God Did Not Bring You This Far To Leave You

God's mercies and compassions are new every morning.

Life is hard.  To those without a saving faith in Jesus Christ, there is one saying that sums up the total of their purpose on this earth, "Life sucks and then you die".  But the belief of the true Christian should be completely opposite of a hopeless life and then hopeless death. Jesus did not come to earth so that His followers could continue to live as if they have no hope.  Jesus came and died to give all His people life and not just a hum-drum, pessimistic, 'oh woo is me' kind of life; no Jesus came to give us an abundant,  joyful, peaceful, secure, and blessed kind of life. Now His idea of joy and a worldly view of joy is drastically different.  The world's joy is "eat, meet, and be merry", they get their joy from material things, from artificial and temporary things.  The problem with worldly things is they don't last.  You eat that delicious meal with all the fixings, but as it goes down into the digestive track it turns into dirty nasty refuse; that double meat cheese burger with all the extra fixings with a side of extra large chili fries and a large chocolate milk shake, it all goes down well, but the going out of all that food is a different story. That is how sin is.  It's good going down, but what comes out is broken down feces.  Sorry to use such an illustration, but I want to bring home the sharp contrast of holiness versus worldliness. The temporary things are just that, temporary, they don't last, you eat one meal but you will have eat another, even if it was the best tasting most expensive meal, it still goes and comes out the same, regardless if you spent $5 dollars or $1000 a plate. That points to the absolute silliness of depending on worldly things knowing that at the end of day, they don't matter; when you die, it won't matter that you lived in a 50 bed room mansion and had 10 cars in the garage, or had millions of fans or that you were homeless with the sky for your ceiling and the dirt and a rock for your bed and pillow.  If your name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, it does not matter whether you were rich or poor,  the life you spend on 'dining' and 'living' in the world's system will come out in the end to total destruction, your soul will be 'flushed' down the eternal 'toilet' of hell. 

Here is what survey takers say that a majority of people think about 'Christians' today: "Christians are bigots" "Christians are hypocrites" "Christians are self righteous"  "Christians are racists"  "Christians are out of touch with reality" "Christians are stupid"  "Why should I follow Christians, they can't even get along within themselves"
Numerous studies are done on human behavior, one study that really stood out to me was a study I heard about from a sermon on Bible School Radio, the pastor talked about this survey and it was pretty disheartening.  The study was on customer service in restaurants from the worker's point of view.  One of the questions asked of the waiters, 'what was the worst part of their job?', the common answer was the waiters hated Sundays, that the 'church' people were the worst customers, the most rude, and were the cheapest tippers.  What kind of sermon did these 'church' people listen to?  Where in the Bible does it say that God's people are to act this way?  Well the Bible does talk about 'unsaved' people who act like this:

• Brother against brother
• They lie and cheat
• They are thieves and murderers 
• They are fornicators and adulterers and homosexuals and sodomites
• They are covetous, jealous
• They are drunkards and revilers
• They are extortioners
• The are witches, and those who consort with all occult practices
• They are fearful and cowardly
• They are hateful, selfish, and prideful
• They think they are serving 'God' but they are really serving devils.

Jesus said that real Christians will be known by their love, not their hate.  Jesus also said that the world will hate and persecute His true followers.  

ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE GODLY, IN CHRIST JESUS WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION.

Why I am talking about being a real Christian?  Because it needs it needs to be crystal clear, the promises of God are for His people and His people alone. God says that if we will diligently obey His voice, to observe carefully all His commandments, He promises to bestow all of His blessings on those who will believe and obey. Now there are some differences between the old testament blessings under the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant established in Jesus's blood, but the issue of receiving God's blessings are way greater than anything the world has to offer no matter if it's the old or new.  Some things did not change in the New Covenant, like, God will never leave us or forsake us;  that with God ANYTHING is possible; that with God we have NOTHING to fear.  "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6; that we are not to trust in ourselves but completely in the Lord- "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and trust not in your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 and Matthew 6:33. Christians can have 'the peace that passes all understanding' NOW, not in some future state.  The blessings of God are not for those who reject Him and His laws, period.  The wages of sin is death, that means if you are an unrepentant sinner, the work you do in the flesh-sin- what you get paid back with is death/curses, not life and blessings. "The ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous...but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Psalm 1: 4-6.   That is why it is so ridiculous to think that God will bless us when we are living contrary to His word. Now, we can't 'earn' our blessings from God, they are His gift to us, we have to have faith to take what He is giving us. We are to obey God's commands because we want to, not because we have to, and God's gives us the ability to obey as we should because it is impossible to live the holy and totally opposite way of the world without the help of the Holy Spirit. It is God who makes us complete "in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight, though Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen." Hebrews 13:21; 

