“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quickley get up he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” Commentary: King Herod had just put James to death and was now focusing to get Peter next! Herod had assigned 16 Roman soldiers to guard Peter! Two soldiers in the prison cell with him, two just outside the cell and another 12 soldiers available to escort Peter to trial! The execution of Peter looks like a slam dunk deal! However the church was earnestly praying for Peter! There was no defund the police movement with Caesar! If he said you die you die! So what was Peter being executed for? For not worshipping Caesar as God! For not worshipping the State as God! Disobeying civil laws when they oppose the Commandments of God! Peter later became the leader of the church at Jerusalem and some three hundred years later the Bishop of the Roman Empire in Rome! Peter became the Saint of the Catholic Church in Rome! Peter was executed in Rome by Caesar but later the foundation of the church in Rome! God through his Son Christ has delivered all of us out of the prisons of sin for a greater purpose to reach the world for Christ! The witness of Peter could not be confined to just one generation but proceeded into future generations including to me in this some 2000 years later! What you do for God has eternal implications saving people out of your generation and beyond! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
Month: April 2022
Sex Education for Your Children!
Rather than send your children to the Center of Disease and Gender Confusion in your local Public School just turn them out in the woods for one hour to watch the birds and the bees! Let them learn about the birds and the bees from the birds and the bees! Believe me they got this figured out with no gender confusion! As the Creation of God they know their purpose with no perversion of their sexuality! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
Who Called You a Christian? Acts 11:26
“And when they had found him (Saul), he (Barnabus) brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that the whole assembly joined themselves with the church, and taught much people, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Commentary: So who first called the disciples at Antioch Syria Christians? It was the non-Christians! They were perplexed because they could not identify this group by the traditional means! It was a multitude of people of all ethnic groups both men and women! If it had been just Jews they would have said this is a Jewish religious service! If would have been just Greeks they could have said well they are hearing a lecture on Sacrates! Had it just been Romans they could have said Caesar must have ordered this meeting! If it would have been just North Africans it must have been some kind of tribal meeting! It was a meeting of the rich and the poor so economic structure had nothing to do with it! They could not explain this away so they came up with a new name for this meeting! They are all followers of Christ and are Christians! Satan hates unity! This irritated some who lived for tribalism! During our three years in India ministering among the Hindus and Muslims the sweetest music to my ears was when we would pray for impossible situations for them and God answered prayer they would say to me God has sent you here! No greater confirmation of your calling in Christ when you hear these words! Sell all you have and go to the mission field in the name of Christ and the heathen will confirm your calling with their own words and heaven will come down to earth for you for this experience will be more precious than silver and more costly than gold! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
God Removes Racial Prejudice! Acts 10:4, 34
“And when he had looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thy alms are come up as a memorial before God.” Commentary: This Roman Centurion a gentile by the name of Cornelius got a message from God to send for Peter. Cornelius sent forth three of his soldiers to fetch Peter. Peter was also in prayer and received a vision of a sheet let down from heaven with all kinds of unclean animals in it! The Lord told Peter to eat but Peter rejected it because of all the Jewish dietary laws! The Lord responded by saying what I call not unclean is clean! Then in verse 34 Peter replied ; ‘Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” God had to show Peter that he created all things and all people of all races and all genders! So Peter had to be shown his racial prejudice of the gentiles was a sin! Notice however that it was through prayer of both Cornelius and Peter that this error was corrected! If we will look to God our prejudices will be identified and corrected by a loving God! Only God can change the heart of man and no legislation or any government can do this! The change has to be made from the inside out not from the outside in! Only God can do this! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
The Persecutor Becomes The Persecuted! Acts 9:29
“And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.” Commentary: Saul of Tarsus who became Paul previously had been a persecutor of the church! He participated in the martyr of Stephen! After his conversion to Christ on the Road to Damascus he became a persecuted Christian! A good lesson we can learn here in the life of the Apostle Paul. In life there are two sides of the coin! You will either be persecuted as Christians or you will persecute the followers of Christ! So which team are you on? Following Christ leads to persecution and heaven but to persecute Christ and his followers leads to hell. I was once a persecutor of Christ but now a follower! Which are you? When the truth of Christ is revealed and the lies and deceptions of Satan are exposed conversion follows! I am only a critic of the church when they depart from the scriptures to conform to popular culture! Promotion of abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, transgenderism, lesbianism and other sins opposed by God and his Holy scriptures! State controlled churches through the 501c tax exemption trading freedom of speech for money! I am not a self appointed judge of the church or anyone but I can echo what the scriptures declare! Yes if you promote the scriptures they will want to kill you! However this life is short but eternity forever! The church will never be perfect and neither are we it’s members! Remember the seven churches in the Book of Revelation? He commended them yet said I have somewhat against you! You have left your first love for the world! Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead! If anyone is able to speak for you on judgment day it will be Jesus! If I deny him and his scriptures here on earth what hope do we have? None outside of him! Promising to raise us from the dead! Forgive our sin! Again are you are either a persecutor or the persecuted of Christ! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
Easter Thoughts! Romans 6:5
