If the gospel is veiled.....

As we know as followers of Jesus one of our main purposes in life is the share the good news of Jesus (gospel) with others. Sometimes folks will receive the good news with joy and other times the good news will be rejected. We are told the reason why the rejection will happen here:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The reason folks will reject Jesus is because the have been blinded by Satan! First, you need to thank God that you were able to see the light yourself! Then we need to see the importance of continuing to share the good news of Jesus in the hope that the blind will see the light!!!! That great light is Jesus!

Folks this is a matter of an eternity in heaven or hell. It is of utmost importance!!! The devil is crafty but we have God on our side. Everyone can break through the veil but sometimes it will take a great deal of love and patience! Don't give up!

The veil may be over the eyes of many but our God tore the temple veil from top to bottom so we can have direct access to Him and He can remove the veil of the blind here on this earth of ours but we must be busy about HIS business!!! Are you?

Tom

Is your foundation sure?

My Pastor preached out of Isaiah chapter 28 yesterday and this verse stuck in my mind, so I wanted to share it with you this morning:



Isaiah 28:16



16 therefore thus says the Lord God,“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone,a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’



Many, many years before Jesus was even born the prophet Isaiah spoke these important words and it begs us to ask the obvious question, is your foundation in life sure? Is is very simple to answer, either your foundation is built upon the rock Jesus Christ or it is built on something else which is sand! Jesus himself spoke about this:



Matthew 7:24-27





24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”



Can Jesus make it any clearer for us than that? I am so thankful that I put my trust upon the rock, Jesus Christ, whom God said in Isaiah is tested, precious, and sure!!! And whoever believes will not be in haste! I will add to that and say will be in peace knowing that Jesus has taken care of everything for us! Oh what a Cornerstone we have! Nothing and I mean nothing compares to HIM!



Here is another verse found in 1 Peter:





1 Peter 2:4-6



4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”



The world may reject Jesus, they may reject us, but we won't be ashamed of our Cornerstone and we will be victorious in the end!!! Stand strong my brothers and sisters and spread the love of Jesus to others for our foundation is the ONLY SURE thing!!!!!



God bless!



Tom

We proclaim Jesus!

This is very simple this morning. Check this verse out:



2 Corinthians 4:5



5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.



There is only one thing in our lives worth proclaiming.....Jesus Christ. Think about that for a moment. You may have a great wife (I know I do) or husband, great children, fantastic grandchildren, or even awesome friends, but when it gets right down to it the only ONE worthy to proclaim is Jesus. Now their is nothing wrong with being proud of your children or what have you but our focus needs to be on Jesus for He is the ONE who paid the price on the cross for our sins! That is right our sin, my sin, not His.



We have nothing in ourselves to proclaim, Jesus is Lord is what needs to be shouted from the roof tops! His servants for the sake of a lost and damned world need to be talking about Jesus not the weather or sports or Days of our Lives, but Jesus the Savior of the world!



Are you a servant of Jesus? Are you proclaiming Jesus? IF not you are not doing as the King has commanded! "GO!" Jesus says! Make disciples by proclaiming Jesus!



Lets get our priorities in order and proclaim the only ONE who is worthy....Jesus!



Tom

My Confidence is in God!

Great verses to remember this morning:



2 Corinthians 3:4-5



4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,



This scripture is referring to the sharing of God's Word. Most of us seem to be afraid to speak to others about the bible and what it says. If we are holding back it is because we are relying on self instead of God. God gives us everything we need....power, courage, strength, boldness, and love to share His Word through the Holy Spirit. On our own strength we can't and won't do it but in the Holy Spirit we can if we allow Him to work through us.



God has put us in our current situations for a few reasons. First and foremost to worship Him and bring Him glory. Second, to share His Word and bring others to a saving relationship with Him for His glory. Third, to love others as we love ourselves so they can see Jesus through us to bring God glory! You are right where God wants you at this moment, are you taking care of the responsibilities He has given you charge over???



No excuses if you are a follower of Jesus because we have all we need to accomplish His work!!! Let's use the Holy Spirit and get busy after all it is a matter of eternity in heaven or hell.



Tom

Have you been outwitted by Satan?

Now that is an interesting question isn't it? I am sure we all have been at times but as we grow in Christ we should not be falling to his schemes near as often as when we were not in Christ or even when we first gave our lives to Jesus.



In the following verse Paul is referring to holding grudges and not forgiving and this is his response:



2 Corinthians 2:11

11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.



You see the devil is very crafty and if he can get us to thinking things like....they don't deserve forgiveness or I will always hold this against them. He has won if we allow this! We must not be outwitted by Satan! God's Word triumphs all and we must always remember that and apply it. In this situation God says:



Matthew 6:14

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,



No wiggle room there, it is clear...we have been forgiven so we must forgive!!!



There are a million other ways Satan will try to outwit us so be on your toes and in the Word to combat his crafty ways!



Tom

Do not rely on self!

How many times do we try to take care of things ourselves to come to conclusion that we can not do it so we have to turn it over to God. I have done this to many times to count. Many challenges come in life and Paul was all to aware of this because it seemed as he faced them all even death! Here is what he discovered:



2 Corinthians 1:9



9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.



It all comes down to a simple conclusion, if God can raise the dead then God can handle any problem we face including looking death in the eyes! We have no power ourselves but we have a God who has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us that has all the power to deal with all situations both good and bad!



So why would we even try to handle anything without God? It doesn't make a bit of sense! So this morning when that headache in this day comes a knocking, give it to God! He can take care of it! Thank you Jesus!



Tom

The big game is over!

Millions and millions of dollars spent on a football game. Millions and millions gathered around television sets to watch the game and the commercials. What will all this mean when our end on this earth comes???? Wasted time and money unless you used it as an opportunity to witness for Jesus. Think about it!



Many years ago the Lord convicted me about my obsession with Michigan football. I would get all geared up for the game, talk a bunch of smack, and if they won it was a great day for me! But if they lost it would literally ruin my whole day. I would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Well God got a hold of me about that. Basically He told me football or any other sport or hobby is useless compared to Him and I had better get my priorities in order. I did!



I watched the game yesterday and agitated many of my friends about Peyton Manning but I really could care less who won although I was pulling for the Seahawks lol! As I watched I just thought how much better all the money being spent could have been used for those who are in need or maybe even the debt our country is in! I also was thinking what if all those who claim to be Christians were using the time to win people to Jesus or to have a bible study to draw closer to the Lord. So many went home disappointed with game last night but if they had Jesus they would have went home rejoicing over salvation!



Think about these verses today:


Romans 12:1-2

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.



What was God's will for us yesterday? To glorify and worship Him.

What is God's will for us today? To glorify and worship Him.



Are we doing that in all we do? He doesn't want part of us, He wants all of us! He hates lukewarmness! Makes Him want to vomit.



Tom