So, if you have the Holy Spirit of God, we don't despair like the lost thinking, "life sucks and then we die". "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God"-Psalm 41:1, It is foolish to disbelieve. Christians have a better promise that we can depend and live on and base our very life on. Jesus tells us, instructs us, "we do not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4.   "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."Psalm 42:5.  Jesus promises His people that, "...I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" and "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb" and "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain...HE WHO OVERCOMES SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS AND I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE SHALL BE MY SON." Revelation 19:6-9 & Revelation 21:4-7.

I will end with God's call to all those who will pick up their cross and follow His Son, Jesus Christ:

Mary Mary's Song "Can't Give Up Now"

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Revelation 12:11,  Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy Chapter 28; Psalm 42:5; 2 Timothy 3:2-4; Romans 1:29; Psalm 14:1; Matthew 19:26; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 30:5; Philippians 4:12-13; 1 Corinthians 4:8-12; 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; 2 Corinthians 6:5-6; Job 13:15; Romans 8:38-39; Matthew 5:10; Psalm 118:8-9; Hebrews 13:5-6; Romans 6:23; Matthew 6:33 & Proverb 3:5; Psalm 1: 4-6;Hebrews 13:21; John 15:18; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 14:3; Revelation 19:6-9 & Revelation 21:4-7; Philippians 4:7
references: unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks of Christianity by David Kinnaman.;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/sundays-are-the-worst-christian-tipping_n_4934418.html

Get Out of The Boat

A rope 1,300 feet long, two inches in diameter and made entirely of hemp would be the sole thing separating him from the roiling waters below.

In 1858, at 35 years old, Charles Blondin became the first man to walk on a tight rope across Niagara Falls. He was fearless and performed many daring acts on a tight rope; one to include rolling a wheel barrow along a two inch wire suspended miles above the the river. The crowds would cheer, and some would bet on him falling to his death because Blondin did not use any kind of safety apparatus at all. When he brought up the wheelbarrow, he asked the crowd, "Do you think I can make it?"  Some in the crowd cheered for him, "Yes, we believe in you, you can do it!" They believed this because they had seen him perform other amazing acts on the tight rope. He crossed over the river on the tight rope with the wheelbarrow and the crowd roared, cheering loudly.  Then he asked, "Who will get in the wheelbarrow and cross the river with me?"  The sound from the crowd was silence.

In 2011, Nik Wallenda, a descendant of famous tight ropers, was approved to attempt the same feet as Blondin, except, Nik was going to do it with all kinds of safety nets in place, to include having a helicopter near by to help him, "Just in case".  Blondin had no such assurances, yet he bravely performed many acts on the tight rope.

There is another story of a daring act to defy nature. It happened one night thousands of years ago. It happened when 12 men were instructed to get on a boat and cross a sea to get to the other side.  Before this new instruction, they had witnessed many great miraculous feats, greater than a man walking on a tightrope.  The man walked on water, not on ski's or in a boat or some other floating device.  No this man defied the very laws of gravity. That man was Jesus; the 12 men His chosen apostles. This particular story is very popular in the world. "Walkin' on water" is a common saying for someone doing something amazing in human eyes. But what Jesus did was just like any other day.  His trust and faith were completely secure in His Father, God, which empowered Him-Jesus, to do the impossible.

Now, the main point to this post is not to discuss the amazing feats of Jesus and man.  The focus of this post is about the bystanders/crowd, the 12 men. It is about their response to witnessing the great miraculous feat that I want to talk about here today. For the purpose of brevity, I will sum up what happened in Matthew Chapter 14.  Jesus had just performed another miracle in feeding 5,000 starting with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish.  Now historical records would indicate that it was probably more than 5,000 as more than just men would have following Him, the men would have their wives, children, and servants with them as well. After this, Jesus told His disciples to get in a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee and go before Him to the other side. This sea is about 13 miles long.
Let's stop here for a moment.  It is Jesus, not some unreliable, good for nothing person, telling them to go; and, before this, besides the food miracle, the disciples had witnessed many other miracles as well.  Jesus told them to go. *side bar that is the same instruction He gave to the disciples before He ascended back into heaven after sacrificing His body to the Cross of Calvary and rose from the dead.  Jesus said"GO therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am always with you, even to end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20. Simple instructions, go, why do we make it so complicated?*** OK, back to the focus of post*** Jesus tells them to get to the other side of sea in the boat, Jesus went off by Himself to pray.  

