Month: January 2024

This is a true/false test. When you look at your reflection in the mirror each morning are you looking at the real you? Now 95% of the people taking this quiz will answer “true” but they’d be wrong. Man has a dual nature which we all know. We have an eternal spirit on the inside of us from God; which is what I refer to as, “the spirit man.” We also have a human body from God that I’ll refer to as, “the physical man.” So which man is the real “us”? Is it the spirit man on the inside of us or is it the outside physical man? It can’t be both. Only one man can be the main man. And the answer is….the spirit man is the real us! Scripture says we’re to live by faith and not by sight so everything we see is not always as it seems. To find the real “us” all we need to do is study God’s word, become spiritually aware, and remember that God cannot lie. Since God made man he’s the final authority on who we are. God’s word is his wisdom so let’s see what the Bible has to say about the matter:

Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

So on the sixth day of creation God made man. In heaven at the time there was only God and the millions of angels God created to serve him. Angels do not create anything. Only God is the creator. So when God spoke in the above verse he was not addressing the angels. God the Father was addressing the other two persons of the triune Godhead, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God but he exists as three distinct persons; God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the verse above the pronouns “us” and “our” are capitalized which is further proof that God is talking to a divine person. God is a real person who has a distinct personality. God has a sense of humor, he can laugh, he can love, and he can get angry. God is also invisible and immortal. So when God says he made man according to his likeness he’s saying he made man an immortal being, and an invisible spirit like God is. If God made man for fellowship in heaven forever then it makes perfect sense that man would also need to be a spirit that was also immortal and invisible like God. The spirit man inside us is the divine essence from the body of God himself. God is part of us and vice versa. It can’t be any other way.

Genesis 2:7 – And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

By Genesis 2:2 God had already completed the six days of creation, before resting on the seventh day. During creation week God created Adam as the first spirit man made in God’s image. It wasn’t until much later in Genesis 2:7 that God got around to making Adam the physical man. Notice in the above verse God said that he “formed” man (Adam). You can’t “form” a spirit because a spirit is by definition formless. Notice that God didn’t say that he created man because God had already done that in Genesis 1:26. The wording God uses is precise and important because it tells us a lot. The spirit man is the real us because God made the spirit man first, during creation week. The physical body of Adam was made by God afterwards and it was just an empty vessel until God inserted Adam the spirit man into the body of the physical man God had formed from the dust of the ground. God is a spirit and cannot be made of dust so when God says man is made in his image he was speaking of the spirit man only; the real us. In Genesis when God speaks about Adam and says he, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”, God’s referring to Adam the spirit man being inserted into Adam the physical man. The end of the above verse tells us that the lights didn’t go on in Adam’s eyes until after the spirit man arrived to give him life. For an analogy, think about the Marvel character Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. represents the inner man, the spirit man, the real us. The iron suit symbolizes the outer man, the physical man, and is not the real us. Without our inner spirit man inside us our physical body is just an empty tent.

2 Corinthians 5:1 – For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (our glorified bodies).

John 3:6 – (Jesus) – That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.

John 4:24 – (Jesus) – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Genesis 2:17 – (God speaking to Adam and Eve) – But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

God made Eve the same way as Adam; as a fully grown adult; but every man and woman who came after Adam and Eve were born of a woman in the normal way because man produces after it’s kind by a decree of God, with the inner spirit man added by God at our conception. Genesis 2:7 tells us the empty skin suits that were the original bodies of Adam and Eve did not become living beings until after God added the spirit man and spirit woman, the real person. This verse also proves that a human being cannot live without their spirit man on the inside of them and once a person dies their spirit man also cannot remain inside a dead corpse. After death the spirit man must return to God for judgment. The souls of believers immediately go to heaven upon their death to be in the presence of Jesus forever. On the other hand, the souls of nonbelievers who die immediately go to hell within the earth where they’ll be in pain and agony for all eternity. These are the only two options available to us.

