that death was the penalty. Death is also the penalty for us breaking God’s laws! (The wages of sin is death ~Romans 6:23.) You earn a wage for doing something and the wage you earn for breaking God’s laws is death. Now we know that our bodies will one day stop to function but the Bible talks about a second death the death of your soul. (“All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death ~Revelations 21:8.”) That is hell. The penalty for breaking God’s laws is the death of your soul in hell!

He had a third knowledge and acceptance. He believed who Jesus was! He knew that Jesus was sinless. (But this Man has done nothing wrong ~Luke 23:41b.) He knew that Jesus was Lord and knew that He had a Kingdom in Heaven, he believed and accepted that. Now what did this man do that caused Jesus to tell him: (“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise ~Luke 23:43.)? He did the same thing you most do to escape judgment; he Repented and put his trust in Jesus Christ! Repented: (But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds ~Luke 23:40-41.) Then put his trust, his faith in Jesus Christ:(Lord, remember me when You come into your Kingdom ~Luke 23:42.)

Don’t kid yourself without doing this you will face judgment from God. (It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment ~Hebrews 9:27.) At some point your body will stop functioning and the bible tells us when that time comes we will face judgment. When people say they are saved do you know what they are saved from? They are saved from God himself; they are saved from the wrath of God. The bible tells us the penalty for sin is the death of our souls in eternal torment in Hell! Wouldn’t you like to escape that; Paradise or Hell? You have a choice to make just like the two criminals on the cross. What must you do to be saved?

Repent: That means to acknowledge that you have broken God’s laws and what you deserve for your sins is punishment. Apologize to God and confess your sins to Him. Then turn away from sin no longer desiring sinful pleasures but hating sin itself.

Trust in Jesus: Believe that Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God, that He lived a sinless perfect life, allowed himself to be crucified in your place for your sins then rose from the grave defeating death forever. Put your trust in Him alone and then follow Him; not your own desires but His, do what he says, the bible describes it as dying to self. (He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again ~1 Corinthians 5:15)

If you will Repent and Trust in Jesus you will be saved! Please do so today your very life depends on it.

HE IS RISEN

I am so excited about what God has given me to write about today. I am excited because it is what brought me to Jesus. That is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! What is so amazing is; the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus is found in the reactions and lives of His disciples. Many in the time of Jesus considered Him to be a good person and a profit but He began to say a lot of things that people just couldn’t stomach. He angered the religious leaders of the day who thought they were good people by showing them they were not and He began to claim He was God and told people that the only way to heaven was through Him. He called Himself the door. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” ~John 10:9. He called himself the bread of life. He told people that anyone that eats of Him will have eternal life. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” ~John 6:51. He called Himself the good shepherd. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” ~John 10:7. He told people that He has the power to lay down His life when He wanted to and take it up again when He wanted to. “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again” John 10:17-18. He goes on to tell people that He is the way to heaven and the only way, whatever way you are counting on is not the way to heaven He is the way to heaven. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” ~John 14:6. He a man claimed to be God! He said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” ~John 14:9. To paraphrase if I may he basically said: “ if you’ve seen Me you’ve seen God”. Jesus said many other things like this. Can you imagine how hard it was for some people to swallow? Actually I can because it was hard for me to swallow. During Jesus’ time the people were looking for the messiah the chosen one of God that was promised by God and the profits to save them. So people of the time looking for the messiah seeing the qualities of the messiah in Jesus began to follow Him but when He began making these outrages proclamations about Himself many deserted Him and He was left with a select few that held on to the hope that He was the messiah.

Then came the capture, arrest, trial, and death by scourge and crucifixion on the Cross at the hands of the Romans; this left the remaining disciples without hope. If you read in combination the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you get a real picture of what happened. These men left, they completely deserted Him and were scattered, they weren’t even together as a tight net group anymore some of them as friends hung out together but the group has a whole was dispersed. They weren’t even to be found during the crucifixion it was the women who stood by and watched. Peter who later became a great leader in the church denied three recorded times that he ever even knew Jesus. There is strong indication that these men no longer believed Him to be the messiah and went back to their normal lives. After Peter and John see the empty tomb the bible tells us they went home. “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes” ~John 10:10. The bible talks about two men on the way to a village called Emmaus: “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus” Luke 24:13. When asked what they were talking about they said that they were discussing Jesus and had hoped that he was the messiah indicating that they may have lost that hope. In the book of John: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John were all back in Nazareth fishing (back home working their jobs) meaning they went back to their everyday lives. They were referred to as the sect of the Nazarenes and all indications were that this sect of the Nazarenes had died along with its leader.

So then we move to “THE ACTS of the Apostles” The book of Acts. You have Peter who denied as a coward three times he ever even knew Jesus who went back to his job of fishing in Nazareth who then in the book of Acts stands up and preaches for the first time in front of thousands of people and preaches in such a way the bible tells us three thousand souls were saved that day. (See Acts 2) Then you have Peter and John going into the temple in broad day light professing the name of Jesus before everyone without fear. They’re arrested and brought before the religious leaders and even the religious leader’s marvel at the speech and boldness of these two men. The city of Jerusalem is in an up roar because these men who formerly followed Jesus where back and they were boldly proclaiming throughout Israel that the Messiah had come and Jesus was the Messiah. They were preaching to everyone ‘Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus’. They were doing this without fear of man at all. All of these men who were formally cowards preached salvation through Jesus Christ their entire lives without wavering even with the threat of death, torture, and imprisonment.

So why would these men who were cowardice suddenly be full of boldness? I’ll tell you why, they saw a dead man come back to life! That’s right the saw a dead man rise from the grave! This same man who said: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” ~John 10:9. This same man who said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” ~John 6:51. This same man who said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” ~John 10:7. This same man who said: “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again” John 10:17-18 and then does exactly that. This same man who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” ~John 14:6. This same man who said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” ~John 14:9. This same man who they heard say these things and more who died and is now alive. After His resurrection they saw Him with their own eyes; they walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him and touched Him. They could do nothing else but go around telling everyone that Jesus died for your sins and is raised, no matter the threats against them. As Peter and John said before the rulers who threatened and commanded them “not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus” ~Acts 4:17. “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” ~Acts 4:19-20 So I tell you here and now Jesus is the Christ the son of God and He is risen from the dead. The proof of this resurrection is in the lives of the disciples!

So you have a choice to make, just as I did. You have a problem. The bible tells us and your own conscience tells you that you’re a sinner you have broken God’s laws. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. What do you get for breaking God’s laws? Death: “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23a. But God through Jesus has a gift for you. “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” ~Romans 6:23b. “But God demonstrates His own lover toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” ~Romans 5:8. How are we saved? “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” ~Romans 10:9. Just as with the disciples you cannot truly believe Christ is raised from the dead and remain the same. Just like Thomas said when he saw and touched the risen savior proclaimed: “My Lord and my God” ~John 20:28. I encourage you to repent (turn away from your sins) and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Confess your sins to Him today and put all of your trust in the risen savior, Jesus Christ!

God Bless,
Mike Peek

Look Into the Mirror

I have a mirror and would like you to look into it and see what you look like. We look into a mirror to make sure our faces are clean while the mirror at home reveals the surface of your body the mirror God has given us reveals who you are in the depths of your soul, when you look into this mirror you will see what God sees. The mirror is called the Ten Commandments, written with God’s own finger on the tablets given to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20). Now let’s take a look into the mirror of the Ten Commandments.

Have you ever told a lie? Isn’t it true if you’ve even told one lie you are by definition a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all regardless of its value? If you have taken something that doesn’t belong to you doesn’t that make you a thief? Have ever used God’s name in vain? Used God’s name the one who gave you life and instead of using a dirty filth word to express discuss you used His name instead. Jesus said: You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” ~Matthew 5:27-28. Have you ever looked at another person who you are not married to with sexual desire? This is but four of God’s Holy Ten Commandments we have looked at the 9th, 6th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. I don’t know about you but when I look at just these four I’m filthy, but there’s even more. Have you always loved God with all your heart has He always been first in your life from the time you were born until now? The second commandment says to not create any false gods any graven images and bow down to them. If you say in your heart that God is all loving He would never send someone to Hell haven’t you done just that created a false god in your mind? Have you always observed the Sabbath given God one day out of seven? Have you always honored your mother and father, remember those teenage years? God is spiritual He sees the desires of are heart have you committed murder? Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the Judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the Judgment. And whoever says to his brother Raca! shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says ‘you fool’! shall be in danger of Hell fire” ~Matthew 5:21-22. In another place the Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murder, and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him” ~1 John 3:15. Have you hated anyone? The 10th commandment says do not covet anything that is your neighbors. Have you always been happy with the blessings God has given you or have you desired the things others have, there home, job, or car; or even their family? The Bible says: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” ~James 2:10. So if you are guilty of breaking one of these laws even one time you are as guilty as if you had broken them all.

So be honest, when you look into this mirror of the Ten Commandments how do you look? The bible says: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” ~Hebrews 9:27. So according to the bible every one of us has one life and when we die we must face God in judgment and God is a righteous judge the bible says: “He shall judge the world in righteousness” ~Psalm 9:8. So ask yourself these two question: If God judges me by the Ten Commandments on the Day of Judgment will I be found innocent or guilty? Would I go to heaven or Hell? If you said Hell I have good news for you but if you said heaven lets go a little further. The bible says that God is good and He is a just judge if God is good and just by His very nature He must judge correctly and He must punish the guilty. If you robbed a bank and murdered someone and then where caught when you went before the judge if He is a good judge he will find you guilty and send you to prison so someone must pay for your crimes.

The bible says that God is just but also while He is just He also is merciful. Now how can a judge be both just and merciful the two terms contradict one another? If God is a good and just judge He must punish the guilty, he can’t be merciful and just and simply let you go because He would then be neither good nor just. So how can God be both merciful and just? If God correctly judges you by the Ten Commandments (His law) because He is good and just He must find you guilty and punish you but He also is merciful and does not want to punish you. God new from the beginning that man would rebel and fall into Sin but He had a plan. God will judge you correctly for breaking His laws and the punishment for breaking His laws is death in Hell eternal punishment. So God did something unimaginable He took your punishment Himself. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ; He lived a sinless perfect life never once breaking one of God’s Commandments. He was falsely accused beaten and crucified on a Cross like a criminal, dead and buried. He took your punishment on the Cross and died in your place. But because He is God He rose on the third day and defeated death. God offers to all of us that have broken His laws mercy no matter who you are, it is a free gift from God. All you and I have to do to receive this gift is believe. “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” ~John 3:16. If you believe and know that you are a sinner repent of your sins today and put your faith in Jesus Christ, the one thing that will keep you from coming to Christ is; loving your sins, Christ offers something better than your sins everlasting life with Him in heaven. So confess your sins to God admit to Him all you have done and put your faith in Jesus Christ death on the Cross as payment for your sins.

I Hope You Will,
Mike Peek

Rest

Moses came before the people of Israel and made this proclamation: “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death” ~Exodus 35:2. The Sabbath is a command from God it is the 4th commandment in the Ten Commandments that God wrote with His own finger on the two tablets He gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. (See Exodus 25:16 and 31:18.) In Exodus 31 God promises death and separation from His community for anyone who works on the Sabbath. “You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community” ~Exodus 31:14. “These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God Himself” ~Exodus 32:16. This was the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. The account of creation says that God made everything in six days then on the seventh day He rested. On that day He looked at all that He had done and marveled at His creation and said it is good, it is Holy because it is the day God marveled in His work. Therefore the people of Israel worked six days and rested on the seventh worshiping their creator God reliving the account of creation over and over again. This may shock you but this promise of death and separation from God’s community for anyone who does not rest in the Sabbath is just as true today as it was when God gave this commandment on Mt. Sinai! Follow along a little further and I will show you how.

