Are you thinking about the future? Maybe you’re just thinking about January first when the New Year begins and looking back over this passing year. Sometimes it is good to look back, and take account of what the Lord has done for us, and our loved ones. Looking ahead can help motivate us to seek better choices than the year before, and make stronger commitments in our lives, to Jesus Christ and our relationship with him, to our husband , or wife, our children, family and friends. Life it’s self offers no guarantees of what the future will bring, but the promises of God are a Commitment to us, through his Son Jesus Christ, and ever lasting love that never fails us, nor leaves us, a hope  for  the future of heaven and not hell. My journey to find God started when I was a child, now I am old and I have found him through Jesus and still seek him, I know whom I have believed; ^“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 8:38,39) How about your commitment ? “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” ( John 4:35). “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18).” For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29). In other words God is not an Indian giver. He doesn’t give us things or promises , and later decides to take them back! He is a man of his Word. You can stand on his promises, and count on them though all hell breaks loose on you! “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,” (Hebrews 6:17-19a). You can take his promises to the bank and count on them. He will never fail you. His promises are like a strong Anchor, no matter what storms of life you go through! “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5). “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20). His promises are not half hearted, or wishy washy, or luke warm!  This is the way Jesus wants us to be toward him and others. “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalms 119:89).“ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17). “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35). So beloved, stand on his promises, believe them, and quote the terms of the contract to the contract maker! His promises are the only real thing that you’ve got that will last forever, including the souls of those you have brought to him!

“THE FUTURE IS AS BRIGHT AS THE PROMISES OF GOD”

Adoniram Judson

Born: August 09, 1788
Died: April 12, 1850 (age 61)
Nationality: American
Occupation: Clergyman
Bio: Adoniram Judson, Jr. was a missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became one of the first missionaries sent from North America to preach in Burma.

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”( Psalm 34:18). Do you feel sometimes that you have strayed away from the Lord, and want to get back to what you have known is the truth? Sometimes we are so close to the Lord, and the Lord so close to us that we become to familiar with him, and take all he has given us for granted, which can cause us to lose that child like faith, and get caught up in the world. You  become dissatisfied with yourself, and others, and finely the Lord, Jesus Christ himself. “Why”, you ask does this happen in our walk with the Lord? Must we lose that child like faith, do we have to lose touch with the simple truth of God’s love for us? No, we don’t have to stray from the Lord, but we are given a free will and we make choices everyday that can draw us closer to Jesus and his word, or we can chose to turn to old habits, and worldly things that can start to put up a wall between us and the Lord. Some of you know the Lord and have tasted and seen the Holy gifts which the Lord gives to his children. You have seen answered prayer and been touched by his love, and peace, and joy. You have been healed from sickness, and the Lord has carried you through times of brokenness and despair. I find when I chose the Lord daily in my life he is still there and , he hasn’t forsaken me , nor has he forsaken you, if you will just turn back to the Lord, that simple act of reaching out your hand of faith to receive all that the gifts Jesus Christ the Son of God has to give you, because he loves you. Why not start the New Year, with all the love, joy, and peace, that loving Jesus brings? You don’t have to wait until the new year. Jesus is calling you now.

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

“The Lord is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18). The word “contrite” means crushed. Have you had troubles in your life? Are you going through trials and hard times? Have you had your hopes and dreams dashed? Have you lost everything, and everyone has forsaken you? Then you might know a little bit of how Jesus felt.“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:”( Isaiah 53:3). It says in the Bible, “And they all forsook him, and fled.” (Mark 14:50 ). One thing good to know is that Jesus is close to you. He knows what you are going through and he loves and cares about you. It seems the Lord can only really use broken men and women, people who have come to the end of their own strength and have gone to the bottom were there is nowhere to go but to look up to Jesus. The Lord uses people who have committed  tremendous sins and mistakes, and people who know that they have no righteousness of their own, but trust only in the grace and mercy of God. Jesus is there waiting for you to just call out to him. He is reaching out his hand toward you if you will only reach out and take it. He will lift you up and help you and use you to reach out and help others who are also broken hearted. “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest,” ( Matthew 9:36-38). Why are there so few labourers for the harvest? Someone once said; “Because God can’t break them fast enough”, because people won’t let him. Jesus said, that he was the stone and “Whosoever shall fall upon the stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever the stone will fall it will grind him into powder.”(Luke 20:18) We are the clay, and God our Heavenly Father is the potter, and he is trying to make us into a vessel fit for the master’s use, if you will let him. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” ( John 3: 30).

