The Problem Is 🛗

Hebrews 1:3 (KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

There’s the problem “our sins” something had to be  done about “our sins” and it was. “when he (Jesus) had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” Our sin debt has been paid for and as this verse tells us we love Him (Jesus Christ) and the reason why.

1 John 4:19 (KJV) We love him, because he first loved us. If you never see yourself as a sinner then you’ll never understand the love God has for you.  

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV) 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. So if we perish it’s not God’s fault nor His will. I remember Edgar Thomas, a good friend of mine saying one day that he went to his PO Box; He said there was a letter in there from the bank. He opened it up and there was the deed to his and Katherine’s home. Edgar said he went to the bank and asked what this meant. The president of the bank told him that someone had paid his house note in full and he now owns it free and clear. Listen, you and I have a debt we can’t pay. But like that person who paid for Edgar Thomas' house we also have one whose name is Jesus that paid our sin debt off in full “when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down” it’s done. Where did He sit? “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”   And you know what? He doesn’t need our help “had by himself purged our sins” by himself. So stop trying to do good or the best you can because you can’t do that good. Jesus has already done it for you. When you see and understand you will love Him. I can only speak for myself. The day I repented my life changed completely, oh not overnight. I realized that when I spoke unkind words there was something on the inside of me that told me that I shouldn’t do that. My heart was troubled because of what I did. That was the Lord teaching and training me to grow in His Grace. Today I’m a long way from being perfect but the Lord is still working in my life, oh my sins, that debt is paid in full. I love Him and want to please Him because He loves me. How about you?

Don’t You Want To Go⁉️

God who at different times spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.

Hebrews 1:2 (KJV) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Look, did you see it? That little word “us” God in the last days has spoken unto “us” that’s you and me. Remember John 3:16 “For God so loved the world ” that’s “us” God has taken time out of His busy schedule to speak to “us”. How you might ask? By His Son Jesus Christ. Then I noticed those words “heir of all things” Wow, this is much better than just being an heir to someone's estate. 

Romans 8:16 (KJV) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Romans 8:17 (KJV) And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. That’s a lot to take in. God has spoken to “us” by His Son Jesus Christ. The reason is to Save Lost Sinners which we all are. We were born that way. If I were to go plant an apple seed what do you think will come up? The right answer is an apple tree which will produce Apples. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God everything changed for them. When they had children they were just like their Mother and Father who had disobeyed God. Take the time and start reading in Genesis chapter 4 and see what the offspring of Adam and Eve do. We read of the first murder and it’s because of anger, a family disagreement which is sin. You will also read of a lie that was told, the bad thing about it, it was told to God. Cain and Abel were born into this world, sinners and so has  everyone of us. The sure way to know is do you or have you ever had a mother and dad? If you can answer that question by saying no, then you are different from 100% of everyone else. We work hard so when the day comes we can retire and have a little something. That’s great and there is nothing wrong with that. When one gets to that age in life you’ll find that you can’t do what you once did; you’ll see. It doesn’t matter how much nor how well you prepared because that’s peanuts to what’s ahead.

2 Timothy 4:8 (KJV) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Well there it is. What? “all them” that’s “us”. I know of a man that has less than a year to live. He is in a wheelchair, his hands, well he can’t use them much because of the arthritis. If he falls he can’t get himself up. But as far as money he has much but he will spend it on medical bills. That’s sad but not only did he invest well in this world he also saw how useless it would be. But he’s not too concerned with the wealth of this world; he's got his eyes on a real fortune. A new body, a new life, and he is joint heirs with Jesus Christ who owns it all. Just because he believed in a Savior Jesus Christ and asked Him to save him. I could write much about this place called heaven; no, wait a minute I can’t because the Bible doesn’t tell us much about it. But what it does tell us is that it's all New! Don’t you want Go? No sickness, no dying, no sorrow, no pain, no saying goodby, streets paved with gold, don't you want to touch and thank the one who made it all possible Jesus Christ God's own Son, Don’t you want, Go?

Say amen right there, I’ll see there.

Wow This Is Great 😎

Hebrews 1:1 (KJV) God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Wow this is great. This assures us that a bunch of people didn’t get together and decided that they would write a book and call it a Bible. For the purpose of hopefully controlling men and women’s lives making this a better world to live in. 