Hebrews 9:27 – And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

John 6:47 – (Jesus) – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

Romans 14:12 – So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing (the rapture) and His kingdom (the second coming): Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden. The world was without sin back then but Satan was in the world. Adam and Eve had eternal spirits from God on the inside of them (the spirit man). God gave each of them immortal, fully grown glorified bodies that would never grow old or get sick (the physical man). This dual nature of man was perfect in God’s eyes and he called it “good”. Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden of Eden and they were in perfect fellowship with God. That is, until Satan crashed the party. Satan caused Adam and Eve to sin against God by disobeying the commandment God gave them, which was not to eat the fruit from a certain tree because they would gain the knowledge of good and evil. Through the disobedience of Adam and Eve sin entered the world and Adam forfeited the control of earth to Satan. One of the spiritual laws of heaven is the wages of sin is death. A just God had no other choice but to sentence Adam and Eve to physical death on earth followed by a sentence of eternal spiritual death in hell. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden for the rest of their lives.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:36 – (Jesus) – He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Romans 5:12 – Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Romans 5:17 – For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one (Satan), much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Adam and Eve’s glorified bodies were corrupted by their sin and their bodies were changed into mortal bodies like we have that will eventually grow old and die. Adam and Eve lost their physical immortality but not their spiritual immortality. The sins of Adam and Eve not only stained their physical bodies it also stained their eternal spirits which meant they were destined to reside in hell for all eternity upon their physical death. However, after Adam and Eve later repented of their sin God was merciful and credited Adam and Eve with having “righteousness” before God so when they died they went to Paradise within the earth instead of to hell. After Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, and during his three days within the earth, Jesus went down to Paradise and took Adam and Eve and all the saints who lived before Christ to heaven because Jesus had finally arrived on earth to pay their sin debt to God by his death on the cross. All men born after Adam carry the sin of Adam in their bodies and in their spirit.

Only the blood of Christ can wash sin away from the spirit man, the real us, but not so for the physical body which must perish because it’s not the real us. Our body is merely a vessel our spirit is using temporarily. As believers we’ll see Adam and Eve in heaven one day. The point I’m trying to make is every person has both a spirit man and a physical man that cannot be separated except by death or until Jesus comes in the air to rapture the saints to heaven or his second coming to judge the world. As human beings, we can only see the outer physical man who is withering away. When God looks upon us he sees our heart, the eternal inner spirit man which is the real us. God takes no notice of the outer physical man because he is just a temporary tent, here for a only a brief moment and is no more.

Romans 8:11 – But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Luke 19:10 – (Jesus) – For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Romans 8:9 – But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Genesis 3:19 – (God speaking to Adam and Eve) – In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

What people don’t seem to understand is that when a believer is saved unto eternal life in heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior God will then immediately replace their sin-stained eternal spirit with a new sinless spirit. It’s the exact same spirit we had before but without the sin. God does an instantaneous swap so we’re the same spirit man. The Holy Spirit only indwells the believer after the inner spirit man has been cleansed of sin because God cannot abide sin and certainly will not abide in our bodies alongside a sin-stained spirit. With our sin-filled physical body from Adam’s fall we’re not so lucky. Our corrupted physical body has to die but don’t worry; Jesus will one day give believers a new glorified body like he has and like Adam and Eve had. In the meantime, our saved eternal spirit man will have to reside inside our corrupted body until our death. Satan is still the god of this world so believers will still continue to sin, but hopefully we’ll sin less and less over time as God sanctifies us and as we become more like Jesus during our walk with God. When believers do sin their sins will be forgiven by God if we ask it of him in prayer because we have God’s promise.

Matthew 21:22 – (Jesus) – And whatever things you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.

1 Corinthians 1:18 – For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Nonbelievers watch believing Christians like a hawk because they expect our conduct to be perfect. Nonbelievers readily point it out when believers sin and they say we must not be saved, that God doesn’t really love us, and that we’re hypocrites. That is Satan talking so don’t listen. I’m a believer and I know for certain I’m going to heaven. That doesn’t prevent me from sinning and when someone throws it back in my face that I’m a sinner my standard retort to them is, “I’m not perfect, but I am forgiven.” One of the problems we face is a majority of people who call themselves Christians aren’t really saved unto eternal life. They attend church but do not abide in Christ. Another problem is that nonbelievers can’t grasp the concept of a believer consisting of a sinless inner “spirit man” and a sin-filled outer “physical man.” They simply don’t get it. They don’t understand that the invisible “spirit man” inside us is the real us and if we profess belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then God will wash away our sins so we will have a clean “spirit man” who will go to heaven one day. All nonbelievers can see is the corrupted physical man on the outside of the believer and they cannot see the inner “spirit man.” Nonbelievers cannot fathom what God has done. They are fools, which God confirms in the Bible.

