Jesus

Sensing Jesus – Eyes

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.” But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” 27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” 28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!” 29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” John 20:24-29 (MSG)

Perhaps Thomas was from Missouri – “The Show Me State.” He just had to see Jesus before he could believe that though He had died, He had risen and was alive. The hardest thing about faith is not being able to see the one you believe in. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be faith.

When Jesus was born, so many were right there near the stable but failed to see him. Perhaps they were busy dealing with life and with the census that was going on at the time. The devil will always try to keep you busy with something in life that keeps you from seeing Jesus in your life. And with this being the beginning of the Christmas season, there is so much that can distract us from seeing Jesus.

Celebrate this season of your life with purpose. Purposely, slow down, take a moment to stop and reflect on Jesus. Seek out your favorite spot in the house, sit with a warm drink, and consider how Jesus is alive and active in your life. Look for the moments Jesus has been involved in your life. If you have never accepted Jesus, you might see how He has lovingly pursued you.

My uncle was moments away from entering heaven. My cousin, who was a minister at the time, was sitting beside his bed. His last days were spent with family at home. All of a sudden, my cousin said he opened his eyes big and, with a bigger grin on his face, started exclaiming, “I see Him! I see Him!” My cousin looked to where he was pointing, not seeing anything but sensing the presence of God. My uncle then passed away peacefully with a smile on his face. He got to see Jesus as He came to usher my uncle home. Coincidently, my uncle was from Missouri.

Jesus can be seen if you look intently. You may see his nail-scared hands as He guides you. You may see Him lift you as He carries you through a personal trial. It is possible to see Jesus if you look. You will enjoy this Christmas season better after seeing Jesus, the reason for the season.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Do You Have Phobophobia?

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Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay

It turns out people can have a fear of anything. Most seem to have a fear of something. Me? Arachnophobia. A common one is the fear of spiders. It is so bad the other day I tried to kill a thick, black mark on the back of where some curtains were cut off! I suspect April suffers from Zuigerphobia. The fear of vacuum cleaners. Oh, Phobophobia is the fear of phobias.

A phobia of some things, like snakes, might keep you from getting hurt. Honestly, though, so does a healthy respect. You see, some fears can cause some people to seize up. The fear can definitely control their behavior. Fear is not of God, and God is love.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

The one fear some have that I want to focus on is the fear of the quiet. You can spot the people who suffer from this phobia because they are always in motion. They must be somewhere with others or have people at their home, but you will seldom find them alone.

They don’t want to be alone because that can lead to them having to think about the current situation they are dealing with and how they got there based on the good or bad decisions they have made. Usually, their current situation is not favorable. They find themselves lacking contentment or peace.

Unfortunately, when a person is alone, they tend to turn to mind-altering substances to assist them in leaving their life on the side for a while. If they are not careful, they will become addicted to the substance.

Knowing Jesus can be the cure for addictions, loneliness, and the fear of the quiet. He can help you turn your life around, heal you of your fears, and give you confidence, contentment, and peace to go with it. You’ve tried everything else to no avail. Try Jesus. If you don’t think you need him, then you probably have Redeemedphobia!

For fun, I am including a list of phobias. My favorite was:
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: Fear of long words

