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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
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
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
Saturday, September 11, 2010
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 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
Saturday, September 4, 2010
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
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
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