John 16 continued...

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you,
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Than said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Several times, in the book of John, Jesus tells us to ask. He wants us to ask for stuff. He wants us to ask for answers, for healing, for wisdom, for the Spirit, for knowledge and for all of our needs. So, make a list and check it twice. Whether you're naughty or nice, you will get your prayers answered according to your faith and how much you keep asking!

Suit Up!

A previously Muslim believer who has become a follower of Christ, told us his story of how a man from his country chased him down and threw petrol over him with the intention of setting him on fire. Thankfully, his enemy's plans failed as a Policeman came on the scene.

This particular man hasn't even really gone all the way over into the Lord's court. He's sort of on the fence. And, let me tell you, that's a very dangerous place to be.

Once you do make a decision for Christ, don't be surprised to discover that you have joined the Lord's Army. It's not a piece of cake. Christians don't get to sit around eating cake all day. -- Oops, you saw a bunch of Christians sitting around eating cake? Hmmm...

It's not that cake eating is totally forbidden.

But, what I'm trying to emphasize here is that, becoming a believer in Jesus means you have become a soldier. There are spiritual battles to fight. In fact, every day is a battle. Every day, the enemy of your soul is sitting on the edge of your bed, waiting for you to wake up in the morning so that he can throw everything he's got at you.

Having said that, let me just say this: He has absolutely no power or weapon against you that cannot be struck down instantly by the powerful name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. The devil's only power is in fear.

"Well," you say, "Fear is powerful, isn't it?"

No! Not if you don't accept it. Let it roll off you like water off a duck's back. Wanna know how to get a duck's slippery back?

THE WORD.

Yes, folks, the devil's only power is in making you believe he has power. Therefore, don't listen to him. Don't let him scare you or bluff you. He has no power at all in the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.

You are saved. If you are a believer, you have eternal life. You are covered by the blood of Jesus. The battle for your soul has been won. The devil is totally defeated. He just won't accept the truth, that's all. He wants to convince you that he still has influence over you, but he does not.

Still, the war is raging in the spirit world. If you're sensitive at all in the spirit, you'll feel it. But, know that the archangels are leading their legions into the victory that they already know is theirs. Hard to understand?

Why do we need to fight if the battle has already been won?

We fight because there are others of our brothers and sisters out there that haven't heard the message yet. There are others, too, who haven't made a decision for Christ. Some are in bondage to the dark lies of the devil. Some are listening full blast to the preachments of Satan. Many more are deceived. We must set them free.

Now that we know the truth, it's our duty to pass it on. That's what the "punk" is trying to prevent you from doing. He hates it when you share your faith. So, keep sharing your faith, because we love to torment Satan.

A Legal, Binding Contract

The Bible is God’s contract with us. - With you. He has put your name at the beginning and signed His name at the end. He is legally bound to you to fulfill His part of that contract.

For the most part, His part of the contract has already been fulfilled. He has fulfilled His obligation by dying on the cross for your sins. It’s up to you to claim the rights written in your contract. You might call it the “fringe benefits”. They are all yours to claim.

What is a contract?

In business, two businesses or two people draw up a legal document which stipulates their duties to each other. Party number one agrees to deliver such-and-such at such-and-such a time and place under certain conditions, etc. If the duties are not fulfilled, there are conditions within the contract to be followed. It is advisable for both parties to fully read all the “fine print” to make sure they are in agreement with all the conditions they sign up for.

Now, in the case of our contract with God, since God is our business partner, we are obligated to Him as well as Him being obligated to us. In which case, don’t you think it would be wise to read the contract? Wouldn’t you want to know what it says? - What your part of the deal is?

The Bible says, “The Word of God is quick (alive) and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword!” (Hebrews 4:12a)

This contract has the power to change your life and the life of all those around you. Do you believe it? When you enter into the contract, you put your life on the line and you get a new life in exchange!

Not your usual business contract, is it? Who would you say benefits the most? Well, in order to find out for sure, I guess you’d have to read the contract.

Some of us are afraid to read it for fear of what our obligations might be. We may be called on to take the Gospel to China or Africa. We may be asked to give of ourselves and our income. There may be arduous and harsh demands put upon us.

On the other hand, we willingly throw ourselves into slavery and harsh demands for money. We lay down our lives to earn a living to support our family. We get up at the crack of dawn, spend time in traffic, donate our entire day to someone else (sometimes without seeing the sun all day) and return home exhausted and drained. And, for what?

Meanwhile, Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Do you see the difference? What employer ever says that to his employees? Are you friends with your boss? (Or, if you’re a boss, are you friends with your employees?)

Jesus said, “I have called you friends, for whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you.” (John 15:15)

We, little old humans, are God’s friends! The Creator of the entire universe is our Friend. Can you even begin to imagine how vast the universe is? It boggles the human mind. Just as the greatness of God boggles our finite minds. How can a finite mind fathom the infinite, eternal God, Who lives everywhere at once? (He can do that because He is not bound by time or even by space in the way that we are.)

