Tag: christ

You Are The Key

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“I am the living one. I died, but look–I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” – Revelation 1:18 NLT

Aren’t keys funny little things? They are small jagged pieces of metal, but when they are used for their maker’s purpose, there’s nothing else that would do the trick. If the key was rounded or smooth, it would be useless and wouldn’t work where it was needed.

My family would tell you that I can be a little rough around the edges. I am far from perfect, but I am just as useful to God when I allow myself to be fully utilized by Him. Even a broken paintbrush could be used to make a beautiful painting in a master’s hands. The brush just has to be available. Unfortunately, I allow my brokenness to take me out of commission now and then through sin. When I engage in the bad things, I don’t allow myself to be used for good.

God wants us to be instruments of good here on earth. He wants the best out of us because in His eyes, we are worth it. We are His children, and even when we are not exactly at our best, He still looks at us and says, “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.” How can God say that, especially about people who are inherently broken? The reason is because God doesn’t just see us how we are at this moment; He sees us from a forever type of viewpoint. He sees what we are to become rather than the mess that we act like sometimes.

There’s a reason why we go through our trials. We can’t just be born and just stay there. Our lives were meant to be lived. God wants us to get out there into the world and to grow into the people He created us to be. Make no mistake, this is a fallen world that’s full of evils. We aren’t to partake in those evils, but God knows we will occasionally screw up. It’s going to happen. We make some bad choices now and again, but the Bible says that God will use all things for the good of those who love Him. That means just what it says, ALL things.

Take King David for example. He’s not exactly portrayed in the best light, but it’s real. The Bible shows David’s good sides and bad sides. Lust, jealousy, and murderous intent does not sound like someone who would be called “a man after God’s own heart,” but he is that man. It’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters. That doesn’t mean that you can just plan to live like you are straight from hell right now and expect to get into Heaven later. You can indeed be forgiven for a life not-to-well-lived, but that is only if you truly want the forgiveness. God knows what is in your heart. It doesn’t mean that He is happy with your actions right now, but it does mean that He will look beyond the ‘now you’ and see the ‘forever you’.

You are shaped by your experiences and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Nothing is for nothing. You will be pressured and cut down by this world, but God allows it. He’s not OK with evil, but He will occasionally allow it to occur in order to bring about a greater good from it. Look at the cross. It was an extreme form of punishment that was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals, and yet we find our Lord Jesus right there. We read in 2 Corinthians that even though Jesus did not sin, He was made to be sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. Through evil, the greatest good, our salvation, came from it.

You may have a hard time at life and feel like you get cut down by everything in this world, but Jesus tells us to take heart, for He has overcome the world. God did not just entrust us with the keys to His kingdom, we actually become the keys when we become more like Christ.

Keys symbolize such things as security and freedom, but a key won’t work until it is cut and shaped into its final form. Allow God to form us into what He needs us to become. Embrace the struggle and let the Holy Spirit chip away at your rough edges. Don’t get down on yourself when you make a bad choice, just learn from it and rise above it.

You may feel rough and unusable, but just like a key, you are shaped exactly the way God needs you to be. Leave yourself open and available to God’s good will. When you do that, I believe and declare that He will show you some amazing things that He has in store for your life and the lives of others.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

Paying the Price for Jesus

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“If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” – Romans 14:8

Being a Christian isn’t all happy and rainbows and laughter. There are some great parts to it, but if you think that following Jesus means taking the easy road, you are sadly mistaken. Jesus Himself didn’t take the easy way out and you should be glad He didn’t. Through His suffering and death, He took our sins from us. Through His resurrection, we have life eternal. There was a cost to be paid for our sins and Jesus paid every penny. Now to follow Him and to be partakers in God’s eternal glory, we must believe and receive Jesus and His finished work on that cross. There is no other way to God than through faith in His Son Jesus. That faith does have its own cost in this world.

There’s a lot of people don’t want to come to Christ, because they don’t want to pay the cost involved. Turning away from your sins is tough. Even being willing to turn away from your sins is tough, but it’s Jesus or sin. One or the other. God does not negotiate. You come to God through Jesus and you come to him by grace and by repentance. God created us all and it’s his rules. You come to him his way or not at all. That doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. Some people find it hard to release themselves in their lives and their sins to a Lord wants to take them away. Some people want to sow their wild oats before they come to Christ. They’re afraid they’re not gonna have any more fun. Well yes, sin can be fun for a time, but the ways that seem right to a man leads to death and destruction.

