Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word “reservation” as: “an arrangement to have something (as a hotel room) held for one’s use; also: a
promise, guarantee, or record of such an engagement.”

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Ohio to attend a conference. I had booked a hotel online and secured the room with a credit card. When I arrived at the hotel, the desk clerk could not find my reservation. It had apparently been lost somewhere in cyberspace. My security guarantee was only as good as the plastic it was made from. Fortunately, I hand carried a copy of my reservation confirmation, and after about an hour and a half, finally got into a room.

How wonderful it is to know that our eternal home is guaranteed with something much more substantial than a piece of plastic! Jesus tells us in John 14:2 that, “There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.”  This reservation cannot be secured with our credit card, our signature, or even our word. No amount of money or fame can buy our way into the Father’s House. You see, Jesus secured every believer’s eternal residence with His blood. It is a debt that only Jesus could pay as the perfect sacrifice.

It is by His name that our room is secured. It is by His word for our word cannot stand.  We are all given a choice to accept this room reserved and prepared for us by Jesus and secured by His blood. One day every believer will meet the Lord face to face and we will be taken to the door of our eternal home.

The reservation in heaven is secure and can never be lost.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)

On Easter Sunday, my family and I woke up early and got  ready to go to church for Easter Services. I was wearing a tie and my beautiful wife was wearing her brand new dress. It was a perfect Sunday morning, a little cool and somewhat wet, but we were going to worship the Lord.

The only problem was I couldn’t get the van out of the garage. The transmission had broken and the van would not go into gear. We were staying home.

I am usually rather meticulous about preventive maintenance. The van was maintained properly, but the transmission just went out without warning. The transmission is the most complicated and least understood major component in the car. It is a component of the drive train that is designed to transmit power from the engine to the drive shaft, which in turn causes the car to move.

Fortunately the transmission is covered under a lifetime warranty by the manufacturer and Monday was spent transporting the van to the dealer for repairs.

Just as the van’s transmission is a mechanical part that transmits power to the wheels, the Holy Spirit is sent by God to transmit power from the Heavenly Father to us. The Holy Spirit was sent to every believer to teach us, counsel us, and to enable us to carry out our Lord’s will and prepare us to be with Him. Receiving the Holy Spirit is also our guarantee of a life with the Father. He is our warranty, if you will.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

In the meantime, we wait for our van to get fixed. The transmission will be disassembled, inspected, and the worn and damaged components will be replaced. These damaged parts are commonly referred to as “hard harts.”  The transmission will then be reassembled to factory specifications with all new gaskets, seals, clutches, and bands. These are commonly referred to as “soft parts.”

We were once broke, dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1), but now as believers in Christ, “we are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) The Holy Spirit is replacing our “hard harts” with “soft parts” to our Lord’s specifications.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

It’s Ashley’s turn to post. See the below question and answer session.

The Rapture

By Ashley Bledsoe

 

Q: What do you think about the big bang theory?

A: I think the big bang is so stupid. It’s not true. I know God created everything. I mean how can the world be working the way it is just by a bang? Like my dad told me, “… nothing can’t be made of nothing.” Meaning, a bang can’t be made of nothing. God is involved no matter what. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1)”

Q: What do you think about the earth never ending theory?

A: I think that’s wrong too. If you ask for my proof, here it is. It says in the Bible that God will take his people “(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) for the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the arch angel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” In other words, God will take all the true Christians with him to heaven. This is called the rapture. It says, in the Bible, that the antichrist will come from hell and try to call him-self the “true messiah.” But that’s not true. He isn’t the messiah… JESUS IS! The anti-christ is Satan in a man’s body, who will try to take over this world “(2 John 2:7) many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.”   No one knows who the anti-christ will be. It’s not even mentioned in the Bible. I asked my dad one day, “Do you think the world will end?” He told me that it says in the Bible that the world will be destroyed by fire and a new world will be created by fire by God “(2 Peter 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the Earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”  I asked my mom, “Will Satan be destroyed after the ending of this world?” She told me, “Yes. Satan will be destroyed after this world. He will be in hell forever and ever.” It says that in Revelation 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” People, if you’re not saved before the rapture, there will be hell on earth. So accept Jesus now and don’t wait. Let’s say this prayer:

 

“Dear Lord,

I know you’re there. I know you’re real. I want to be accepted as your child, your true child. Lord, please forgive me of all my sins I have done. I know you’re the only one and true God. Forgive me. Thank you.

