“To believe and act is the foundation for your expectation and desire that you have not seen yet.” Comment: We believe and act on what we trust! If we put our faith in the wrong things or people sin, guilt and fear will control us! A.B. Evans said this, “Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason; but faith is taking God at His Word!” The words of people can be deceptive! Remember Satan told Eve surely God has not said this? Go ahead and eat this delicious looking fruit! There is only one of two voices we will hear and obey! Either God or Satan! All of us first listened to the voice of Satan! We were deceived like Adam and Eve! Sin, guilt and fear was the outcome! Sin was the outcome yet we still have an opportunity to listen and obey the voice of God! It is never too late! Remember the thief on the Cross? If you believe and act upon the Word of God through His Son Jesus Christ and confess your sin you will enter a new day being born again and experience God’s love! No longer in bondage to sin but free to serve God and love others! The choice is yours to make but it is a matter of life and death! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Tag: cross
Are You a Servant? Philippians 1:1
I am glad you asked! You say I feel like one with job, family and ministry! The true slave loves to be a slave! No complaints! A true slave would work for free and many did in the Roman Empire and early America! The Romans had slaves of all races! They were non-discriminatory in their slave employments! So what would be the attitude of a true slave? First, they would be completely consumed in the will of another! They would be completely bound in the relationship of another! Like marriage! They would be bound by the law! They are bound to do that which is needful to another! Their Master! They would make their needs know to their Master in prayer! The needs of others to their Master? Jesus was bound to the Cross in service to God and man! The only Master that could destroy you is the one who makes his Master himself! That is what Satan did! He quit serving and forced others to serve him through sin! Who your Master is important because it is a matter of life and death! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Are You a Deacon? Philippians 1:1
I could be or may be but first tell me what one is? According to the Greek the word translates as one who runs through the dust! One who runs errands! One who waits on tables! A voluntary servant. So if you are a good deacon you should have dusty shoes! Just call me Dusty! Jesus got his feet dusty! He walked across the dusty trails of Palestine in the 1st Century! Walking after reluctant disciples, maniacs, adulterous women, blind and deaf people, the rich and the poor! He walked after Rulers and servants! He walked miles to raise the dead! He waited on tables at the wedding and turned water into wine! He struggled up a dusty trail as he carried your Cross to Calvary! He got his feet dusty for you! Jesus took the dust we were created out of and raised us from the dead! Before you turn to dust raise someone out of it! Time is short for all of us so volunteer to be a deacon for Jesus and His Church! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
God’s Government!
The Kingdom of God is a theocracy and it is the only form of government which will release and save mankind, it is necessary that every soul should rightly and thoroughly be instructed! Orson Pratt (1811-1881) Mormon Theologian and Mathematician. Comment: He designed the “roadometer”, the modern odometer which measured how far a horse drawn wagon would travel. He also had 10 wives and 45 children! He was a busy man! This is probably while Utah and Colorado is known as the wild west? He also lived in poverty! I wonder why? Joseph Smith kicked him out of the church as an elder for some time but he came back! Then Orson left the church for some time because Joseph Smith tried to have an affair with one of his wives! God’s Kingdom is a theocracy and even the Muslim’s would agree with this! However if any member of the Trinity is marginalized then error comes in! If Jesus is dressed in religious garb and taken off the Cross what do you have left? Works! I have spent years in Colorado and visited Utah in the military and the Mormon’s are good people! They are respectful and try to live a clean life! However no matter how good we are we cannot save ourselves! They are the fastest growing denomination in America today because they do it the old fashion way going door to door! A Mormon family will come by our house every month here in the Atlanta area! They gave me literature and I give them a Gospel tract! I attended a funeral at a Mormon church years ago. The Pastor closed the service by saying surely she did enough good works to get to Heaven! Someone else purchased your ticket! Jesus Christ the only Son of God on the Cross of Calvary paid your price for sin! Never try to take God’s job! No human ever can or ever will. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Earthquakes and Air! Matthew 8:24
“And behold there arose a great tempest in the sea, inasmuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep.” The Greek word “seismos”, used for tempest can either mean an earthquake or a gale of wind. Are these events related? Could this have been a tsunami? Regardless Jesus used the air or His breath to command the storm to cease! Let us go back to some other voices from the past! From the lifetime of Greek Philosopher Anaxagoras in the 5th Century B.C. to the 14th Century A.D. believed that earthquakes were attributed to air(vapors) in the cavities of the earth! The Greek Philosopher Democritus (460-371 B.C,) blamed water in the ground for earthquakes! He did not know anything about fracking! Also remember the earth in history was completely flooded in water for months! Noah’s flood! What would that do to the earth’s crust soaking and submerged for months? Perhaps this is why the Greek word became associated with earthquakes, air and water? We know earthquakes can cause floods, fires, volcanos and elevate the earth’s temperature! Jesus predicted an increase of earthquakes before His second coming! Could this increase cause global warming? An earthquake of 8.6 in magnitude releases the same amount of energy as ten thousand atomic bombs the size used in WWII. Remember the earthquake when Jesus died on the Cross? The graves were opened and many other things happened! When Jesus stopped breathing (air) the quake occurred! Let us look at Revelation 16:17-18. Chapter 16 covers the seven vial judgments released upon the earth! Notice the seventh angel poured out his vial out into the air! Then God spoke it is done or finished and then the largest earthquake ever recorded in history took place! Jesus said in Luke 21:11, “there shall be earthquakes in diverse places and great signs from Heaven.” Remember Paul and Silas in prison? Acts 16:25-26. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God! Your praises and prayers involve breath or air! Suddenly an earthquake came and freed them from prison! God can use a supernatural event to save you or destroy you! Without breath we die! God breathed into man the breath of life! Creation involved air as God spoke it into existence! When a baby is born it is slapped on the bottom to get it to breath! When opposing winds collide they form cyclones or a tornado! Opposing words between nations can cause a war! Words are important because they can either pollute the air or fragrance it! Remember when the Holy Spirit came as Jesus had promised? The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples as a mighty rushing wind! We can repeat Jesus words with our breath or we can speak our own words in destruction! Use the breath God gave you to praise Him! Your life and others will be changed! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Crowns! Revelation 4:10