God has laid out exactly what you need to do. They aren’t tough rules, but they will force you to make a choice between the good that the world calls good and the true good that comes from the creator himself. Here’s a hint, only one is the real thing. Jesus says that broad is the path and wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many people who decided that the world’s kind of fun was worth pursuing more than God’s But Jesus says that narrow is the gate and straight is the way that leads to righteousness, peace, and Heaven most of all. There are unfortunately only a small number that choose that path. It’s available to everybody, but not too many people take it. They have questions, they have comments, they have concerns, and they try to reason with their minds rather than their hearts and their souls. Somethings you just can’t reason things out.

I can’t show you God or put him into a test tube or a laboratory and say, “there’s God.” Certain things aren’t going to make sense. I’m a preacher and I don’t understand the whole Bible. But that’s where faith comes in. You’re not gonna understand God‘s ways. His ways are so far above our ways as the heavens are above the earth. You would have to have the mind of God to understand God. If you could, there would be no need for faith because you’d understand everything already. You would know everything and so there wouldn’t be a choice except Heaven which would be the only logical choice.

But faith doesn’t care about logic. Faith is faith. It’s the substance of things not seen and the evidence of things yet to come. You must come to Christ by faith to be saved, not by works lest any man should boast. If you could get there through works, there would be no need for Christ. You could stand in Heaven before God and say, “Look what I did. Hey look at me I’m so wonderful.” God doesn’t want that, just as any father wouldn’t want their child boasting and bragging and making a show of themselves in a bad way. God wants you to be humble. He wants you to understand where you got that breath that you took just now. He wants you to understand that it’s Him who woke you up today, not just your alarm clock. How else should you come to the creator of literally everything, but in humility?

In short, have respect for God because He is God. If a firefighter told you how to get out of a burning building, you wouldn’t second guess him and think he’s lying. You’d follow his directions. Well here we are in the burning building called modern day life. Hell is all around us and God is pointing the way out. What will you do? Will you follow Jesus or follow this world. They both come with a cost to follow them, but one will truly pay off well in the end.

Jesus died for us, now live for Him. Jesus isn’t free, but He is truly worth the price.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

Imagine a Boat on a River

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It can be tough to live the Christian life, but today we discuss how Jesus Christ can help you navigate those those rough waters.

Are Pictures of Jesus Graven Images?- Since You Asked Q.2

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“I see Jesus everywhere in a bunch of paintings and statues. Doesn’t that break one of the Ten Commandments when it says not to make any graven images or idols?”

‘Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.’ – Leviticus 19:4

This is an excellent question and one that I hear frequently. If we aren’t to make graven images, why are there an enormous amount of statues and paintings of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and etc.? Aren’t we making idols for ourselves to worship?

To begin this conversation, you need to know what an idol really is. An idol by definition is the object of worship. We never want to worship a created object in any way, thinking that the object is the source and origination of some godly power. However, having a picture of Jesus around is not a bad thing in and of itself.

Do you have any pictures of your mom or dad, or maybe some of your spouse and children? I know I do, a bunch of them in fact. Do I love those pictures? I may say that, but what I really love are the memories and the images of what they portray. I wouldn’t throw my kids away in favor of their picture, that would be insane. In truth, I love my wife and kids, but I keep their pictures around as a visible reminder of them.

The same thing can be said for a picture of Jesus Christ. I don’t truly love the picture. That picture didn’t die for my sins. That picture isn’t the son of the Most High God. That picture simply reminds me of a love that I share with my Creator and reminds me of the person and works of Jesus Christ.

We are both spiritual beings and physical beings all at once. We connect spiritually through such things as love, compassion, and other feelings. However, we also connect through the visible manifestations of those feelings. I can tell my wife I love her all day long, but she connects with it more when I do something to show her love, like a hug or a kiss. Does that mean the feeling is not needed? Certainly not. Once agin, we are souls and we are bodies, and one needs the other in this world.

One thing of note, and I touched on it before, is that when the visible object replaces the true and real object, that’s when you have an idol. We may look up to sports and movie stars, and that’s ok within reason. But you can eventually start to look to those stars as the end all-be all of your life. That’s when you have an idol problem. An idol is something, anything, that you can’t live without. That can be a person or a drug or even a feeling. Any creation that you raise above the Creator Himself is an idol.

