One of my favorite verses of Scripture is Deuteronomy 31:8.

” The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you: He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

What this verse means to me:

(1) God goes before me. He knows and dictates what the future holds for me.

” For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, ” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29: 11).

(2) He will be with me. I do not have to face life alone. When there are hard times, He is there to help. When there are times of rejoicing, He rejoices with me.

” And surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28 :20).

(3) He will never leave or forsake me. God will never go off and leave me to face life alone. He will always be with me to guide and encourage.

” Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13: 5).

(4) I am not to be afraid. I have no reason to be afraid. The Creator God loves me. He is all powerful and He is trustworthy in every circumstance of life.

” The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (Hebrews 13:6).

(5) I will not be discouraged. Many times when I do not understand what is happening, I get discouraged. But God loves me and is in control. There may be darkness in my life now, but one day there will be light.

“ So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41: 10).

Trust In this God who loves and cares for me. Also, He wants you to know Him and the peace He can give.

Dear reader if this is all new to you, but you want this in your life, please pray this very simple prayer: “God, I do not know you, but I want to. Please help me. Please send someone to teach me.”

” The warriors of Ephraim though fully armed, turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came. “( Psalm 78: 9 (NLT)

The lesson taught here is very clear: “Success in training is tested in battle.”

What you learn in the classroom of life will be tested in the future.

Why did the warriors of Ephraim fail, when the day of battle came? The next verse may give understanding:

” They did not keep God’s covenant, and they refused to live by His law” (Psalm 78:10)

And also, ” They forgot what he had done…..” (Psalm 78:11).

They failed the test because, (1) They were not obedient to revealed truth, and (2) they did not remember his kindnesses of the past.

Whatever test you are facing today , whenever “ your day of battle” may be, remember these two things:

1. Obey whatever truth God has revealed to you, and
2. Rehearse in your mind the good things you have experienced from Him in the past.

If your ” day of battle” has not come, and rest assured it will, and when it does come, obey and remember, we serve a loving heavenly Father who will never fail you.

This warrior is ready, willing, and able to go and to be with his loved one.

My question to you, are you ready, willing and able to go?

” To Timothy, my true son in the faith: grace mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1Timothy 1:2).

This verse reveals what God wants for every person: grace, mercy and peace.

GRACE is to receive something we do not deserve. We do not deserve forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Yet the Bible says, ” In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1: 7).And again, the Bible says:” For it is by grace you have been saved through faith…..” (Ephesians 2:8).God gives us what we do “not” deserve.

MERCY, however, is “not” to receive what we “do deserve“. We deserve death: ” Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in that way, death came to all men, because all sinned…..”(Romans 5:12). ” For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) Only by God’s mercy may we escape eternal death.

PEACE, then, is the result of accepting God’s gift of grace and mercy through faith in Jesus Christ. ” Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

If you had been justified through personal faith in Jesus, thank God today for His grace mercy and peace “with God.”

If you have put your trust in Jesus as your Savior and are seeking peace in your heart and for meaning in life, pray to Jesus today and claim this peace “of God” as you live in obedience to Him.

If you have not put your faith in Jesus and need assistance, please contact a Christian friend or the author and ask for help.

The Bible speaks very clearly about the brevity and uncertainty of life.

” As for man his days are like grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourishes, for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Psalm 103: 15,16).

Again, the Bible says: ” Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (proverbs 27: 1).

I learned how uncertain life is on the morning of June 14, 2010,

As I was setting up in preparation to teach a Monday morning Bible study and before any of the students arrived, I realized that I could not focus my eyes properly: double vision. I left immediately and went to the emergency room at Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas. I spent the next six days in the hospital recovering from a blood clot on the brain resulting in a stroke. There appeared to be no permanent damage, and I enjoyed a full recovery.

Overnight I realized how frail life and health are and how much we take for granted.

This wakeup call can and will come to every person sooner or later, and when that day comes one must be prepared for it. However, since we have very little control over many events in life, we must trust the One who does have control: our sovereign God.

There are many promises of God that we can claim to prepare for that day. One is Jeremiah 29:11:” For I know the thoughts that I have toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘ Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope.” God wants for us, the believer, to have peace, a future and hope, regardless of good or bad circumstances.

Another is Romans 8:28 ” That all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” All things means all things, whether good , bad or uncertain.

This is the God to whom I belong and whom I serve. There is no uncertainty in my life nor should there be any in yours, if you are a follower of Jesus.

If you are not a follower of Jesus and do not have this same confidence, you may, and I encourage you to respond to me or seek out a Christian friend or your Pastor and settle this today.

We cannot survive long without water. Water is a transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid and it is absolutely necessary for existence. Without water there can be no life on earth.

We live in a world of water, but about 97% of it is in the oceans and is too salty for drinking or to be used in farming. Only about 3% of the world’s water is fresh (unsalty).

A man can live without food for about a month, but he can live without water for only about one week.

However, there is a thirst that has no relationship to water (H2O). This is a thirst of the soul. This soul thirst is recognized as a longing for peace of heart and mind, freedom from fear, for meaning in life, and forgiveness of sin. The Bible teaches that the God who created the world and all the water in it also provides the water for the thirsty soul.

The Bible says, ” Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.” (Isaiah 55:1)

This water is for all who are “spiritually” thirsty, and it is free. It cannot be purchased but only received as a gift.

Jesus said,” People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water (H2O) but the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John4:13, 14), and: “…….. those who believe in me shall never thirst” (John 6: 35).

