"Faith In Troubled End Times and Why We Need Jesus Desperately" (Video clip by Andrew Murray, and Video on Prayer) - Inspirational Weekend

Waterfalls can be refreshing to the soul.  Kinda reminds me of the "living water" the Bible speaks of.

  In John 4, Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well and told her of living water.   

Verse 10 says:  "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest  the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water."  

 Verse 14 :  "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life."  

       
   Commenting on verse 14 above, Albert Barnes' Notes says, in part,  "Jesus here refers without doubt to His own teaching, His "grace", His "Spirit", and to the benefits which come into the soul that embraces His gospel."

 In John 7:37-39, Jesus meant the Holy Spirit was living water, because He had not died yet, and the Spirit to come Who would indwell future believers, therefore,  had not yet been sent.  Acts 10:44-45 informs us that the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles.  This was, of course, after Jesus' resurrection.

All the previous was written on this post to lead up to what Jesus said at John 15:5 :  "I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."     

  Hopefully you will read all of John 15.

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit commentary informs us on John 15:5: "These words of Jesus might be more accurately translated thus:  "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."     The idea being not merely that the help of Jesus is required in order that we may have spiritual life and bear "Fruit" to the praise and glory of God, but that we cannot even possess spiritual life at all unless we are united to Him as the branch is united to the tree [or vine]."   Nisbet also emphasizes, "There can be no life apart from Christ."  ...."This particular kind of life is a Divine gift, and it is the beginning or germ of " life eternal."..... "There is no union with Christ without faith."

Following is a short 5 minute clip by Andrew Murray on the True Vine:  

Also, on John 15:5, John Trapp comments ( a small portion of his Commentary) :  "Christ is a generous vine, a plant of renown, and all His are "filled with the fruits of righteousness" (Philippians 1:11) and have hearts full of goodness, as those of Romans 15:14 and lives full of good works, as Tabitha at Acts 9:33. Nehemiah never rested from doing good for his people; he was good all over."

This blog has stressed frequently how important it is to develop a close, intimate, personal, loving relationship with the good Lord.  And we do that by much prayer and by much Bible reading.  Only in that way can we draw close to the Lord, which in turn will build our faith.  Like any relationship, you cannot come to know the other Person if you never communicate with Him. And when God answers your sincere prayers, that will also build your faith in Him and help you to fellowship more often with Him and thereby draw closer and closer to Him.

Following is a powerful prayer to help you to be led by the Holy Spirit.  (Remember, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.)  This video is 11 minutes and packed with a powerful and moving message.

In this crazy and chaotic world we now find ourselves "spinning in", many people are fearful and wonder what tomorrow will bring.  If you are not saved and have not put your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior, things look pretty bleak to you, perhaps.  And they are, because unless you have faith and believe that Jesus' death at Calvary and His shed blood there can wash your sins away (as He took our place on the cross and paid our sin debt in full, so that we could, by belief in His Redemptive work in our behalf, may have eternal life).  .... Unless you are born again by belief in Jesus as the Savior, you will spend eternity in Hell when you die.  (Luke 16:23 and Matthew 23:33).

If you are not yet saved (born again; a spiritual rebirth)  the following Scriptures are for you.

John 3:36 reads, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

"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

Turn to Jesus now before it is too late.

Soon Jesus will return to take true believers to be in heaven with Him.

Will you be ready?

Jesus will welcome you with open arms to embrace you in His love and forgiveness.

He is waiting to hear from you !


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

" Do You Ever Catch A Glimpse Of Eternity?" - (With Videos, One with Chuck Smith as Narrator) - Inspirational Weekend

[Seattle Botanical Gardens]

My photograph above has an elderly couple and their dog walking down one of many paths at the botanical gardens in Seattle, Washington.  This photo rather fits the subject of this article, and the title above (Do you ever catch a glimpse of eternity?).  The elderly couple in the above image are soon to see eternity literally, and the path they are walking reminds one of the paths of life that we take, to determine our destiny -  where we will spend eternity - in heaven or hell.

The inspiration for the title of this post is from the song:  "You Raise Me Up" by Selah, which is my favorite version of it.  Here is that moving and beautiful song:

Many people today, as a rule, do not think very often about eternity or what happens when they die.  That includes some Christians who, for the most part, do not read their Bibles.  It is so very important, as this blog has stressed over and over again, to read your Bible daily and to pray daily, even several times daily.  If you are not acquainted with Scripture and you have no relationship with the Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, something is terribly wrong !  

"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."  -     Romans 3:11

The above verse is disturbing because it is typical of this godless society (for the most part), where people are lovers of themselves and of pleasures, and caught up in the frenzy of the world's carnal appetites.  

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."  -  1 John 2:15-17

Thank the good Lord that there are still many true and devout followers of Jesus today, as well as many pastors who guide their flock properly with sound Biblical truths and especially stress the Gospel - salvation by belief in Jesus and that His shed blood at Calvary can wash our sins away if we sincerely believe He is the Savior and the only way to heaven!

Following is a 4 minute devotional by In Touch Ministries (Dr. Charles Stanley's site)  which is titled "How do we seek God?"

Many Christians are aware that we are today, in a sense, the modern day Church of Laodicea.  In Revelation 3, Jesus addresses that lukewarm church of ancient times, and gives them warning !  A warning that is applicable for us today!  

Following is an excellent 12 minute video on the subject titled:  "The Book of Revelation is Unfolding Before Our Eyes ( The Revelation of the Church of Laodicea) :

With the coronavirus, and losses of jobs and businesses, and just the general craziness of today's chaotic world, many people are just plain weary and some are filled with the sense of hopelessness. The following short video tells us to fight the good fight of faith.  One  narrator in this video is Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel Churches.  

Christian videos and sermons are wonderful and I am grateful to be able to view them on the Web.   They can be very inspiring and encouraging.  But the most important thing we can do is to develop a close, loving, personal, and living relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, our Savior.  How do we do this?  By daily Bible reading and much daily prayer !  The Bible will teach us about God's/Jesus' love and attributes and character, and the more we read, the more we will come to appreciate all the good Lord has done for us, especially our salvation by faith and belief in Jesus as the Savior, the only way to heaven.  We will come to love Him more and more through Scripture as well as by much prayer.  God wants to fellowship with us, as has been stated often on this blog.  When we pray to Him and pour out our hearts and concerns to Him, He will listen; and when He answers our prayers,  WOW!...  It is wonderful to have your prayers answered and to know that your relationship with Him is growing stronger day by day!

[Poinciana Blossoms]

Time is short and running out!

Jesus will return soon to take His Bride (the Church, true followers) to be with Him in heaven.

Are you rapture ready?

If you are not saved, if you have not put your faith and belief in Jesus the Savior, following are some Scriptures for you to take seriously:

"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

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that  believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."  -    John 3:36

"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 !!