Jesus is the same no matter what - He is the only true salvation, trust Him today

The 2020 election, like the rest of the year, worried everyone. The world's problems aren't over, though. That isn't because someone might have sinned greatly, though some claim this is true.

Rather, it's because no human can solve the world's problems.Jesus can provide guidance and help; one of my most recent posts was this to help teen moms and pray for them. You can read numerous ones I've written on repentance and why it's needed, on unity and equality, etc..Only God can truly help everyone, though, and solve the world's problems, though - which He will someday at the 2nd coming.

I've written of His great salvation, especially in one I have on the front about receiving Jesus as Saviour, which includes what to do if millions disappear.This world has an endpoint, and only God knows when that is. It's not necessarily the climate clock, though the Bible does talk in Revelation about major disasters such as the sun scorching men with fervent heat. One of the Four Horsemen in REv. 6 is the "beasts of the field," which in Greek can refer to germs or insects that carry disease.

Jesus - our faithful friend who will be the same for us yesterday, today, and forever

These things show the world is always changing, even more than an election does. (Or this crazy year.) But, no matter who you voted for, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.Heb. 13:8.

Isn’t the stability of Jesus’ friendship great? His commitment, certainty, guidance, etc., no matter how much it rains in our lives. There’s a cool song to apply to that; I’ll get to it in a bit.

The first key to Bible interpretation is to interpret Scripture with Scripture. Look at the verses before it. Verse 5 should be very familiar, for instance: He will never leave us or forsake us. This is why we should be content with what we have. Verse 6 promises we can boldly say that the Lord is our helper. Another little nugget is that – by connecting this to verse 8 – we have another passage to show Jesus Christ is the Lord our God. This is what we teach because of the love Jesus has shown us. 

We can go many ways with this. Gordon Lightfoot’s “Rainy Day People” is good to use in illustrations, like Paul (Acts 17) says God created us all (Biblical truth), said their own poets say this, and went right back to the Gospel. The lyrics are about friendship, kindness, and how those who really care about you put you first and know when there’s a need. They don’t seek what they can get, they don’t care about the physical, they know time spent on others is important regardless of what they get. The song mentions love, but must mean phileos/BFF love since one verse talks about how they’ll share they’ve been down, too, and can help others rise above it because of that. (It should apply to spouses, too, though, since one’s spouse should be a best friend, too.)

That love is one of Jesus’ many great attributes. Of course, His love is agape, unconditional, before we even knew HIm, but let's stick with that phileos/brotherly love for a moment. God will be there for you no matter what. He provides stability in ever-changing times, no matter what problems the world throws at us.

 

Imagine if He was our friend but changed with the seasons - it would be awful. But, whether we're up or down, His love is there for us. His friendship, peace, etc., are all for us to take freely because of His death on the cross and resurrection.

 

Jesus' will in our lives and our country - to strengthen us, help us keep away from sin

 

 We should pray for God to triumph over that sin and evil in the world. But, His ways aren't always ours, so we must pray for His will first as we pray for Him to work in each person's heart. A true friend should also be there to comfort and strengthen those who go through hard times. Just like Jesus does for any believer who calls on Him for help. so, if His ways aren't what we expect or want, He will get us through it.

This is how we strengthen others by sharing God is there for them, quoting Scripture to help (the Word of God never returns void, Isaiah 55:11), or just listening and consoling. And, it’s also how we help those who don’t know Jesus to see a difference in us, to see Jesus through our actions and our words. So their hearts will be tender when we share the Gospel and we can lead them to Christ.

There is still uncertainty in the world. There will be after everything is settled. But, having Jesus as a friend makes it easy to have peace no matter what.

 Know Jesus personally

So you know Him? If not, knowing HIm is as easy as ABC: Admit, Believe, Confess. Here is a good site that goes further with more verses, but basically:

Admit you are a sinner. This just means you fall short of God's perfect glory and can't save yourself throughyour own works.

Believe Jesus Christ is God in flesh and died to save you from your sins and rose from the dead; He took the punishment for your sins by dyng in your place, and through His resurrection we can have eternal life by simply trusting HIm to save us.

Confess and forsake your sins and Call on Jesus to save you, Choosing to welcome Him into your hear to make you new inside.

You can pray a simple prayer like this right now. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I believe you died on the cross to save me from my sins and rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, I confess I need you as my Saviour, and I call on you today to save me and make me new inside. In Jesus' name, Amen."

