Showing posts with label Put God first. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Put God first. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Encouragement To Endure In A Chaotic World (Sermon by Pastor Chuck Smith)


Here it is Tuesday already and I am wondering what news will unfold this week -  especially if it is in fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.  I had originally intended to post a video here concerning the soon cryptocurrency that will be used instead of cash.  But I happened to accidentally run across a video which sparked my enthusiasm and which is more up-building and encouraging than more information on the "Bad" happening now or that will happen in the near future because of the New World Order and the people pushing for it.  But if you are interested, go to the Web and enter "Microsoft patent 060606 on cryptocurrency "  (Note the 666).  It seems "this cryptocurrency will measure body activity of the user in the form of body radiation, body fluid flow, a brain wave pulse rate, etc,; and then will award cryptocurrency in exchange for the appropriate body activity"  (quoting part of www.reddit.com).  I kid you not!!  Absolutely unbelievable!

To begin with words of encouragement, following is a video narrated by Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel churches.  The message in this 14 minute sermon clip is based on Nahum 1:7.  The sermon stresses putting God first in our lives, and then everything else will fall into its proper place. 


The writing above on the video is partly obscured and is worth taking to heart!  It says:

"When you pray - God listens.
When you listen - God talks
When you believe - God works."

Nahum 1:7 encourages us:  "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him."

We are certainly living in troublesome times right now, no doubt about it!  Following are some Christian quotes and Bible verses that deal with faith.  Faith can see you through all trials and is closely related to trust in God and Jesus.

This quote by Martin Lloyd-Jones is quite to the point and applies always:  "Faith is a refusal to panic."

"Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake."    - Martin Luther

"Only in a world where faith is difficult can faith exist."  -  Peter Kreeft

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Nahum 1:7 has this to say: "He is a God of infinite mercy; and in the midst of all this wrath mercy is remembered."

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the ONE Who is leading."  -  Oswald Chambers


The following Scripture (1 Samuel 12:24) is very meaningful to me, or I should say personal in a very real sense.  I was so lost and sinful when I was younger, and the good Lord rescued me from all that darkness and brought me into His saving light and led me to a living faith in the Savior, Jesus.  I am filled with gratitude for how He has renewed my mind and transformed my heart.  No believer in Jesus is perfect, of course, and we will not be so until we are with the Lord in glory.  The main thing is that once we are truly born again (a spiritual rebirth) we do not deliberately and willfully sin -  which is outright rebellion against God. We make mistakes, we sin accidentally and in ways like anger or resentment, but we take it to the Lord and pray for forgiveness and He will help us to overcome it.  

"Only fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart.  For consider what great things He has done for you."     -    1 Samuel 12:24

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."  -   Galatians 2:20

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."  -   Hebrews 11:6

The above verse is so very important !  You must have faith in order to please God !!  Most Christians realize this, but some new to the Gospel may not understand the importance of faith and total surrender to the good Lord.

This world has gone mad, so to speak!  We need to have faith in order to endure what lies ahead as well as to endure what is happening at the present time.

This is where faith and strong trust and confidence in the Lord  comes in!  

We believers have a blessed hope!  Jesus will soon take us to be with Him when the Rapture of the Church occurs.  Keep looking up!

Titus 2:13 tells us :"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."

Concerning the signs of the end times we are now experiencing, Jesus said at Luke 21:28 :  "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up , and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."







Friday, November 15, 2019

"Slim Pickin's ?" - Inspirational Weekend

[Brazilian Cardinal On Coconut Shell On Hawaiian Beach]

Some time ago, from my reference photograph above, I completed an oil painting of this cardinal and titled it "Slim Pickin's".  Although the coconut contained sand from the beach, somehow the bird was finding some "slim pickin's" to nibble on.

It occurred to me just now that many people are surviving on just slim pickin's in their life, with no real "meat" of truth or hope to sustain them.  It's even true with some Christians who never read their Bible and seldom pray.

What to do?

First of all, we must have a vibrant and living faith and belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior.  Without that, you are dead....spiritually dead, and will not make it to heaven.

Secondly, we must die to self.  Yes, in an age where people are always thinking of themselves first and love to take selfie photos and the like, we must learn to put the heavenly Father and Jesus first in our lives.  

"Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.  But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."    -   C.S. Lewis (from his book, Mere Christianity)


Let us consider some Christian quotes and, most importantly, some Scriptures which follow that will enrich our soul and mind and heart.

"God always gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him."  -   James Hudson Taylor

"Life is not about how long you live, but whether you are living intentionally and devotedly to Christ."  -  Dr. Charles Stanley

"Your life helps paint your neighbor's picture of God."   -  unknown

"Being at peace with yourself is a direct result of finding peace with God."  -  Olin  Miller

"The safest place in all the world is in the will of God, and the safest protection in all the world is in the name of God."   -  Warren Wiersbe

[Haleiwa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii]

Lately, quotes by Christians on this blog have been more rare, as I think we should focus primarily on God's Holy Word. Following are some verses from Psalm 40, which all Christians can relate to:

Psalm 40:1-3 :    (1) "I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  (2) He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (3) And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."

"For the joy of the Lord is your strength."  -  Nehemiah 8:10 b

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit."  -   Romans 15:13

"And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."  -    Jeremiah 29:13

[Waterfall At Waimea Bay Botanical Gardens, Oahu, Hawaii]

Please ponder over the above Scriptures; let them sink deep into your heart.  But nothing compares to actually opening the Bible and pouring over God's Holy Word daily for yourself.   As has been stated here before, the Bible is God's love letter to us, as well as His instruction manual to guide us along life's paths as we endeavor to do His will.   When you read the Bible daily, you learn more about God and His Son Jesus, and you appreciate their attributes and that they personify love.... a love beyond our finite understanding.  You will grow to love the Lord more and more as you read His Holy Word..... you will draw ever closer to Him.

The same applies to daily prayer.  The good Lord wants to fellowship with us.  He loves us.  You cannot  develop a good relationship with anyone if you never communicate with him.   As you read the Bible and pray daily, you will find that you will grow in your relationship to the Lord.   It will become a close, intimate, personal, ongoing love relationship.  Isn't God awesome!

So do not live a life of "slim pickin's".  A life without Jesus is a failure.   True success is a life lived in obedience to Him.


".... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."   -    Jesus at John 10:10

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"    -  John 11:25-26

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."   -    John 14:6

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."    John 3:16


  Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend...... and life !!