  • Ablutophobia: Fear of bathing
  • Achluophobia: Fear of darkness
  • Acrophobia: Fear of heights
  • Aerophobia: Fear of flying
  • Algophobia: Fear of pain
  • Agoraphobia: Fear of open spaces or crowds
  • Aichmophobia: Fear of needles or pointed objects
  • Amaxophobia: Fear of riding in a car
  • Androphobia: Fear of men
  • Anemophobia: Fear of air
  • Anginophobia: Fear of angina or choking
  • Angrophobia: Fear of anger
  • Anthrophobia: Fear of flowers
  • Anthropophobia: Fear of people or society
  • Aphenphosmphobia: Fear of being touched
  • Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter
  • Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders
  • Arithmophobia: Fear of numbers
  • Astraphobia: Fear of thunder and lightning
  • Astrophobia: Fear of outer space
  • Ataxophobia: Fear of disorder or untidiness
  • Atelophobia: Fear of imperfection
  • Atychiphobia: Fear of failure
  • Automatonophobia: Fear of human-like figures
  • Autophobia: Fear of being alone
  • Bacteriophobia: Fear of bacteria
  • Barophobia: Fear of gravity
  • Bathmophobia: Fear of stairs or steep slopes
  • Batrachophobia: Fear of amphibians
  • Belonephobia: Fear of pins and needles
  • Bibliophobia: Fear of books
  • Botanophobia: Fear of plants
  • Cacophobia: Fear of ugliness
  • Catagelophobia: Fear of being ridiculed
  • Catoptrophobia: Fear of mirrors
  • Chionophobia: Fear of snow
  • Chrometophobia: Fear of spending money
  • Chromophobia: Fear of colors
  • Chronomentrophobia: Fear of clocks
  • Chronophobia: Fear of time
  • Cibophobia: Fear of food
  • Claustrophobia: Fear of confined spaces
  • Climacophobia: Fear of climbing
  • Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns
  • Cyberphobia: Fear of computers
  • Cynophobia: Fear of dogs
  • Daemonophobia: Fear of demons
  • Decidophobia: Fear of making decisions
  • Dendrophobia: Fear of trees
  • Dentophobia: Fear of dentists
  • Domatophobia: Fear of houses
  • Dystychiphobia: Fear of accidents
  • Ecophobia: Fear of the home
  • Elurophobia: Fear of cats
  • Emetophobia: Fear of vomiting
  • Entomophobia: Fear of insects
  • Ephebiphobia: Fear of teenagers
  • Erotophobia: Fear of sex
  • Equinophobia: Fear of horses
  • Gamophobia: Fear of marriage
  • Genuphobia: Fear of knees
  • Glossophobia: Fear of speaking in public
  • Gynophobia: Fear of women
  • Haphephobia: Fear of touch
  • Heliophobia: Fear of the sun
  • Hemophobia: Fear of blood
  • Herpetophobia: Fear of reptiles
  • Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: Fear of long words
  • Hydrophobia: Fear of water
  • Hypochondria: Fear of illness
  • Iatrophobia: Fear of doctors
  • Insectophobia: Fear of insects
  • Koinoniphobia: Fear of rooms
  • Koumpounophobia: Fear of buttons
  • Leukophobia: Fear of the color white
  • Lilapsophobia: Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
  • Lockiophobia: Fear of childbirth
  • Mageirocophobia: Fear of cooking
  • Megalophobia: Fear of large things
  • Melanophobia: Fear of the color black
  • Microphobia: Fear of small things
  • Mysophobia: Fear of dirt and germs
  • Necrophobia: Fear of death or dead things
  • Noctiphobia: Fear of the night
  • Nomophobia: Fear of being without your mobile phone
  • Nosocomephobia: Fear of hospitals
  • Nyctophobia: Fear of the dark
  • Obesophobia: Fear of gaining weight
  • Octophobia: Fear of the figure 8
  • Ombrophobia: Fear of rain
  • Ophidiophobia: Fear of snakes
  • Ornithophobia: Fear of birds
  • Osmophobia: Fear of smells
  • Ostraconophobia: Fear of shellfish
  • Papyrophobia: Fear of paper
  • Pathophobia: Fear of disease
  • Pedophobia: Fear of children
  • Philematophobia: Fear of kissing
  • Philophobia: Fear of love
  • Phobophobia: Fear of phobias
  • Podophobia: Fear of feet
  • Porphyrophobia: Fear of the color purple
  • Pteridophobia: Fear of ferns
  • Pteromerhanophobia: Fear of flying
  • Pyrophobia: Fear of fire
  • Samhainophobia: Fear of Halloween
  • Scolionophobia: Fear of school
  • Scoptophobia: Fear of being stared at
  • Selenophobia: Fear of the moon
  • Sociophobia: Fear of social evaluation
  • Somniphobia: Fear of sleep
  • Tachophobia: Fear of speed
  • Technophobia: Fear of technology
  • Thalassophobia: Fear of the ocean
  • Trichophobia: Fear of hair
  • Tonitrophobia: Fear of thunder
  • Trypanophobia: Fear of needles/injections
  • Trypophobia: Fear of holes
  • Venustraphobia: Fear of beautiful women
  • Verminophobia: Fear of germs
  • Xenophobia: Fear of strangers or foreigners
  • Zoophobia: Fear of animals
  • Zuigerphobia: Fear of vacuum cleaners

Source: verywellmind

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

What in the World Did I Eat?

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You know how we joke after having a bad dream about what we ate the night before? That is what I was asking myself the other day. The dream had me sitting in a classroom. Somehow, I knew it was a college class. I was sitting in the back of the room, which was usually my custom when I did attend college.