That's all there is to it. He will help you grow in Him. Visit here to talk to someone (unless the Rapture happened, in which case hopefully you still get the teachings at Godlife :-) ) if you have questiosn or want to share your decision for Jesus.

Jesus said true Christian would be known by our love.(John 13:35) We must take stands against sin, but we must still love the sinner and help them follow the Lord. Our care and compassion for others will help us to be the friend Jesus wants us to be. Because we are not supposed to be each other's enemy. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.(Eph. 6:12)

Intercede for others

Because we are fighting a spiritual battle, it's important to pray without ceasing and to know that God's ways aren't ours. We can pray for God to work in each situation, but it's important to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to us how to pray. Even if it's not something we'd expect - like the prophet Habakkuk prayed and God sent the Babylonians to judge His people, because God knew His people wouldn't turn toward Him otherwise.

But, we don't have to know exactly - we just need to pray for God's truth to win out, for sin to be vanquished, etc.. And, we need to do that with our whole heart, and lean not on our own understanding. Ina ll our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths.(Pro. 3:5-6)

And, we need to remember that Israel is the center of God's prophetic timietable, not america. He raises up kings and brings down kings - only God is forever. He has a plan, and who knows if that plan is to bring the Ezekiel 38 war ( in addition to the link, see J.D. Farag or Amir Tsarfati for a great summery on it and other End Times things) quickly so He can be glorified, or if the covenant with man that the antichrist will sign is close. (they are also good for info on that.)

We don't know what His plan is, but we know He holds our future in the palm of His hand. And the great thing is, any of us is a single, sincere prayer of repentance from eternal life - eternal life begins the moment you trust Jesus by faith by calling on Him to save you from your sins.

I pray if you haven't, you'll do so before it's too late. We're not promised tomorrow. So, share with others as well now.

Coronavirus / Covid19 and repentance revival

I struggled with how to do this post. It's not the end of the world, though it might feel like it - here's how to avoid going through the End Times and what to do if you are left behind. (See first link for more detail on the End Times.) And, many signs show we are getting close.
God is personal and gives perfect peace and comfort to those who call on Him, like teen moms from my previous post. We need to be careful and avoid the occultic stuff that gives false peace, as shown here. I thought about the National Day of Prayer which led me to start this blog years ago, calling for repentance and how we all mess up and need it. But while I have a number of blogs like this which speak of how to pray for our nation and why repentance is needed, not just for what we've done but what we've failed to do (it's sad this on honesty, compassion, etc. has so few views) and a few actions to take as part of revival.

I have a free blogged book here on taking the spiritual lead in your home (and, when we can, your neighborhood and community) which anyone can benefit from, and I encourage all to pass it on. As to the pandemic, though, I wanted to wait to see how bad this was going to get; we now don't have much face to face contact, which I lamented in one post about using phones so much from another blogs, but we can still learn to care deeply about others and love unconditionally like I talked about, not shallow like some..

In some ways, the response is the same no matter how I begin. One might ask as I did in another post or two if America is going to be judged for its sin. Whether it is or not, the answer for each of us as individuals is that we need God in our lives. We need him desperately, and that's how we are in a place with less to do where we can pray more fervently. I share at the end of this a part-by-part piece on one verse about how to do that, but put simply, pour your heart out to God in repentance for this country and seek Him to save lives and, more importantly, souls - not just for our own desires but for His glory.

   God loves us and wants to give us perfect peace. He made this world perfect but we brought sin into it, and death by sin. All Creation groans under the weight of that sin. (Yes, viruses were created to be harmless.) Thankfully, there is a perfect Heaven, and God will remake this world someday. But, He doesn't force us to choose Him. He lovingly guides and calls us to choose to be saved from our sin. So, we must pray He will use this to draw many to know Him personally. Eternal life with God begins the moment you trust Him to save you from your sins, when He comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit.

1. Know Jesus personally now

I will start with the simple ABCs of salvation and explain why we must pray and how. Because we must keep an eternal perspective.

Because, accepting His free gift of salvation is as easy as ABC.

1. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, that you can't save yourself becasue your sin separates you from God so you can't get to His perfect heaven on your own;
2. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins and rose from the dead to take the punishment for your sins; and,
3. Call on Jesus to save you, Choosing to Confess and to turn away from your sins and trust Him completely to forgive you and make you new inside, to change your "want to."

