The God Of Hope

     Hello! Here are some thoughts that I trust will be encouraging and instructive to point others to the one way, the only way, of true hope; And that is, trusting in God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

"And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. 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 Ghost." Romans 15:12,13.

     In the Old Testament book of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:10), it was prophesied that Someone from the lineage of Jesse (David's father), would come and be a banner of salvation to the world. Until that time, only the children of Isreal had a relationship with God, and they were under the law, but this is foretelling the grace that was to be brought in by Jesus, to all the people of the world, not just the children of Isreal only! "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17. A Christian has this hope, not because we can see it or touch it, but, because it is a gift of faith given to him by God (Ephesians 2:8,9). Through the power of the Holy Ghost (or, Holy Spirit), we are able to understand and believe these things. 

     This is what true hope is, and this is who true hope is established by. The words "The God of hope" do not mean  what hope is often referred to today as crossing our fingers and hoping something will happen, no, the hope that is being spoken of here is total trust and belief and assurance that God is able and faithful to do and fulfill all of His promises to us! The assurance of this is what gives the believer true hope, as well as true joy and peace!

"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast..." Hebrews 6:19.

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace..." Ephesians 2:13,14.

     This is what real hope is built on. Believing and trusting in the finished work Jesus accomplished on the cross  is our only source of true hope and assurance of everlasting life with God in Heaven!

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Romans 8:24,25.

     The Christian life is a life of faith. We are saved by faith, then we are called to live by faith, and then, one day, we will be changed, we will be given heavenly bodies, faith will give way to sight, and we will be caught up to be with our Lord Jesus in the air, and so shall we ever be with Him in Heaven! THIS IS THE WONDERFUL HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAS THAT HAS PUT THEIR TRUST IN GOD AND IN HIS SON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!

"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.

     I pray that this short page will be helpful to anyone who is interested in what real hope is, and that putting our trust in the God of hope, is our only source of true joy and peace. Please be aware, Satan is out there, trying to deceive you by lies and deceptions, into thinking you can have joy and peace in other ways, but the ways of the devil only lead to Hell. 

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25.

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Hell Is Real

     This is certainly not a pleasant subject, but I think it is something we all need to hear, and be reminded of. Hell is very real, and when we read what scripture says about it, it should motivate those of us who are believers to be more faithful to warn the unsaved, and to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ! And I pray that these words would speak loudly to the hearts of those who have not received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, that while there is still time, that you would turn from the path you are on, and believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins, to save you from Hell, and give you everlasting life with Him in Heaven.

"And in Hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." Luke 16:23-26.

     This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus (the beggar), both of them died, the rich man went to Hell, and Lazarus went to Heaven. The rich man asked to be comforted, and was told he could not be comforted, because once someone is in Hell, no one can get out, and no one can get in, to help them. 

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27.

     We will die once, physically speaking, in the body, but we have souls that will live forever. If we are saved, when we die in these earthly bodies, we will receive new, heavenly bodies, fit for eternity in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:35-58). But, if we die being unsaved, not having received forgiveness of our sins, we will spend eternity in Hell.

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43,44.

     This is not saying to literally cut off your hand, it is saying to turn away from anything that is causing you to sin, and that is keeping you from turning to the Lord and living in obedience to Him. This verse is also saying that, in Hell, the conscious never dies, it will continue to haunt the sinner forever, and the torment of Hell will continue for the sinner throughout eternity.

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41.

     Hell is very real, but it was not prepared for man, it was prepared for the devil and his angels. Although Hell was not prepared for man, that is where we will end up, if we choose not to turn from our sinful ways, and believe on the Lord Jesus.

"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn (repent) from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezekiel 33:11.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

     God loves you! He does not want you to spend eternity in Hell! He loves you so much, He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to pay the price for your sins, so that you would spend eternity with Him in Heaven!

"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.

     The devil is a liar and a deceiver. Just like from the very beginning, with Adam and Eve, the devil is still lying, and deceiving as many people as he can.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20:10.