Romans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ephesians 2:8,9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Matthew 28:19 – (Jesus) – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The real problem is that many believers also question their faith for the same reasons. Many Christians simply lack faith in God; primarily because they don’t abide in God’s word. Their faith is superficial; only skin deep. Most believers only think about God on Sunday. They don’t pray to God regularly and they don’t read their Bibles daily to maintain their fellowship with God. The sad truth is that less than ten percent of Christians who attend church regularly have read the Bible in its entirety. Even fewer still have taken the time to actually study God’s word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. No wonder some Christians are tentative about their salvation and their standing before God because they haven’t taken the time to get to know God, his salvation plan for man, and the part they play in it. All the information you need to live a successful life is right there in the Bible in black and white so why haven’t you read it? Nothing is more important than deciding where our eternal destination will be, which is either heaven or hell.

Mark 16:15 – (Jesus) – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

John 17:17 – (Jesus) – Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Luke 21:33 – (Jesus) – Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed before you broach the question of heaven and hell because by then it could be too late for you. Choose to serve God, sooner rather than later, if you want to go to heaven. Look, you can’t “do” God’s will if you don’t “know” what God requires of you. You can’t “know” God’s plan for you if you don’t read, hear and speak God’s word. God gave man the Bible so we’d know what to do and how to do it. It’s imperative that man abides in God’s word to have the best life, the happiest life, and the most successful life God has to offer. Woody Allen once said 80% of being successful in life is just showing up. Make sure you show up for God! For the believer, God has done 80% of the work for us but the remaining 20% is left for us to do. When we stand before Jesus Christ on the last day we have no excuse for our disobedience.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile).

1 Thessalonians 2:4 – But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

1 John 5:11 – And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

The spirit man in each of us is unique, like our fingerprints, and no two eternal spirits are the same. The Bible says Jesus Christ the man is the express image of the spirit of God the Father. In like manner, our bodies are the express image of our inner spirit man. When believers receive their glorified body from Jesus Christ it’ll look much like the body we have now, only better. We’ll be recognizable to friends and family. If you look like Danny DeVito now don’t expect to look like George Clooney once you get your glorified body. We are who God made us to be and in heaven we’ll all be happy in our own skin because there won’t be any pride, jealousy, and envy. We’ll have a smile on our faces forever because of the joy in our heart caused by being in heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. In summary, know who you are, who you belong to, why you’re here, and where you’re going. The Bible has all the answers you seek.

John 14:9 – (Jesus) – He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

Luke 6:17 – (Jesus) – And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

Matthew 16:27 – (Jesus) – For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his work.

Aggressively defend the faith against all comers because we’re in the end times and naysayers and false witnesses will increase exponentially going forward. Witness for Christ at every opportunity because you know a secret every nonbeliever needs desperately. You’ll be persecuted for your faith but so was Jesus. Persevere in your walk with God. Work tirelessly in God’s harvest field because the harvest field is great and the workers are few. Every child of God is priceless in his eyes and therefore God’s number one commandment to believers is to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with all nations and all people (the Great Commission) in order to save at least one more for Jesus; one more lost soul for the kingdom of God. In our walk with the Lord we’re to save as many people as we can for as long as we can in order to build up treasure in heaven, which Jesus Christ will give to us on the last day.

1 Peter 2:15 – But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Romans 1:20 – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Hebrews 1:1-3 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sar down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

I’m a disciple of Christ, and I serve the Lord Jehovah, the one true God of this world. God made me like he made every other person who has ever lived. So why am I one of the lucky ones to be gifted salvation unto eternal life in heaven? We know from scripture that God loves all his creatures equally and wants all of us in heaven with him forevermore. So why is it that only a very few people actually make it to heaven, and why was I chosen to be in that select company? Don’t get me wrong. I’m eternally grateful that God saved me, but what made God choose me over someone else? And when did God choose me? What did God see in me that made me worthy of his saving grace? When I look at the span of human history I’m guessing that probably only one out of every thousand people who ever lived will wind up in heaven. Why is it that the number is so small? The answer of course is Satan. God chose me for salvation because of my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Peter 1:3 – As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory virtue.

2 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Ephesians 4:4 – There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.

Galatians 1:6 – I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.

