Notes On Life

 Watching the weather and heeding reports about possible coming storms is essential and wise to being properly prepared for ‘What Comes Next’ . Likewise, in today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew Jesus makes a deliberate distinction between discerning what may be important from what truly IS important. Just as meteorological events do of necessity require deliberate preparation, preparing for Christ’s return — be it at the end of life or of His so-called ‘second coming’ — for many read like these fictious newspaper headlines declaring there is no need for alarm because previous reports of this are widely believed to be untrue. However the Bible forecasted headline of what is to come is very clear saying: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, WILL APPEAR A SECOND TIME , not to deal with sin but to save those who are EAGERLY WAITING (and prepared) FOR HIM” Hebrews 9:27–28 Friend, there a...

 When I was five years old there was a very steep rocky cliff near my house. One day peering over the edge of this precipice I was curious how far I could scoot off the edge, and for the first few inches, all was fine. Sliding down a bit further still seemed easy to back up if I wanted to. So far so good… BUT… Slidding down a LITTLE MORE the rocks started to get a little slippery. When I tried to scoot back up, I realized I’d gone too far and started a slow — Then QUICK — slide down the cliff faster than the slide at the playground! Crashing to the bottom and crying hysterically I wondered HOW I could possibly get back up? Fortunately I landed in the backyard of a kindly old man, and between my tears he managed to pry my name out of me, looked up my home phone number in the white pages (remember those?!?) and called my dad to come rescue me out of my folly. Big mistakes in life start JUST like that slippery slope. First is curiosity — like flirting with a co-worker behind your sp...

Years ago when listening on old radios it required carefully 'TUNING' precisely onto the right frequency. When you did the signal would come in strong or you’d hear a lot of static. Then as you drove further away from the broadcast tower, the signal would become so weak that eventually you couldn’t hear it at all. It wasn’t the station’s fault! You just moved away from the signal. Moving AWAY from what God is saying to you works exactly the same way. You see, God has been broadcasting His message to you all your life, but with all the other distractions of static in our modern world His voice is easy to miss. So the question is can you hear what He is saying, or are you moving away from Him so far that you cannot hear what He is saying to you? Many people think that tuning into ANY broadcast about spirituality, truth, philosophy, or religion will do, but there is only ONE frequency that has ALL the answers that you need to hear, and that is the GOD FREQUENCY Friend, in reading ...

 When people hear the word Repent they often wince, cringe, and roll their eyes. To many folks this word is offensive in that it implies an unnecessary need to grovel about how bad they are and make some emotional demonstration publicly about their faults and failures. Instead most people it’s natural to think that overall by nature they are a ‘Good Person’ and there is therefore No Need To Repent About Anything . On the contrary, the word ‘REPENT’ when translated from Greek is defined to literally mean TO CHANGE ONE’S MIND . But change your mind about WHAT? It means to change your mind about going the way that seems natural to you — the way which you have always gone —  which is going away from God and continuing to REPEAT doing the same things you’ve always done over and over again. You see, the reverse of repentance is going in the direction by nature that you think you want to be. It may seem like you are going the right way, but it is to a place that LEADS to SELF, but AW...

 If we all had that proverbial crystal ball, it might be great to know what things are coming our way. If your town or city is like most, you may see a sign for a psychic reader and be tempted to drop in on and take advantage of that faded ‘$10 special ‘ sign hanging in the window. However, the Bible clearly warns us to stay away from these things for two important reasons. First, people that practice those kinds of activities are engaging in WITCHCRAFT, and the information that comes through them is not coming from Holy God but from the Kingdom of Darkness. While what they say might indeed come to pass that does NOT mean it is from God, but from the source that is “…the father of lies (the devil.)” Deuteronomy 18:10–12 says that we are not to use divination and that if or when you do, these are abominations to God. Second, as today’s verse says our time here on earth is to be conducted walking in FAITH not by sight. That is, instead of having a ‘chart’ or ‘reading’ that may even ...

 At the wedding feast in Cana in Galilee, Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine. What is easily overlooked here is focusing on the miracle and missing a key point which is not only at the heart of Christ’s ministry, but is a fundamental principle and message of the entire Bible. From the time Jesus was born, Mary was keenly aware of who her son was and how and why he had come into the world (as) “…(she) pondered all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19) from his birth until this special moment. Knowing this, she instructed the servants at a critical moment to LISTEN to whatever Jesus said to them and to DO IT …and we would be wise to also do the same. Why? Because whatever Jesus says is always True, Tried, and Trustworthy, and when we follow the servant’s example it will likewise always yield a fruitful result. Friend, God Is Right 100% of the Time! Listen for His Voice, follow His commandments, because when you do, good things will ALWAYS FOLLOW . God ...

 Giving blood Saves The Lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year who have suffered life threatening injuries from certain death. If you have not given, please consider being a blood donor. It not only helps others, but will help your health by regenerating new life-giving blood into your body. Although you may not have been in a horrific accident requiring a blood transfusion to save you from Mortal Death , without a very special Supernatural Blood Transfusion you cannot be saved from Eternal Death without the Blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse and heal you of all sin.. To receive this supernatural transfusion, all you need to do is ASK. If you have not asked Christ to cover your sins with His Supernatural Blood , you can do so right now by sincerely praying this simple prayer from your heart: Heavenly Father, I have done many detestable things in my life and sinned against you and wronged others. I have no excuse for my actions and ask that you forgive me, wipe the slat...