This past Sunday we celebrated Resurrection Day.  This is a day that has been hijacked by the Easter Bunny, but in my family, we chose to celebrate Resurrection Day.

Resurrection Day is the day we celebrate the fact that Christ has risen from the dead!  As I was thinking about the miracle of Christ rising from the dead this thought came to mind.

There is only one God who is alive and well!  So many people give their allegiance to false gods who are powerless to provide life, powerless to give help, powerless to heal, powerless to save.  

There are religions who promise virgins in heaven, religions that talk about reincarnation, religions that provide structured ceremonies and empty promises.  These religions are all coming from a dead source.  Their prophets are dead; their leaders have passed away.  

The one true God, who is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is alive and well.  He lives and leads.  He heals.  He saves.  He gives hope to the Hopeless.  He gives strength to the weak.  He is our refuge and our strong tower.

In times of need He hears our prayers and He provides our needs.  He protects us under the shadow of His wings.  He is the Great I Am!  

This past Sunday I felt like I wanted to run up and down the street proclaiming at the top of my lungs, HE LIVES!  HE STILL LIVES!

I do not know what each of you may be going through.  But I do not really need to know the circumstances of each situation.  Whether you need to be healed from a disease or from a broken bone.  Whether you need help mentally or physically.  Whether you need encouragement or comfort.  Whether you need peace or finances.  There is a God you can turn to who is Alive and Well.  

Why would you try your luck on a dead false god?  Why would you turn to superstition?  Why would you base your hope on someone’s theory of god?  A dead fake god cannot help you!

Why not run into the arms of Christ is who Alive and Well?  The Bible tells us that He sits on the throne!  He is at the right hand of God making intersession for us.  Run to the only God who cares about your wellbeing.  The only God who gave His life to have a relationship with you.  The only God who loves you.  The only God who has the ability to love.

These other fake gods cannot love!  Everything else you run to will only lead to destruction and death.  Christ is here for you!  Christ is holding out His nail scarred hands to pick you up and give you hope.  Christ is the only God who endured whippings and shame so that we would no longer feel ashamed.

Again, I do not know what you are going through.  But I know who can help!  Call on Jesus today!  Then find a good Bible believing church and begin fostering a relationship with the only God who is Alive and Well.

You ever find yourself asking that type of question?  Why am I here?  Why was I born?  What am I supposed to be doing with my life?

I can remember asking those types of questions all through my life.  There was a time I did not know my purpose.  I did not understand the reason I was born.  I could not understand why I was here on earth.

There was a time when life seemed like such an awful waste of time.  Some people seemed to get all the breaks.  They won every race, they were born to rich parents, the sun seemed to shine on them every day, and they never knew pain and disappointment.  That was not my reality, and I believe there are many in town who feel the same way.    

There is a scripture in the Bible that says, “In every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

When I was saved in 2003, I became a new creation!  When I found this scripture, I found my will and my purpose!  It is so simple.  To live a happy life, we need to be thankful.  Give God thanks for everything.  Every situation you go through.  Whether that situation is pleasant or unpleasant.  Thank God in all things!

You ever notice, is it hard to be unhappy if you are giving thanks?  Saying thank you warms your heart.  When we thank God for being born, we are acknowledging that God is the giver of life.  We are in His hands and He has control.  I do not have to worry or fret about things I have no control over.  I can just sit back and thank God for having the control.

Why are we here.  To be thankful to God.  To give Him thanks!  I am so thankful I have been allowed to have a relationship with the Lord!  Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul and taking control of my life!

If you do not understand this feeling of thankfulness that I am talking about, I invite you to ask Jesus into your heart.  Ask Him to be in control of your life, then thank Him for doing it.

Wow there is a lot going on around the world and around America!  Everywhere you look there is some kind of scandal or some kind of “News Alert”!  People are talking about this or that.  Some of the talk is worthy talk and some of the talk is not.

For the most part I think we spend too much time talking about nothing.  People are talking about their neighbors and talking about their friends, talking about their enemies and talking about their kin.  But how many people are talking about the most important topic.  Jesus!

