JESUS IS STILL THE ANSWER

Just before the "Passion" of Jesus, He asked his disciples who they thought He was. Peter gave the best answer.

Mathew 16:16 . . . Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

As God's Son, Jesus is also God. He has all the answers that matter.

Life is not all about us and what we think we need or what we want. We must make a commitment to Jesus, not just to believe in Him, but to follow and serve Him.

Is Jesus still the answer today? Yes, if you ask the right questions. For example:

• How do I deal with my sin?
• How can I become more sensitive to the needs of others around me?
• How can I face the rejection of the world?
• How can I learn to be content with what I possess?
• How can I learn to love people who are different from me?
• How can I escape the grip of sin in my life?
• How can I forgive others?

Andre Crouch penned it well in his song from years ago.

Jesus is the answer for the world today

Above Him there's no other. Jesus is the way.

BOSTON IS BROKEN

The tragedy at the end of the Boston Marathon shocked all of us. We will remember the two bombings, the three casualties, and the 170 some with injuries. We will remember the tears, chaos, and fear. We will remember April 15, 2013 as the dark hour when terrorists broke Boston.

How do you repair a broken city, a broken nation or a broken life? Only God can mend this kind of break.

Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds.

The following song has a special meaning for me.

Pick up the broken pieces and bring them to The Lord 

Pick up the broken pieces, trust in His holy Word

He will put them back together and make your life complete

Just place the broken pieces at the Saviour's feet.

HEAVEN? . . . GOT MY BLOOD-STAINED TICKET

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former tings are passed away.

When we stand before the throne of God, we will surely declare that we didn't know the half of paradise.

We like to think about what we will see and do when we get to heaven. The streets of gold, singing with angels, and the River of Life will fade in grandeur when we see Jesus.

I'm anxious to talk with Paul and David and Abraham and John and Peter. I want to ask Elijah about that chariot ride. But greater still, I want to see Jesus in all His glory, touch the feet that were nailed and the hands that were pierced. I want to thank him for my salvation. 

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, it's not too late to get your free blood-stained ticket. Ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your heart. 

GOD DOES WINDOWS

Did you know that our bodies and souls have windows? Just as windows let in light, so does our eyes. If we don't focus on God, the windows to our souls become soiled and we walk in darkness.

Matthew 6:22,23  The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?

The windows to your soul can become soiled by:

• MATERIALISM: Focusing on the things of the world rather than our riches in Christ
• SENSUALITY: Sexual sins are one of the favorite hooks Satan uses to lure people away from God
• ENVY AND JEALOUSY: We can all turn a shade of green focusing on what others have.
• UNFORGIVENESS AND BITTERNESS: Rather than forgive, too often we focus on offenses and become bitter.
• PRIDE: Pride inflates your view of yourself and distorts how you view others.

The good news is: "God does windows!" Confession is the way to keep our windows clean and our hearts pure.

ITCHING EARS

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

There are times when the preacher has to preach a message of rebuke. It's uncomfortable to some people.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

The truth hurts sometimes. People will always find someone to tell them what they want to hear. Some churches, not wanting to offend, shy away from doctrine and rebuke.

If we don't allow God's Word to rebuke, reprove, exhort and give us doctrine, we will turn away from it and go to churches where only the "love" of God is preached. People should know that God is also a God of judgement.

As Christians, we need to search out the scriptures, asking God to show us "all" His truth, to give us understanding so that we can grow  and be used by Him.

HOW TO FORGIVE YOURSELF

At some point in your life, did you do something that you have never been able to forgive yourself for? If the truth were known, probably most of us have. Three things can keep you from forgiving yourself.

1. You have a faulty understanding of God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
2. You are punishing yourself unnecessarily for sins on an ongoing basis by repeatedly rehearsing your failures in your mind.
3. You long for assurance that you will never do anything like that again.

To forgive yourself you must understand guilt and forgiveness through God's attributes. He is holy, just, loving, merciful, and forgiving.

Nehemiah 9:17 . . . but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness . . .

The Bible says that God accepts us on the basis of what Christ did, not on what we do. His forgiveness is a gift, not something we earn.

When you confess and repent of your sins, the highest Judge in the universe forgives you -- God Himself, so you must forgive yourself.

No one is ever beyond forgiveness. God views all sin as sin. Calvary covers them all.

TOUGH TIMES PRAISE

Psalm 34:1  I will bless The Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

If we are going to live in the praise zone, then we had better be ready to praise God in the tough times. Russ Taft sang this beautiful song (Praise The  Lord) years ago.

When you're up against a struggle, that shatters all your dreams;

And your hope's been cruelly crushed by Satan's manifested scheme.

And you feel the urge within you, to submit to earthly fears.

Don't let the faith your standing in seem to disappear.

Praise The Lord, for our God inhabits praise

Praise The Lord, for the chains that seem to bend you

Serve only to remind you

That they drop powerless behind you when you praise Him.

Now Satan is a liar, and he wants to make us think

that we are paupers, when he knows himself,

We're children of the King.

So lift up the mighty shield of faith, for the battle must be won,

We know that Jesus Christ is risen, so the work's already done.

Praise The Lord . . . 

Brown Bannister and Mike Hudson

Can you praise The Lord in the tough times? That's when you should.