You have to remember that God once made millions of angels to serve him in heaven. Each angel had their own mind but God didn’t give them a choice whether they wanted to serve God or not. As a result, one third of the angels rebelled against God under the leadership of Lucifer, the most powerful angel. God defeated Lucifer and his fallen angels and they were incarcerated on earth. God gave Lucifer the name Satan, which means “adversary.” Satan is our adversary, not God’s. The fallen angels that came to earth with Satan we refer to as demons. God made the universe, the earth, and man. God made man to be a citizen of heaven who will one day fellowship with Jesus in his sight forever. God put man on this earth to first find God and then to make the free will decision to serve God or Satan. There will be no more rebellions in heaven because God requires man to first decide that’s where he wants to live. You’d be wise to choose honor and glory in heaven forevermore over condemnation and dishonor in hell for all eternity. You’d be wise to choose joy, wonder and riches over pain, agony, and suffering.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 – But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:13 – For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

2 Timothy 1:14 – That good thing which was committed to you (salvation), keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (believers).

Acts 2:39 – For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

I know God gave man his word (our Holy Bible) to help us find God and to show us the way to salvation unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God, as our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ came down from heaven to die on the cross in our place so that a merciful God could forgive our sins and allow man to choose service to God. God graciously put his Holy Spirit on earth to indwell all believers as our helper, so that each time the Bible is read the Holy Spirit is there with us ready to convict the hearer of their sin if their heart is ready to receive the gospel message of Christ and then accept God’s saving grace. If man chooses to serve the Lord by a profession of faith in Jesus Christ it’s the Holy Spirit that then translates the sinner from eternal death in hell to eternal life in heaven. It’s the Holy Spirit that writes the believer’s name in the book of life. Only God can save us. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God.

Romans 9:11 – For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to the election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 – He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

1 Corinthians 1:9 – God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Philippians 3:13-14 – But one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Our personal salvation is the most important decision we’ll ever make because it lasts for all eternity. Man is an immortal being because God is immortal. God gave us a piece of himself at our conception so how could it be otherwise? It’s our destiny to live forever in heaven with our heavenly father as adopted sons of the Most High. But the thing is, to fulfill our destiny we must make the choice to serve God of our own free will before our heart stops beating because once we die it’s then too late to choose God. The die is cast. Let me be crystal clear; failure to choose God will result in man being hurled into the lake of fire and brimstone on the last day for all eternity where they will be in pain, agony, and suffering 24/7 forever. How long is eternity? A trillion billion years is only a day in eternity. Do you get the mental picture? Avoid that fate at all costs! Get on your knees before God right now and pray the sinner’s prayer to God in faith, and you will be saved unto eternal life in heaven because you have God’s promise and God cannot lie.

John 6:44 – (Jesus) – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus) – For many are called, but few are chosen.

1 Peter 1:15 – But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Thessalonians 1:5 – For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.

What exactly is the “call” of God? There are dozens of Bible verses where God refers to calling man. In fact, 13 of the 16 Bible verses referenced in this blog up to this point were selected because they mention God calling us:

called us by glory

called you out of darkness

called us in one hope

called you in the grace of Christ

called you by our gospel

called to liberty

call for the promise

called into the fellowship

God calls, he will do it

It’s obvious to me that God, through his word, is calling all men to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our salvation is the end result of God’s call but the means of that salvation is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the “good news” that Jesus preached during his ministry on earth. The important verse for me is Matthew 22:14, where Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The scriptures confirm that God has put eternity in the hearts of men so that we’ll know in our spirit that there is a God. Man will never be truly happy until they fill the void in their heart with the God who made them. In Psalm 19:1 God declares that all men know of the existence of God by what he has made. The Holy Bible has worldwide distribution so nobody can say on the last day that they couldn’t find the true God because the Bible is proof of God and it documents the path to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All a person has to do is read God’s word and believe it and if you don’t even open the Bible and give it a chance, that’s on you. On the last day there is simply no acceptable excuse for rejecting God’s saving grace.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 Timothy 2:21 – Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter (sin/dishonor), he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Acts 10:42 – And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

So God calls on all his creatures to be saved unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, Matthew 22:14 assures us that few are chosen. That means that while all men are called by God only a very few will actually take God up on his offer of eternal life in heaven in the presence of Jesus. God knows who will be saved and who won’t because he knows the end from the beginning. Still, God is just and fair to all men so he calls everyone. Every creature God has made has an equal shot at heaven. God did not make any man with the express intent of sending them to hell. God doesn’t work that way. God is love and he wants all his children to prosper. Believers make the free will choice to serve God by a declaration of faith in Jesus but it is God who then chooses the believer as a son of God who will then reside in heaven forever. It pleases God to save us because of our faith in Christ and we know God promises to save us and God cannot lie. Remember, we don’t save ourselves. Only God can save us. God through his mercy pulls us up to heaven because he made us and he loves us dearly. When God reaches his hand down to pull you up to glory don’t slap it away because if you do you’ll feel God’s wrath on the last day. Instead, grab hold of God’s extended hand and hold on tight. The Bible says no one can take you out of God’s hand.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work.