You can do that right here reading this blog, as can anyone you share this with. Just pray something like this in your own words. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I don't deserve your perfect Heaven. But, you died to take the punishment I deserve for my sins, and then you rose from the dead. I believe you did this for me, that you conquered death and are alive always. Lord Jesus, today I repent of my sins, I turn away from them and invite you into my heart to make me new inside. Make me a new creture, Lord, and work in me through your HOly Spirit. I believe and trust you have saved me today, not by any work I have done or who I am, but all becasue of who you are. I trust and believe in you as my Saviour, and receive you into my heart and life to make me new. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Rejection of God's free gift of salvation means separation from Him forever in a horrible place. God never wants to send people there. It was created for the devil and his fallen angels. . People choose to go there when they reject His free gift of salvation the that In God's great love, He clearly spells out that He doesn't want anyone to go there and how they can avoid going there.

2. Share His love with others

I won't be long with this so we can get back to discussing the Coronavirus. But, h=just like a beggar would want to tell another beggar where to find bread (and we are all like that), we should share His love and salvation with others.

God loves us, so He wants us as His followers to share His love and salvation with others You can share it like above, use the Gospel here or use something like this longer online tract. For someone to talk to and teachings, you can go to www.Godlife.com/Gospel. You can easily memorize the 4 Spiritual Laws (or order the tracts) like shown here. (See here for other languages.) . But, for it to work, remember they must believe you, so don't be a Pharisee.

 Once we know Jesus personally of course, we should live for him not because we have to but because we want to, because of the peace he gives us.

3. Back to the Coronavirus/Covid-19, we can be assured of a few things.

A. Our most important act right now is to pray
      We have time on our hands, we must pray without ceasing, intercessory prayer. It is the most powerful connection possible. We must seek God's glory, not ours. There is a lot of stress right now, but no matter when it comes, and how, God can see you through.
     Pour out your heart to God, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 says - the church hasn't replaced Israel, and America certainly hasn't, but the church has been grafted into God's Kingdom. We are His people, and therefore, we can humble ourselves and pray, seek His face, and most importantly, turn from our wicked ways. Then, He will hear from Heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Another post about how God can heal the church and country is here.

B. While we wait, we can still, through the Internet, writing, etc. be Godly examples.
     Here are some great examples of answers to give when people ask about the Bible's reliability, etc., as well as how to show ourselves to be Godly people. Here are more ways, especially in sharing God's love with Muslims like the link shows, or this to show ways to show the Bible is true.
      Also, check this on God's Word (which also helps those of other religions thanks to words like "begotten being explained).

     The important thing to remember is, too many people just think we're against stuff - we need to be known by what we're for, like helping others and unconditional love, like above, the deep kind, not the shallow fleshly kind like when we say we love pizza. There are things to focus on like here which will help give you peace and joy, for instance. like in Philippians 4:8, linked below..

3. Coronavirus / Covid-19 isn't one of the deadly plagues of Revelation, but it shows a small dose of how it might be.
     There will come a time when things are a lot worse, during the Tribulation. This is a time when the antichrist will  uniting all against God's perfect love, a time you must prepare for as I show here by avoiding deception. I also show how to avoid such tribulation(or spread around to help people if it's too late and the Rapture comes) in this post which is important enough I also linked it above. There you can see how to turn to Him, and how turning things over to God will free you.
     Is it possible that - during a time with lots of quarantine - the Rapture will come and few will notice? Perhaps, but the Rapture could come at any moment. So, as that last post said, make sure you don't get left behind, and know what to do if you do. Don't worry about when it'll come, keep trusting Jesus no matter what.

4. Think on things of Phil. 4:8 to help calm fears over the pandemic, and to draw closer to God.
      This speaks of the list int he verse I mentioned.
     We need to focus on God's system, but instead emphasize the world system which is against HIm nd follows the devil. That's one reason so many are terrified, but also why so many will turn to the devil's ways is we're not careful and if we don't warn them of the coming judgment. Becasue, this is a global crisis, and we must trust God's ways to solve it, by believing in Him and what He said would happen.

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Finally, here is something long on 2 Chronicles 7:14. I share about praying for America above, but this also shows, going piece by piece of this verse, what is needed. And, how to see how many great things are in the Bible.