In the Kingdom of Heaven it is His work that will be crowned, not yours! Anything in you that He has not wrought Himself will count for nothing! Johannes Tauler (1300-1361). Comment: This statement might let the hot air out of your balloon? Just a piece of humble pie will help us! Let us look at Revelation 4:10 The events described in Chapter four is the Rapture of the Church! The earthly residence of the Church is moved to Heaven! There are other scriptures that support this like the dead in Christ being raised first! The events found in this chapter are astounding to say the least! People are not falling to sleep in church here! Part of the scene here is the 24 elders clothed in white rainment and having gold crowns on their heads! Old is gold especially in Heaven! Remember the Sanhedrin was made up of 70 elders who many believe the Apostle Paul had been a member. We get our word Presbyterian from this Greek word! The elders were worshiping Christ around the Throne of God! Then they cast down their crowns before the Throne of God! There are different root words used in our Bible for our English word crowns! The word used here is not a King’s crown! Tell me more? It is a crown given to those as would have won a military battle! You might call it the Medal of Honor! The crown was woven of oak or ivory! Wood was used like in the Cross or the crown of thorns. Then it was dipped in gold! You have probably heard of the oak leaf cluster! Given to brave soldiers in battle! The 24 elders had enough sense to know that they conquered in Jesus Name! So this old theologian who lived in the 1300’s got it right! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Judas Iscariot Mark 14:10
Judas has gotten some bad press over the centuries! He earned it! Where did he go wrong? Books have been written about him and some even supporting him? The Gnostic writings claim Jesus made a deal with Judas? It says in the Gospel of Luke that Satan entered Judas! How do you get to that point? Jesus cast out demons for people so why not Judas? What we do know about Judas is that he loved money! He was the treasurer for the ministry! He got mad at the woman who spent all her money on Jesus burial perfume! So who was Judas? Did he graduate first in his class? Was he a common criminal? Did he have a record? Jesus recruited him! Was it intentional? Army recruiters end up with Medal of Honor winners and deserters! Has Jesus recruited you? Are you going to switch sides? Jesus said it would have been better if Judas had not been born! Not a five star rating! Put that in your resume! Did his mommy love him? Did the stork deliver him or take him away? Was it providence for Judas? He had a free will. Have you ever made a bad choice? You know like God does not exist and Jesus is a fraud and I will do what I want? Did you vote for Hillary? Trump? Millions voted for Adolf Hitler? Buyers remorse on that one! Do you follow a religion or ideology that endorses killing people? Judas could not see any benefit for following Jesus? No financial gain? No fame only persecution! Don’t take any script or money with you on your journey! Eat what is placed on your plate! No five star hotels! Foxes have holes and birds have nests but me? Sleep out in the desert with scorpions! Judas thought at least I can get 30 pieces of silver out of Jesus! The High Priest and the scribe want him out of the way anyway! I can use religion to make money! What a novel idea! Judas was simply following the crowd! My grandpa told me as a teenager never to follow the crowd! Look what the mob did to Jesus Jimmy! I posted on an earlier blog what happened to those who plotted against Jesus! That is Caiaphus the High Priest, Herod, Pilot and the rest. They all came to a bad end! So what side of history will you and I be on? You will either support Christ’s Kingdom or Satan’s Kingdom! The choice is ours! But choices matter! In this life we will follow only one! There are no refunds on our choices! We could be like the thief on the Cross who at the last minute got into Heaven! Why gamble with eternity? The best time to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior is right now! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
The Barbarian Barabbas!
Except for Jesus everyone is a barbarian! You cannot make yourself Holy but Jesus can! Crucify Him was also your cry from your mother’s womb! You and I sent Jesus to the Cross! Religion crucified Jesus and religion today persecutes Jews and Christians! Repentant sinners have come to recognize there is no power within men to change their wicked ways only Christ has the power with love to change the heart! Atheists and world religions have one objective! That is to frame an ideology where men do not have to change their moral behavior! If you believe there is no God then you do not have to change your behavior! You have no one to answer to! If you kill and murder in the name of religion you try to use God to justify your sin! Christ has come to save you from yourself and others! Like Barabbas you should have gone to the gallows but were set free as Christ paid your penalty! Christ without sin took your sin on the Cross! The passion took away and covered your sin in His blood! Compassion means to suffer with! Christ took on the suffering of the world! Only God could do this for you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Worship!
What you worship owns you! So what do we worship? What do you spend your time thinking about? Do we have any idol’s? Some could be sex, money, fame, fortune, sports, offspring, houses, land, religion, gambling, work, school, health, success, cars, boats, airplanes or do we worship ourselves? These things have power to enslave you but not save you! All of these will one day leave you and forsake you! Pride will cause people to surround themselves with these idol’s! There is only one who ransomed His life to save you from yourself! Is it time for new management? Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you and has proven that to you by sacrificing His life for you on a Cross! Good Friday Message, Grace Community Church, Fulton, Maryland.
Cheap Grace?
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves! Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession…cheap grace is without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate! Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich was assassinated by Adolf Hitler eleven days before the end of WWII.