Tag: where

Where Does The Star First Appear?

Numbers 24:17 “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.  Comment: This is the first time the word “Star” appears in our Bible. Not the plural word “stars” which we find in Genesis describing Creation but a singular Star! A special Star! A unique Star with a purpose and destiny! A Star that would save some and destroy others! Wise men today still follow this Star! God is light! No darkness or shadow of turning with him! It does not matter where you live on this earth or your ethnic background you can still follow Jesus! You can follow the Light or reject the Light! Your destiny depends on what you do with the Light! King Balak of Moab tried to get the wise man Balaam from historical Babylon to curse Israel! Balaam tried but it took a donkey to convince him this was not possible! The Scepter shall rise out of Israel! That is a King! Jesus is referred to as King of the Jews! They posted this above his head on the Cross! King Herod the Edomite felt threatened by the Star! He wanted to be King of the Jews! He even rebuilt the Temple and called it Herod’s Temple! The wise men from Babylon knew of Daniel’s prophecies because the Jews along with Daniel were captive there for 70 years! However they did not know the prophecy of Micah predicting Bethlehem as Jesus birth place because it had not been given yet! God’s GPS was a single Star to a specific place to follow! They did not  need all the prophecies as you probably do not know you just need to follow the Star! Follow Jesus the Light of the world! He will guide you into paths of righteousness! The right choice leads to the right place! Today like Herod there are some that do not want to follow Jesus! They want to kill Jesus and his followers like Herod! Jesus will illuminate your soul with light! Truth! Peace! Joy! Everyone will either choose light or darkness! Like Jesus asked Peter who do you say I am? Who do you say he is? Where else can I go for Salvation? The Christmas story has implications on your life because it is true! Herod did not discount the scriptures as Balaam did not! What is at stake is the condition and position of your soul! When Balaam recognized his error he prophesized Numbers 24:17! When Herod recognized his error he tried to cover it up with the blood of the children of Bethlehem! Those that reject Christ and his atoning blood will try to cover their sin with the blood of others like Cain who slew his brother Abel the first murder on earth! Every ideology that rejects Christ will turn on Christ and his followers! It can be abortion! Socialism!, Communism! Fascism! Nazism, Darwin! Islam! Atheism! The list goes on and on! With Christ living inside of us we have the benefits of Heaven while still living on earth! Jesus has gone back to Heaven to prepare a place for us! All the rest of the benefits await us in future time! Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder where you are? Merry Christmas! James & Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Christmas Story

It was Christmas Eve in Brooklyn New York in 1942. The war was on and a difficult time. It was snowing in New York. A cold night as Wilber was walking down the street thinking about his past. Wilber was 98 years old and his past troubled him? He had committed crimes and betrayed his family and many friends. He was most troubled about where he would go if he died? As he went by a church he heard Christmas Carols. Then he thought I know what I can do! I will join a church and this will throw me in with all the good folks. Then I can escape hell! Wilber went into this Lutheran Church and asked the Pastor if he could join the church? The Pastor told him if he could answer one question correctly. The question is where was Jesus Christ born? Wilber thought a minute and said Pittsburg. Sorry said the Pastor you need to find another place. Wilber went back out into the snow and cold and found a Catholic Church. He went in and asked the Priest if he could join? The Priest said he could only if you can answer one question correctly. Where was Jesus Christ born? Wilber strained his brain and said Philadelphia. The Priest told Wilber he was too far gone to make a good Catholic! Down but not out Wilber hit the streets once again. The he walked by a Synagogue but it looked closed. Then he saw a light in one of the back offices so he knocked on the door. A Rabbi opened the door and invited him in. Wilber asked if he could join the Synagogue? The Rabbi said sure you can! Wilbur was perplexed? Are you going to ask me any questions? No replied the Rabbi. Wilber asked the Rabbi if he would mind if he asked him a question? Please go right ahead said the Rabbi. Where was Jesus Christ born? The Rabbi responded Bethlehem of course! Wilber replied and said, ” I knew it was in Pennsylvania some place! ” Source; Unknown. Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Where is the Kingdom? Luke 17:20-21

