PC is Killing US!

Political correctness is killing us.  No. Seriously. Killing. Us.
When we are so PC that we are afraid to hurt other people's feelings with the TRUTH, we are killing them.

Take, for example, the Gospel.  If we say that there is any other way to heaven except through Christ, we are actually killing people, and for eternity...not just now, but forever.  Do you remember when Jesus said, Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."?  That's what He meant!  If we fail to tell the truth about who and what Jesus truly is and His significance in life, we are condemning people to HELL, because they have not been told. Paul even said, Romans 10:14 "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?".

One of the truths of the Gospel that we HAVE to tell people is what Jesus himself said, John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

So let me ask you this: Are you more concerned with being Politically Correct, or are you more concerned with be obedient? That's what it boils down to, you know.

Be obedient above all. Then you will hear the Lord say, Matthew 25:21 "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’"

Blessings all!

I Love You

The poem that follows was written by my wife when my oldest Grandson was living with us.  She used it to illustrate not only her love for him, but also God's love for us.  It comes with hand gestures which the little children love and appreciate.  Simple. Profound. Memorable. True.


Love you more than the mountains of the moon
and the stars in the sky
The earth and the planets
and a BIG APPLE PIE!

(C) 2003 Joan LaGrew



A big hug is appropriate and expected when finished.


Blessings all!

The HARD TRUTH

THE HARD TRUTH

John 14:6

Yeshua Jesus said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

and

Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!

and

Galatians 1:6-10
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.



I was faced with a very real problem in the last couple of days.  A Face Book friend and I assume, friends of him, challenged my understanding of the well-known verse, John 14:6.  Their interpretation of that verse, and others like it, left me alarmed and saddened all at the same time.  Accordingly, their premise was that there was indeed other ways of salvation other than the orthodox belief that Jesus was the only way to Heaven, and to my great surprise, the very verse that I offered, John 14:6 as a proof that Jesus was the only way to the Father, they used as a springboard to their "interpretation" that there could be other faiths that receive salvation as well.  In fact, they very much disdained my notion that if there was any other way to the Father except by the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we would make a mockery of the cross.  I even pointed out the fact that John 14:6 was proof of that.

I was so taken aback by that stance...that it spurred me into further study of the language of John 14:6 and what Jesus actually said in that simple statement. I think rather than engaging in their obvious embellishment of their interpretation in trying to get at what Jesus really said by their own intellect and reading between the lines..it is safer to take the actual words that Jesus said and take them at their face value.  Remember never to add to or subtract from God's Word.


Jesus Said:  There are 2 things of note here that are apropos.  1) Jesus said this...no one else.  No one in the whole world said this.  Also the name of Jesus. In English it is Jesus. In Hebrew it is Yeshua (ישוע).  In Greek it is Yesous (Ἰησοῦς).  They all mean the same thing and they all refer to the same person. The name means Savior.  Jesus is the Christ.  He is the Savior of the World...the one and only.

I am the way: Jesus is not saying that He is "a" way.  He is saying HE IS THE WAY.  The ONLY WAY.  The ONE WAY.  There is NO OTHER WAY. Period.  The Greek and context is crystal clear.

And the Truth:  We know that ALL truth is from God himself.  When Jesus says that HE is the TRUTH...the ONE and ONLY truth, he is saying that HE IS GOD.  That TRUTH comes from HIM.  Jesus also said: John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Thus demonstrating the fact that He and God the Father are one God. ONE TRUTH...No Other.

And the Life:  He came to bring LIFE, not death. He is LIFE. Not just ordinary life.  Jesus came to bring to us true life. Eternal Life.  A Good Life. This is the Life that ONLY JESUS can bring.  You need to trust Him that he is able, and believe me, HE IS able!  Observe what Jesus also said: John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Will you trust a thief, or will you trust Jesus?  Your call. Don't be misled...study the Scriptures yourself. However, I will echo what God told the Israelites.  Choose Life!  I choose the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE.  JESUS!

Blessings on your day!

If you deny Me....