     Do not believe the lies of the devil, do not be deceived by any of his tricks. One of the greatest tricks the devil uses is to try to make us feel that we are good enough on our own, that we don't need to believe on Jesus to save us. But the bible says we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that no one comes to the Father but by Him (Jesus). Romans 3:23 and John 14:6.

     The devil is going to spend eternity in Hell, do not let him drag you down with him!

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Behold The Lamb Of God

Hello! Since this is Sunday (Lord's Day), I have some thoughts to share about the One who came down to this world and gave Himself to be the sacrificial Lamb, and pay the price for our sins by shedding His precious, sinless blood on the cross.

"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Genesis 22:7,8

"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 chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Isaiah 53:4-7

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1: 18,19

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29

Today, may we take some time to "Behold the Lamb" who, in love and grace, willingly came down to this world to pay the price for our sin, to keep us from spending eternity in Hell, and to redeem us to God by His blood.

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." Acts 16:30,31

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Do Not Be Hasty

     The theme of this blog site is to provide useful content to those who are needing to make changes in their lives, possibly in midlife, including starting a new career, or beginning a second business on the side. 

     The wisdom of Proverbs 21:5 is important to remember when considering making any type of change or decision in our lives.

     The thoughts ( plans) of the diligent (those that are hard working and persistent) tend only to plenteousness (success); but of every one that is hasty only to want (poverty, or failure). We know there can be exceptions to this, but, in general, this is a very true principle.

     If you are making a midlife career change, it is so important to think it through before making a hasty decision of what to do next. There are many articles that give good advise for making career changes, HERE is a very good one. I suggest you study a few of these, it will be time well spent, helping you make a good decision for your future!

     If you are considering starting a business on the side, investing the time to research the different companies is vital! Many business opportunity companies use very slick marketing tricks to convince you that you will become rich overnight if you buy into their business, but remember, success with this requires diligence (hard work and persistence), it does not happen overnight.

     One of the dictionary definitions of hasty is:  Done or made too quickly to be accurate or wise; rash: a hasty decision. 

     I have been guilty of making hasty decisions plenty of times, and these usually turn out to be big mistakes. If I had taken the time to think them through, I most likely would have made a different decision. 

     Without a doubt, the best advise I can give to guard against making a hasty decision, is to take the time to pray about it!

"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.

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Redemption

     Hello! The last post I wrote was on the subject of "Redeeming The Time", on this post, I will be talking about how the Lord Jesus, by shedding His blood for us on the cross, redeemed us from an eternity in Hell!

        As mentioned in the last post, the dictionary definition of redeem is:

1.      to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.

2.

to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.

3.

to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a  pawned watch.

4.

to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.

     WE ARE ALL IN DEBT!

     You may be in excellent financial shape, not having any debt on anything, but until you believe on the Lord Jesus, you owe a debt that you can never pay for on your own! This debt is called your sin debt. Sin is what separates us from God, and is something everyone is guilty of. "There is none righteous, no, not one... for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10,23.

     And not only do we all owe a sin debt, but none of us are able to pay this debt of ourselves, because the price is much to high! No imperfect sinner can pay his own sin debt, because God, who is perfect, demands a perfect sacrifice for sin!

GRACE AND FORGIVENESS!

The Lord Jesus knew that we could never pay our own sin debt, so, in love, He came freely and willingly, to shed His own precious, sinless blood to redeem us to God. That is, He paid the price we could not pay, to bridge the gap between us and God, that our sin had created!

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein He (Jesus) hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:6,7.

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:18,19.

JESUS LOVES YOU SO MUCH!

     As we read in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.", if we die in our sins, that is, if we die before we receive the free gift of forgiveness, that Jesus has provided to us, the wages, or penalty for our sin debt, is eternal death in Hell!

     Please, do not neglect this free gift of redemption. It is free to us, but a tremendous price was paid  for it, by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! It does not matter if you have a small sin debt, or a very large sin debt, the blood of Jesus can wash every stain, can cleanse you and make you whole.

"Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon." Isaiah 55:7.

"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Isaiah 44:22.