2 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

My people/called by My name: Notice 2 things.

1. We are His people. We are not the chosen people – the Jews – of Genesis 12, but we have been grafted in; we are called by His name. Romans 8:15 says we have the spirit of adoption in us. We were once in bondage to fear. He has freed us like a tender, loving father who will never provoke to wrath, never discourage his children with putdowns, but will speak the truth in love and spea life to them. We are adopted into His family.

2. We can’t lose our salvation. How do we get that from this verse? The people are sinning terribly; so much so God has smitten their land. It can be a disease like the virus going around today, it can be a famine, it can be a spirit of destruction hat brings people against each other, but in the midst of all this, they are still His people, called by His name. They never lost that, even in the midst of horrible sin.

Humble themselves and pray:

To be humble is to realize we can’t do it ourselves. It’s admitting our faults and failures. It’s accepting we’re not perfect, but God is, and He has the right to rule in our lives. He says we shall have no other gods before Him – we put many things in our hearts that we idolize.

To pray to Him is to acknowledge He is Lord. Yes, we sometimes pray when other things are on our minds, but this is not the fleeting thought we quickly apologize for, like being too quick to criticize or not bothering to listen because we have things on our mind. People put many things ahead of God, and they need to be humble like the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 and return to God. This is made clear by the next part of this verse.

Seek My face:

We need to seek God’s face because we are not following Him.

“Wait,” you say, “I am.” Okay, but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I’m just as guilty of not praying enough as anyone, I get distracted by things of this world. And just admitting that to God and turning from it is one way to seek His face.

And, if we are right with God, if we do walk with Him, then we should be interceding for others, for this nation. Do we pray for our leaders, or only the ones we like? If we put certain people on our “naughty list” and refuse to pray God help them or work in their lives, it is not Godly. He wants children to pray for and help their parents because they are in charge. And, in the same way, He says to pray for our leaders, not to keep complaining. He says to seek His will for our lives, not our own desires. To seek His face, then, is to seek Him; not just to go through the motions but to actively let His Holy Spirit work in us.

Turn from their wicket ways:

Again, why pray for past sins of others? We are interceding like Jesus does for us. He mediates on our behalf. So, we can intercede for others.

My ancestors fought to free the slaves – they left West Virginia, then part of Virginia, and joined Ohio regiments. They were Germans and Germans hated slavery. Yet I beg God’s forgiveness for the horrible cruelty of slavery. I don’t just say, “My ancestors were on your side in that one, Lord.” I intercede for our country.

Daniel did the same thing in Daniel 9, praying for Israel, and the sins of his forefathers. He didn’t just say, “I wasn’t there. Not my problem.” I don’t know if his forefathers were persecuted or not, but being handicapped, I could just say, “Yeah, we had it rough” and not seek God’s forgiveness for others. I acknowledge the sins of my country and pray we will turn away from them, and turn away myself.

But, this also involves action on our part now. So many have neglected family, but now they have a chance to reconnect and love them unconditionally. So many rely on imperfect people instead of a perfect God, but now they are learning they must rely on God. So many are selfish and worked toward self-gratification instead of thinking of others first. So many turn to things instead of God to give them peace and comfort. And so on.

So, when we turn from our wicked ways, we must do so ourselves, and then pray others will, too. This doesn’t mean we have to become Amish, we can enjoy pleasures, we must just stop putting these things ahead of God and acknowledge God gives them to us to enjoy and see His creation in nature, in our skills, etc..

Imagine, for instance, if all the money spent on better and the lottery were spent on helping the poor and supporting missionaries instead. Now that’s something to seek God’s face to it happens. There’s a reason Billy Sunday preached so much against sin – he knew it could be used to help those who really need that help.

Then will I hear from Heaven

The Psalmist writes “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear my prayer.” (PS. 66:18) But, He will listen when we ask Him to point out any wicked way in us so we can forsake it. (Psalm 39:24, other verses.) He knows we’re not perfect, He just wants a willing heart, because He wants to hear from Heaven. That’s why He tells us even with a nation filled with sin how we can see our nation healed.

And I will forgive their sin

God is always ready to forgive. He came into the world not to condemn it, but so that the world through Him might be saved. Each of us is only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life. Then, once we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can know for sure He will lovingly guide us and forgive when we mess up. So, we should be interceding for others and sharing His love with them so they, too, can be saved.

