One Way Ticket

I have a one way ticket to a special destination. The great thing about this ticket is I didn’t have to pay for it, someone else did, and I can never lose it. Any guesses to where I will be going?

Today I have lived another year and I have learned a lot thus far. I also can recognize how much I have grown spiritually thus far. Now in my life, I rejoice in my salvation, not so much when I was younger because I don’t think I fully grasped the joy and excitement in knowing that I have a one way ticket to spend eternity with the LORD. To understand how important this one way ticket is and how it has saved me from the depths of HELL.

This one way ticket was freely given to me by Jesus Christ, in which he paid for by His death, burial, and resurrection. All I did to receive it was (Romans 10:9) “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.” Salvation is such a wonderful thing and everyone should have it. The sad part is some don’t even want it.

So today I rejoice in another year of life, but more importantly, I rejoice in knowing that I have A One Way Ticket, my salvation.

Would you like a One Way Ticket? It’s free!

All Scriptures are KJV only.

Related scriptures and links to related blog topics are below. Additional reading on salvation can be found in the books of Matthew through John.

Psalms 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

Psalms 35:9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.

Psalms 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.

Psalms 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Sinners Prayer

Master Builder

Do you have an Umbrella?

Salvation, we all need it.  Although there is some that don’t realize this fact and this blog is targeted to those who don’t know the truth or the importance of salvation. What is salvation? It is defined as the deliverance from sin and its consequences. Romans 3:23 states, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and our sin is worthy of death- “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

I can compare or picture salvation to having an umbrella. A covering that provides protection from God’s wrath – He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36). Do you need an umbrella? If so, all you need to do is – 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. {10} For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. {17} For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17).

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us – Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1). Please don’t leave this earth without your umbrella.

All Scriptures are KJV only.

Related Scriptures below. Additional reading on salvation can be found in the books of Matthew through John.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ

2 Samuel 22:3  – The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

2 Samuel 22:47 – The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

Psalms 18:2 – The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Psalms 25:5 – Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

John 14:6 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Acts 4:10-12 – “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. {11} This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. {12} Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

 

Declutter Your Heart

Decluttering, it may be on a list of things to do for some of us. You know the delightful or dreadful process of removing unwanted or unnecessary things (mess) in order to make a change or to be more organized. Over time we can collect and store things we don’t even need. Similarly, just like our surroundings/space, our hearts can be cluttered in need of a clean.

We know from the Bible that out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murderers, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies (Matthew Ch. 15:19). We also know as Christians our lives should be an example of Christ. Christ stated in 1 Peter Chapter 1:16, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” In Matthew Chapter 15:8 it states, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” In Ezekiel Chapter 14: 6 God spoke and said, “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.”  We need to live in a way that honors Him and REPENT from those things that cause us to do the opposite.

Our hearts focus should only be on pleasing God, but how can that be with all the other clutter taking up space. Of course, the only one who can declutter our heart is Jesus. I think the process of decluttering can be hard for us if Jesus is trying to clean our heart and we are still holding on to things or doing things we shouldn’t be doing. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). There are some things we can do to make the process easier. Immersing ourselves in the Bible, getting involved in godly activities, watching and listening to things that will edify our Spirit. In other words, put more of God in your heart where there will be no more room for anything else.

All Scriptures are KJV only.

Related Scripture:

Psalms 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Matthew 22:37  “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

Ezekiel 18:30  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

1 Corinthians 6:15-20  “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. {16} What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. {17} But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. {18} Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. {19} What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? {20} For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

2 Timothy 2:19-22  “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. {20} But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. {21} If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. {22} Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The Throne of God

I heard this sermon entitled “You are the temple of the living God” by Pastor Mike Hoggard and I thought it was interesting and wanted to share it. In the sermon, he compares our body to the actual temple of God, showing that God designed us with His temple in mind.

First, he mentioned how the Bible is constructed. The Bible has a total of 66 books, 39 in the old and 27 in the new.  The Bible has a spine and the spine holds everything together. Our backbone has 33 bones, starting from neck to tail. The right side of our body has 33 nerve bundles and the left side of our body has 33 nerve bundles. The whole body has a total of 66 nerve bundles. He also mentioned Jesus was the age of 33 when He died. The number 33 is significant. Numbers represent the order of God Himself.

Revelation 4:2-6 states, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. {2} And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. {3} And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. {4} And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. {5} And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. {6} And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”

The throne of God is your heart and the heart has 4 chambers which represent the four beast that holds up the throne and the sea of glass is the pericardium, a fluid-filled sac around the heart. Ribs surround the heart which represents the 24 elders clothed in white, our ribs are white. The heart operates through electricity which represents the lightning and sounds like thunderings. Our voice box is close to the lungs and heart and it represents the voices. Our right lung has 3 sections called lobes, the left lung has 2 sections, and 2 trachea which equals 7, this represents the 7 lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the 7 Spirits of God.

 

All Scriptures are KJV only.

 

My Inheritance

I have a hypothetical question to ask, how would you feel if you learned that you had a distant relative that passed and has left you an inheritance of great value? I know you would be more than happy and probably even do a little dance. Who wouldn’t want to have an inheritance, the daughters of Zelophehad stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and all the congregation to request the inheritance of their father (Numbers 27:2-7). God promised an inheritance to the children of Israel; (Numbers 34:1-2) “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  {2} Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)”. An inheritance is very important to have and is common throughout the Bible.

I have an inheritance waiting for me, we all have an inheritance waiting for us. No it’s not from a long lost or distant relative it’s much better than that. This inheritance is eternal, to be a part of the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:12,13). Can you just imagine how wonderful it will be, I’m sure our imagination doesn’t even come close.

(Revelation 21:1-4) “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  {2} And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  {3} And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  {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 things are passed away.”

(Revelation 21:21-27) “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.  {22} And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.  {23} And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.  {24} And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.  {25} And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.  {26} And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.  {27} And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

(Revelation 22:3-5) “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  {4} And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  {5} And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

(Revelation 22:12-13) “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  {13} I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

I asked a hypothetical question earlier, how would you feel if you learned that you had a distant relative that passed and has left you an inheritance? For us believers it’s not hypothetical, it is a reality, not a distant relative, but the good shepherd, our LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS who gave His life for ours.

In honour of Resurrection Day I wanted us to look forward to our future which was only made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ. For those of you that would like to have an eternal inheritance waiting for you all you have to do as stated in Romans 10:9, 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.

Related Scriptures:

(Isaiah 45:22-23) “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.  {23} I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

(Psalms 33:12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

(1 Peter 1:4) To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

(Colossians 1:12-14) “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  {13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  {14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

All scriptures are KJV only.

The Dross

(Proverbs 25:4) “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.”

What is dross? The King James Bible Pure search software defines dross as:

DROSS, n. [G.]

1. The recrement or despumation of metals; the scum or extraneous matter of metals, thrown off in the process of melting.

2. Rust; crust of metals; an incrustation formed on metals by oxidation.

3. Waste matter; refuse; any worthless matter separated from the better part; impure matter.

When I read Proverbs 25 verse 4 I realized this is exactly what God does to our life. He removes all the scum which is anything that prevents us from being like Jesus. Our trials and tribulations are used to separate our worthless and impure parts and changes us into something beautiful and acceptable by God.

I’m thankful to God for removing the dross from my life, I can definitely see the change. I tell Him everyday that I’m so glad that I know Him. I celebrate you LORD God for there is none like you.

Related Scriptures:

(Malachi 3:3)  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

(Job 23:10)  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

(Psalms 44:8)  In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

(Psalms 19:14)  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

(Psalms 111:1) Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

All scriptures are KJV only.