God Has A Plan

Spiritual blessings of our inheritance:
Eph.1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
God does indeed have a plan!
Jer.29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Are you trusting God for His plan? You can only know His plan if you study His Word and pray.
Lord, we need You like we need breath. Your word gives life to the lost and weary. Teach us to trust in You alone. Amen
What would you do if your home was destroyed along with all your neighbors' homes? What if you got a diagnosis of a terminal cancer? What if your child had a brain tumor? What if your marriage just fell apart? God is our lifeline. His Word will calm the worst doubts! He will be your steady rock and He will not be moved. Is.26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
Seek God, He will change you forever!!!

Will We Survive the Storm?

There are different types of storms, weather related and life related! These trials are rocky and how you react to them is a witness for the Lord. He will give you peace and guidance so that you will be able to stand and offer hope to the lost. Today, in the deep south, the weather is really bad! We have so many trees down that you can not get to your destination without it taking hours. The power company says the power will be off until after midnight but there is another storm on the way, that may well be, worse than the one we just had. There is a lot of property damage but the loss of life was minimal. I pray for the families of the dead that they may have peace in the Lord. Our life is not our own, it belongs to our Maker. You must be ready to die and face God at anytime. Luke 12:20-21 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."  Prov.22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all.
The devil is always ready to tempt you in various ways. He is cunning and knows our every weakness.
Eph. 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God is faithful in our times of trouble:
1 Cor.10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
God's everlasting love: 
Romans 8: 31-39
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To Christians, these words are life! The devil is defeated and Christ is King!!! Will you not give your heart to Him today? Lord, there are sinners that need You. They are waiting for Your truth. Open their heart today. Amen

For All Live to Him

Luke 20:38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."
Now what does that mean, all live to Him? It means we never really die, our spirit lives on. Our spirit will live with God or be separated from Him for eternity. The only way to be in His presence is through Christ redemptive power. Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Christ is the only mediator. 1 Tim.2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
It is true that the dead will rise to judgment if they are dead in sin but if you have trusted in Christ as Lord, you will arise to everlasting life. John 5:27-29 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
God's love for man through Christ: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 1John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
Our faith in Christ: Gal.2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Our God is able! 2 Tim.1:12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.
Jude1:24-25  Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Heb.7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermostthose who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Luke 37:1 For nothing will be impossible with God."
God give us understanding, wisdom and knowledge concerning Your word. Teach us so they we may teach others. Amen

How Do You Become a Christian

Easter Sunday Teaching, dead to sin alive to God:
Romans 6:4-11 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We identify with Christ in His crucifixion.He died as your substitute.You die to your sin.You turn from yourself.You trust in Christ as your Savior.You participate with Christ in His Resurrection.He rose as Lord over the grave.You rise to live with God.You are now free from sin. You have no fear in death.Thank You Father God for Jesus Christ. He is worthy , we are not. We are rebellious, He is not. We are sinners, He is not. We can do nothing to please You, He did everything! Amen

Why Did God Send Christ?

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."  
Christ is humble:
Phil.2:5-11 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Gift of Christ:
Eph.2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Titus 3:4-7 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The power of Christ:
John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Eph.1:20-21 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Col.1:15-23  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Lord Jesus, this is Your testimony! It is true and it is a blessing to those who will receive it! Lord, my heart hurts and my throat constricts with fear when I think of the ones who need You and are not in Your care. Open their hearts to receive Your good news. Our lives are a vapor and will end when the next heartbeat does not graciously come from You. Forgive us for our rebellions. Amen

Jesus/Who Knew No sin

2 Cor.5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was never a sinner! He was and is holy. God, the Father, took Christ, as a substitute sacrificial Lamb, spotless and pure, to satisfy holy justice. It is only through Christs' righteousness that we can be justified. There is no other way. We were born in sin, we choose to sin, we are rebellious against You, holy God, we can not atone for our sin, and we are doomed!
Sin is of the devil:
1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Sin comes from the heart:
Matt.15:18-20 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." Sin brings death:1 Cor.15:56-57  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We lie if we say we have no sin: 1John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Unrighteous will not enter heaven:1 Cor.6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Repentance: Turn from sin2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Cor.7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. Lord Jesus, I thirst for You! Lord, You are my hiding place! Your gift is awesome, awaken the world to Your Word. Fill the void and loneliness that the lost have because they do not know You. You are our King, we are humbled by Your grace and mercy! Amen

The Power of The Resurrection

What if the resurrection never took place? We would have no hope! God must have justice against sinners! We would all be lost, still in our sin, unforgiven! We would be waiting on eternal punishment! Why do we trust in Christ for salvation? It is for forgiveness of our sin! This is the true story of "amazing grace"!!
1 Cor.15:16-19 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Cor.15:3-4  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
Jesus is real, He did die on a cross, and He has risen, and He will come again to claim His bride!!
Romans 4:20-25 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,  fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. 2 Tim.1:8-1 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. He is seated at the right hand of our Father God! Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He is our Savior, Lord and King, bow before Him today, for mercy, for forgiveness and for salvation because it is found in no one else! Lord, we bow before You today and ask for mercy. Open our hearts to Your gift. Help the lost to see You through Your Word. Amen Thank you John MacArthur for your teaching.