And I will heal their land.

America needs healed not just from the Coronavirus, but from centuries of evil, so much pain that we have caused Him through the meistreatment of others, but also so much painwe have caused Him through our own selfish desires.

We need healed from the bitterness and rage that exists in our land. We need His healing from the terrible way in which we’ve turned the gifts He has given us around for our own gratification. We need healed from that desire to fight for worldly rewards instead of giving toward Heavenly rewards. We need healed of the terrible attitude we’ve had toward life, from the legalist mindset that insisted people be in church without trying to hel them in their daily lives. We need healed from so many sins.

I’m not saing Coronavirus is a direct judgment from God. It’s not like He would judge Israel as His chosen people. We are in the age of grace.

But, I am saying America needs a repentance revival. God has tried so hard to get our attention. Now, this is one more thing where He is begging us to return to Him and be healed. He has removed so much of our lives, so we can have the time to know our Creator, the one who has given us all of this. He has given us one more chance to realize we are filled with sin and to intercede for our country.

And then, when we realize and share with Him we know we are deserving of His judgment, and plead for our nation, for His mercy on us, then we have His promise to get us through this.

He can heal us from this plague. He wants us to have faith that He will. But, not just so we can have fun, as I shared before. He wants it for His glory.

It just takes some dedicated prayer warriors. Will you be one? As Morecai said to Esther, his cousin whom he raised, when she was afraid, because the wicked kind wanted to kill the Jewish people she she was needed to intercede, “Who knows whether you are come into the kingdom for such a time as this?” We need people to pray for repentance revival so God will heal this land. And then, He could restore the economy, maybe not in an instant, but He do great and mighty things.

We just need to have faith.

Keep the Spirit - from the best gift ever- going to prosper

It has become almost a cliche to say that we must remember the reason for the season. As this world focuses so much on getting, it makes sense that we would say giving is more important, to the point where we ignore calls to remember what God gave to us. They are drowned out.

So, instead I want to encourage people to pray - which makes sense because that is the title of this blog - for true change in our hearts.

After all, simply remembering the reason for the season during the season doesn't help us after the season. Nor does it help us do anything about it. Sure, I can ask people what they're most anxious to give or what they enjoyed giving the most. That helps a little. But, truly acting on the reason for the season means being  Christ-like long after the season.

Treating others with compassion

One big thing Christmas shows us is how to care about others. Whether it is volunteering to help the poor or just putting something in a Salvation Army kettle, if it is visiting an elderly neighbor or just sharing gifts with your family, there are many things we do at Christmas because there is a spirit of giving. However, these are things we should be doing all year round  if there is truly a spirit of giving in us.

As one example, standing against bullying is a sign of Christmas cheer. Putting an end to taunting and calling others names is something we can do to help. It also goes along with New Year's resolutions if one does these things. However, we can resolve to do better at any time. Christmas and New Year's just happen around the first of the year so it is a logical transition in people's minds.

This is what repentance is - turning from our own fleshly ways and turning our hearts to God's way. We as human beings often struggle with our fleshly nature.

Oh, some people are naturally more compassionate. Some people are naturally sweet and considerate and caring toward others, though even that has to be taught to some extent. They find it easy to follow those models of empathy and kindness, though.

Our culture likes to talk about a general spirit of Christmas causing this. However, we don't truly have the spirit of Christmas unless we have the Spirit living in us that we can because of Christmas.

That is because if we try on our own we might succeed sometimes but we will be doing it for ourselves or for others, rather than to honor the God who gave us that gift.

Think about it. It makes sense. Even if you think Christmas should be more about getting those presents, you need to be thankful for the present. Because, a person chose to give it to you out of kindness.

We don't earn presents; they wouldn't be presents if we did. They would be wages. A gift is something you don't learn - it is given out of the kindness of one's heart.

Just like the kindness of God's heart that gave us Christmas.

Receive the Best Gift Ever

The gift that keeps on giving. It can be used over and over. It changes your life for the better.

These and more describe what would be the perfect Christmas gift as a worldly thing, it would be something different for each person.

God provided us with one gift, however, which is even better. It is so special we need to not only receive it but tell everyone about it. Because it can be received any time, not just at Christmas. It matches all of those above sayings and then some, as it is the best gift ever.