The religious folks the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom should come? I wish Jesus had said, “Da! You big idiots! I am God and I am with you right now!” However Jesus was polite not like me and told them the Kingdom of God does not come by observation! That is you cannot observe Him with your eyes! No man can look on God and live! Remember Fanny Crosby the Queen of Gospel Music? She was blind! Then Jesus dropped the bomb shell on them! He told them the Kingdom of God was within them! The religious folk over history have always presumed that since God lived outside of us we must worship Him outside of ourselves! Build monuments to Him! Statues and figures of wood and stone! Build Temples so the poor homeless guy has a place to dwell. Fill it with gold and silver! The bigger the Temple the more impressed God should be! Right? If we can just do enough works for Him! Jesus made things so simple yet missed by most? Who can worship God better than God living inside of you? He knows just how to do it! The songs that speak to us and the sermons that change us are powered by the God that lives inside of us! It is not about us but about Him! Sin is the only thing that keeps God out! Confess your sin to Him and let the Blood of Jesus cleanse you and then the door will be opened for Him to come and dwell in you! There is nothing greater than God living in you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Forgive! Why? When? Where? Matthew 18:21

Start your day everyday by saying, “I am forgiven!” Therefore, I forgive you! This truth needs to be reverberating around the world! Go into all the world and preach! Most things Jesus said we agree with. However, it is difficult to live out everyday! Forgive? Seven times? Seventy seven times? We are always forgiven! So why keep score every time you are offended? There are some misconceptions about forgiveness. Some pretend nothing has happened? It is called living on the Egyptian River of denial! Part of the healing process is talking about hurts and pains especially in marriage. Why bring up the past? Maybe so we can talk about it so it does not happen again! Not to shame us but remind us of our failures and need to forgive! Dynamite is compressed tightly together so you get a big bang with very little of it! If we compress our hurts inside of us one day we will explode! The explosion could destroy your marriage! The pain of not talking about it is far worse than everyone knowing about it! It is medicinal to talk about it. Years ago I had a Pastor who was very good from the pulpit but very different away from the pulpit! He was abusive to us and we thought about getting out of the ministry! We left the church and moved to Texas. Forgiving him was difficult and we were counseled to write a letter to him in detail and ask God to Bless his life and ministry! I did write the letter several times and tore the letter up and threw in the trash several times! As I wrote the letter several times the pain within me began to be released! After we forgive do we need to trust again? Violation of trust is a big deal! It is painful! It has harmed us and we want to retaliate! Forgiveness and trust is different. We wish the best for the offender but to trust again? Can trust be earned back? It is very difficult! To earn trust back we must do the right things for the right reasons for a very long time! Here is a visual example. Trust is earned one drop at a time but can be spilled out in one bucket. Don’t kick the bucket over! It takes a long time to fill again! We forgive and do not want bitterness towards someone. They do not owe us! The debt has been cancelled! We tore up the judgments! We do not expect an apology! We have torn up the bill of sale! Acts 7:59-60 Stephen was stoned! Since Colorado has legalized pot some young new members of our church got the wrong idea when I said stoned? I got nods and approval from them then realized the problem! I explained the stoned is a rock! Forgive us our debts and forgive our debtors. Father forgive them was one of those seven sayings Jesus said on the Cross. Stephen said forgive and receive my spirit! How could he say this? Stephen knew he was forgiven! Do not hold sin against others! They do not owe you anything! This is the beautiful explanation of the Remarkable Christian Faith! This sets Christianity apart from every other religion! No Jihad here! We express forgiveness! Christianity has broken through the dark clouds of war! If you forgive much much is forgiven! People who hold judgments forget they are forgiven! We can never forgive more than God does! They do not owe me anything but not an excuse for bad behavior! When we forgive then they do not own us! 1 Peter 2:23-24 Retaliation? They said something about us that was not true? When their ownership of you gets released you get free space in your brain! You now have more capacity! Fill up the spare room with the mind of Christ! Our response shows us whether we have forgiven or not? Deism is one of the oldest religions around. Deism says God exists but is not active in the earth. A big God is not interested in what is going on. So since God is inactive I must act and do His job for Him! God understands who I am and do not have to defend myself! No one owns me or owes me! Leave space for God! Let God set things right! Do you trust God to leave it to Him? If you wrestle with schemes in your mind to defend yourself then they own you! How do I know our dog belongs to us? When you call him by name he responds! If you are owned by someone then they push your buttons to get a response! If God has forgiven you then who can accuse you? Jesus did not retaliate! It is so hard to wait to be seated in a nice restaurant! They hand you this buzzer and you wait and watch people sip tea and enter into senseless conversations while you are starving! They came in the same door some enjoying the good food and others suffering waiting to be served! The same door that allows God’s forgiveness into our heart is the same door that allows un-forgiveness out! Do not be a hostage to un-forgiveness! The tables are filled with people you may not like! Accept the invitation from Jesus at His table as you share God’s mercy with others who are forgiven just like you! Spend the rest of your life serving others! Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado