Who Will Go?

Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"
Are you willing to listen to the voice of God and follow Him?
God's powerful words of invitation are to those who will listen. Are you one of them?

* Then do what is right and He will commend you. (Rom.13:3)

* For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who are fully 
  committed to Him.  (2Chrn.16:9)

Choosing to follow God will often affect our relationships with other people. It may help heal some relationships, but can strain others. Are you willing to handle the pressures of criticism? Are you ready to trust God with your relationships with family and friends?

Take note of the scripture that says, "many are invited but few are chosen." (Mat.22:14)
Those who come and are chosen are those who have a relationship with the Lord
Jesus Christ. (John 10:27)
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

The cost of being a disciple is this:
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom 
  of God."  (Luke 9:62)

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; 
  anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 
 and anyone who does not take his cross and  follow me is not worthy of me. 
 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my  sake will find it."
 (Mat.10:37-39, Luke 9:62)

Covered By His Blood

Blood was the prophetic symbol of atonement in the Old Testament that leads us to Jesus Christ for salvation:

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood. 
I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.  
And He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
(Exodus12:13)

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement
for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
(Leviticus17:11)

God sent his Son Jesus Christ to make atonement through His blood.
(Ephesians1:-8)

In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 

Without the shedding of the blood of Christ we are not clean.
Jesus Christ is the token atonement. God provided a way for us on the altar when
Jesus Christ sacrificed his own blood on the cross.
We can come to Him with full confidence because He suffered for us so that we might have life.
He will wash away our sins if we ask Him to come into our hearts and to cleanse us
from all the sins we have committed.  (read Heb.5:1-10,9:11-28)

As 1John1:7says,  The blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin.
When God sees the blood of his Son in you, no condemnation will be found,
You are set free and escaped from death to life.
As he said in Exo.12:13,"No destructive plague will touch you and He will not permit 
the destroyer to strike you down."

                       
                                                      (I do not own this picture)

The Living Word

For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  (Heb.4:12)

The Words of God are Life. It feeds us, teaches us, corrects us, and helps us to discern
where He is leading us...as we study and apply His Words in our daily lives.
Read 1Timothy 3:16-17

When we become a Christian we are thirsty and hungry for the words of God to fill us
with His presence and His blessings.

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight,
for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.  (Jer.15:16)

Choosing God is Life. When Jesus talks to a Samaritan women he says in John 4:14
Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him
will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. 


As we continue to seek God, He will reveal himself to us.
There is no problem that God cannot solve in our life!
He delights to see his children come to Him and to trust Him.

"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides in the heavens to help you
 and on the clouds in His majesty. The eternal God is your refuge and underneath
 are the everlasting arms."  (Deut.33:26-27, Heb.4:16)

We can trust in His Words and His Promises!

The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified 
seven times. (Psalms12:6)

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  (Psalms 37:4)

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like  showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.  (Deut.32:2)

For it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on 
your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.
(Proverbs 22:18-19)

What Is Life?

Is the whole point of life just to pursue a career? Is it only about focusing on your 
self, or even your family? 
Did you know that God created us for a much bigger purpose than ourselves,
or even our families. He created us to know Him and to serve Him?

Scriptures says,
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power 
and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." (Exodus 9:16, Rom.9:17)


Those who are redeemed by God are called by Him to  proclaim the good news 
of salvation to mankind by the way that they live their lives.

(2Timothy 2:20)
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay;
some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  

What is it that God requires of you as a servant of God?
If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes,
made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (v.21)

Can more money, a bigger house, a nicer car, or being part of the hip social 
scene give you true satisfaction in life? Though these sound like great things, 
they will not make you truly happy and content.

Look at the example of Solomon's life. All of his wealth, fame, honor, wisdom 
and all that he accomplished did not make his life happy and content. 
Though he enjoyed it for a season, he became sorrowfully distressed.

(Eccl.2:10-11)
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under
the sun.


I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them 
to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man 
or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured 
my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 
So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 
For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave
all he owns to someone who has not worked for it.
This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.  (v17-21)
What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? (v.12)

The Scripture says, God granted us happiness and enjoyment in life as a gift 
and a duty of man..
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under 
the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest.
This too is meaningless.
A man can do nothing than better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction 
in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, 
who can eat or find enjoyment? Let's pause...what is that says again?...
(v.21-25,3:9-13,22,) read also 5:18,8:15

But what is this saying in this last verse? "FOR WITHOUT HIM WHO CAN EAT 
OR FIND ENJOYMENT."