                                                                                    Jesus name,

                                                                                                Amen”

Truly mean this. Don’t wait for the rapture.

(The rapture will happen in the blink of an eye, at any time, any day)

 -By Ashley Bledsoe

  

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  (Matthew 16:19)

Everyone at one time or another has misplaced their keys. On Friday morning I was enroute to Camp Clark, Missouri for military training when I received a frantic phone call from my wife. She stated that she was unable to locate the keys to the van. She had turned the house upside down looking for the keys. She looked in every drawer, closet, pocket, and even the trash cans in a valiant, yet vain effort to find them. Without the keys to the van, she was unable to transport the kids to school. The longer she went without the keys, the more frantic she got.

Eventually, the kids made it to school via an alternate method.

After an exhaustive search and numerous prayers, she resigned herself to the fact that the keys were gone, and that we would have to purchase new keys. Unfortunately, these keys are “special” keys that must be purchased through the dealer. We can’t just go to the local hardware store and have duplicates made.  A copy of the original simply will not work. Only factory original keys have the ability to start the vehicle.

The physical keys to the vehicle may have been misplaced, but the Spiritual keys to the gates of Heaven can never be lost.  But similarly to the van keys, only the original may be used. Jesus said that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by (Him).” (John 14:6) And Luke tells us in Acts 4:12 that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

You see, Jesus is the original. He has given the keys to Heaven to the church, and Peter is the rock upon which it was built. Too often we try to use the “keys” the world tells us are the way to God. Fame, fortune, family, and even spirituality are only cheap copies of the true original.

Which keys are you using to obtain eternal life?

Eventually, the keys were located. She had laid them down at church and someone turned them in to the office. Only through a chance conversation with the church secretary was she able to find them. Like the prodigal son, what was once lost is now found, and secure in the owner’s possession. But that is another story for another time.

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

“He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20)

A week ago my daughter Ashley found something in the yard. It was small, black, and flopping around. Upon closer inspection she found that it was a small bird that had somehow broken its wing and was struggling to fly. She tried to catch it, but the bird escaped into the back yard, right into the clutches of my dog. Sam, a black labrador, found it very interesting indeed and promptly picked it up in his mouth and began playing with the poor bird.

This was turning out to be a very bad day for the bird.

Having compassion for one of God’s creatures my family scrambled out to rescue the small starling. My wife placed it in a pet carrier and brought it inside. While inside, she medicated its wing and provided food, water, shelter and prayers in the hopes of nursing it back to health, and eventually letting it return to the wild. She even named it “Fighter” because he is so determined to survive. We believe that this little bird will soon be back in the fields where he belongs, but not before he is able to escape from danger and fly away.

The most amazing thing is that this little bird, after only a few days seemed to understand that my wife was trying to help it. This little starling seems to have admitted that he is broken and is willing to accept the gift of food, shelter, and mending that is offered. Oh that we humans could learn the lesson taught by this small, black bird.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all broken just as the wing on this “Fighter” is broken. Jesus teaches us that, “apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). We are completely at His mercy and must rely on Him for our every need. Only through Jesus can we be healed from our brokenness. If we choose to deny that we are completely dependent on Him, we will never reach the full potential that God has predestined us for. For it is by His Spirit that He teaches, guides, protects, heals, and grows us into that person He desires, in the likeness of His son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus offers the same opportunity for us to be healed from our brokenness. We can choose to accept the offer and be healed or we can choose to reject His saving work on the cross and forever live with broken wings.

In time, Fighter’s wing will heal, and I know that as long as I am covered by the wing of God, I am protected.