Jesus said: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” ~John 3:18. In Matthew 12:1-8 it was the Sabbath day Jesus and His disciples were hungry they were walking through a grain field so they started picking the grain and eating it as they walked. Some Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath by harvesting grain. Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is Lord of the Sabbath. “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” ~Matthew 12:8. Earlier Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” ~Matthew 11:28. I found this so revealing and so significant and was just wowed by God. Jesus is the Sabbath! We are to rest from our works in Him. Quit trying and working so hard to earn your way to heaven rest from your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You can’t earn your way to heaven you will never be good enough, take rest from your labor and rest in the Lord of the Sabbath Jesus Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So do you see? If you do not rest from your works and put your faith in the Sabbath whom is the Lord Jesus Christ the promise is death and separation.

Thank God for Jesus! Thank God! Rest from all your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires you will move from death to life.

Rest from your labors in Jesus Christ the Lord of the Sabbath,
Mike Peek

Foolishness

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” ~1 Corinthians 1:18. The gospel is a hard pill to swallow for many or should I say most, it is offensive. Because to accept the Gospel message you must accept the fact you’re not good and not in charge. The Gospel should be preached with power causing conviction and repentance but most times it is changed in such a way to make it more palatable; easier to take and spoken of in such away to keep from offending the majority. The world would have you believe that God is all loving and since God is all loving He would never send someone to Hell. There are two thoughts in the world today that I see as destructive and keep people from ever trusting alone in Jesus Christ for salvation.

1) There are many ways to heaven: I’m not sorry if this offends you, there are not many ways to heaven there is but one. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” ~John 14:6. Jesus was, is, and always will be how we are made right with God. Doing good deeds doesn’t get you into heaven, following the teachings of any and all of the world’s religions can’t get you into heaven, there is one way and that way is in the Man Jesus Christ. Buddhism can’t save you, Mohammad can’t save you, Judaism can’t save you, following Joseph Smith’s teachings in Mormonism can’t save you, the watchtower can’t save you, being a Catholic can’t save you, being a Baptist can’t save you, being a Methodist can’t save, or any other Religion or belief system you can come up with can’t save you. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are” ~Romans 3:22. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” ~Acts 4:12.

2) I’m a good person: Do you know what God thinks and says about your good deeds? “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” ~Isaiah 64:6. All of our good deeds are like filthy rags to God they are nothing in His sight. Our sin is such an abomination to Him He doesn’t look on your good deeds because He can’t look past what you have done. You say but I’m a good person or at least try to be. Oh yeah! Have you ever told a lie? If you’ve even told one lie doesn’t that make you a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all insignificant of its value? If you steal doesn’t that make you a thief? Have you used God’s name in vain, you used God’s Holy name in place of a filth word to display disgust? That makes you a blasphemer, you’ve taken the name of the God who gave you life and made it common. Have you ever looked on another person with lust? God is spiritual He sees all of your thoughts as well. Jesus said: “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in His heart” ~Matthew 5:28. So if you have ever looked at another person with lust that makes you an adulterer. So if you have answered yes to these questions doesn’t that make you a lying thief, an adulterer, and a Blasphemer. Sounds pretty bad and it is, like it or not this is how God sees you. What we have done here is gone through a few of God’s commandments: the 9th, 8th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. James said: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” ~James 2:10.

This is the Gospel! You have sinned; you have broken God’s commandments and have sinned directly against your creator God. There is a penalty for sin that penalty is death. The Bible says: no thief or adulterer will enter the Kingdom of God ~1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “all liars-their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” ~Revelation 21:8. Jesus, born of a virgin came and lived a sinless perfect life. He was perfect in the sight of God; perfect in His thoughts, what He said, and how he acted. He gave His life and blood on the cross as payment for your sins, what you must do to receive this is: Repent (turn from sin) and turn to the savior put all of your trust in Jesus Christ death on the cross as payment for your sins. If you do that you will be saved, cleansed from all of your sins and will no longer be under God’s judgment.

Trust in Jesus I hope you will. If you needed to contact me for any reason my email address is: peekmikeb@aol.com

God Bless,
Mike Peek

What Happened to Fairness?

Everything is unfair! There is no equality in anything. There is no fairness in this world at all. There are people who have children born strong and healthy with average and even above average intelligence; there are people who have children with physical or mental and sometimes both physical and mental deficits. This is unfair! There are people that live into their 80’s and 90’s healthy their entire lives that die of old age never being ill until the end; then there are those who battle illness their entire lives after suffering for years they die as a child or young adult in their 20’s and 30’s. There are two people that I know; one with stage four colon cancer the other just finding out this week he could have cancer, both in their 30’s with very young children. This is completely unfair! There is no fairness in athletic ability most every high school student can attest to that; some with little effort become the superstar of the team and others work day after day with extreme effort practicing in-season and off-season and never get in the game spending their days riding the bench. This is unfair! One of the things I love to do is run, I ran my first mile with my Dad at the age of 5 and have been running ever since, I have seen so much of God’s beautiful creation on my runs it has truly been a gift from God; tomorrow at the age of 42 I’m running in a Marathon 26.2 miles; there are so many people my age that can’t even walk around in a grocery store, there entire existence is limited to confined areas mostly indoors. This is so unfair! Look at this from a world standpoint most of you reading this are born in America the richest country the world has ever known, you may not think you’re rich but you are, 50% of the world’s population is born into extreme poverty and lives on less than $2 a day. Why are you and I living in the richest country in the world and yet there are so many others that would think it was a great day to have a slice of bread? Totally unfair! It gets even worse; the 3 richest people in the world have more assets than the entire bottom 10% combined. The world’s population is 6,874,004,308 almost 7 billion people; so that would mean that the richest 3 people in the world have more than the bottom 70 million combined. There is nothing fair about that!