Don’t try to wrap your puny mind around God or ask the childish question, “Who created God?” Come on. Haven’t we gotten past all that by now? Do you really expect to fit the answer to that question inside of a human, fleshly brain that was built by God for use in this earthly existence?

Come on! Your brain wasn’t made for grasping eternal concepts. Can you even understand how a computer works? We haven’t even scratched the surface of how the human body works and these are things within our “realm”.

“Infinity and beyond” is a math concept. You have to stretch your imagination to even believe that there is such a thing as eternity. I’m pretty sure the idea came from God. So, it must be true.

Back to the contract. There are agreements within the contract. You are not obligated to enter into the contract at all, if you choose to ignore it. However, since the universe is guided by God, it would certainly be wise to go into business with the Provider of all things, the Father of us all, the King of Kings, the Bread of Life, the Great Creator and the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Lord. Wouldn’t it?

You can just make a onetime transaction for your own salvation, if that’s all you want. You can claim the saving grace of the blood of the Lamb, say, “Thank You very much,” and walk away. You can do that.

It would be weird. It would be like falling in love with someone and then being satisfied with only one kiss before leaving them behind. But, you can do that, if you like.

On the other hand, you might want to consider first what you’d be walking away from. If a business partner offered you a profit of two million dollars per annum, would you walk away? You might, depending on the requirements, but I think you’d at least take a look at the offer, wouldn’t you?

My advice is: Shake hands with your Maker.  Accept His free gift of salvation. Read the contract. And sign on the dotted line.

What have you got to gain?

Got Faith?

According to the Bible, a lack of faith is sin. It’s not just a choice we are allowed to make that doesn’t carry any consequences. Our unbelief is actually sin. I think it must be like slapping God across the face to say that you don’t believe in Him!

Non-believers, evolutionists, atheists and agnostics may think it's crazy to have faith in God. But, in God’s eyes, it’s the other way around. 

In fact, it’s correct to say that the non-believer is “insane” because the word “insane” means: “off center”. Therefore, without God as your “Center”, you are insane.

I’m not trying to offend anyone. I just think it’s time to look at things the way they really are. The way things really are:

We are born. We live. We die.

Now, everybody will agree to the first two concepts. It’s the final one that’s hard to accept. Death is when you cash in your chips. You give an account of your life on this planet. You trade in your skin for whatever you hope to get “on the other side”, right?

I have heard people say that Christians only believe in God because they want to believe there’s something after this life. Part and parcel with a lack of faith in God is the lack of faith in the after-life.

Personally, I find it astounding that anyone could believe that there is nothing after this life. You are squashed like a bug. You are “gone”. Everything you ever said or did just ends here. You are finished. Flat. Poof. No more. Adios. (Whoops! That means, “Go with God”, so I can’t even say that!) You’re zero.

Oh, but, you can become part of, you know, a plant or a tree, perhaps even a blade of grass. Your physical body will contribute its decaying ash to the continuation of life here in this “reality”. (OMG.)

Ok, but seriously, who can believe that there is nothing after this life? How (dare I say) insane is that?

In order for there to be nothing, it would systematically mean (to me anyway) that there is no purpose for “being” here. There is no reason to learn anything. There is no reason to keep any of the “rules” or order of things, to maintain decency or credibility in any form or on any level in any dealings, business or personal. In fact, no reason to stay alive for another day!

Life without an afterlife is a joke! In fact, it’s a bad joke. What would be the purpose for life, then?

I’m talking about non-believers who have no faith whatsoever that a God exists. They throw out their faith. It’s of no value to them. They refuse to believe in anything they cannot see, touch, hear, taste or smell. To them, faith is silly. It’s for children.

Speaking of children: what’s wrong with children? What’s wrong with being like a child? Kids are great! Look around you! Take a look at the world around you and tell me,

“Who can you trust? Who is having the most fun? Who are the most honest, down-to-earth earthlings there are?”

Try, if you will, to remember what it was like to be a child. Does the phrase, “don’t worry, be happy” come to mind? For many of us, childhood was carefree, upbeat, fun and full of new, exciting experiences.

And, whoever you are now, I bet you dollars to donuts that you had faith when you were a child. All you unbelievers, scoffers and so-called “atheists”, you all had it! You needed it to survive your childhood.

But, as time went on, you discovered that you were pretty smart. You learned the ropes. You learned how to provide for yourself. You put yourself to sleep at night (without a bed-time story). You got yourself off to work in the morning. You learned how to drive a car.

To you, all this could only mean one thing: there is no God!

Pffftt!

Whenever I have asked the "non-believer" why we are here, I get the craziest answers. If they even have an answer for the question, it's usually something like,

"It just happened." or, "We evolved."

Ok, if we "evolved", what is the purpose of having evolved? Why families? Why survival? Why right and wrong? Why friends and relationships? Why years and years of learning? 

If anyone can honestly say that they do not believe in God, what is their purpose for living? 

"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Psalm 14:1