You may have everything you need that should to make you happy, but If you are not happy and are discouraged with life, you may be spiritually thirsty. Let me encourage you to accept the invitation to “come” to God’s water well, and put your trust in Him through Jesus for the satisfaction of your thirsty soul.

I make it a practice to go to this perpetual spring of water each morning before breakfast and also at any time during the day that I sense a spiritual thirst. I encourage you to do the same.

If your secret, personal life is like a barren waste-land without this water, contact me or go to a Christian friend or to your pastor and ask for help.

In heaven is your name written in the “books” or in the “book”?

Are names of those you love written in the “ books” or in the ” book“?

The Bible speaks of books which one day will be opened before the throne of God.

” And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and BOOKS were opened” (Revelation 20:12a). ” The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books “….. each person was judged according to what he had done” (v.13b). Every person has his or her name in the books and in those books, are recorded sin that will prevent entrance into heaven.

All those whose names are written in the books will be lost forever from the presence of God.

However, the Bible also mentions a “book.”

“Another book was opened which is the book of life” (Revelation 20:12b).

” If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (v.15).

How does a person’s name get changed from the books to the book?

When a person chooses to love and serve the God of creation, by faith in Jesus Christ, that person’s name is removed from the books and is written in the book of life. It is permanent and will not be erased.

The Bible says: ” Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…….” (Romans 8:1).

My prayer and heart desire is that your name and the names of all those you love are written in the book, the book of life.

If you have a question about which book you are in, please contact the author, a Christian friend or your Pastor and ask for help.

By definition an agnostic is a person who believes that God is unknown and unknowable. This person is tragically mistaken. God has made himself known and He is knowable.

First, God has made himself known through his creation:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work his hands. Day after day they pour forth their speech …. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).

And again, the New Testament says: ” For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—- His eternal power and divine nature —-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Second, God also has made himself knowable through Jesus. The Bible says that: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being….” (Hebrews 1-3).

Jesus said: ” Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b).

Finally, to know God we must know Jesus, for Jesus himself said: ” I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:6,7).

The agnostic is mistaken. God has made himself known and by faith we can know Him as we study his book the Bible.

I encourage you to find a church or a Bible study group that will help you as you seek truth.

On September 11, 2001, A group of terrorists struck a devastating blow against America and the free world at large. I say the free world at large because men and women from 80 nations of the world died in the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City.

The Bible says, ” The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear it if the spirit is crushed?” (Proverbs 18 :14)

The terrorist struck at the body of America, but were unable to crush the spirit of America. The spirit of America and the free world at large was truly revealed in the days immediately following September 11.

Following this great tragedy, people and nations around the world turned to the only reliable source for comfort and strength.

They turned to God.

” The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those that trust in my name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them’ ” (Psalm 91:14,15). Notice the words of action used here: rescue, protect, answer and honor.

But what about those Christians who died in the attack? Where was God when they needed Him?

The Bible is also clear on this issue. God was with them.

The Bible says, ” When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43: 2). The keywords here are through and with. This is a promise from God for every believer in Jesus.

And again , ” Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). The Lord is with you and whatever you face in the future, He is also there waiting for you.

Should you face a tragedy in your life, (and you will), turn and call out to the God of the Universe. He will hear you and He will answer you!

If you are not confident that you could face a tragedy today, seek counsel from a Christian friend or your Pastor.

“ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain …..” (John 15:16).

By definition the word appointed in this verse is also translated elsewhere to be set apart or ordained. Some states in America require registration as an ordained person in order to perform certain functions, such as a marriage ceremony.

This word, choose, is very significant. As a believer In Jesus you have been chosen, set apart and ordained to do three things:

(1) …you should go—. This means focused activity through prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture: whether to the mission field or to your neighbor next door.

(2) … and bear fruit— The first step to bear this fruit is found in Galatians 5:22,23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… every Christian should produce this fruit. The second step in fruit bearing is found in John 15. The fruit referenced here is another Christian: the vine (Jesus), the branch (the believer), the fruit (another believer).

(3) …. that your fruit should remain... This is most critical. This fruit is a new believer who must be cared for until there is spiritual growth. As a newborn baby needs loving and caring parents, so a newborn believer in Jesus must receive loving care and assistance from a more mature believer.

Do you have spiritual children? Are you teaching them as you have been taught?

If you do not have spiritual children perhaps you are not abiding obediently, in the Vine.

Your Heavenly Father has ordained you, the believer, to produce “Galatians 6″ children, those who evidence the fruit of the Spirit and also “John 15″ children, those who evidence abiding in Christ by bearing spiritual fruit, another believer.

If you need counsel to achieve this end, see your pastor or a Christian friend for help.

The child was born in a small village in southern Israel to a common Jewish family. He was given the name: Jesus. He grew to manhood and at the approximate age of thirty He began teaching about God. He did miracles that only God could do. He said He had come from God and would soon return to God.

He was arrested, judged, put to death by Roman soldiers, and buried in a tomb. Upon inspection of the tomb three days later, He was gone, as He said He would be.

He had risen from the dead by the power and authority of God. And He lives today. After his death and resurrection He appeared to many people as a witness to his life.

There were no newspapers, no Telegraph,, no radio, no television, no worldwide communication network and no Internet.

Yet, He told his disciples to: ” Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

An impossible task? Yes. Yet today believers of the message of Jesus Christ are to be found in nations around the world.

This message of Jesus is simple, yet profound. ” But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

” That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9,10).

This message is so simple that a child can understand it, yet so profound that it must be received by faith. If you would like more information, please contact the author. your Pastor or a Christian friend.