“He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91:4)

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

No one likes to lose. Likewise no one likes to see their favorite team lose. Unfortunately in contests, whether it be sporting or otherwise, one team wins while the other team loses. Repeated losses tend to cause a person, and a team, to feel defeated and deflated. Repeated defeat wears a person down, eroding their sense of self-worth, causing them to consider giving up.

On the other side of the coin is victory. My, how sweet it is to be the victor. You no longer feel defeated and deflated, but rather upbeat and powerful. If the victory comes after repeated losses, you might gain a new sense of self-worth along with renewed confidence. I find it amazing to think that with God, we do not have to taste the agony of defeat. With Him, all things are possible, and we know we are victorious!

Psalm 60:12 states, “With God we will gain victory, and He will trample down our enemies.” Isn’t that wonderful knowledge? Knowing victory is guaranteed should give us the boldness and confidence we need to tackle any problem, including a lost contest. Whether we win or lose on the playing field we have gained victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  The old Hymn below makes this point much more eloquently than I could:

Victory in Jesus
O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood.

Words and Music by E.M. Bartlett
© 1939 – Administrated by Integrated Copyright Group, Inc.
All rights reserved

 

God bless you and thanks for visiting

     ”The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.
       You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. “(Isaiah 58:11)

What happens to a garden when it is well watered?

What happens to a garden when it is fed with plenty of water? Amazingly, the soil becomes soft and the plants become healthy and green. In Genesis, God planted such a garden in the East, called Eden. (Genesis 2:8) And there He placed the man he had formed (Adam) and gave Adam the job of tending the garden. (Genesis 2:15) In that garden you see the work of God’s love and touch of His personal care, for it was a beautiful flowering garden before He ever placed the humans there.

Recently my lovely wife was asked to tend a neighbor’s garden while they were away. The garden was well cared for and was beautiful and lush and green. It was obvious the neighbors took great care of their plants and worked the soil frequently. It was something they loved to do and God gave them a talent for caring for His greenery. Frances sought to care for their garden with the same level of care and love and worked very hard to maintain the soil daily. She would water and weed, toil and sweat for hours in the neighbor’s yard throughout the day, then leave it overnight.

Over time, she began to notice problems in the garden. Something was uprooting the plants she worked so hard to care for. Some creature was digging up the garden and tearing up the mulch. This problem only grew worse as time passed and she realized something had to be done about it. After investigating the problem, she discovered that the problem was armadillos, and these invaders must go! She made a commitment to the neighbors to care for their garden and these animals were making a mess of it.

These invaders must GO!

Interestingly, the armadillos only appeared during the hours of darkness. While there was a lack of light, the invaders attacked. They did not intend to destroy; it’s just what they do. But they found a happy hunting ground when the light was absent.

So, over the course of two or three nights I crept over to the neighbors’ house, rifle and flashlight in hand, and waited to spot the evil lurking in the shadows. When the armadillos were fully exposed in the beam of light, they became an easy target. As the saying goes, “One shot, one kill.” 

Problem eliminated.

Sin is like an armadillo, a nuisance critter that likes to creep into your garden during the hours of darkness. If left unchecked, a multitude of problems can arise. Unlike armadillos, however, the enemy is bent on destruction. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” (John 10:10)

Thankfully we are given the Light of the world to guard against the thief and to see clearly the sin in our lives. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) The Father sent His only Son, Jesus, to be the light, to destroy the darkness, and eliminate the sin. Jesus accomplished this by hanging on the cross for us.  We may still occasionally step into the darkness, but thank God He has more mercy on us than I had on those armadillos.

“He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:3-4)

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

It's easy to see why Aaron thinks these are "cool rocks"

“Search me, O God, and know my heart.” (Psalm 139:23)

One of my twin sons, Aaron, is fascinated by rocks and rock formations. I often wonder if he may someday become a famous geologist. Aaron will spend hours combing through the front yard of our house looking for certain rocks that catch his interest. He has plenty of rocks to look at since my front yard seems to breed them. He will pick up each individual pebble, examine it thoroughly, then either add it to his collection of “cool rocks” or set it aside to be examined again later.

