The following are words from author James Bryan Smith concerning Christ’s commitment to us. “For most of my Christian life I related to Jesus on the basis of what I did for Him. If I prayed well, studied hard, served much and sinned little, then I felt reasonably sure Jesus was pleased with me. I was paralyzing my ability to love Jesus, love myself, and ultimately love others. I was afraid that Jesus would look at my faults and withdraw his love. I was afraid my weaknesses and sinfulness would separate me from the love of Jesus. I see now how foolish it was to think that my feeble attempts at righteousness had anything to do with how Jesus feels about me. For too long I was impressed with my commitment to Jesus, now I am impressed only with Jesus ‘s commitment to me.”

Romans 8: 38-39 – I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In sports we talk a lot about events that are “game changers”. In history we also look at events that have changed history. The greatest of these in all of time was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate as Easter. Many, many, people still don’t get the significance of this event. From a faith and spiritual standpoint the death and resurrection of Jesus was the biggest “game changer” in his and our stories. It ushered in forgiveness, grace and unconditional love for all that call upon the name of the Lord. The song Amazing Grace says it all with these words…” Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found t’was blind but now I see”.

John 11: 25-26……I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

HE HAS RISEN!

Jesus is the God of Grace and Truth. He is The Way and The Truth and The Life. His word has been telling us for centuries not to conform to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Just stand back and take a look at the world today. The news everyday is so negative. The media or “fake news” lies to us everyday. Their is very little truth anymore. Our leaders and politicians just lie, lie, etc. We have a pandemic that we get false information about daily. We have riots and protests that are destroying property right before our eyes, yet leaders say they are peaceful. It is such obvious lying that it is almost comical. We the people are in trouble and the only person we can turn to…..Jesus…is not accepted by most of our population. Unbelievable!! We need to look up and turn our hearts to God. Our country, our lives, are going down the drain and our leaders are allowing it to happen. What’s worse is that Jesus has told us if we put our trust in the world that this was exactly what would happen. Shame on us. We need to re-direct our attention to Jesus. We need to re-think our lives. We need Jesus. Amen!

1Corinthians 15:10 – But by the Grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect……

Early I wrote about what is success. But now I wonder if I got it right back then. Maybe I took a swing and missed. I think I did. I now believe that success in this life and world is knowing Jesus. Reaching out with an open hand for his grace and accepting his unconditional love. Recognizing that I am broken and a sinner and that Jesus died for me. That my salvation comes from him and him only. That He is the Way and the Truth. I know that the world measures success in a much different way and that’s OK. But for me, I choose Jesus as my greatest choice and success.

Revelation 3:20 – Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him…….

“There is a gap between where I am and where I need to get and God has to fill that gap”…..Ronnie Baker, US Olympian

In life I believe all of us are trying to “get” somewhere. Kind of like we are running a lifetime race. In the Bible, the scripture Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” Our lives last for 70-80 years on the average and our hope is that we find meaning and purpose in our lives. If someone asked me what is my greatest achievement in life I would say my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Jesus continues to fill the gap for me everyday. My entire family has answered Jesus’s invitation to trust him with their lives and believe that He is the Truth and the Way. Jesus is Word and the Word is God. I pray that Jesus continues to fill that same gap that Ronnie Baker talks about every day because I am broken and need a Lord and Savior everyday and Jesus is the one! The Great I Am!

1Corinthians 9:24 – Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

If one does not have a faith in Jesus, who does he turn to in tough times, times of uncertainty and grief. When the world just flat out sucks…….who does one turn to. If one does not believe in Jesus and His Truth, where does he go for answers….In her song “Hold on to me”, Laura Daigle sings “when doors are closing, when one is sure they have reached the end, when one is tired of pretending, when the weight of expectation is ready to break one and when one doesn’t feel like they are worth defending, she turns to Jesus to “hold on to her'” Think about it. Life is a rocky road. We all struggle in this world. At some point the weight of this world seems unbearable. So who does one turn to. The Truth of Jesus or some temporary “fix” to our problems. We all have to figure this out. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord Jesus. No one loves us better than Jesus. God Bless and stay safe.

Joshua 24:15 – As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

As I live in this imperfect world and watch as people fail constantly I have come to realize that there is two ways of doing things…..my way and God’s way. God is perfect so obviously his way of doing things is perfect. I am imperfect, so you guessed it! Yes, my way is imperfect. No matter how hard I try I can never do things as well as God. So it seems to reason I should tap into that perfection of God and have him help me do things better. Guess what, it works. When I pray and read the Bible and try to live out my day and my doings according to the word(Jesus) of God things are better. I am not saying that if I follow the word of God that everything will always work out. But what I am saying is when I don’t follow the word of God things seldom workout…..I fail! I really believe that if I follow the Word of God, His way and His truth, that my life will prosper and have meaning and my plans will succeed. God is perfect, no question about it.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

For the last 2,000 years or so Jesus has been on a rescue mission. His targets are you and me. Everything Jesus is about is seen in his steadfast unconditional love and grace for us. No matter who we are or where we are, if we will open our hands to Jesus he will be there. In her song “Rescue” Lauren Daigle sings, “I (Jesus) will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night….Its true, I (Jesus) will rescue you.” I believe this because that is who Jesus is. He is our King and Redeemer. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega. His love is unconditional. He loves and forgives us not because we earn it, but because that’s who He is. As Lauren Daigle further sings, ” I (Jesus) will never stop marching to reach you in the middle of the hardest fight….its true, Jesus will rescue you.” Thank You Jesus!

2Timothy 4:18 – The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His Heavenly Kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen

James Bryan Smith writes, “In Jesus’ death we see God’s desire to forgive us. His offer of forgiveness is extended to all people for all time. There is not a person, living or dead, for whom Jesus did not die for.” This statement has been polarizing for people for thousands of years. So did Jesus say everyone is redeemed regardless of their actions? Are atheists forgiven and on their way to heaven even though they don’t believe in God let alone believe in Jesus and his death on the cross for our sins. Who is in and who is out one might ask? Personally, I believe that Jesus did die for everyone. I believe there is redemption for everyone of every race, color, religion, etc. HOWEVER, there is one more important part to salvation. It has to do with another important aspect of this subject. It is called free will. Smith further writes, “There is nothing left for us to do other than open our hands and receive god’s gift.” This is the key, open our hands. It is an act of acceptance. In summary, God rejects no one but many, many people reject God. That is what needs to be impressed on people. The problem isn’t God, its us. I pray that you will “open your hands”.

Revelation 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

I was listening to one of my favorite musical artists today. His name is Brandon Lake and he reminded me to keep “running to the Light”. That Light is Jesus Christ. In my life I set my eyes on the Light of Jesus. I will never be perfect. I will continue to make mistakes(sin) along the way, but because of Jesus’s unconditional love and forgiveness…… Because of his amazing Grace…… Because He is God and King……, I will keep running right to him and when I arrive I will experience something that is so good and amazing that it defies words. Some call it Heaven, I call it God’s Kingdom and Jesus is King and that is right were I want to be when my time here on earth is over. And by the way, its never….never too late to start running to the light.

John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”