To put it another way, if you are a Christian, you are housing the Holy Spirit within you. You are His temple. And just as I wouldn’t want some strange man in my house living there, God doesn’t want strange idols or anything ruling his house but Him. In short, God wants to be number one in the house.

In closing, a picture or a statue of our Savior is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean we are worshipping a picture and making it into our idol. If you see something like a painting or even a Bible and it reminds you that you are loved by the God of the universe, that’s a good thing. Just don’t put that picture or that Bible above the Savior it refers to. Reminders are important, but the real thing is better by far.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

For God So Loved The World

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“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

With the upcoming year upon us, I wanted this sermon to be the gospel in a nutshell. I wanted to make this sermon brief, but bold, in order to keep Christ at the front of your mind this next year.

In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in between. I know that because I’m here too. You and I are not here because of some one-in-a-zillion random chance. You and I live because God wants to be loved. And because of that need for love, He gave us the freedom to choose Him or reject Him. Love is a gift, and a gift that is forced is no gift at all.

As ignorant humans, we often pull away from God’s desires for our lives. We do bad things, called sins. Those sins can’t just disappear, or else what have we learned from them? The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Plain and simple, if you commit evil, you can’t get into Heaven. That’s why there is Jesus.

Jesus is God in human form. God lowered Himself from His heavenly throne and was born of the Virgin Mary. She needed to be an untouched virgin to let there be no doubt that it wasn’t of human means, but God’s. Jesus was born to not only experience what God’s children experience, but to show us a better way to live the life He’s blessed us with. However, remember earlier when I said that the wages of sin is death. We deserve punishment because of our bad choices, but Jesus took that punishment for you and I on the cross. Then, just to show that God has power even over death, Jesus rose from the grave. Life, death, and eternity; nothing is too far out of God’s reach because it’s all His.

When we accept Jesus and His finished work on the cross, we are telling Him yes, please take our sins away. He can have them all. All of the sins we’ve done and all we will ever do, He has washed them away by His blood. In dying, Jesus destroyed our death. In rising, Jesus restored our life.

This upcoming year, keep Christ first in your life. Let Him go before you in all that you do so that you may prosper in every area. His promise to you is that He will work all things for the good for those who love Him. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, because if you do, you will be forgiven of your sins and experience a love so complete and wonderful that it will take all of eternity to show you just how much God truly loves His children.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

A Star Is Born

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“Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose and we have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:2

One the night Jesus Christ came into this world, there was a particular star that shined brightly above His birthplace. That star was many things to many people. To the wise, it was a symbol of hope and freedom. To the sinner, it was a stop sign. To the kings and Pharisees, it was an eviction notice. To the entire world, that star was a sign that nothing would ever be the same again.

Whether you believe in Him or not, Jesus Christ has changed the world forever. Our common calendar is based off of Christ’s birth. Phrases used every day, such as “Go the extra mile,” “blind leading the blind,” “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” or “straight and narrow” are all words straight from Christ’s mouth. This whole time of year especially is because of Jesus. You can say happy holidays all you want, but the truth of the matter is that Christ is the reason for the season. Even in places that are cynical of Christian values, I have heard Christmas music playing. Take the time to listen to those songs. Those are songs of praise and worship and they are being played all over the place and even all over the world this time of year.

To paraphrase the book of Acts, if this whole Jesus thing was just of men, it would turn to nothing. However, if this really is of God, there’s nothing in this world that can stop it. It’s been over two thousand years since the birth of Jesus and there is no silencing the believer, no matter what heretical laws are passed and no matter how politically correct this country becomes. Why? Because the person who has been forgiven of much shows the most love for the Lord. I have been forgiven of many wrongs in my life and, if by chance I am ever rendered mute, my actions and my very soul would still sing out in praise of the God Most High.

That’s why there was a bright and shining star. Even the universe shows praise to the Creator. So remember this time of year, Christmas time. Praise Jesus for what He has done and for the promises He’s given us. A believers’ future is sealed by complete and boundless love and it all started because a star was born, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you.