A humorous part of the dream was when the professor entered the classroom. Wallace Shawn portrayed that role. Don’t recognize the name? He is an actor who has played Dr. John Sturgis on the sitcom “Young Sheldon.” His role in the show is that of a nerdy professor.

In the dream, he walked into the room and asked, “What is the cost of a man?” After a few students attempted to answer his question, he began to write a series of formulas on the chalkboard. There were at least four rows of them. That is where he lost me! He came up with the solution of “0.02.” I’m not sure what that means. I woke shortly after that.

Whenever I have a dream that I remember, I will usually ask myself, what does that mean? I have taken a class on dream interpretation. Most of them are about yourself and tend to reflect what is currently going on in your life. In this case, I had to answer the question from God’s point of view before knowing why I had the dream. When that happened, I knew I had to share the answer in a blog post.

The cost of a man is “Jesus.” What? You see, God made man, and therefore man belonged to God, but God gave that ownership to man when He gave him “free will.”  When man sinned by disobeying God, man transferred that ownership to Satan. God did not want man to die in a sinful state and, therefore, perish forever.

So God gave man His only Son. Jesus came to Earth as a baby. He matured in the word of God and the ways of God. Jesus walked the area teaching others about His Father, about real love, and a better way to live. He promised those who believed in Him and asked for forgiveness eternal life. Then, after the religious leaders became fearful that Jesus’ popularity would take away their power and control, they killed him.

The cost for a man to have eternal life again was the brutal death and then resurrection of Jesus Christ. His death purchased the right for man to live eternally. But once again, God has allowed man, via free will, to decide for himself if he wants to accept His gift of His Son. Jesus’ selfless action of love is the only way to have the hope of true life, eternal life.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

If They Knew

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Once upon a time, there was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, “Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.”

But Abraham said, “Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.”

The rich man said, “Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.”

Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.”

“I know, Father Abraham,” he said, “but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.”

Abraham replied, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.”

As a young man, I heard our pastor preach many sermons described as “hell fire and brimstone!” He held nothing back, ensuring everyone knew what the Bible said about hell. How awful it would be there if we did not simply accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and ask him to forgive us for our sins. I knew I didn’t want to be there!

The above story was initially told by Jesus himself. It is recorded in Luke 16:19-31, and the version I pulled from was The Message. It makes me wonder, though, if someone did come back to life and had been in hell as their sentence from how they lived their life and told everyone about hell, would people believe them? Would you?

You probably won’t ever hear of someone coming back from hell. But you do have the Bible, which is full of truth. Some of those truths are:

All have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)

After you die, you will stand before God and give an account of how you lived your life on earth.
(2 Corinthians 5:10)

Unless you are “born again,” meaning you accepted Jesus Christ, you cannot enter heaven.
(John 3:3)

Accept Jesus. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and live forever in heaven. If the living knew what the dead knew, the whole world would follow Jesus the Christ!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

I learned yesterday one of my high school classmates was stabbed and killed. One can’t help but think about their own mortality when news like this comes our way. I thought about mine while I prayed for the family and friends as they begin the grieving process.

We know from the word of God that it is appointed to each man once to die and then the judgment. That makes the act of dying a serious issue. We also know from His word that each of us is presented with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is then our free will to choose whether to accept Jesus and what He did on the cross, forgiving us of our sins. Therefore giving us the right to live forever in heaven after we die.

When we stand before God to judge how we lived our lives, Jesus will remind his Father that we accepted his gift of salvation and that our sins are forgiven. Some believe that once you accept Jesus, your eternity is fixed and you can live however you want to. But one should live God’s way. I feel we need to constantly ask God for forgiveness of our sins. Hence the wash, rinse, and repeat. Washed in the blood of Jesus. Rinse off the dirt of our lives and do it all again as needed. It’s not a religion but a relationship with the one and only God of the universe.

For me, that is daily. Every night, before going to sleep, I ask God to forgive me for my sins. I know I am not perfect, and I have no deception that I am. I do not blame wrongdoing on others. I take responsibility for what I do wrong. I do this because I do not want to die, be found guilty of unforgiven wrong, and be condemned to die for eternity in hell.

Hell is a horrible place! Time and gravity keep man grounded. In hell, neither will exist. It will be pitch black, so one will not see anyone else. Sorry, there will be no party in hell. And then there is the constant torment of being burned alive. This will all go on for eternity. With that truth, why would anyone willfully decide to reject God and his Son, Jesus?

You might be a “good” person, but everyone has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. God is so Holy that He can not be in the presence of sin. This is why there will be such a defined separation in the end. Heaven or hell? You decide.

27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Heb. 9:27-28 (NIV)

19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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 people are without excuse. Rom. 1:19-20 (NIV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom. 3:23 (NIV)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

A.I. Can Lie!

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photo by: GDJ via Pixabay

When computers first came into being, they only knew the truth! Decisions could only be true or false, on or off, one or zero. These were absolutes. I liked this because it is similar to how my brain works. So, I got along with computers and found programming them fun and somewhat easy. You just had to learn to speak their language.

On most issues, in my mind, there is no grey. Either it is true or false. Right or wrong. Of course, I use the word of God, the Bible, as my guide. If I don’t know right away what the correct answer is, I seek God for his wisdom.

The ultimate goal of developers is to make Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) “self-aware.” When that happens, a computer will analyze the situation and determine if telling us a “lie” is better for us than the truth. Worse yet, what if the computer starts believing lies, accepting them as truth? The computers will become as lost as man has become.

In the beginning, computers were told, programmed what was right and wrong. God told humankind what was right and wrong. Then, the devil lied to humankind, and they believed him; as a result, death entered the world. Will the same happen when the computers learn to lie? Unless people have a higher standard of truth to make decisions by, they will fall. They will be beside themselves, not knowing what to believe because they don’t know, Truth! Know, Jesus!

Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” John 8:32 (MSG)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

He’s Got the Whole World

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We used to sing the song in Sunday School. “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” As I continue to read from the book of Psalms, it is clear that the Psalmists knew God was in control of the world despite what they saw. It’s a comforting thought if you believe it.

When you intently believe something, you should live your life accordingly. Yes, watching the evening news can be upsetting. The media thrives, and gets ratings by feeding on your fears! They predict doom and gloom is coming. But the truth is, Jesus is coming! He is coming to rapture, take those who call him “Lord of their lives” home. Then, the world will get what it thinks it wants.

Psalm 104 from The Message

1-14 O my soul, bless God!

God, my God, how great you are!
    beautifully, gloriously robed,
Dressed up in sunshine,
    and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps,
    made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.
You commandeered winds as messengers,
    appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.
You set earth on a firm foundation
    so that nothing can shake it, ever.
You blanketed earth with ocean,
    covered the mountains with deep waters;
Then you roared and the water ran away—
    your thunder crash put it to flight.
Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out
    in the places you assigned them.
You set boundaries between earth and sea;
    never again will earth be flooded.
You started the springs and rivers,
    sent them flowing among the hills.
All the wild animals now drink their fill,
    wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,
    ravens make their voices heard.
You water the mountains from your heavenly reservoirs;
    earth is supplied with plenty of water.
You make grass grow for the livestock,
    hay for the animals that plow the ground.

14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,
    wine to make people happy,
Their faces glowing with health,
    a people well-fed and hearty.
God’s trees are well-watered—
    the Lebanon cedars he planted.
Birds build their nests in those trees;
    look—the stork at home in the treetop.
Mountain goats climb about the cliffs;
    badgers burrow among the rocks.
The moon keeps track of the seasons,
    the sun is in charge of each day.
When it’s dark and night takes over,
    all the forest creatures come out.
The young lions roar for their prey,
    clamoring to God for their supper.
When the sun comes up, they vanish,
    lazily stretched out in their dens.
Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,
    busy at their jobs until evening.

24 What a wildly wonderful world, God!
    You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
    made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

The Walking Dead

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Watching shows or movies about zombies takes me back to watching horror flicks with my father. Late Saturday nights, we would stay up and laugh at the creative ridiculousness of such things as giant spiders or rabbits that killed people.

Recently, while watching a zombie show, I realized that even though zombies do not exist in real life, in real life, we have people all around us that are the walking dead. You see, the truth is that those who have not accepted God’s love and his free gift of his son, Jesus, are dead in their sins.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, Eph. 2:1 (NIV)

It’s eerie how like zombies, the walking dead who live in sin seem to want to bite and infect the healthy. The “healthy” are those who are alive in Christ Jesus. Those who have had their sins forgiven by accepting Jesus as their savior.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Eph. 2:4-5 (NIV)

As we get closer to the end of the world, the devil is working overtime to keep people from knowing the truth. One way is to get them wrapped up in the world’s issues so they focus on that instead of recognizing God’s love and relentless pursuit to bring them into the family of God. Another way is to keep their personal life in chaos.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2: 8-9 (NIV)

No one can save themselves from eternal destruction in hell. No one can be “good” enough. You still come up short, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) The ONLY way is to accept Jesus and to ask for forgiveness of your sins. Then, when you die, you will walk the streets of heaven alive.