2 Peter 1:20 (KJV) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

2 Peter 1:21 (KJV) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 

God who at different times spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. So the book we call the Bible, what is it all about? Well the central person is God’s Son Jesus Christ. It’s about the Son of God Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind. Doctor M.R Dehaan said it well. On every page in our Bible we can see Jesus, sometimes He passes by as a shadow, sometimes we can see Him standing behind the lattice but at other times He stands bold upon the page, but He’s alway there. Once you see Jesus you will have no problem seeing His love for you. I say it often and it will never change “Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost,” He’s looking for you because you are not looking for Him. You are lost in this world's adventures and what this world wants you to think will make you happy. But real happiness is found in the Lord Jesus. But you know that if you know Him!

 

Ride the Pine or Get in the Game 🤐

It was on Monday February 9 2004 Doctor Albert Jeffries and his wife were on a vacation. It had been many years since they had been on any type of vacation. They both decided to take a cruise that would put them away from phone calls, ER trips and who knows how many visits to the nearby hospital. All was set the ship left from Miami on Saturday February 7. It did and Doctor Jeffries and his wife were enjoying their vacation and their rest. On Monday afternoon Doctor Jeffries told his wife Ann that he was going to get something and he would be right back. He went to the main dining area and grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back to his room. He heard and then saw a young mother screaming for help. As he went over to where she was he saw a young boy choking and turning blue. What does he do? He knows what to do to save this young boy from choking to death. But he tells himself he is on vacation and someone else will surely help. Don't they have a doctor on board? Surely he will come and save this young boy's life. But when the ship doctor got there the young boy had choked to death. I know what you are thinking. How could Doctor Jeffries just stand there and do nothing when he knew what to do to save this young boy's life? The answer is simple: he was on vacation. Oh my 😱 this is awful. Yes I agree but there is a dying world we all live in. Some of us know what to do when the opportunity arises but many times we do like Doctor Jeffries, just stand by and let someone else help when we could have helped. Then we leave and never say a word. Oh that’s awful. It matters not how much we know if we won’t use it in times of desperation. Jesus made it very clear to tell the Gospel to every one. What is the Gospel? The Death, Burial and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Mark 16:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

The results to receive is not in your nor my hands,, 

Mark 16:16 (KJV) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

But our responsibility is to share what we truly believe.  

1 John 1:3 (KJV) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:12 (KJV) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 

Ride the Pine or get in the Game.

Do You Believe❓🎚️

Like I said the rubber is about to meet the road.  

Mark 16:14 (KJV) Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. After Mary Magdalene had told the disciples they didn’t believe her. Then comes these two that Jesus Himself met on the road as they traveled and Jesus revealed Himself to them. Well they didn’t believe them either. Well now these disciples are sitting at the table eating when all of a sudden Jesus walks in. I’m sure they were not expecting Him. What is the first thing Jesus said? “upbraided them” what does that mean??? Well lets just say they were not getting a pat on their faithfulness. Sometimes we all have to be scolded for our actions. What happened afterwards is the lesson we should learn.  Mark 16:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Now read what Jesus tells these men. 

Mark 16:16 (KJV) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Jesus tells these men whom He had just scolded for unbelief to go preach the Gospel. Then He says those that believe are to be baptized and those who don’t believe shall be damned.  Have you ever had someone see something in you that no one else saw or though you could do? I remember years ago I was with my Pastor Ray Hill; it was just me and him. I don’t remember what we were doing but I do remember the Place and I do remember what he said to me that day which changed my unbelief about myself. May Pastor stopped what he was doing, looked me in the eyes and said “Wayne you are a good preacher but you are looking for acclamation from those you preach to for confirmation of what you preach. Stop that and preach, if no one ever gives you a confirmation.” I took his advice and not long afterward First Baptist of Youth called me to be their Pastor where I Pastored for 22 wonderful years. Jesus never said anything else to those men about their unbelief. Instead Jesus told them to go Preach about what they do believe.  