Hebrews 10:36 – For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receice the promise.

Revelation 22:12 – (Jesus) – And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

My question to you is this; “Have you answered God’s call?” If you haven’t; why not? The entire Bible is God’s revelation of Jesus Christ and his saving grace through faith in him. In his word God speaks literally and in plain language so that anyone can understand what the Lord is saying. I know Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see the truth of God. I know that Satan has sponsored fake religions and false gods throughout human history in order to fool man and keep them from finding the one true God of creation. That’s why millions of nonbelievers are dying every day and going straight to hell. I get that. However, it’s the responsibility of every believer to do the work God has given them to do, which is to witness for Christ to the nonbeliever and help them overcome Satan’s interference in order to seek out God for their salvation. God made you, he loves you, and he’s patiently waiting for you to come to him. God won’t come to you but he’ll meet you more than half way. What are you waiting for? Let’s go! What do you have to lose? Only your immortal soul, because death could come for you today. The rapture could also occur at any moment and your opportunity to meet Jesus Christ in the air will be gone if you haven’t accepted God’s saving grace. I know the truth of God and I’m pouring my heart out to you in love so you’ll understand. This is my testimony of God!

Colossians 3:2 – Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Ephesians 5:15-16 – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

James 4:2 – Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

We need to define some terms so we’re all on the same page. To be “saved” means we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So every person who believes in God the Father and accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is saved unto eternal life in heaven and when they die they’ll be in the presence of the Lord for all eternity. Do you think of yourself as a Christian, a believer, or both? There are 2.5 billion people on this earth who identify themselves as Christian but most of them are not. Many people think they’re Christians simply because they attend a Christian church once in a while. They may belong to a Christian church and go through the motions of being a church member without ever having given their life to Jesus by a profession of faith. They think they’re saved Christians simply because of their participation in a local Christian church of their choice but they’re sadly mistaken. The majority of people who identify as Christians aren’t really saved at all but they think they are, and therein lies the problem. On the other hand, if you consider yourself to be a “believer” it means you have probably accepted God’s saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which automatically makes you a Christian. Just by calling yourself a Christian doesn’t make you one. Saying you’re a “believer” doesn’t mean you’re actually “saved” from hell and “saved” to heaven.

Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living a sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 – For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 – For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.

Luke 24:46 – (Jesus speaking) – Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

The word Christian means “Christ’s men” and if you’re not saved the moniker doesn’t apply to you so don’t use it. You’re not a Christian unless you’re indwelt by Jesus Christ himself and that doesn’t happen unless you invite Jesus into your heart and your life. Don’t fool yourself and others by calling yourself a Christian if you don’t belong to Jesus. You know who you are. God put man on this earth to be tested. God gives man the free will decision to serve God or Satan. If you choose Satan or fail to choose God then you will burn in hell forever. It’s as simple as that. But what happens if you choose God? You will live forever in heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ. God doesn’t take believers to heaven as soon as they’re saved. Why is that? What is God’s salvation plan for man? God came to earth in the incarnation of Jesus Christ not only to save us from our sins by his substitutionary death on the cross but also to use his ministry to save the lost. The life of Jesus is an example for all believers to follow so that we might continue the work of God after Jesus ascended back to heaven. Study the life and times of Jesus Christ so you can emulate what he did during his ministry and then do what Jesus says we are to do, which is to share the “good news”, the gospel message that Christ, the son of God has died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Romans 4:4 – Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Romans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Obey the Lord’s commandments if you want to please God. Nothing is more important to God than obedience. We have no fellowship with the God who made us if we don’t obey his commandments. There are 129 commandments from God in the Bible that are directed to believers, although a lot of them are redundant. You can find a list of them in any good Bible guide. You’d be wise to learn what God expects of us. The number one command of God is to share the gospel message of Christ; “the good news” that Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to die on the cross in our place so that our sins against God could be forgiven. After three days in the earth Jesus rose from the dead and by his resurrection he confirmed that he is God and the sins of man are forgiven if they believe on the name of Jesus for their own salvation and resurrection. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven he gave his disciples the Great Commission, which is to witness for Christ; to share to gospel message with all nations and all people. This is the number one commandment of God for all believers because the most important thing to God is saving the souls of as many of his creatures as possible for the kingdom of heaven. This is the reason believers are left on this earth after their salvation. Believers are saved by other believers otherwise few of us would see heaven. Somebody helped save you by sharing the gospel so you owe it nonbelievers to do likewise. This is your reasonable service to the God who made you.