DH

On This Rock I Stand

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“And I say also to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

In the Bible, Peter was one of the closest disciples of Jesus Christ. Whenever Jesus would go somewhere to pray or to reveal something special to just a select few, Peter was right there at the top of the list. And when Jesus left His earthly ministry, Peter was the head of the newly established church. Granted, Peter had his failings just as all people do, but the difference was that he kept pushing through them and came out better because of them.

Peter didn’t start out as being called Peter. His name was originally Simon, which actually means ‘hearer or listener’. Peter listened to Jesus and took His teaching to heart. Even when Jesus said that He was going to be offered up and die, Peter rebuked Him saying, “Not so Lord,” even though Christ had a larger plan that needed enacted. By all rights and accounts, Peter loved Jesus. He staked everything on Him. When Jesus asked His disciples if they would leave Him, it was Peter who said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life.”

Not only did Peter believe in Jesus, but Jesus believed in Peter as well. Even though Peter in a moment of weakness denied that he knew Jesus 3 different times, Jesus knew that Peter was the right person to continue His earthly ministry. A little before Christ was taken up to Heaven, Jesus kept asking Peter if he loved Him. More than that, Jesus made sure that Peter would continue Christ’s work to take care of His people. Jesus asked Peter 3 times, “Do you love me?” And each time that Peter affirmed his love, Jesus would tell him to ‘feed His sheep or lambs’, meaning to take care of His people. Jesus knew that Peter could do it, but He really wanted Peter to know that Peter could do it. Three times a denial conquered by three times a confirmation.

One last thing about Simon Peter. Simon was the earthly name that his parents gave him. Peter was the Heavenly name that Jesus gave him. Simon means listener and Peter means rock. In order for you to be firm in your service of the Lord, you first need to listen to Jesus. Once you stand upon God’s solid foundation, you will never be lost again.

God’s blessings to you.
DH

For Our Law Enforcement Brothers and Sisters

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With the one year anniversary of the July 7th Dallas ambush just days ago, I thought it fitting to repost our sermon for those fallen officers and their brothers and sisters behind the badge. We’re just as proud of you all today.  God’s blessings to you all.

– To all of our law enforcement brothers and sisters:
When darkness falls, remember what you are here for. You mind the gap between good and evil. You stand guard and protect those who cannot protect themselves. You wear a shield, behind which we are all protected because of the daily sacrifices that you make.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Remember that you are a peace officer and so much more than that, you are a child of the Most High God. You have been endowed with physical, emotional, and spiritual traits that most do not possess. You are made strong by the Lord for a purpose and that purpose is to care for His flock. Few are chosen to do such a task, but those who are chosen magnify the love of God upon His people. You greatly serve the Lord through your protection.

We want you to know that no matter what this fallen and wicked world says, you are desperately needed. You will never know about the countless lives you safeguard, because you can’t quantify what your very presence actually does for our society. You will never realize the crimes you stop just by being there. Unfortunately, you may never get the thanks you deserve because most of the people you come in contact with daily are the bad people who never wanted you there in the first place. Rest assured that there are still people in this world who care and who are absolutely grateful for what you do.

The events of July 7th are deplorable and plunge our already fallen world into further darkness. However, the darker the night sky, the brighter the stars of Heaven shine and you are those stars! The darkness cannot stand in the presence of the light. Evil will occasionally gain a foothold in society, but good will soon triumph. Read the back of the Bible, we shall be victorious in the end. Be confident in that fact that you are on the winning side.

Remember the words of Jesus Christ who said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) We pray that no other officers are called to lay down their lives in the line of duty, but we know that to ensure peace and justice, you will not hesitate to do your duty to protect us. For that, we cannot be grateful enough. Thank you for showing us the great and true love of God. Your faithful service shall be rewarded in the form of a crown granted to you when you enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

We fervently pray that you stay safe and protected by Almighty God, now and forever. God’s blessings to you all, our brothers and sisters. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DH

All Sins Start With I

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“Love thy neighbor as thyself.” – Mark 12:31

Love is the greatest of God’s creations. Out of love, God made Heaven, the earth, and you. He loves you and wants you to love Him in return. However, when we sin and do evil in our hearts, it takes some of our love and our heart away from God. We no longer have the ability to focus on the Lord and the things that He holds forever dear. We are instead focused on ourselves and our sins which only can make us happy for a short time. We are left longing and being more unsatisfied than before.