It hasn’t always been this way. God had a perfect system in place. Everyone had equality, everyone had the same opportunities, everyone had perfect bodies without illness, everyone was governed by the same rules; all was fair. God didn’t make this world unfair man did. When sin entered the world unfairness entered the world, in a world where everything was fair everything became unfair. “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All of your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it” ~Genesis 3:17. When the first man Adam and the first women Eve sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin entered the world and all of life became unfair. You might be saying well it’s not my fault, why should I be penalized for something someone else did; that’s not fair! Exactly, it is unfair; unfair it maybe but true it is as well! Who among us can’t tell a story of how we have been hurt or penalized for a decision someone else has made. A child’s life cut short by a drunk driver, a women afraid for life because of a rapist, a women that has to scratch by on minimum wage to support her children because her husband committed adultery and abandoned her and their children, an entire family killed in a head on collision by a distracted driver veering into their lane. Yes it is unfair that we are penalized for the mistakes of others but it is also just as true.

Jesus Christ came into this world the sinless blameless Lamb of God who suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world. Now I ask you, is that fair? Is it fair that a man that lived without sin should suffer and die for those who are sinful? We have found that it is unfair for us to be penalized for what someone else has done but we also know that it is true. It is also unfair that Christ had to die for our sins but it also is true. Two of my favorite verses in the bible are John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” ~John 3:16. What could be fairer than that in an unfair world; God offered his Son so that we could have eternal life and it is free, available to all that are willing to take it at no charge. “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” ~Romans 5:8. Did you catch that; “while we were still sinners Christ died for us”? Now you may be willing to die for an especially good person but no one would be willing to die for a bad person yet that is exactly what Jesus did. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us”! He didn’t say get right with me first, He didn’t say become a good person and then I will die for you, He didn’t say perform a bunch of good deeds and religious acts with self denial and then I will die for you, He died for you why’ll you were still sinning.

The statement I’m about to make is unpopular; as unpopular as it is and unfair as it seems it is still true. Without the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you are under judgment by God and will spend all eternity suffering in Hell! You might ask what must I do to be saved? Jesus began His earthly ministry with these words: “Repent of your sins and believe the Good News” ~Mark 1:15! What is the good news? The good news is that Jesus Christ the son of God lived a perfect, sinless, blameless life; He was perfect in thought, word and deed. He took your spot on the cross; he died in your place as payment for your sins. What you must do is this: Repent (turn away from sin and turn to the savior) trust that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is payment for your sins. If you will do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires; the old life will be gone and a new life will have begun, you will be saved from judgment and will spend all eternity with God in heaven.

Trust in Jesus I hope you will,
Mike Peek

It’s Not Your Pastor's Job!

I just finished reading the gospel of Matthew this morning in my daily morning bible reading and it got me to thinking about being a witness for Christ. Before Jesus ascended into heaven “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations’ (or all peoples)” ~Matthew 28:18-19. Jesus is fully God and He was given full authority in heaven and on earth, He could have chosen any way He wanted to for the gospel to be spread throughout the world but He chose us. This is not a request from the Lord it is a command, he didn’t tell this to the great leaders of the day He gave this command to His disciples the people that followed Him. If you’re a Christian you are a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ so He was talking directly to each and every Christian. He wasn’t talking just to pastors or other leaders in the church He was talking to everyone that believes everyone that claims the name of Christ. Your Pastor is probably a good man, a good speaker, and a good teacher but He is very limited; he can’t be more than one place at a time. Your pastor is in the church the majority of the time; he preaches a message on Sunday morning to who (believers), he visits the sick that are believers in the church, he councils believers in the church. Your pastor is a Sheppard; he takes care of the group of believers that are assigned to him by God. His job is to teach those that believe so that we can go out and be a witness for Jesus Christ telling all people everywhere “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” ~John 3:16. I have been called by the Lord not to be a pastor but to be a witness for Jesus. Do you know that the majority of us are in a better position to reach the lost than our pastor is? Your Pastor is in the church surrounded by believers most of the time. We are out in the world working differing jobs coming in contact with all kinds of people. In fact we come into contact with people that never darken the doorways of a church, if you don’t bring them the gospel who will? In reference to Isaiah 52:7 in his letter to the Romans Paul was talking about believers spreading the gospel and how could anyone know that there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ unless someone tells them. He said: “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news” Romans 10:15.

And there is a lot at stake here we are talking about people’s lives, without Jesus Christ all of these people that you come into contact with on a daily basis are going to suffer for all eternity in the Lake of burning sulfur (Revelations 21:8). Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” John 14:6. Do you believe that, do you believe that there is no other way into heaven except through Jesus Christ? Jesus came for one reason and one reason only “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” ~Luke 19:10. Who is lost? Every man, women, and child walking the face of this earth that doesn’t have their trust in Jesus Christ, the bible says “everyone has sinned” ~Romans 3:23. Your coworkers, your customers, your friends, your family, the telemarketer that calls your home, the cashier at the grocery store; all need to hear that there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ.

If you are a believer I encourage you to tell people about Jesus and if you are not a believer I plead with you to repent (turn from your sins) and trust that Jesus Christ death on the cross is all the payment that you need for your sins.

“Not called, you say. Not heard the call, I say.” ~William Booth

God Bless,
Mike Peek

What is Good?