Mark 16:15 – (Jesus speaking) – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Titus 2:15 – Speak these things (the gospel), exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.

Luke 10:2 – (Jesus speaking) – The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

New believers start out on the spiritual milk of God’s word and through daily prayer and Bible reading they progress on to the spiritual meat of the scriptures so they can be used by God as a vessel in his salvation plan for man. God’s goal for every believer is that they become “fishers of men” who help in God’s harvest field to reap lost souls for the kingdom of heaven. The gospels of both Matthew and Mark contain the story of Jesus encountering Peter and his brother Andrew at the beginning of his ministry and he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” “Follow me” means to accept by faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, sent from heaven to save mankind from their sins. “I will make you fishers of men” is Jesus letting the disciples know their ultimate purpose on this earth is to fish for the souls of nonbelievers through their witness for Christ so that some might be saved unto eternal life in heaven. All disciples of Christ start out equal in God’s eyes and by their work for God each builds up their own honor, glory and treasure, which they will receive from Jesus on the last day. As believers we’re also all disciples of Jesus Christ and our main purpose is also to witness for Christ; to share the gospel message with all nations and all peoples and also to give our personal testimony about God and his saving grace.

Matthew 4:19 – (Jesus speaking to Peter and Andrew) – Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mark 1:17 – (Jesus speaking to Peter and Andrew) – Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Hebrews 10:36 – For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Change your paradigm. Stop just thinking of yourself as just a believer. In your mind start thinking of yourself as a “fisher of men” because that’s how God sees you. That’s what God wants you to be. That is what you can become if you tell yourself you are a “fisher of men” and then work toward that goal every day of your life, along with daily prayer and Bible reading. All things are possible with God. Start praying for God to make you a “fisher of men” and then go read your Bible so you know how to witness and then be ready to witness for Christ when the opportunity presents itself. The scriptures say believers are to be ready to explain to the nonbeliever the reason for the faith that is within us. The Bible is there so that we can also obtain the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God so take advantage of it or you’re flying blind in this world. The Bible is God’s wisdom so seek it.

Matthew 13:23 – But he who receives seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Titus 2:7 – In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.

Hebrews 12:1 – Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

The Bible says we’re to do good works before God and the number one good work, and the only good work that truly matters, is saving lost souls for the kingdom of God. That is the only fruit that the believer can harvest that builds up treasure in heaven for the believer. The sad thing is that 90% of the saints in heaven are there through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not having even saved one soul for the kingdom of God. Come join me as a warrior for Christ Jesus and a “fisher of men.” Walk with me down the narrow path. Make it your goal in life to save one more for Jesus every day. If you witness for Christ with this mindset every single day of your life at the end of your race you will win the prize. I will guarantee it because I know a secret. Every soul that God has made is priceless in his eyes so if you help save even one person how could God be anything other than pleased with you? More is always better but one will do. Just imagine how pleased God will be if you save many lost souls for the kingdom of God. That’s why my goal is to please God exceedingly by saving many to the kingdom of heaven. I don’t know the number that qualifies as “many” to God but for me personally, I’ve defined “many” as one thousand. The Bible says those who save “many” will shine like the starts of the firmament. I don’t know exactly what that means but it sounds good to me and I want it. God doesn’t hand out junk so whatever we receive for our obedience will exceed anything we could ever have imagined. I totally trust in God’s love for me and his provision and you should do the same.

1 Corinthians 2:9 – Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

2 Corinthians 9:6 – But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Matthew 9:37-38 – (Jesus speaking) – The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

John 14:15 – (Jesus speaking) – If you love Me, keep My commandments.