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Redeeming The Time

     

     Something that has become more and more important to me lately, is the matter of making the best use of my time. Today, so many things keep us busy, and demand our time, that we need to really focus on our priorities, and plan time for the things that matter most to us, or we will not get nearly as much accomplished as we would like.

    The subject of redeeming the time is very broad, and has many different applications, but, for today,  I just want to mention a few thoughts on this in reference to making time for the "spare time" business we are trying to run.

     The dictionary definition for "redeem" is:

1.      to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.

2.

to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.

3.

to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a  pawned watch.

4.

to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.

     So, redeeming the time, actually means to buy back the time,. This means it is going to cost us something. We have to deliberately plan, allocate, and make sacrifices necessary, to accomplish the things we have to do, in order to start, or keep, a second business going! 

     This shows the importance of figuring out our priorities, writing down a plan of action, and then allocating the time necessary to accomplish these goals. And after we do all of this, we must develop the self discipline to stick to our plan! Because none of this will do us any good if we do not put it into practice on a regular basis, and make it a habit in our lives.

     I know I have barely scratched the surface on this important subject, but I hope I have given you some thoughts on this that will be of value. How we manage our time is truly crucial. With just a little planning, it is amazing how much more we can accomplish each day! If any of us are honest with ourselves, we must admit we squander so much time that could be put to better use!

     The understanding of redemption, and redeeming the time, as mentioned in the bible, are also very interesting and important subjects, and, Lord willing, I will write posts on these in the near future. 

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It Is Finished!

     Today's post is a gospel message that will focus on the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ completely paid the price (or penalty) for our sin, and that there is no remaining work on our part to do, but believe on the finished work of  Jesus, because we are saved by grace!

     "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and he bowed His head, and gave up the ghost." John 19:28-30.

     Jesus, perfectly and completely, fulfilled the prophecies written of Him in the Old Testament of the Bible. "And He (Jesus) said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me." Luke 24:44.

     "He said, It is finished"  When Jesus suffered, bled, and died on Calvary's cross, He, completely paid the penalty for our sin. Our sin debt was bought and paid for at that time.

     "And gave up the ghost." Luke 23:46 puts it this way, "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit; and having said thus, He gave up the ghost." Man did not kill our Savior, Jesus freely, willingly, lovingly, gave Himself for us! "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:17,18.

     SAVED BY GRACE ALONE!

     The gospel message is God's good news to man, and GRACE  is the reason this is good news!

     Because of sin, we are separated from God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. And Romans 6:23 says "For the wages (or penalty) of sin is death (spiritual, or eternal death): But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

     As we have already seen, Jesus finished the work that was necessary to pay the penalty for our sin, when He died for us. Jesus was the only perfect, sinless, one that could  offer the sacrifice necessary to God to pay our sin debt. This was accomplished over 2000 years ago, but we are still in the day of grace, that is, the gift of salvation is still available to anyone willing to repent and receive the free gift of salvation! To repent means to be willing to turn from the path you have been on, to following after God. Receiving the free gift of salvation means realizing you can't do anything to earn your salvation, and you must simply receive it as a gift. When someone buys you a birthday present, wraps it up and holds it out to you, until you take it and claim it as your own, it is not yours!

     "Not of works", again, there are no good works we can do to earn God's favor. When Jesus was asked about this, this was His reply: "Then said they unto Him, what shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." John 6:28,29. 

     I trust and pray that each one who reads the words of this post, will do some serious soul searching, because this is the most serious of all decisions you will ever have to make. Where you will spend eternity depends on it! Remember, just by choosing not to believe, doesn't mean it is not true.

     "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11. One day, each one of us will bend the knee to Jesus, and confess that He is Lord and Savior, how much better to do it now, when it will lead to eternal life with God in Heaven, than after you die, and face Him at the day of judgement, when it will be too late!!!  "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Hebrews 9:27. 

"So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus Himself and then delivered to us by those who heard Him speak?" Hebrews 2:3. Please don't put this off, none of us knows when we will die, we are not guaranteed of tomorrow. Receive the free gift of salvation today!

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