If you Deny Me


Matthew 10:33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

There is an app that is popular on Face Book that picks out the most used words in your posts.  I have seen many people use this and words such as "Love", Spirituality", "God", and "Family" come up a lot in these searches.  I just have one question to ask you: Where is "Jesus"?

Think about it.  The question must be answered by YOU...no one else. Where is JESUS...in your life?

Ponder this everyday and decide where you are going to put HIM.  Not only today, but everyday...every year.

Blessings all!

Making Things New

Making Things New

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

When God makes new, he does nt take old stuff and reburbish it.  He makes it new from nothin'!  That what he did when he created the universe and all that we see.  He Spoke...and it was.  All from nothing.  The power of His words still echo today in where we live and move.

When a New Year dawns, it a a time for remembering the past, but also a time of anticipation of what the Lord will bring into our lives during the coming months.  Good and Bad, He will always be there.  One thing is certain.  This year He has created out of nothing!  It did not exist before we experience it.  God makes our lives happen moment by moment.  He creates  from nothing our very existence.

So this year, remember the power of God in your lives. He is creating it each second we live and if we live it for HIM, then that would be right and good.  It is truly a wonderful gift. Do not take it for granted.

Blessings all for a wonderous New Year!

Your Word is TRUTH

In Jesus' prayer for the Disciples, he makes some astonishing declarations!

John 17:16-18 (NASB)
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.


Jesus was born of flesh and the Spirit and yet He was not of the world.  The Spirit is more powerful than flesh.  We can buy that knowing that Jesus was the Son of God...but what he says about His followers is even more astonishing!

Astonishment #1:  We are not of the world!
Once we have the Spirit of God living in us we have made a transition from flesh to Spirit.  Paul brings this out in several places in his New Testament writings too.  We belong to HIM.  We are of the Spirit and we belong with God.  Is it any wonder that many of us do not feel at "home" here?  Our true home is in the heavenly places!

Astonishment #2: We are sanctified by the Truth of God's Word.
Being sanctified means we are set apart by God and for God.  All true believers are in this state and they remain in this state for eternity. How does one receive this state of sanctification?  It is a work of GOD...not man.  And it's his WORD so that we cannot take credit.  His word is Truth in the purest and most absolute sense there is.  It's God's Word and it does not just CONTAIN TRUTH...it IS Truth!

Astonishment #3: We all have a mission!
Once we have been called, we are no longer our own.  The Heidelberg Catechism puts it eloquently, "That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ."  Because we are now HIS we accept His mission to go and spread the Good News of God's forgiveness of man's sin through Jesus' death of the cross and his resurrection! Just as Jesus was obedient unto death doing the Father's will...we are given the same task of being obedient to Jesus mission.  Such an honor!

Go out and seize the day in Jesus' Name!

Blessings All!

Be Intentional

This summer I recorded a show on my DVR and was getting around to watch it the other day.  The show was Last Comic Standing.  If you are not familiar with the show, it is a contest where these stand-up comedians compete during the course of a few weeks in different situations.  Each week one comic is eliminated until they get to the last comic standing.  Very funny...and cleaner than most shows since it is on regular TV...that is always a plus for me.

One thing that struck me is the amount of preparation each person competing put into his or her set of joke that they did each week. They wrote down jokes...they practiced telling the jokes...they got feedback and advice on the jokes before they actually went out a performed. There was a tremendous amount of preparation involved.  Those where were more prepared, obviously did better in the competition than those who sort of "winged it".

It also started me thinking about being a Christian.  How many times do we find ourselves flying by the seat of our pants instead of being intentional about being a Christian? How many times are we really preparing ourselves by praying and studying God's word and seeking Godly advice instead of just 'Winging it"?

This year, make a commitment to being intentional in your Christian walk.  Pray without ceasing. Go to Sunday School and study God's Word without ceasing as well. Meditate on it day and night! I think if you do these things you will find that you just may be...the Last Christian Standing and wouldn't that be worth it?  Yes, it would totally be worth it!

Blessings All!