We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But, it was while we were still sinners at odds with God that H e chose to come to this world as a baby. Not as a rich King somewhere, not even as a prince in a palace, but as a humble baby in a lowly stable.

We all hear the stories, we love that part of it. But, do you have head knowledge or heart knowledge of Jesus?

A good question to ask others - and yourself - is this. If you were to stand before God and He were to ask "why should I let you into My perfect Heaven," what would you say?

We can only rely on what Jesus did to get us there. You need to have heart knowledge because head knowledge doesn't help. It is like knowing a chair will hold you and standing next to it, claiming all the time that you can sit in it and it will hold you up but never sitting in it.

That faith is as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner, that you aren't perfect so don't deserve to be in God's perfect Heaven. Believe that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for your sins and rose from the dead. And, Call on him to save you from your sins.

You can pray a simple prayer like this, or lead someone in it. The words are not what saves, what's saves is when you put your whole faith in Jesus to save you. Talk to God and tell Him something like this.

"Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I can't reach your perfect heaven on my own. But I know you died to take the punishment for my sins. And, you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, I pray trusting you to forgive me and make me new inside and save me from my sins. Lord Jesus, I trust you with all my heart and call on you to come live in me. In Jesus name, amen."

Once you have made that decision, of course, it is a matter of trusting the Lord to help you daily. He will be a constant guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more.

That's because it is a relationship with God that is the real gift of Christmas. He wants to guide and direct you through life.

Overcoming obstacles because Jesus knows all about them

We all face so much stress in our lives. We need God's love to get us through. Thankfully, that special gift of God coming to Earth is the key to that.

Remember, this means that Jesus knew what it was like to have homework, to go through the struggles of growing up, to have all sorts of different situations in His life. No, He didn't have video games or other modern things, but Jesus did have different things that could have distracted Him.

That is the key. He had those things in His life. And yet He never sinned. Jesus never had a sinful action, word, or thought. That is how He could be the substitution for our sin.

That also means that He can be our guide when it comes to life's problems. He is the wisdom that we need and with Him living in us through the Holy Spirit, we have access to that. And, if we do sin because of our fleshly nature, He is always there to forgive us.

I work with some inner-city youth. It is very hard for some of them to understand how He can help. One girl in particular has been bullied and realizes it is a spiritual battle to keep from retaliating, but it is hard for her to recognize God's power in her to rejoice and to let God be the strength she needs to get through things. Please pray for her, that she will learn to pray consistently and that she will start to grow in the Lord. She struggles also with pouting when she doesn't get her way, she is working on that but doesn't realize yet just how much power God can give her to overcome that.

There are also a couple boys who struggle with name calling because they don't realize it hurts her even so they talked about how it hurts. Please pray for them to stop bullying also and to behave better in general because they have many problems that have erupted over the last half year or so for some reason. It may be as simple as a spiritual battle but I don't know. Pray for that whole family, please.

 The whole ministry needs prayer in fact, so please pray as the Lord leads you about whatever situations may erupt.

These are the kind of things we need to talk to God about. When we don't, God knows the needs but we act as if we can handle them ourselves.

"Sure, Jesus could handle them when He was a kid," you might say. "But He is God." And, that's true. But when you know Him, He lives in you and you can turn to him for anything. From the biggest to the smallest.

That is what our country needs. For everyone to turn to God for help, because He is an ever-present help in time of need. That's why it's so important to know Him here, not just to be saved from sin but to be guided through this life filled with people who do not know Him.

Sharing his love so others can know

We share Christ's love so others can know Him and have Him living in them. We do it through our words but also our actions, by helping others and being Godly examples. Then, when people see how different we are they will realize there is something to what we say.

In other words, we aren't just saying it, we believe it and show it by living it.

That is showing the spirit of Christmas all year long. That is what this country needs. It is a relationship. It is not religion because religion is all about me and trying to reach up to God. However, none of those work. God had to reach down to our level and we just have to trust and call on Him.

Be part of the solution by dedicating yourself to the Lord. You can share something like this which can be freely printed out and used to lead others, or this where you can talk to volunteers about growing in your faith. you can get little pieces of paper known as tracks from Child evangelism Fellowship or the American tract Society or like the four spiritual laws to give people and use yourself. Posts in this blog cover numerous subjects such as the end of times and avoiding deception, God's justice being better than man's, overcoming obstacles, ending oppression, having victory over things, and much more.