I’ve got a statement that may shock you: There will be no good people in Heaven! What is good? You could probably talk to 100 different people and you would probably get 100 differing ideas of what good is. You can ask almost anyone (are you a good person?) and the answer will almost always be yes. A lot of people call the Bible the good book and think if the live by what the Bible tells them they can go to heaven but if that is the standard you’re going by you’ve got a real problem. Psalm 53:3 says: “No one does good, not a single one!” Romans 3:23 says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” You might say “I fallow the ten commandments” or I follow the golden rule “I do to others as I would have them do to me”. The law of God wasn’t given so that we could earn our way to heaven it was given to shut us up. Romans 3:19-20 says: Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

So what is good? Like I said earlier you could ask 100 different people and get 100 different answers. Do you know that you and I can sin and not even know it? We can do things we think are right and they actually be wrong. Did you hear about the pastor in Florida (Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center) that wanted to burn several Qurans on September 11th? I think this man really thought that this was the right thing to do and really thought that God would want him to do it. I personally don’t think he is right because I feel that doing something like burning the Quran puts up a barrier and would keep a Muslim man or women from hearing that there is salvation in Christ. So is he right or wrong? There are many that would argue either way but the point is we really just don’t know, wars have been fought over this kind of thing and both sides think what they are doing is right and God is on their side. So if both think they are right who is right? And there are many things like this: the Baptist for years thought it was sinful to dance and the Pentecostal’s dance to praise God. Both will quote scripture to backup their beliefs. So who is right?

The point is, we are all just muttering along on this backwards confusing world with mixed signals differing cultures and differing belief systems everybody thinks there way is right. Jesus came into this world with a completely different message he told the Pharisees that tried as hard as they could to follow the law of God and thought they were good that they couldn’t go to heaven and He told prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors your forgiven and can enter Heaven. While on the cross in Luke 23:42-43 one of the criminals being crucified along with Jesus believed in Him and said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise’.” Jesus claimed to be “The Son of God” “The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”. In the three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus said: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners”. It’s not about who is right or who is wrong and there is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven we are made right because Jesus is right, we are made right because He took our place on the cross and there is nothing we can do to effect that. “God saved you by grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So what must I do to be saved? Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Trust in His goodness to save you on the Day of Judgment and not your own. You will never be the same God will change you He will give you a new heart with new desires and He will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Read His words and Believe! Jesus has the same message for all who believe as he did for the Criminal on the cross, “I assure you, you will be with me in paradise”.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" ~John 3:16.

Forgiven

(Colossians 3:13) “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells us a parable about a man who owed his King Millions of dollars more that he could ever earn in a life time, the man fell down before his master and begged him, the king was filled with pity for him so he forgave his debt and the man was free to go but as soon as he left the king he found someone that owed him and he demanded repayment, when the second man couldn’t pay the first man had him thrown into prison, when the king heard about what the first man had done he became angry and threw him into prison to be tortured.

I am a forgiven child of God I haven’t done anything to deserve God’s mercy, God is merciful to me because He is merciful. When we sin we are breaking God’s laws so we are therefore sinning directly against God our Creator. Despite all that I have done sinning against my Creator in this life He has showen me undeserved and unimaginable mercy. I really had a debt that I couldn’t repay, no amount of goodness going forward, no amount of works, no amount of good deeds, no matter how many times I attended a church service nothing could erase the fact I had sinned directly against God’s Commandments. But God in His unimaginable love and mercy saved me, He sent His Son, His perfect unblemished lamb to die in my place so that all my sins are washed away and my death sentence is repealed because Jesus paid the price for my crimes, it was me that deserved the cross not Him. So since God has been so merciful to me how can I possibly be unmerciful to others? God has called us to be merciful because we have been shown such incredible mercy. I am full of such incredible joy because of what God has done for me, how can I condemn another person for offending me when God has shown me such mercy. I am urging you to forgive anyone who has hurt you, they are fallen beings living in a fallen world, and we all are.

One of the coolest passages in the bible can be found in Matthew 5 in “The Sermon on the Mount” and also in Luke 6 when Jesus talks about loving your enemies. This passage is so revealing as to who Jesus is it astounds me, no human being could ever come up with this it is so against our nature and it is so His nature. (Luke 6:27-28) “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” All I have to say to that is wow!!! He also said (Luke 6:31) “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” He didn’t say do to others as they do to you, He said do to others as you would like them to do to you. That’s wether they are good to you or downright evil.

If you don’t know Jesus I encourage you to get to know Him. The bible says if you will repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ you will be saved. He will give you a new heart with new desires; He will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation.

I hope this encourages you God Bless you,
Mike Peek

Bad People Go to Heaven

I’m going to let you in on a secrete something that I have known for several years now. I’m not good enough to go to Heaven! I'm really Not! Jesus said: “unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! ~Matthew 5:20” In the time of Christ the Pharisees were a group of religious men that attempted to follow the law of God to the letter. These men in everything they did were humanly speaking as good as is humanly possible. They prayed to God continuously, they memorized the Torah (the Old Testament books of law) they also memorized the psalms & proverbs, the many books of the Profits basically the entire Old Testament of the Bible, they Tithed (gave 1/10th of all they earned) even to the tiniest income. The people of that time considered the Teachers of Religious law and the Pharisees to be good and they looked to them for teaching on how to conduct yourself. Think of the best person you know, maybe the Pastor of a church, you may consider this person to be a good person but in following God’s law and knowledge of scripture they don’t even come close to a Pharisee. So what was Jesus saying to the people? Think of the best person you know, they’re not good enough to get into heaven. So if the best person you can think of isn’t good enough to get into heaven where does that leave you and me?