“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Commentary: Through the incarnation Jesus identified with our birth and our death! Planted together! You have to plant a seed before you get a harvest! The Greek word (Strong’s#4854), for planted together means to be combined and united together to grow! In the likeness or resemblance of his death! We must die to self before the new birth can come! A seed must die before it produces fruit! Jesus said we must be born again! God uses his power and authority to save us at a great cost! A sacrificial lamb for our redemption! Most humans use their political power to rule over us manipulating us with lies for their benefit! It seems at times Democracy at it’s best is like electing your own slave owners! God sacrificed for us as we are to do for others! The love of God is sacrificing for others! Until you have done this you have never lived with purpose! The Kingdom of God is a sacrificial system! Not sacrificing us for his benefit but sacrificing himself for our benefit! It is hard for me to see political Americans sacrificing us for their benefit! For their own gain! Our greatest leaders here in America like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. sacrificed themselves for our benefit! The list goes on by the millions of military members over our history! What is sin? Sin is sacrificing others for your benefit! That is what Satan does! How? Through rape, murder, robbery, identity fraud, abortion, open borders, drugs, extortion, lying, false witnesses, tax cheats, ransom, kidnapping, divorce, arson and the list goes on! How about war itself? Putin wants donations to help bury thousands of their war dead! He needs to pay for all the violence done against Ukraine and his own people! What about sin in the church? Stealing money! How about the 501c tax exempt status trading free speech for money? The church was silent on Trump during the 2020 elections and Biden got in and now we pay the price for silence! If Trump were in there would be no war in the Ukraine! So we just collect money for Ukraine by the non-profits and they continue being muted to speak out exercising our 1st Amendment! Jesus came to enable us to repent of our sin however it cost him his life! Who are you living for? Sin? The battle between good and evil will continue but whose side are we on? We are to forgive our enemies but if you cannot you are on the wrong side! God’s love identifies with the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ Can we identify with Christ? Only because he first identified with us innocent yet took upon himself our sin to set us free from the guilt and bondage of Satan our accuser! Happy Easter! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
Pardon Me? Acts 5:4
“Ananias and Sapphira you have not lied just to human beings but to God.” Commentary: When we look at the 10 Commandments the first 4 Commandments are a sin against God and the last 6 Commandments are sins against men! Sin against men is pardonable but sin against God is unpardonable. Jesus disciples except for Judas fled for fear during his death on a Cross! Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus said it would have been better had he never been born! According to the rooster Peter denied Jesus yet he repented and came back to be the leader of the Church in Jerusalem! Judas hung himself! The religious leaders and political leaders who were plotting Jesus death were sinning against God yet it opened the door to redemption to all of mankind! Peter did not deny God he ran from God out of fear! Jonah did not curse God he ran from God! Lucifer in the Garden of Eden lied about God to our first parents Adam and Eve! He told them God is a liar! Sadly they believed Satan rather than God! From that time we are all born with a sin nature which causes us to sin! Jesus said we must be born again! There were two criminals hanging on a cross on each side of Jesus! One thief repented and joined Jesus in paradise the first saved sinner to enter heaven! The other thief rejected Christ to eternal damnation! To reject Christ is an unpardonable sin! To receive Christ as Savior brings with him a pardon for your sins against man! Against God! Jesus is God in the flesh! The incarnation! Only God has the power to forgive sin! Yet if you reject the God who has forgiven your sin then what is left for You? Judgement! Jesus took your judgment on the Cross! To reject Christ is to take your own judgment! As we approach Easter do you think sharing Christ with others important? If you take anything away from Easter let it be the most important thing you will ever do in the short number of years we have left on this earth is to take the most important message in the entire world is the message of Jesus to this lost and dying world! Eternity is forever! With or without God! Are you trying to live without God? How is it going? Do you have peace and joy? Love for your enemies and the promise of eternal life with Christ forever? If not then it is time for a change! Today is the day of your salvation if you can recognize your error of sinning against God in the rejection of the Savior! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
After the Resurrection ! Acts 4:13
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived they were unlearned men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Commentary: When you come to Christ people who knew you before your conversion will note that you have been with Jesus! They will not be able to explain your new life? Like you have been born again! Old things are passed away and all things become new! Through Christ you discover a new heaven and a new earth! You will pray for the sick and they shall recover! Demons will flee from you in the name of Jesus! Your words are no longer without power! However the religious folks will hate you! Your life will show them how futile and vain it is to trust in religious traditions! Traditions without power! Just like Peter you will be filled with the Holy Spirit! Peter and John reminded the religious leaders their efforts to crucify Christ only promoted the Gospel throughout the region! I did not come to Christ so I could show others their error! I came to Christ because my sin was destroying my life and I needed a rescue! After Christ I realized I must share the love of God with others who have not experienced the best thing that ever happened to me! As Easter is fast approaching let us remember what he has done for us and the power and love he has given to us and not to keep it for ourselves but to live for others as Christ lives for us! Happy Easter! James & Hamsa Sasse IndiaJesusLovesYou.com
Your Worst Moment in this Life?
Do not let your worst moment in life define you! Martha wrote Jesus off when he missed being with Lazarus when he was sick and then Lazarus died! Martha said Jesus if you only would have been here he would not have died! You failed me Jesus! Then Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! Statistics say any business owner will fail three times before success comes! Edison failed 1000 times at experiments before he invented the light bulb! How many NFL players get cut from several teams before becoming a champion? The crowds mocked Jesus hanging on the Cross trying to define him in his worst moment! Our sin and my sin is the worst moment in my life but it led me to the Cross! When I suffer I think of the Cross! Then to the third day after the Cross when he was raised from the dead! Died and rose again for you! Your worst moment when given to Christ will become your best moment! The world will persecute you and mock you for following Jesus but your best moment is yet to come! Christ will snatch a victory for you out of the jaws of defeat! Those that reject Christ become famous for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory! By God’s grace they will out of there worst moment will be to cast into the loving arms of Jesus! Pastor Steven Furtick