Aaron’s current fascination is geodes. The outside of a geode is often rather uninteresting, kind of bumpy, hard, and look like any number of ordinary stones. But when cracked open, they reveal beautiful crystalline formations that are sometimes very striking in their appearance. They range in size and shape from very small to up to 10 inches in diameter.  These amazing rock formations seem to be fairly common in the central United States and it is easy to see why Aaron is so interested in them.

How does Aaron know when he has found one of these cool rocks? Does he rely on his experience while searching? Or does he have some sort of “X-Ray vision” that allows him to see what’s inside the rocks he is observing?

Obviously Aaron doesn’t have “X-Ray vision” but if humans can be described as rocks, God can see through us to the inner core. He searches us and examines our hearts, minds, and souls. He can see what no one else can, whether the heart is a God-glorifying geode or a solid stone. If He finds what He is looking for, He cracks it open with His glorious power and cleanses us of all unrighteousness (1John 1:9) so all can see our inner beauty.

At the same time if our hearts are hard, He may set us aside for further examination at a later date. I pray that our Lord Jesus may see through each of our hearts and find the beautiful geodes of humanity that He will find worthy to use for His glory; when He cracks open the outer shell of our hearts, He finds pure crystals that are pleasing to Him.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1John 1:9)

God bless you and thanks for visiting

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Outside my office window stands a White Oak tree. Over the years I have noticed this tree tends to hang on to its dead leaves nearly all winter, only dropping them to make way for the new leaves in the spring. All winter long the leaves simply hang there, dry and shriveled, nearly rotting in place for months on end while the tree is dormant. Even a strong wind is not enough to cause the tree to release its grip on these dead leaves. What keeps these leaves hanging on the branches? Why won’t the tree drop these unsightly straphangers?

More importantly, why are we so much like the White Oak, holding on to our old selves, lusting after the desires of our flesh, knowing that God has much more beautiful things in store for our lives just waiting for the trigger of a new season? 

Our Lord said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:1-4)  

If we fail to remain in God’s word we are like the dead leaves hanging on to the branches of the White Oak. We become dry, shriveled, and barely hanging on to the branch. Isaiah calls us “like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

However, as the new season approaches, the tree finally purges itself of the dead leaves. Soon after the tree begins to bud new life as new leaves begin to creep forth from the branches. The tree appears restored, refreshed, and renewed. In a sense, the tree appears reborn. We too must be born again, as Peter tells us, “not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ ” (1 Peter 1:23-24)

Therefore, just as the White Oak outside my office window sheds its dead leaves in the spring and returns to its glorious green shade, then we Christians must “put off [our] old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of [our] minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) Say “Goodbye” to the old; the new must come!

God bless you and thanks for visiting.

Merry Christmas everyone! My beautiful kids are truly wound up! They are excited about Christmas finally arriving tomorrow. They are well beyond the “Santa Clause” days so the gifts are all arranged underneath the Christmas tree, neatly packaged in bright paper and shiny bows. Their excitement seems to be building with each passing moment, meaning there is not a silent moment in my house. They seem to be trying to manipulate the passage of time in order to cause it to move quicker, only adding to the anticipation and suspense.

We should be looking forward with the same level of anticipation and excitement to the Glorious Appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our King. We continue to look forward to His second coming, the wonderful moment that we are united with our Savior.

This is the hope that we have,  

  ” ¹¹ For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men,  ¹² instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;   ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:11-13)

With great anticipation and excitement we look forward to that day when He comes for His bride, the bloodwashed church. We look forward to this great moment prayerfully in faith and purity, and with fervent desire as a faithful bride!

Peter tells us to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) I say we must first give people a reason to ask. If we as followers of Christ live with the same excitement of anticipation as children on Christmas morning, that would be reason to ask. I challenge you, just as Pastor Bob did in last week’s sermon, to look forward to His presence, not just the presents, this Christmas.

“Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.” (Revelation 22:21)

God bless you and thanks for visiting.