"To Live And To Die" (Video) - Inspirational Weekend

The title of this post, "To Live And To Die", sounds like the information here is morbid and doom and gloom.   I promise you that is not the case! Let me quote a wonderful Scripture found at Philippians 1:21 :

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

This was written by the apostle Paul.  His life found all its meaning in Christ, Who was his secret to continual joy.  This can also be the case with all true Christians who put Jesus first in their lives, and who live a godly life and thereby endeavor to imitate Him in their daily walk in love and obedience.  

"Jesus answered and said unto him,  If a man love me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."  -  John 14: 23

Many who read "to die is gain" in Philippians 1:21, concentrate on just that part of the verse and they think of being in heaven forever with the Lord.   All that is true,  but you need to be a born again believer, sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), in order to make it to heaven.  "To die is gain" refers to the fact that we will be with Christ after death; that is, if you are a true believer who has lived a life of obedience and faith in the good Lord.   Works do not save you; faith in Jesus is what saves you.  But a true believer will bring forth much fruit, and will obey and follow Jesus with a pure heart.

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."  -  James 2:26

True believers will endeavor to live a Christ-like life....to "live Christ."  Galatians 2:20 tells us:

"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."

The above verse is the apostle Paul speaking again.  What faith he had !  What devotion and dedication he exhibited !  May we all be likewise!  

The thought behind "to me to live is Christ" is that we be so one with Christ that we do only His will, and continually have "the mind of Christ."  (1 Corinthians 2:16)

Keep in mind, also, that we are not only to "live Christ" but to bring Him glory as well.  Praise Him and give Him glory in all we do and say.  Let our lives, our hearts, our minds, our actions, our speech, reflect  good things and give glory to God and Jesus in everything !

"To live is Christ" means that we will want to know more about the Lord and to take in as much knowledge of Him as possible.   To do that we need to read our Bibles daily, as well as to pray daily.   You get to know more about a person by communicating with him,  Do the same with the good Lord.  Develop a close, intimate, personal, love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

If we are truly saved, we will also have the enthusiasm for preaching the gospel and for witnessing at every opportunity.  We may also have to give up anything that prevents us from serving the Lord.   Anything that takes up all of our time needs to be dealt with and eliminated in order to enable us to live for the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. 

We need to fix our eyes on Jesus.  Put Him first !

Following is a 4 minute worship song about to live is Christ:

All of the above does not apply to those who are unbelievers.  But look up, folks! Jesus loves you and is waiting to hear from you! All you need to do is to repent of your sins and do not live a life of sin any more, pray for forgiveness, and sincerely dedicate your whole life to the Lord as you turn to Him in faith and trust.  Believe Jesus is the Savior and that His shed blood at Calvary will wash your sins away.   Believe also in His resurrection.  All of this takes faith on your part.  It is that faith that will save you where you may live for Christ and have the hope of eternal life.

Do not delay !

We all want to live forever !   Let it be with the Lord in heaven !

Jesus gives us hope, a glorious future, a purpose in life right now, (to serve Him and to be a light and witness bearer).

Wouldn't you rather be in eternity where there is no more sin, no more death, and no more sorrow?  -  Revelation 21:4

This old earth is passing away soon!  -  1 John 2:17

Jesus is eternal and you can be as well !

There is hope !

"And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."  -  1 John 2:17

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us :  (9)  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"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

"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

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

"We Are At The Finish Line" (With Video On Bible Prophecy And Current Events) - Inspirational Weekend

As you can see in my photograph above, this Hawaiian Moorhen is standing in waters surrounded by tangled tree branches.   Sometimes we can feel knee deep in troubled waters and entangled in prison-like barriers that keep us from our full potential of being an effective witness for Jesus.   We may have many obstacles that keep us in a state of depression or of not knowing the way out.   

But a true believer will not stay in a depressed state for long if he will turn to the Lord in prayer and leave his burdens at the foot of the cross......in Jesus' capable hands of love and compassion.   

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."  -  1 Peter 5:7

America has recently suffered two horrific hurricanes and another is making its way to the East Coast right now.   But keep in mind that many other disasters are happening across the Globe which have killed thousands of persons.   America is having wildfires raging in several states, and wildfires are occurring in other countries at the present time as well.  I say all this not to preach doom and gloom, but to emphasize that there is plenty we could be depressed about and we should care about the unfortunate victims of these disasters and help them in any way we can.  If you are poor and cannot financially help, you can certainly pray for them.

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth  and travaileth in pain together until now."                          -  Romans 8:22

Many things.... hundreds of signs... that are happening right now prove that we are "at the finish line"  -  the last hour of the last days.  Many Bible prophecies are converging at the present time.  

For true believers, this means Jesus will return soon to Rapture them to be with Him in heaven and later with Him on earth during the millennium reign.  This is something we eagerly look forward to... all eternity with the Lord.

Don't be depressed...Look up and watch for the Lord's soon return.  (Luke 21:28).  

Following is a video on current events and Bible prophecy in which Amir Tsarfati gives an excellent take on current world events.

"Why should I be concerned with Bible Prophecy?  I have so many problems to deal with as it is," you may ask.   The devil likes to keep us busy with all kinds of things that distract us from the Lord and His will.  We don't pray because we think we don't have time; and prayer is vital for a close relationship with God.  We don't read the Bible because, again, we don't believe we have the time.  The Bible is God's Holy Word, our Love Letter from Him, and our Instruction Manual for living a life that is pleasing to Him.  By the reading of His Word, we come to really really know the Lord and His attributes and His will, thereby helping us to have a dynamic and living relationship with Him.   

"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."   -  Jesus speaking at John 17:3

This "knowing" is not just head knowledge;  it is a relationship, an understanding of His will, and a thirst to know Him more and more intimately and our wanting to please Him in all we do, and say, and in the way we live our lives......to be more like Christ.  This knowing Jesus involves the heart and the soul. It is your very life.   They say people know you by the company  you keep;   be best friends and company with the Lord Jesus Christ.  If you are always in prayer and pour over His Word diligently, you will  become more Christ-like, and thereby be pleasing to the Lord.

My photograph above of the Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron with the small fish in its bill reminds me of how the devil fishes around to snatch as many people as he can in his evil grasp to deceive and destroy them.  

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."  -  1 Peter 5:8

Satan will NOT devour you if you are walking hand in hand with Jesus and if you have a close, personal, and intimate relationship with the Lord.  If you are deliberately sinning to indulge your lustful desires and sinful self-will, then beware.   The Lord wants only those who surrender to Him and who obey Him, and by that show that they love Him.

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."   -  Jesus at John 14:21

Now is not the time to be preoccupied with the things of the world.  We need to be spiritually minded and seek the Lord continually.  Someone once said, "Too often we are so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey."   Of course we should concern ourselves with heavenly things and look forward to being with the Lord (the destination), but we also need to live (the journey) in a way that pleases Him and leads many others to faith in Jesus.  Once saved, we should not become passive "couch-potato" Christians. We should be busy doing the Lord's work.

"God wants the whole person and He will not rest till He gets us in entirety.  No part of the man will do."  -  A.W. Tozer

Don't waste your life.  

Remember that we are at the finish line.

Do not be distracted away from the Lord.

Time on this earth is short.....

 Jesus will return soon.

Will you be ready?

"A man by his sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God.  This is man's greatest tragedy and God's heaviest grief."  -  A.W. Tozer

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."              -  Ephesians 4:30

It is all about love and obedience.

"Jesus answered and said unto him,  If a man love Me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him."    -  John 14:23