Unbelievable 🫷🙄

Have you ever had good news and couldn't wait to tell someone else what you knew? Well these women have not only good news but great news. They were told to tell the disciples about what they knew. Mark 16:7 (KJV) But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. It looked as if they couldn’t get there fast enough to tell what they knew to the disciples. But looks can be deceiving. Mark 16:8 (KJV) And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. They went out quickly. These women fled from the sepulcher, all looks well if you stop reading there. But if you continue to read we get a clearer picture of what fear, trembling and being amazed can do. Now these women ran and what they were told to do they didn’t do. No they didn’t go tell Jesus’s disciples and Peter that Jesus is going to Galilee and there you shall see Him. But because of the trembling and being amazed as well as being afraid they didn’t tell anyone what they had seen. That should be no surprise to us. When is the last time someone told you that Jesus is alive? When is the last time you have?  But Mary Magdalene stayed behind and because she did her life would never be the same.  Mark 16:9 (KJV) Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.                                                                Mark 16:10 (KJV)  And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.                                                Mark 16:11 (KJV)  And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 

When Mary found the disciples they were weeping. When she told them of the good news they didn’t believe her. Oh there is so much that floods my mind as I read these verses. Like when I asked Jesus into my heart many felt as if it was something that would wear off in a month or so. Oh no 50 years later I know more about Jesus than I could have ever imagined. I have told 1000’s about Jesus yet many believed not. It looks to me that even though we are taught we don’t get it until we experience what we have been taught. Then we read that Jesus appeared to two as they walked. We know this to be the two walking home the day of the resurrection and later that day Jesus revealed Himself to them and these two ran and told the disciples and they didn’t believe them either. Mark 16:12 (KJV) After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. Mark 16:13 (KJV)  And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. This is unbelievable. One would think, have these men listened at all to the Lord Jesus as He taught them? Just wait, the Rubber is about to meet the road.

Getting Out of Your Safety Zone 🫣

These women have arrived at the tomb where the body of Jesus had been placed. The stone was rolled away so they entered. I told you these were brave and strong women. But even brave people get afraid. Mark 16:4 (KJV) And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

Mark 16:5 (KJV) And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. Let’s suppose you were going by the local funeral home in your town and you noticed the front door open and no cars in the parking lot. So you stop and go in. You had been there earlier during the day, a good friend of yours had passed away. There isn’t much light and as you walk in you go to the viewing room where your friend was at. As you look you notice he is no longer in the casket and there sits another person in white clothing telling you not to be afraid. Question? Would you be frightened? Many are afraid of those who have departed this life. Years ago my wife’s grandad had passed away and there were a bunch of us at the funeral home. My brother n law came into the viewing room drinking a coke. I asked him where he had gotten that because I wanted one. He said come on it will be easier for me to take you there than tell you. So off a few of us went. We entered this room that was dark and we all walked through it all was fine until the door going out lit the room and we saw it was a showroom, caskets everywhere. Those that were behind me were about halfway through the showroom and all of a sudden they decided they didn’t want cokes anymore and they turned around and quickly left. What happen they got frightened 😱

Well these women were afraid and all of a sudden these women heard these words  

Mark 16:6 (KJV) And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. Jesus isn’t here He is Risen! But He knew you ladies were coming and He left you a message to go and tell His disciples.  

Mark 16:7 (KJV) But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. Look what happened.  Mark 16:8 (KJV) And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. They couldn’t get out of there fast enough, we are told that they “fled from the sepulchre” They were so afraid that they trembled but they that trembled were also amazed. They heard words from a young man in long white garments sitting inside the tomb, who wouldn’t  be afraid? Sometimes there will be uncomfortable feelings. We call it getting out of your safety zone. Now you can do two things: let your fear cause you to run back to your safety zone or you can let your fear teach you something you could have never experienced without it. Those women who were afraid and trembling and ran were only amazed they didn’t get to experience what Mary Magdalene did. Mary Magdalene stayed behind, sure she was afraid; she too may have been trembling and without doubt she too was amazed. Notice how Mary was described.  

Mark 16:9 (KJV) Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Sometimes I think God used our past experiments and makes us stronger in our walk with Him. Mary Magdalene “out of whom he had cast seven devils” Without doubt Mary had seen and been involved in some eye opening things in the past. But today she goes down in History as being the first to see our risen Lord. That is what happens to those who get out of their safety zone.