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

Have you thought about seeing Jesus face to face? Our lives here on this earth pass so quickly, we might forget sometimes that we have and end, we have an appointment with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, he is waiting to welcome us into our heavenly home. I didn’t think about that part of life much when I was young.“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.“  (Romans 12:1,2). I was just so happy to know that there was something worth living for now. I had received Jesus Christ into my heart, and there is a place prepared for me once I am called home.“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” ( John 14:3). “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:” (John 18:36a) The promises in God’s word give us hope and joy unspeakable. I have tasted of this JOY, and it is unspeakable, our words can’t explain how awesomely wonderful our God is.“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1 Peter 1:8).“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” ( I Corinthians 13:2). What will you do when you see Jesus face to face?

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

How do you measure success? Is it by how much money you have gotten? Is it by how many material possessions you have? Is it by what degree you have attained in College? It really doesn’t matter what we think, or what others think, all that really matters is what God thinks. What does God measure your success in life by? Number one is, have you been saved from Hell by accepting God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and received his free gift of Eternal Life? There is no greater achievement than that! Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”(Mark 8:36-38).“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. “(James 4:14). “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12:15-21). Shouldn’t we measure our success on how many souls we have won or helped to win to Jesus? All the things of this life are soon to pass and only what is done for Jesus Christ shall last. Will he say to you one day “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21). “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7).“Dust thou are and to dust thou shall return.” (Genesis 3:19b). IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE! As long as you are alive there is hope, and the very fact that you are alive proves that God is not finished with you yet. You do have a purpose in life to fulfill, and in fact many purposes to fulfill. The devils purpose is to try and keep you from God’s purpose. Don’t let him win! In fact the Bible says,”Give no place to the devil.”(Ephesians 4:27).Cry out to Jesus and he will immediately be there for you! He loves you, and cares about all that you are going through.

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I  believed you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen.

 ^“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3). Stand up for the truth ! Quit being wishy washy and compromising the truth !  ^“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” (1 Peter 3:15). If you are involved with some group or teaching, no matter how long of a time, and someone challenges you with an accusation about a teaching that you are involved with, and you don’t say anything to defend the teaching that you say that you agree with, then that means that you still agree with that teaching, or you are just not knowledgeable enough in the Word yourself, to defend your beliefs. Sometimes silence can speak more words, when you should speak out. It is very hard for many people because of their pride to admit that they are wrong. The Lord is very concerned and upset and even angry when false doctrine is being taught to his sheep, even to the point where there is no remedy. Jesus warned that some would be the least in the kingdom of Heaven, and would receive of the plagues written in the Bible for false teaching. You had better know what your are teaching and that it is backed up by scriptures! It is one of the worst sins in Gods eyes to teach false doctrine to his people, and to not say anything, and remain silent about it. If anyone can show me anything that I have taught that is not the truth and is not backed up by scriptures, I would be so glad to correct it and change it. If you can’t, then you had better follow the truth that the Lord has given you. You can’t serve two masters, and I would say you can’t serve two ministries, because there is only one truth, and nothing short of the truth is the  truth, and if you are trying to serve two ministries, your time, energy, and resources will be depleted and drained, and the Lord will not be able to use you to your fullest ! Make sure you are following with your whole heart the ministry that Jesus wants you to follow, and be involved in according to His Word, not just because they teach some true things. Jesus said,“If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness?”(Matthew 6:23b) Do you understand what this means? “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11). Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15). What does it mean to be a wolf in sheeps clothing? It is someone who pretends to be a sheep, but is teaching and listening to false doctrine! “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19). “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”(Revelation 22:18,19). “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8,9). Beware, the warning has been given, don’t let it happen to you! When they asked Alexander The Great how he was able to conquer the world so quickly, he answered; ” By not delaying”.

CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH TODAY ! ! ! WITHOUT DELAY ! ! !