The good news is that God sent His Son Jesus Christ in a real body the same sort of body you and I have: He felt pain, sorrow, and hunger. He was faced with the same temptations we are faced with everyday yet He didn’t sin (break God’s Law) once. He was perfect in thought, word, and deed. He is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ~John 1:29” “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ~Romans 3:23” “The wages of sin is death. ~Romans 6:23” That means what you and I have earned for our sins is death and it’s not just the death of your body but the death of our souls. In Revelation 21:8 the bible talks about a lake of burning sulfur which is Hell, the death of your soul, the second death. God loved us so much He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to take the punishment for our crime. Once we die we either go to Heaven or to Hell there is nowhere in between and there is no returning. Jesus paid a price for our crimes that we can’t pay because He was both God and human He could lay down His life in our place then take it up again. “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16” How can you be saved and enter Heaven? Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins and then three days later rose from the dead defeating death. Trust in His goodness to save you on the Day of Judgment and not your own. If you do that you will move from death to life and God will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation. I encourage you to spend time with God, read your Bible and do what it says, pray to God. Bad people go to Heaven and that is good news for me and you both.

God Bless,
Mike Peek

Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus ~Acts 20:21

The Basics

Earlier this week I was amongst a group of people talking. They were talking about how each of them cheats on their taxes. One woman said she never cheats she just always puts down $500 for charitable giving after admitting that she doesn’t really give it. She stated everyone does. If that’s not cheating what is? As this group talked they all discussed the different ways they lie on their tax returns and the things they would say if they thought they could get away with it. Not a single person said they felt bad about lying and in fact were all boastful about their lies. Each one of these people would say they are a Christian if asked, I know this because I have asked each of them. I sat there not knowing what to do or say, it really bothered me a lot to see this. People that claim the name of Christ but are unregenerate, even boastful and proud of their sins, it makes me wonder how this can be. It made me ask have they really heard the gospel. Well if the entire gospel they get is from church probably not. What happened to repentance? You can sit in almost any church in America and it is very doubtful that repentance is even mentioned. This is huge! My bible has repent plastered throughout it. Repenting is basic to Christianity, yet you rarely today ever here it mentioned in church. Something is gravely wrong.

What are the basics to becoming a Christian? The writer of Hebrews in 6:1 states specifically what the basics are. “Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.” So the basics are repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. Each and every person on earth has sinned. What is Sin? “Sin is contrary to the law of God~1 John 3:4.” Sin simply put is breaking God’s laws. You know the Ten Commandments of God, that’s God’s law. Lying by the way is breaking the 9th Commandment. Sinning is breaking God’s commandments. Jesus came into this world as a man subject to the law and didn’t once sin. He was perfect in thought, word, and deed. The Bible says there is a price to pay for sinning and it is death. Jesus took the punishment in our place for sins. Salvation is a free gift of God for all who will receive it but not everyone does. Jesus and the Bible are very specific on what you must do to be saved. Mark 1:15 Jesus said: “Repent of your sins and believe the good news.” Repentance is a must it is not an option. The way to salvation is not walking down a church aisle and saying a prayer, the way to salvation is not asking Jesus into your heart, neither one of these is biblical it is just accepted practice. The way to salvation is repenting of your sins and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. When peter was asked the question what must I do to be saved in Acts 2:38 and 3:19 he said “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God so your sins may be wiped away?” Paul Said in Acts 20:21 “I have one message for Jews and Greeks alike-The necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.” In Acts 26:20 he said: “all must repent of their sins and turn to God.”

To be saved you must repent of your sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ!

REPENT: Means that you feel remorse for your sins and turn away from them and instead turn to Jesus Christ.

TRUST: means believing that Jesus died for your sins was buried and rose on the third day and accepting His sacrifice for you. It means I’m going to follow Jesus, I’m going to do what He says.

This is so vitally important we are talking about your life here. If you have not repented (turned away from your sins and turned to Jesus) I implore you to do so today. Get down on your hands and knees and confess all of your sins to God. Tell Him about the things you’ve done the things you’ve put in place of Him and beg Him to forgive you of all of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ, follow Him he is your Lord do what he says and walk in His ways. You will move from death to life and He will give you His spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Get to know Him better, pray to Him read your Bible and do what it says. Know that “God saved you by grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ~Ephesians 2:8-9 ” So leave from here today depart from sin and trust alone in Jesus Christ. Once saved will you sin again mostly likely yes, you are still human but there is a difference, once saved you sin against your will for you will is to follow Jesus. What do you do if you fall into sin once saved? Confess your sins to God turn from sin and follow Him, he will forgive you. (See 1 John 1:9) Repent, you must repent. "Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.~3 John 1:11"

Repent of your sins and trust alone in Jesus Christ!

God Bless,
Mike

Let It Go

Do you have someone you need to forgive? Has someone hurt you or angered you causing you pain? Do you hold a grudge against this person or persons? Being angry or allowing you to remain in a hurtful state by someone else’s actions real or perceived only hurts yourself. There are real physical and emotional things that people have done that hurt you. Continuing to hold anger towards them, does it hurt you or them? If someone hurt you, it may have been very wrong wether they admit it or not and they may not even be sorry for what they have done. Forgiving them does not take away their blame, it just clears you from having to judge them and punish them. When you forgive someone you’re turning them over to God who can be counted on to deal with them. “Dear Friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). We are all born with the sin gene or as the Bible calls it our sinful nature. There is not one of us that hasn’t sinned breaking God’s commandments. “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Death is what each and every one of us deserves for the things we’ve done wrong and the people we have hurt. God came in the form of a man Jesus Christ and took our sins upon Him and died a sinner’s death in our place on a cross. If God is willing to do that for us don’t you think he loves us?

