Tag Archives: John

Before your head hits the pillow

I’m just a trucker.

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

I’m just a trucker.

Have you ever been asked to do something either in church or in the community that you thought was just too much for you? You may have said, “I’m just a trucker, just a housewife, just a mechanic, just a carpenter, or just a daycare worker!” You could decide to make an excuse and tell them that you are just too busy or that you don’t believe you are up for the task.

Some 2000 years ago there was a guy who was just a fisherman. His name was Peter. Jesus asked him and his brother to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. Peter could have made excuses. He could have said that he was not equipped. He could have said, “I am just a fisherman!” But that is not what Peter did. Peter quickly decided to follow Jesus. And Peter followed with reckless abandonment! I guess we could say that Peter was ALL IN for Jesus!

In Matthew 14, we read that it was Peter who trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat and walk on water. Now that faith was limited and He soon began to sink, but Jesus was right there to pick Him up.

It was Peter who on the Mountain of Transfiguration when Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus suggested that he could build three shelters. One for Jesus, one for Elijah, and one for Moses. Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured. They saw His face shine and His garments become dazzling white. Then out of nowhere appeared Elijah and Moses. The disciples were treated to seeing men from the past alive. This was a testimony to the fact of the afterlife. Jesus didn’t even respond to Peter’s zeal, his desire to build lasting shelters. I think He might have thought, “Oh Peter!”

It was Peter in Matthew 16:15 stated of Christ, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And it was to Peter that Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, by my Father who is in heaven.”

It was Peter who lopped off the ear of the guard who was involved in arresting Jesus and it was Jesus who rebuked him and touched the man’s ear and healed him.

And it was Peter who three times denied knowing Jesus as Jesus was on trial for His very life. I can only imagine what Peter must have felt after that third denial when his eyes and they eyes of Jesus met. Luke 22: 61 says, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”

Peter was impulsive and at times reckless but He was chosen and He was loved. Peter was not anymore physically equipped to serve Jesus than you or I. He was chosen to serve Jesus and Jesus equipped him for that service.

Peter, even after seeing the many miracles of Christ and professing that he would never deny Christ, did so three times. Peter was far from perfect, but he was chosen to serve. Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. He faltered, just as we might, but Jesus was there to rescue him, just as He is there to provide and care for us.

So when we are called to take part in the kingdom of God will we be like Peter, who in all his imperfections, readily said yes? Or will we make excuses? Will we have enough faith to walk on water, to do those things that seem humanly impossible, knowing that Jesus will be there to help us, or will we just stay in the boat?

Jesus knows that we are imperfect. He knows that we will fall, even as He knew that Peter would deny Him. But Jesus still chose him. Jesus still wanted Peter as one of His disciples and He still wants us as one of His followers. So the next time you are called to serve, say yes. The next time you are asked to lead, don’t think of your weakness, think of God’s strength. You are NOT just a trucker…You are a child of the KING!

Before your head hits the pillow

Is There Really Power in the Name of Jesus?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Is There Really Power in the Name of Jesus?

More than once today I heard a song by 7eventh Time Down called, “Just Say Jesus.” I heard it on my way to work and then again on my way home. As I listened to that song I began thinking about the importance of the name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-11 tells us, Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and game Him the name that is above every name, and that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When this Jesus, our Savior, returns EVERY knee will bow. Those who have known Him and loved Him will bow a bow of awe and respect. We will be excited and joyful. But those who have mocked Him on this earth, those who have taken His name in vain or have laughed at the devotion of His followers will also bow. They will bow in fear. They will now know that all they have thought and believed about this Jesus has been wrong. They will finally acknowledge that He truly is the Son of God, a redeemer. But it will be too late. Their fear and their dread will be unfathomable!

But in that name of Jesus we are told there is power. There was power when He walked this earth and that same power now resides within us. John 14:13-14 says, “And whatever you ask in My [Jesus’] name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” We should not look at the name of Jesus like a genie in a bottle, say the word and poof things come true. No we must ask in the name of Jesus as if we are representing Him. We must ask in His name according to the will of the Father.

That name possesses the ability to do great signs and wonders. Acts 4:29-30 states, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send you healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” The power that is given to us through the name of Jesus is a power meant to glorify God. If anything we are asking is not done to glorify God then we are calling on the power in the name of Jesus in a wrong headed way.

Healing can be found in the name of Jesus. In Acts 3:6 Peter says, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Peter did not have wealth or money to give this poor lame man but He had something much greater. He had the power of Jesus residing in His very being, a power great enough to make a lame man walk! This man didn’t just walk, he started leaping and he praised God. Once again the name of Jesus was used to glorify God the Father!

Some people think that demonic possession and oppression no longer exists. I am not one of those people. I am buoyed by the knowledge that the name of Jesus can cast out evil spirits. In Acts 16:18 Paul cast a demon out of a young girl who had been annoying him, by saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” The girl’s masters were so angry that Jesus had cast out her fortune-telling demon that Paul and his preaching partner Silas were severely beaten and thrown into the innermost part of the dungeon so they could not escape. But as Paul and Silas were singing songs in praise to God their chains fell off and the dungeon doors flung open. But Paul and Silas didn’t leave and soon after the jailer and all his household came to know Jesus as their personal Savior. Once again, God was glorified!

But more important than answers to prayer, or the ability to do signs and wonders, or even to heal the sick or cast out demons, the name of Jesus has the ability to save! Acts 4:12 say, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Only by believing in Jesus, in professing His name as the name above all names, as our everlasting Savior can we be saved! And with that salvation we are united with God our Father. We are now adopted into the family of the Creator of the universe. We can call God our Father. We can call out to Him at any time. We can rest safely in His arms. We can speak with Him at any time, and in any circumstance. All because of the name of Jesus!

So yes, there is AMAZING power in the name of Jesus. Jesus’ power is amazingly potent, more powerful than we will ever fully understand. He still answers requests prayed in His name, He still heals, and He still shows His majesty in amazing signs and wonders. And yes, He still saves. There is power in the name of Jesus; There is hope, there is strength, and victory to claim. There is healing in His holy presence;
There is power in His name.

Before your head hits the pillow

Can we be completely assured of our salvation?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Can we be completely assured of our salvation?

I have spoken with people, Christian friends, who walk day to day with no assurance of their salvation. To be honest this saddens me. And recently I had someone ask me if a person could lose their salvation. I think this post might help give you my thoughts on this issue.

God wants us to be assured of our salvation. He wants us to live in His peace. To not know, day by day, whether we are truly saved, to worry about whether we will fall in and out of grace, brings no peace at all, and lays the responsibility of our salvation on our own actions and feelings.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to be saved: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” That is it. When Jesus died on the cross, His final words before committing Himself to His father were, “It is finished.” What was finished? His atonement for our sins. If we Jesus said it is finished and we believe that it is finished, then finished it is!

John 10:28 tells us about the assurance of our salvation. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” No one can take you away from the Lord, once you are His. He will not walk away from you. He will not forsake you!

We are not saved by what we do, but by God’s grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. Do you really think that God would take his grace away? No, He is faithful.

If you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior you CAN and MUST be assured of your salvation. This does not mean that we will not sin, because we will. I John 1: 8,10 states, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us..if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” But God says in Hebrews 10:7 this about the saved, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

So as a Christian, if you are worried about your salvation, remember the blessed words of Romans 8:38-39 – I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is finished. Jesus paid the price. If you believe and accept Him as your Savior, then NO ONE or NO THING can separate you from His love. His grace is irrevocable, His love is immeasurable, and your salvation is assured!