Its hard to come to terms that we are great sinners. Its hard to admit it. We think we are OK. Think about it, are we really OK. We need to be honest about who we are vs God’s perfect love. I like to compare sin with shooting an arrow at a bullseye. Sin would be missing the bullseye or what is called “the mark”. Sometimes we come close, other times we miss by a lot. Sometimes we miss the entire target….With sin its really the same. Some times we come close(small sin) and other times we miss by a lot(big sin). What we need to understand is a miss is a miss. When we sin, we sin. Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for all our sins….big or small. His extends his unconditional love and grace to us every time we sin. Always, every time. Sounds crazy doesn’t it, but its the truth. Jesus is the Truth. Thank you Lord.

Romans 3:23-24 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. This means that Jesus has paid the debt we owe because of our sin. Therefore when we confess our sins to God, He forgives us.

In the Bible the disciples asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the work God requires”? Jesus answered them by saying, “The work of God is this: To believe in the One he has sent (Jesus)”.

The above is an often asked question by people of the Christian Faith. Many People of Faith and Institutions of Faith value works above all things. So this answer by Jesus is confusing to many people. I believe Jesus wants us to do good works in our lives not as a way to achieve a relationship with God or a way to Heaven, but as a result of “believing in the One He has sent”. So today and everyday focus your faith on believing in Jesus and every word of the Bible and let the good works of God flow from you. AMEN….

John 6: 28-29 – Then they asked Him, “what must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “the work of God is this: to believe in the One he has sent”.

What should we bring to Jesus? How about everything? All that is on our minds and hearts. Singer and songwriter Chris Rice says it best in his song, “Come To Jesus”. He writes to bring our weaknesses and wounds. Bring our burdens and sins and our worries and failures. He reminds us that our way thru this world will sometimes be lonely and filled with pain. And “when the love spills over and music fills the night and when you can’t contain your joy inside”…Then come to Jesus. And when our time here on earth is over then “kiss the world goodbye and go in peace and laugh on glory’s side and fly to Jesus”. Amen and thank you Chris Rice for reminding me of the beauty and greatness of our Lord and Savior…..Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:13 – For everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved

Matthew 11:28 – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Have you ever felt like there is something going on in this world that is bigger than yourself? Something real and hard to understand. Something to believe in. Something that most people and most institutions get wrong. Well, join the club.

I think most people believe there is a God, but have different ideas as to who He is. Different religions also have different ideas of who God is…but all believe there is a God. Throughout thousands of years books, music, art, etc. have expressed that there is a God in many different ways. My belief is that history and the Holy Bible point to Jesus Christ as God. I also believe that we have been deceived as to who He really is and how He can affect our lives. I believe that Jesus is totally relevant to our lives today. That through Him we can lead purposeful lives filled with meaning. I believe that Jesus loves all of us unconditionally with a grace that is truly amazing and difficult for us to understand and accept. So until next Monday live this week in the grace of Jesus that you and I have done nothing to deserve.

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the word (Jesus) and the word was with God and the word was God.

When I came to Jesus He gave me the opportunity to rethink the way I was doing things in my life. The Bible calls this repentance. Repentance is defined as a change of heart towards sin, the world, and God. An inner change that gives rise to new ways of living. Jesus is the Way and the Truth. He has answers for our problems and the challenges of living our lives in this fallen world. He loves us and will not abandon us. We need to come to him and trust that he is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. We need to confess to him our problems and hopes and dreams and he will lead us in his way. Thus, we rethink our life. We turn away from harmful behaviors and our harmful past and look forward everyday to following Jesus and his ways. The greatest psychology book ever written is the Holy Bible. The Bible plus God’s forgiveness and unconditional love can and will lead us to a new and fulfilling future.

Phillipians 3:9 NCV…….Now I am right with God, not because I followed law, but because I believed in Jesus.

God Bless You and have a great week.

Failure is important. Every winner loses, But not every loser wins. When you fail let it teach you valuable life lessons like…..1- You don’t always get what you want…2- Being right, doesn’t mean you’ll win…3- Heart is more important than skill…4- Never take anything for granted.

Jesus never gave up on us. He could have walked away from the cross at anytime. He chose to die for us and all our imperfections, once and for all, unconditionally. So as Jason Meraz sings in this song, ” I Won’t Give Up”……I don’t wanna be someone who walks away so easily. I am here to stay and make a difference, that I can be the difference.

As I close I am reminded of an old saying…..Giving up is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

May God Bless you and keep you this week.

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be Strong and Courageous. Do not be afraid: Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

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.

Writer Dallas Willard writes about the drive to significance as “a simple extension of the creative impulse of God that gave us being”. Willard goes on to say that we were built to count as “water is made to run downhill”. As I have written before, we all count. Most of us do not think that we are enough and that we don’t count. Somewhere in our lives we were probably told that lie by a teacher, parent or another person. Unfortunately we took it to heart and our lives began to reflect this lack of self-esteem. We can change this. We need to right now believe our life can be a significant one, directed outwardly toward others. As Willard concludes, “the search for significance is hardwired into our natural drive and calls us to follow God and use it for his own significant ends”.

Matthew 4:14 – Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people.

Romans 8:1 – There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.