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

God sometimes allows us to enter into discouraging situations for the main purpose of testing and strengthening our faith, and also to humble us, and make us more dependent on him. At such times we must refuse to give up in despair. Like Jonah in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights,(Matthew 12:40), or Job who lost everything, and yet he repented in ashes covered in boils and would not deny the Lord. ( Job Chapter 2). If we would only turn to the Lord when our soul is fainting within us, trusting Him completely.

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”. (Hebrews 12:11)

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:7)

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12,13).

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” (James 1:2,3)

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”(James 1:13)

“Be still, and know that I am God”. (Psalm 46:10).

A well known Missionary named Hudson Taylor, was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he said to a dear friend, “I’m so weak that I can’t work or read my Bible, and I can hardly pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust.? Why is it so hard for some of us to just be still, and trust the Lord? Shouldn’t we leave something up to the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, God of Heaven and Earth, Our Lord ,and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who is able, and  is worthy,and loves us with and ever lasting love. NOTHING IS TO HARD FOR HIM.

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. I believe you died on the cross for my sins ,and rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastlsement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6). Beloved these verses give us a deep insight to the character and heart of Jesus. ”But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”( Matthew 9:36-38). He was a man moved by compassion not just pity. Pity sits around and feels sorry for people , but compassion gets up and does something about it. “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.” (Luke 4:40). He kept working after quitting time. Jesus was always a faithful witness, even unto death. He even witnessed to the Thief on the cross when he was dying. “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” (Revelation 1:5). He was focused, and motivated by Love for God his Father, and for us.“We love him because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). He was the ultimate manifestation of God and his love. 

Would you say this prayer with me? Dear Jesus, please help me to have more of your love and more of your spirit, and help me to see others as you see them, and be moved with compassion as you are. I ask you to forgive me for my sins and come into my heart. I want to go to Heaven to be with you. In Jesus Name I pray , Amen !

Jesus wants to be close to you and he wants you to be close to him. Jesus said; “Behold I stand at the door and knock .If any man hear my voice and opens the door I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.”(Revelation 3:20). Jesus wants to live inside of your heart. The Bible also says, “And because ye are sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father.” (Galatians 4:6.). “Abba” is the defining term for father in the Aramaic language, spoken by Jesus and Paul as an intimate term to characterize their personal relationships with God. It is also a term of reverence. “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:7). Jesus tells us, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 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.”(John:15:4,5). This is so true we can’t thrive or even survive spiritually without his love and strength and life giving power. Beloved this can only come from being close to him and right with the Lord and walking with him and talking with him every day. If a branch gets cut off from the vine it withers and dries up. Beloved, just like you need air,water,and food to survive, you need the life giving spiritual nourishment from the Lord, by being right with him, and close to Jesus. Otherwise we are just walking around spiritually starved, and even eventually spiritually dead, like zombies. That is why Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead”, because some people are already spiritually dead. Don’t let this happen to you. Stay in the Word and Prayer, and close to Jesus for your spiritual strength and life. In fact Our Heavenly Father wants to make us conform to his dear son . So we can all be like Jesus walking around. Wow, wouldn’t that be nice, and wouldn’t that be a paradise if everyone would just yield to, and receive Jesus? Then it would be like having a little bit of Heaven right here on earth wouldn’t it? This is the way it is in Heaven. Why wait, when you can experience a little bit of Heaven right now? If everyone would just love Jesus and be like him. Then there would be peace on earth at last, and people would actually care about others and be kind and loving and forgiving, and merciful as we ourselves want mercy. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”(Matthew 7:12). They do things alot different in Heaven than the way people do things on earth. You can get closer to Jesus by reading the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed) spirit.”  (Psalm 34:18). Exercise daily, WALK WITH THE LORD, AND TALK WITH HIM AND LISTEN TO HIS STILL SMALL VOICE. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Since God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit live inside of you and can read your mind all the time it would be good if we talk to them about everything, and spend time listening to them. Let us always remember to go through Jesus Christ. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:6-9).

Say this prayer if you want to be saved: Jesus, I want to know you, and to live forever in Heaven, I know I have made mistakes and done bad things- and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I accept your love and I accept you as my Saviour. Please come into my heart and life and fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me peace. Amen.