 So, as one of them says, be the role model that many people need. So many need someone to look up to, and while Jesus is the one they should be, they need someone here on Earth to be that example so they can see how it is time.  you may be the only example of Jesus Christ they have ever seen. Don't shirk that responsibility. Many people need someone just like you. People need you to be christ-like and share the gospel.

Get freedom by turning to God for salvation, strength

I promise not to discuss how much better the world seemed when I was a kid. You've heard - or told - all the stories. (The world changes so fast a grade schooler might tell them to a preschooler. :-)

Rather, I encourage everyone - especially those going to school, who can relieve their stress with God's unconditional love- to be specially bold in the Lord's love, just as I urged youth early in this blog to take back their inner cities, and in this free blogged book to take the lead in families or with friends where there's no spiritual leadership. I've blogged about all the freedom we have in Jesus to help, care for others, be kind without worry, and so on, and how that freedom is so much different than what the world has to offer. You can read these posts at your leisure.

You can claim God's promises and let Him provide you freedom from all of the problems and then declare independence from this world's system of corruption, evil, hatred - Jesus says we are all equal with no distinction between races - and so on. Yes, that system that ignores God is to blame, as several posts here show.

First, claim God's promise of salvation and a relationship with Him

It's hard to find lifelong commitments today. Thankfully, God will give you one. He will give you perfect peace, comfort, strength, and so much more. whenever you turn to Him, because He promises to come live inside you. This relationship will free you. Some call this relationship dangerous, but that's because they don't have your best interests at heart. In fact, only God can have your best interests at heart because He knows all things. Take a baby who wants to put something poisonous in their mouth. Obviously, you say, that child doesn't have their own best interests in mind.

It can be true of adults, too. Just by not following a map, you can end up in a totally different part of the world, or where you don't know the language.

Sin is not following that map God created for our lives - it also offends God, too, of course. Look how lying, for instance, can hurt others, lead to anxiety (what if it's found out?), lead to bigger sins to cover it up, etc.. Sins like racism, cruelty to others, etc. aren't done by everyone the way lying ot selfishness are, but the point is, we've all sinned, we've all acted agaisnt that map God has for us.

There is a penalty of sin, a price Jesus paid when He died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead. Of course, we have freedom to reject Him, but like with anything else, we must understand the consequences of rejection of His free gift of salvation.

Accepting His free gift of salvation is as easy as ABC. 1. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, that you can't save yourself becasue your sin separates you from God so you can't get to His perfect heaven on your own; 2. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins and rose from the dead to take the punishment for your sins; and, Call on Jesus to save you, Choosing to trust Him completely to forgive you and make you new inside, to change your "want to." You can do that right here reading this blog, as can anyone you share this with.

Rejection of God's free gift of salvation means separate from Him forever in a horrible place that He doesn't want to send anyone. It was created for the devil and his fallen angels. In God's great love, He clearly spells out that He doesn't want anyone to go there and how they can avoid going there.

Because God loves us, He wants us as His followers to share that love and salvation with others You can share it like above, use the Gospel here or in a tract on another page on the site, send them to abundantlife.godlife.com, etc.. But, for it to work, remember they must believe you, so don't be a Pharisee.

I'll share some other ways we can have freedom, and joys through it, in the last segment of this post, but read all of it to help you grow in the Lord once you know Him, or just to understand more.

Drawn to God's love to gain freedom

He wants to draw people to that love so they can have freedom.

This is where those who call a relationship with Jesus dangerous are wrong. They do not have your best interests at heart. They have their own. Sometimes, it is for selfish reasons such as wanting to have control of you. Other times, they don't want to have consequences to their actions, even though there will be no matter what they want. Just like that baby who wants to put poison in his or her mouth. It will hurt them even if they don't want it to.

God tells us in His Word - which we know is fully reliable - how much He loves you. He draws you to His love by giving you that comfort, perfect peace, nurturing, understanding, and so on. However, he alsoshows it by letting you know that sin has consequences and how to let Him take those consequences on Himself. It has consequences even  if someone doesn't want or believe in them.

So, there is freedom from the penalty of sin. There is also freedom from the power of sin.