Imagine that your heart is a box. You can pack that box with good things or bad things, but either way, there is only so much room in that box. The more of the wrong things you put into your heart, the less room you leave for Jesus. Your heart is made for love, but love for the right things rather than loving sin. Saint Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord. How true that is!  Our hearts have a need for love that only God can fill. Anything else just isn’t enough. You can’t eat enough food or buy enough things to satisfy yourself. I promise you that it doesn’t work. It isn’t what God had in mind for you when you were created. The Bible says not to focus on the passing things in life, but to keep your eyes fixed on things which are above. One day, the fast cars will rust and the money will be all spent, but what does remain are those things which are done in service of others. God’s love comes from many places, but it is the most apparent when it comes though His servants.

I met a former business man that said no matter how far up the ladder he went, the emptier he felt. While he was working on how much money he could make, his family, his friends, and his home life eventually passed him by. It was the love of the wrong things that led to his pain. This person’s problem was that he focused his love on his own greatness rather than God’s greatness. He let his desire for status get in the way of him caring for his family. He has now turned his eyes to the Lord and has found what he terms as a new lease on life. He’s reconciled with his family and is making up for lost time. He also says that he derives more fulfillment from helping out at a local children’s hospital than he ever did being a boss at a big company. We all have love, but where we put that love can mean the difference between happiness and hurt.

There’s a sign up in our home that reads, “Whatever you do today had better be important, because you are trading a day of your life for it.” You can either positively or negatively affect generations by what you focus on today. If sin rules your life, don’t expect anything positive to come from it. It may be fun for a little while, but it never lasts and you aren’t helping anyone by committing evil. Pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth; these are the so-called seven deadly sins. Notice how all of them come back to ourselves. We become ego-centric and think about our own needs rather than the needs of others, but that’s not why we were made. Ego means Edging God Out. The more your heart seeks after your own comfort and your own pleasure, the less your heart will seek out God. To truly love my wife, I have to want the highest and best thing for her, and that is Jesus Christ.  I want my wife to go to Heaven. I want my kids to go to Heaven. Therefore, I must make some sacrifices to help get them there. My comfort level must be a distant second when compared to the health, safety, and eternal security of my family. Anything less is unacceptable.

All sins start with “I.” It’s a good thing to love yourself, but there is a big problem when that self-love comes between you and God’s love for us all. The devil wants you to be self-focused. If you are experiencing God’s love and showing it to other people, you are taking your soul and the souls of others away from him and handing them back to God. To get right with God and to help serve humanity, pay attention to the needs of others. Put God first, everybody else second, and yourself last. The alphabet is the only place where “I” should come before “U”. Remember that Jesus Christ wasn’t thinking of His own comfort when He died on the cross. He was only concerned with our eternal salvation. Don’t let your anxiety or comfort level get in the way of feeding a homeless person or sharing the Gospel with someone you just met. You are here for a purpose and that purpose is love. Sin is selfish, but true love means caring for others.

The love of God reaches far and wide, but the love of sin dies with that sin. True love can only be given away, not kept for yourself and the more you give, the more you shall receive.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

GPS – God’s Positioning System

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“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:13

If you were to die tonight, where would you go? I ask that question to a lot of people and get a lot of different responses. Many people, even good Christians, don’t have a definite belief that they would get into Heaven. Some of the responses are that they ‘hope they would go to Heaven’ or that they aren’t really sure because of the life they’ve led.

Let me set the record straight, God created you and He loves you very much. He is not willing to see any of His children go down the wrong path and get lost. His love for you is perfect, just as He is perfect. That being said, perfect love also means allowing the person a chance to choose for themselves. Love is a gift and a gift that is forced is no gift at all.

–A few points:

• God knows you are going to have trials and you will make mistakes. That’s OK. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

• Those mistakes have consequences, but God loves you and doesn’t want you to loose what He has for you. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

–But the greatest part to His love for you is:

• “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

What those scriptures mean is that God is kind. He’s not waiting ‘up there’ with a paddle, just watching to see you screw up. He already knows you will screw up, but He loves you. The key is to repent, which means to change your mind. Repent, turn away from your sins, and believe in what Jesus did for you on that cross. That’s it. You are already accepted by the Creator, all you need to do is accept Him in return.

Call upon Jesus and you will know the way home!

God’s blessings to you.

DH