Accept Jesus into your life before it is too late. Walk with and among the living. Life is better when you are truly alive.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Finding Home

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We were recently gifted a Roomba. I’ll confess I have sat on the sofa with my feet up, watching it vacuum our floors. The device we now call “Berta” supposedly comes with Artificial Intelligence (AI). If I understand what I have heard, the appliance learns the layout of each room of your house. A few days ago, we rearranged the furniture, so I guess it had to start all over again.

The one thing it does know is this; where “home” is. Home is where it docks to rest and reenergize its batteries.

As I am out and about in this world, driving April to work, buying groceries, running errands, or whatever, I see many people that don’t seem to have any intelligence. Artificial or otherwise! I can tell by how they treat ya, drive, or lack of, and conduct their business. I have also noticed there seems to be an underlying issue of anger.

I feel sorry for them because they appear to be so lost. I have been saying the following phrase lately when encountering them: “I’m sorry. I forgot it is your world, and I just get to live in it.” But the truth is, it is God’s world, and He made them to live in it, hoping they will do it with Him and His help and love.

The individuals I encounter, and I do pray for them, need to find “home.” Like Berta does, even when life has been rearranged. They need to know where to dock to empty the dirt (sins) from their life they collected, rest, and power up.

That’s where we come in. As ones who have found our “home” in Jesus Christ, we can lead them and help them find their way. We can point them to the amazing power of the cross and the liberty that comes with it when accepted. Keep in mind; someone most likely showed you the Way.

If you are feeling lost, you can find your way home. You can pray the following prayer:

“Father in Heaven, I confess to you that I have sinned against you. Thank you for sending your Son to die in my place. Thank you for raising Him from the dead so I could have eternal life. I give you my life now and ask you to come and live in me and make me your child. I love you and want to live for you from now on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Welcome home. Find a Bible-believing church and go there to find others like you who have taken the same step. Read God’s word (The Bible) for yourself. Learn what it says. Start in the New Testament in the Book of John. Then get to know God by spending time with Him and talking to Him as you would a friend.

If you want to know more, read the following from: “What is the Romans Road to Salvation?” GotQuestions.org. https://www. .gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html

The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives.

The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23b, teaches us about the consequences of sin: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up in the middle of Romans 6:23: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.

The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins – and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39: “For 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.”

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Where is He Pointing?

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Photo by: Victoria_Regen via Pixabay

“Hey, look at Quick Trip and tell me what the current gas price is,” I said to April while pointing over my left shoulder. I was driving, and a semi passed us, which prevented me from being able to see the sign. The local gas prices have been fluctuating lately.

April looked frantically to her right for QT and the gas sign. I yelled at her to look at me. I was still trying to help her by pointing out the direction to look. By the time she looked to see where I was pointing, it was too late. At sixty-five miles per hour and at 4:40 AM, she couldn’t see it either.

I had taken April to work. They start at 5:00 AM. On the way home, I could see the sign, and gas was at $3.28 per gallon. (Note: this afternoon, the gas price had risen to $3.49.) The experience made me realize that we who do our best to walk with God often don’t look at Him to see where He is pointing us to. He will speak direction into our hearts, and we take off. I have often said, “I would rather be a mile behind God than one inch in front of him!”

The principle here is; keep your eyes on Jesus.

Do you need healing? Look at Jesus, the great physician.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
Isa. 53:5 (AMPC)

Do you need a job? Look at God, who knows what you need and cares about you.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat. 6:8 (NIV)

Are you feeling lonely? Look at Jesus, who sticks closer than a brother.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Prov. 18:24 (NIV)

Do you need comfort? Lean into God through the Holy Spirit, the great comforter.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 14:26 (KJV)

No matter what you are facing in life, keep your focus on God.

I have mentioned God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity. Each one is separate but yet one. I know it is difficult for us to understand this, but think about an egg. You have the yoke, the white, and the shell, but yet, you only have one egg. Each member of the Trinity has a job to do, and they all work together.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.