John 8:31 – (Jesus speaking) – If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

Today is January 2, 2024. I’m staring on my new year’s resolutions like most people. Some of my resolutions never change, like walking and exercising for my physical health and daily prayer and Bible reading for my spiritual health and well-being. If you’re a believer then God is the anchor of your soul. You are at peace with God and the peace of God abides in you. Nobody can live a truly happy and successful life without God in their life. Beginning your day with prayer and Bible reading is how the believer stays in fellowship with God. It’s how we communicate with God. If you’re not a believer who talks with God regularly you’ll drift aimlessly through your life and when you’re old you’ll wonder where the time went. When the nonbeliever approaches the end of their life they think they’ll be able to handle the prospect of death on their own but they are sadly mistaken. Nobody is ready for their death if they don’t have Jesus in their heart. I’ve read plenty of accounts of atheists and other nonbelievers who talked a good game when death is far away but on their deathbed they all ended up experiencing the same terror about their impending death; because they don’t know what comes next. Will they cease to exist or will they go to heaven or hell? At the end of their life it’ll cross the nonbeliever’s mind that they should have found out the answers to all these questions earlier. Why did I wait so long? What should I have done differently? Why didn’t I read the Bible when I had the chance?

Hebrews 9:27 – And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

Romans 14:12 – So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

I’ll give you the answers to life’s important questions right now and a reference so you can verify them yourself. It’s not that I’m so smart; I just know where to look for the answers. There is only one God, one Lord, and his name is Jehovah. All the other religions of the world are fakes sponsored by Satan to lead man away from the truth of God. All the other gods put forth by Satan are false gods. Satan will one day be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone for all eternity and he wants to take as many people as he can with him to the pit. Don’t be one of them! God loves all his creatures and he wants us in heaven with him. Satan has put blinders over the eyes of the nonbeliever so they cannot see the truth of God and the path to salvation unto eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God made man with his own hands and at our conception God gives every man an eternal spirit, a piece of God himself, so that we might live forever. The physical body will die but the eternal spirit man remains forever. Heaven and hell are both real places and God made them both. At death the souls of men will immediately go to either heaven or hell. There is no third option. Heaven is where God lives and hell is where Satan is located. Those who accept Jesus, the son of God, as their personal Lord and Savior are saved unto eternal life in heaven where they’ll receive honor and glory from God. The sins of believers have been forgiven by God because of their faith in Christ Jesus, who died on the cross at Calvary so that their sins might be forgiven by a merciful God.

John 3:16 – (Jesus speaking) – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Death holds no fear for the believer because they know they’ll go to heaven one day. Those nonbelievers who DO NOT believe in Jesus Christ are rejecting God’s saving grace and their sins before Almighty God are not forgiven and their sins still abide on them and they will be judged on the last day when they stand before Jesus Christ at the Great White throne judgment. All nonbelievers who die without God’s forgiveness of their sins will immediately go to hell for all eternity where they’ll be in continual pain and agony forever. A trillion billion years is only one day in eternity. Just imagine bobbing up and down like a cork in the lake of fire and brimstone, in pain and torment 24/7, screaming your head off with no one to hear you or help you. That’s such a terrible fate I shudder when I think about it. It doesn’t have to end that way. You can stop it from happening to you if give your life to Jesus Christ! Google “sinner’s prayer” and then get on your knees before God and say that prayer back to God in faith; and you will be saved. You have God’s promise of salvation and God cannot lie.

Matthew 7:13-14 – (Jesus speaking) – Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Some people want the best of both worlds. They like sinning so much they tell themselves they’ll wait until the end of their life and then accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior right before they die. That way they can sin all they want in this life and still go to heaven. One of the problems with that thinking is a person could die unexpectedly and without any warning (i.e., stroke, heart attack, accident, etc.) leaving no chance to be saved. Why would anyone want to take that risk? The holy Scriptures warn us that no man knows what tomorrow brings; only God. Once the heart stops beating man’s testing time on earth is over and his fate is sealed forever. Before then man must choose to serve either God or Satan and failure to choose is the same as choosing Satan. You see, I’ve been studying God’s word, our Holy Bible, for twenty years and all the answers of life are in the book written by God through his prophets as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. If you don’t believe what I’m saying go read the Bible for yourself because the truth of God is self-evident. The wisdom of God is obvious to anyone who reads the Bible. For 2000 years no errors have been found in the Bible although many have tried. If you read the Bible from cover to cover there’s probably a 99% chance that at some point it’ll dawn on you that you’re holding the word of Almighty God in your hand. I remember when it happened to me and I was stunned. It’s something you’ll never forget when it happens to you. Go meet your God while there is still time. God knows you personally and he’s waiting patiently to speak to you.

Matthew 10:38 – (Jesus speaking) – And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 6:19-20 – (Jesus speaking) – Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.