So we see that God has granted us enjoyment in life but we must also heed 
his warnings:
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, 
for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always 
anoint your head with oil. 
Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that 
God has given you under the sun--all your meaningless days.
For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead,
where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
(9:7-10,7:14)
Be happy young men, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days 
of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that
for all these  God will bring you to judgment.  (Eccl.11:9-10)

We must never forget that God is the source of all things. 
(Eccl.12:1,6-7, 1Thes.5:16, Deut.6:12,8:10-14)
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come 
and the years approach. 
Remember Him--before the silver cord is severed, or the golden is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the 
dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 


Our whole purpose of being on this planet is to honor, love, and serve God. 
This is our duty and our meaning in life.
*Pray and ask God to reveal His will for your life. The greatest achievement 
  of all is to serve God!

The Hearts of the Father

Do you sometimes wonder why God is taking so long to return?
Perhaps the reason is that He is still seeking the lost, patiently waiting for people
to come to repentance.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 
(2Pet.3:9)

But each of us is responsible for our own soul.
God has given us two options: to accept the saving power of His grace and His
forgiveness, or to go our own way.
(read Deut.24:16)

God declared, "Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your 
downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart 
and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 18:30-31)
For I take no pleasure on the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. 
Repent and live. (v.32)
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord.
Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?  (v.23)


God is merciful, faithful, and long suffering
This is what the heart of the Father is:

Who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  (1Tim.2:4)

Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. (Mat.18:14)

If only all men would come to him for his salvation!

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer
now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
(Rom.13:11-12)

Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings the darkness, before your feet stumble
on the darkening hills.  (Jer.13:16)

* Continue to pray for your love ones who needs God's salvation.

You tube video:  Great Is Thy Faithfulness
                         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGDuNLZZ2ow

One Sacrificed To Save The World

The condition of our soul before we received Christ into our hearts.

Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong we are like the dead.
We all growl like bears; we mourn mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
(Isaiah 59:10-11)

We need not lose hope! God has rescued us from darkness by bringing us
into the light of His Son Jesus Christ.

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders
away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one
that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that 
one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones 
should be lost. (Mathew 18:12-14)


God is looking out for you. He paid the price for you at Calvary. Jesus stepped down from
heaven to give you eternal life. He was thinking about you when he suffered and died
at the hands of His persecutors.
Jesus fulfilled His mission on earth to give you life and a future.
Jesus said, "It is finished."  (John 19:30)

All you have to do is look at the Cross!!!
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 
that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 
(John 3:14-15, Numbers 21:8-9)

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
Those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
                                               
                                                           (Psalms 118:26,89:15)

                                                           
                                                            (I do not own this picture)

Charles Spurgeon first found Christ during the preaching of this Scripture,
"Look to me and be saved." (Isaiah 45:22)

Inexpressible Joy!

Remember the first time we found and received our Lord Jesus Christ into
our hearts? We felt great peace and joy from the comfort He brings.

The Scripture says in (1Peter 1:8-9)
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him: and even though you do not see Him,
you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.


And what is this salvation He brings?
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven 
given to men by which we must be saved.  (Acts 4:12)

And that at the name of Jesus Christ 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.  
(Phil.2:10-11, Rom.10:8-13)

When we were in our darkest hour, living a life of sin, we searched for the truth.
When we finally found it through Jesus Christ...we were like the man who found great
treasure. Jesus told this parable in Mathew 13:44-46.
"The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl"

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man 
 found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and 
bought that field."


"Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had 
and bought it."


Just like the man in this parable, we were filled with excitement as we realized that
He is of much more value than anything else that the world could ever offer.
We clung to Him and would not let Him out of our sight, because in Him we have
hope and a future!

* Heavenly Father, I pray for the people who are still seeking the truth of the knowledge
   of your salvation...that they will also become like this man who found treasure in a
   hidden field. Direct their hearts O God into the Words of your Eternal Life.
   And to those who have already received you, may they continue to walk in your
   comforting love and security as they trust in you. Amen!