I see the bible as a love letter to us from the Holy Spirit God. The Bible says that God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that it contains; He also created us in his own image. God has left us with an instruction manual called the Bible; everything in the Bible is there to make our lives better. If you will read it and do what it says your life will be better. Easy no, painful yes it can be. God tells us in the Bible to forgive because we are forgiven, He doesn’t tell us this for the benefit of those we’re forgiving but for our own benefit. Ask anyone who has ever truly forgiven someone and they will tell you “it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” In one of my favorite passages in the Bible in Luke chapter 6 Jesus is talking about loving your enemies and what He says is so contrary to our normal reaction and so brilliant it astounds me. I try to keep these verses in my heart and in my mind at all times. Jesus said: “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”

I’m going to expose myself by telling you this but there are a few things that I do keeping what Jesus said in mind. If I feel hurt by someone (something they do or say or even don’t say), if someone curses me or talks ill of me to others, or hates me there is a few things I do.
1) I will pray for them. Not a prayer for my benefit but a prayer for theirs. I will go before God on their behalf asking My Heavenly father to rain down Blessing upon them and if they haven’t trusted Jesus as Lord I will pray for their salvation.
2) I will buy or make them a gift something nice, something that they would really want. Really consider this person in the gift selection really buy for them I will usually give it anonymously.
I’m telling you Jesus really has something hear like I said it is brilliant. I have never been able to truly pray for someone with their needs in mind, then go out and shop for them, really thinking of them and stay mad with them. It causes you to care deeply for their well being. I hope that some of the things that I’ve said here today help. Forgive! Let it go!

God Bless and Trust in Jesus,
Mike Peek

THE CROSS

Earlier this week I walked into my break room at work and the television was on one of the 24 hour news channels. There was a man on there representing a group of atheist his complaint was; in the state of Utah everywhere a state trooper dies they erect a large white cross and this offended him deeply. As there always is on these news shows (the reason I never watch them) there was someone on the other side arguing angrily for the crosses while he argued angrily against them with a news person in the middle. It got me to thinking neither one of these men understand the cross! Why are they so angry? Why does a group of people act this way over a cross? Why spend all of your time and resources fighting on television and in court over a cross? You see each of these men see the cross as a religious symbol and neither one understands what the cross represents.

In the time that Jesus walked the earth the cross was an instrument of death. Romans used it as a fear tactic, people from a concurred land where tortured then hung on the cross in full public display to die a slow and painful death so that all would know if you are against them, this is what would happen to you. You see God changed all of that, at the cross the worst that man had to offer met the best that God had to offer. If you’re an atheist you don’t believe in God and I understand that, but the cross is a symbol of love. Jesus allowed Himself to be captured, tried in an unjust court by sinful men, beaten and hung on a cross to die. He allowed this to happen to Him out of love. Now I believe Jesus is who He said He was, I have received His spirit and He has manifested Himself to me in many ways. Whether you believe Him or not He believed that He is the Christ the chosen one of God, He believed that through this selfless act of allowing Himself to be tortured to death on a cross that He was saving millions from punishment. He did this out of love. The cross isn’t the symbol of hatred and anger that people try to turn it into, the cross is God saying “I LOVE YOU!” (As we look at the history of mankind we see the walls the separation and the barriers that have been erected by politicians, by government, and yes even by religion. But at the cross we see that all people are the same irregardless of their religion, their color, their sex, and their economic statues for at the cross we meet the love of God. ~Arthur Blessitt) “God loves us, He wants everyone to be saved. ~1 Timothy 2:4 “He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone” ~1 Timothy 2:6

In the quote by Arthur Blessitt he said; “at the cross all people are the same.” You see all people are the same, some think there different but they’re not. Every person walking the face of this earth has the laws of God written on their heart, you know right from wrong. Do good people go to heaven? Yes, if there were any good people but there aren’t, “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ~Romans 3:23” At some point in your life you have done wrong, I have, everyone has, and you’re not alone. There is nothing you can do to change that, no amount of good deeds going forward can make up for the things you have done wrong, you have to be perfect in thought, word, and deed to enter heaven. “The wages of sin is death. ~Romans 6:23” “All will be judged according to their deeds. ~Revelation 20:13” The bible talks about a second death the lake of fire ~Revelation 20:14. Jesus has paid the price for our crimes, He died in our place. “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced. ~Romans 10:11” All you and I and everyone else has to do to be saved is trust in the goodness of Christ and you will be saved. So pray to God today, confess that you have sinned, make Jesus your Lord and follow Him. All of your wrong doings will be whipped away and God will make you a new creature, with a new heart and new desires; you will receive the spirit of God. The cross is love, at the cross the worst that man had to offer met the best that God had to offer!

Can You Choose

Last week in the Sunday school class that I attend the questions was posed; Can a Christian sin? I think a better question to ask is do you really know what sin is? People will laugh and joke about it even in a Sunday school setting but when you get down to it sin is a horrible thing that traps you and separates you from the Living God. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34) A slave is owned not free. If you’re a slave you can’t do what you want to do you must do what you’re told. You have no free will as a slave. If a slave tries to leave and escape he will be hunted down and captured then forced to obey his master. People call Jesus Lord; if you plug the word lord into your thesaurus you will get the word Master. Remember a slave has no rights he is owned; your master as the Apostle Paul puts it is your sinful nature. You are owned, you can’t make decisions for yourself, so no matter how much you want to be free inevitably you will obey your true master which is your sinful nature. Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13) No matter what you may say with your mouth your actions will always give proof to who your true Master is. So the question arises; are you a slave of righteousness or unrighteousness. Are you bent on serving yourself or serving the Lord? Jesus said: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Taking up your cross means to die to self. To follow Jesus means to cast aside your own selfish desires and follow the commands He has laid out for us to follow. Jesus said: “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” (John 15:23)