Currently the Lord is moving around the world in a fresh new way.  His Spirit is blowing on the young and old alike.  He is revealing Himself to the oppressed in the form of visions and dreams.  He is opening doors of opportunity to all walks of life.  He is drawing us closer to Him.  The believer and unbeliever alike!

I think we get so caught up in our talking that we do not spend enough time listening.  At some point we lost the ability to just sit and listen.  We can learn a lot when we listen.  If we just take in what we hear without trying to come up with a response.  Just listen to what we hear.

There is a chapter in Luke that talks about a variety of events that will take place in the end times.  Wars, persecution, famines, earthquakes, pestilence, fearful sights, and signs in the heavens.  It says that men’s hearts will fail them because of fear.  These are just the types of things we keep talking about in our society today.

Talking, talking, talking!  Too much talking, not enough listening.

Listen, I tell you the truth.  When you see all these things begin to come to pass, lift your head and look up!  As we are told in Luke 21:28 Look up our redemption draweth nigh!  We can rest in that!  Listening to the Lord and looking for our redemption will calm our hearts and refresh our spirits.

It seems to me that sometimes we as believers doubt that we hear the voice of the Lord. There is a scripture in the Bible that tells us that God’s people hear his voice and follow His directions. (I am paraphrasing here)

So then why is it that we run around asking other people their opinion? When we find ourselves in need of guidance from God, and when the answer comes, we doubt that we have heard from God. Maybe we do not like the answer or maybe we are unsure whether we heard the answer properly.  Either way we can be swayed by the words of people.

1 Kings 13 tells the story of how a “man of God” from Judah is sent by the Lord to confront King Jeroboam at the altar in Bethel, where the king is offering sacrifices to false gods. The young prophet sent by God declares that the altar will be split apart and its ashes poured out as a sign of God’s judgment.

King Jeroboam invited the prophet to his house to eat and drink, but the prophet rejected the invitation because God had already told him not to. An old prophet that lived in the land came and invited the young prophet to his house to eat and drink, but again the younger prophet chose to listen to the voice of God and say no.

This is where we pick up the story in 1 Kings chapter 13: 18-19 AMP says, He answered, I am a prophet also, as you are. And an agnel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. (19) So, the man from Judah went back with him and ate and drank water in his house.”

In this story, disobedience cost the man of God his life. Because he ended up dying. In this story the man of God had heard the voice of God but had only partially obeyed the directions of God. Instead of following through on what God had said, he chose to listen to a person who told lies. Which brings me back to my thoughts.

Why do we seek to listen to the opinion of others? Why do we doubt in our own ability to hear the voice of God? Why do we choose to please people instead of pleasing God? There is a time and a place for seeking godly counsel. But most importantly, there is a time to just listen and obey the voice of God.

I pray we all chose to practice listening and obeying the voice of God. Blessings come from obedience. Consequences come from disobedience.

          Like much of the town during this time of year, I have the flu.  It started off slow on Friday.  I was completely out of commission Saturday and Sunday. Now here we are on Monday and I think I might live.

          Last night while I was tossing and turning in my bed, I decided to open my tablet and scroll through YouTube.  I found a message by Dutch Sheets.  He was reading a prophecy by another individual.  The message was so good I wanted to share it with you.

          Now I do not know this other person.  I do not know how accurate they are on their prophetic abilities.  But the message gave me hope and excitement about the season we are coming into.

          The basic premise of the prophecy was that Jesus was going to show up as the lion over America.  He had all four of His paws on the four corners of America.  The scripture John 3:16 was going out over land.  The lost were saved.

          Another part of the prophecy declared that the Lord was basically saying enough.  The enemy has messed with us long enough.  Now he must let go of America.  We were once a beacon to the world of the love of Christ and we would be again. 

          I do not know about you, but when I heard those words I got excited.  Our prayers for America have reached the Lord.  I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered.  I little flash back from last week there.

          John 3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life.

          If you have ever interceded for our country, for our community; your prayers have reached heaven.  The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is roaring and every bondage must be broken.  Every hinderance my be loosed and removed.

          I am thankful I found that prophecy.  Whether true or not it reminded me to never stop praying.  Never stop seeking the Lord.  It gives me something positive to pray about.  So often we focus on the negative when God always seems to work in the positive.