So, at the beginning, when everything was copacetic, the multitude/disciples had their fill of food, it is a nice warm day, the Sea of Galilee is calm and pristine, they get on the boat and set sail.  I can imagine their conversations, they may have been talking about the miracles Jesus was doing, or they may have been arguing among themselves who was best.

Some hours pass until it is night time, the disciples are in the boat and in the middle of the sea which becomes tossed by waves. It did not long before the calm waters turned to raging waves, knocking the boat and men around, the winds were violent and: "In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea, and when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying ,"It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, " Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Matthew 14: 25-27. Now, we are not told that the sea had calmed down at this point.

When Jesus called out to the disciples, Peter, the only one brave enough said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  I love Jesus's responses, He doesn't use a lot of words and oratory dispensations, many times, He simply says, "Come", "Go" , "Stay".  In this instance, all Jesus said was, "Come".  Now Peter starts out great, he believes it is Jesus and he gets out of the boat and actually is defying nature himself, walking on the sea towards Jesus. But now Peter proves the principle, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish that wins the game".  Peter made the number one mistake we who are followers of Christ tend to make when faced with difficult circumstances, he took his eyes off of Jesus.  Now when taking his eyes off Jesus, he did not close them, no he looked at the storm, the raging waves, and fierce winds and he believed at that moment that his life was in danger, where was his belief in Jesus?  Where is our faith when trouble comes?  Like the crowds at the Blondin's tight rope act with the wheelbarrow, even though the crowd had seen him cross over the tight rope with the wheel barrow just fine, where did the crowds faith in him go when challenged with getting in the wheelbarrow and crossing the raging river over the tiny tight rope?  One word that describes both reasons to for not putting their fate in another's hands, FEAR. Another word is DOUBT.


When face to face with the 'monster' our natural instincts tend to kick in, to either fight or flee. But when a person puts on Christ, they are not supposed to operate under the natural anymore.  "I have been crucified (my flesh) with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20.  and "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of loved and of sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7.  It is the Spirit of God that empowers His followers to operate in the spiritual realm. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. But Peter walking in the flesh, took his eyes off of the One Who Can save and strengthen him, and allowed fear and doubt to rein in his heart and he began to sink into the sea. Peter came to his senses and cried out to the only One who could save him. Peter did not cry out to the other disciples in the boat, or cry for them to put down a rope. No he called to the One true Savior, his Lord and King, Jesus; and Jesus did not hesitate to rescue him. Jesus stretched out His hand and said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

This particular passage in the Bible is talking to us now in our present time.  Many self professing Christians are like the other 11 disciples and Peter.  Some are still in the boat, cowering, afraid, doubting, trusting more in the boat than anything else.  Some are like Peter, they see Christ, but then they take their eyes off of Him and instead are like the seed that fell in the thorns, their cares/troubles are for the things of this world. Many are like the crowds at Blondin's shows, just standing on the side lines, cheering, but not willing to risk it all by participating in the stunt with him. Some are like Nik Wallenda, they only do things as long as they have a safety net in place.  Many are not wanting or willing to risk it all for Christ. Think that staying in the boat or the side line is just fine.  Not according to the written Word. Jesus Himself said in Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his father and mother, wife, and children, brothers and sisters, and yes his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." and at verse 33 in the same chapter, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

So what is keeping you, me from getting out of the boat, stepping out of the side line in climbing into the wheelbarrow? Let us all examine ourselves, asking God to help us remove all forms of doubt and fear. His perfect love casts out fear.  We have no need to worry about any trouble in this world as Jesus overcame it all with His blood.  Trust in His blood, Trust in Him, Trust in the Father and Holy Spirit.  They are all we need.

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: Matthew Chapter 14;  Matthew 28:19-20; Matthew 14: 25-27;Galatians 2:20; 2 Timothy 1:7;  Luke 14:26-27 and verse 33; Philippians 4:13; 1 John 4:18
references: http://www.keepbelieving.com/2012/06/15/the-great-blondin-and-true-saving-faith/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/?no-ist