Jesus is the son of God! Jesus said: “A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a Son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, your are truly free.” (John 8:35-36) If Christ being the Son of God has set you free from your slavery to your sinful nature then you’re free and under no obligation to sin. You’re no longer controlled by your sinful nature you’re free to choose. We are all guilty and there is a penalty for sin called Hell, but Christ has paid the price for our sins with His blood and all you and I have to do to be saved is repent and trust alone in Jesus Christ then and only then will you be free. “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Romans 6:18) Human effort accomplishes nothing; we don’t conquer sin by stamping out desire. When you put your faith and trust in the Savior Jesus Christ you will receive His Holy Spirit and it is the Spirit of Jesus Christ that will transform you. You will become a new creation with new desires no longer a slave of your sinful nature but you are truly free. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

ARE YOU GOOD ENOUGH

If I were to ask you if you are a good person what would you say? Most people when asked this question reply; “Yes I am a good person.” So let’s go through a few questions and see if that is true. As we go through these questions really search yourself.
1) Have you ever at anytime in your life told a lie? What would you call a person who tells lies? I’ll make it easy for you, I’ve told lies before so what would you call me if I lied to you? The answer is a liar. A person who tells lies by definition is a liar.
2) Have you ever stolen anything, taken anything at all regardless of its value that doesn’t belong to you? What do you call a person who steals? A person who steals is called a thief.
3) You know the command do not commit adultery, Jesus said: “anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have you ever looked at another person with lust that wasn’t your wife or husband?
4) Have you ever used God’s name in vain? God is holy, He created you and everything you see, He gave you life His name should be revered set apart above all other names, yet people everyday use it in place of a cuss word to express discuss.
What we have been doing here is going through a few of God’s Ten Commandments, the standard by which He will judge the world. To be exact the 9th, 8th, 7th, 3rd Commandments in that order (Exodus 20:1-17).

If God judges you by His ten commandments on the Day of Judgment will you be found innocent or guilty? Will you go to Heaven or Hell? You may say God won’t send me to Hell because He is good! The bible says that God is a good and just judge, if God is truly a good and just judge because He is good, He must punish you for breaking His commands. God is not going to let you off because He is good His goodness is the reason He will send guilty sinners to Hell. You may say well that’s in the past, I haven’t done any of those things in a very long time. Time doesn’t take away your guilt you’re no less guilty because time has gone by. For example: let’s say you rob a bank you get away with it for ten years before your caught by the police, during those ten years you’ve turned over a new leaf you haven’t committed any other crimes in all of that time, do you think when you go before the judge he is going to let you off the hook because it was ten years ago? No he won’t there is a penalty for the crime and if he is a good judge he must see that justice is served. You may say that there are a lot worse people than me! That is true if you’re comparing yourself to other people but other people aren’t the standard, God’s law is. The bible says that “sin is breaking God’s law” (1 John 3:4). The bible says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). The bible says: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This isn’t the death of your body but the death of your soul the Bible talks about a second death: “all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown in the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death” (Revelation 20:13-14)

Despite everything that we have done God loves us, God loves you! Do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell? God the Father sent His son Jesus born of a women, He lived a perfect and Holy life, He did not even once break one of God’s Commandments. He was beaten and put on a Cross and died for my sins and yours then three days later He rose from the dead and defeated death forever for everyone who believes and trust in Him. “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood” (Romans 3:25) There are two things you must do to be saved, do you want to know what they are? Repent of your sins and trust alone in Jesus Christ! Meaning turn away from your sins and follow the Savior, no longer trust in your own goodness but transfer that trust to Jesus He is the only one that is good. If you do that you will become a new creation, you will move from death to life and God will give you His Holy spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Then read your bible and pray to Him daily and do what it says, He will grow you more than you can imagine. So pray to Him today, confess all of your sins make Jesus your Lord and trust in Him and Him alone to save you on the Day of Judgment.

Love Your Neighbor

“Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you Light.” (Ephesians 5:14) Earlier this week I was thinking and praying about (Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus said: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” As I was contemplating this verse and its meaning praying to God for direction the Holy Spirit said: “To love the Lord is to believe in Me Jesus Christ and to trust in Me alone for salvation, to love your neighbor is to tell them there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ.” I have to tell you this message and the understanding that it brought completely floored me, it made total since. It brought all new meaning to the statement: “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” You see everything in the Bible told of Jesus Christ, all the prophets leading back to Moses told of the coming of the Savior the one who would save the world. The Bible says: “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) You can’t love God and not trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord! I am a sinner, I have broken God’s laws the Bible says that sin is breaking God’s law (1 John 3:4). “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) God loves us, he presented Jesus the sinless Lamb of God as the sacrifice for our sin. People are made right with God when you believe and trust that Jesus sacrificed himself in place for your sins. So love Jesus Christ today and trust Him as your savior.

The last thing Christ said before he ascended into heaven was a command. Not a wish list, not a do this if you feel like it, but a command. He said: “Go into all the world and preach the Good news to everyone.” (Mark 16:15) So if you are saved by Jesus Christ and you love him, love other people by telling them that there is salvation from their sins. Tell People about Jesus Christ. Tell them what he has done for you and the love you have for Him. Tell them before it is too late; “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) If you know how to escape punishment and you don’t tell other people how unloving is that? You might say I’m too shy or scared; I can promise you know one is shyer than me! I can attest since I’ve begun witnessing for Christ and loving people by telling them the good news, I have never been so liberated. Read your Bible nothing can give you more confidence than knowing the word of God but even if you don’t know God’s word you know that you love the Lord and you know what He has done for you so tell people about that. And you’re not alone Jesus promised to go with us, He said: “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20) Jesus said: “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14:15) So follow his command, go out and spread the good news, love somebody and tell them about Jesus.