This is a wonderful promise. It means we can withstand all the evil of this world, though only through the power of the Holy Spirit in each believer. Yes, we are flesh, too, so we will still sin, and we must put our full trust in Jesus to be our strength so we don't.  However, the Word of God is a valuable tool in doing this, because it is the major way the Lord speaks to us. The Spirit teaches us how to apply it to our lives. He will show us how to avoid sin.

This avoiding of sin is needed because sin is what enslaves us. Sin can only be escaped through God's mercy, through what Jesus did for us. This is why the Bible says the truth will set you free - Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

Indeed, Jesus will one day save is from the very presence of sin. That just shows, though, that all that sin will be somewhere else. A place you want to avoid if you're looking for your own best interest.

It's not just in Heaven we can have that great peace, though.

Life More Abundantly Here, Too

I've posted before about how we can have life more abundantly here on Earth(John 10:10) and indeed that there is a even a verse speaking to those who would love life, 1 Peter 3:10-11.

This can't be done on our own, of course. We can't bring the Kingdom in ourselves, as discussed on shows 115 and 116 here. That's because some aspects are impossible for mankind to create in the Millennium, such as all animals being peaceful or no more war occurring. It's also because in Heaven, nothing will grow old or wear out.

 The way we have life more abundantly here is through the joy the Lord gives each of us when we are clsoe to Him, and the tenderness with which He treats us when we wander , being slow to anger and rich in mercy.

Being strong in the Lord in the Bible is from a Greek verb meaning a continual action from the outside. We need Jesus to work in us to provide that strength, because we can't fight the intense spiritual warfare ourselves.

It may seem rough because this world has so many problems. There is so much injustice. There are so many charities that need support, so many spiritual needs people are trying to fill on a shoestring, especially because inner city ones like this don't get church support.

It's pretty silly to say to imagine something with what I'm doing next: Quoting part of 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "eye has not seen, nor ear heart, nor has entered into the heart of man" the wonders that God has prepared for those who love Him. His mercies are new every morning. He loves to make all things new, and He will create a totally new world one day. Imagine the incredible beauty of colors that are much more dazzling than anything we have ever seen.

 But, we can have joy in other things, too. It's not just in looking forward to what is to come.

Other joys God gives when we receive His freedom

Sharing that message of God's free gift of salvation with othersgives great joy when we know we have a part in God's plan. It's vital to pray first, of course, nd let Him guide us, since as noted He knows what's right in each situation. WHen we mess up, we must admit our wrong right away and confess and forsake it to God, but even that shows growth just like a batter who sees and corrects a flaw in his mechanics so he can improve.

Knowing God will make everything right and end injustice helps so much; our sin nature is such we always make things more of a mess when we try to fix things, as numerous posts here show. We can't hope to re-create the awesomeness which will come.

However, the devil will try to seduce us, which is why I've noted before we also must avoid the great deception which will come on the world. that's SO vital I made this which should be spread everywhere if millions disappear. If you put your trust in God, though, you'll be safe, and just imagine what's in store.

You can have joy in good, wholesome entertainment. You don't have to do evil or mean or raunchy things or even tell such jokes. You're free from having to tear others down; you can work to build them up, as Jesus tells us to do.

 You can enjoy the freedom of knowing whatever life brings - even the frustration and pressure of tests and grades, and all the popularity stuff that is just false pride - it doesn't have to define you.

Instead, you can trust in what God says about you - that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that He is a personal God who desires a relationship where he shares with you His unconditional love, no matter who you are, no matter what happened on some day in school.

You can stay away from those bullying sites, for instance that tear you down, and you can lead others away, too, by helping them realize they are special to God and to you. You can be an encouragement, you can be someone for whom other people matter.

There are so many other joys and promises, but just get alone with God and pray each morning that He will use you to impact lives for His honor and glory, to bring them to salvation. (There are many good tracts you can hand out if you don't feel comfortable talking as well, search for them on the Ineternet or ask your local church - oens with itles like the above "God's Simple Plan of Salvation" which was linked, or "Amazing Love," or "Who Can Enter," ones that minister to others and can be ordered in some cases for free. Just be sure you use the King James version if you can, becasue it's fromt he original Antiochan Greek, as mentioned elsewhere in this blog and here.)

Above all, remember to make much of the Lord Jesus, and He'll make much of you. Becasue, He truly wants you to know Him and to be a great force for change in your world, to reach out to the hurting and share that message of His hope and salvation.