Precious Words

READ | 1 John 5:10-13 The salvation God provided at the Cross leaves no room for uncertainty. If you've received Jesus as your personal Savior, then the Father wants you to be 100-percent certain you're saved. There's a three-fold test you can apply to your understanding of salvation. First, ask, "What does the Word of God say?" The Bible's teaching about salvation leaves no room for doubt. Acts 16:31 says it well: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." That's it. It doesn't tell us to believe, plus something else. It just says, "believe." Second, ask, "What is the witness of the Spirit?" Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit Himself testifies that we are children of God." When we receive Jesus as Lord, the Father gives us His Holy Spirit. This ever-present Spirit inside enables us to relate to and communicate with God. Because of the Holy Spirit, we can continually testify that we're saved. Then, we...

Did you ever marvel of how great and awesome our God is? Everyday of my life I can’t thank Him enough for all the things that He has done and all the things He’s going to do in my life. As I look back in the past, I remember my life before I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had big dreams, like I wanted to finish my studies, find a good job to help my family and also get married and have a family of my own. I also wanted to get rich, have a nice house and travel abroad. My parents have no riches to give us except our education. My mom passed away before I graduated in high school and my dad had no stable job but I thank God that we had a grandma who was so loving, generous and willing to support my education and also my siblings. I can say that I did good in my studies because from elementary up to my high school years I was a consistent honor student. I wanted to prove something that even though I came from a poor family, I can be recognized in the school because of...

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men. He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times. Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. One day, the merchant fell ill. Before ...

Only by the grace of God saved me. BEFORE I KNEW THE LORD I WAS AN ALCOHOLIC. I was drinking anywhere from 1 to 2 cases of beer a day. The beer was taking over my life. I had a business, a used car lot, an automotive shop, and a wrecking yard selling used parts. I was making good money doing this, but I started drinking heavy and pretty soon everything started going down hill. My business started to go under. My marriage was falling apart. I was on the verge of suicide. To make a long story short I was as low as I could get. Then on the third Thursday of October 1986, something wonderful happened. I was saved by the grace of God. I asked the Lord God to forgive me of my sins and wrong doings. Jesus came into my life and took away the desire of the alcohol. Since that day I have not touched beer since. The Lord put my marriage back together, my first wife and I was married for 27 years until the Lord called her home in Feb. 1996. The Lord called me to preach in May of 1987. I ...

Prayer is the resistance against the devil. Resistance in prayer is the biblical approach to confronting and overcoming the devil. Peter wrote, Resist him, be steadfast in the faith"(1Peter 5:9) James echoed this teaching: "Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you"(James 4:7,8). We are to actively resist evil through our persevering prayers. Resistance is first and foremost a firm decision to join the struggle against evil in prayer, rather than turning away , backing off, or retreating. Such resistance takes strength and courage. It also takes patience and perseverance. That's why men always ought to pray and not faint"( Luke 18: 1) We must submit to God and put our faith in Him. Submission to God is saying "Lord I can't defeat the devil on my own, but with You, I can. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13) Submission occurs when we seek to develop a clos...

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said, "I have too heavy a cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish." The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. And the Lord replied, " My son, that is the cross you just brought in." When life's problem seems overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined. YOUR CROSS Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, There will always be sunshi...

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . 'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying.. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whol...

The highest aims in life - To know God and do His will! The most enriching good habit - Complimenting others The most destructive bad habit - Worry The greatest joy - Giving The greatest loss - Loss of self-respect The most satisfying work - Helping others The ugliest personality trait - Selfishness The most endangered species - Dedicated leaders Our greatest natural resource - Our youth The ugliest look - A frown The greatest "shot in the arm" - Encouragement The greatest problem to overcome - Fear The most effective sleeping pill - Peace of mind The most crippling failure disease - Excuses The surest way to limit God - Unbelief The most powerful forces in life - Love The most dangerous piranha - A gossiper The Greatest Life-Giver - The Creator The worlds most incredible computer - The brain The worst thing to be without - Hope The deadliest weapon - The tongue The two most power-filled words - "I Can" The greatest asset - Faith The most worthless emotion - Self-pi...

READ | Malachi 3:7-12 Through the prophet Malachi, God issued a warning to the Israelites about their unacceptable stewardship. They weren't properly handling the resources God entrusted to them. The Lord said to stop robbing Him of the tithe that was due Him. A tithe was ten percent of their income and was given in crops, animals, or with other resources. Understanding certain biblical principles enables us to handle our earnings in a way that pleases God: First, as Psalm 50:10-12 says, the Lord is the owner of all things. He created the heavens and the earth. He made all living creatures, birds that fly in the air, creatures that move in the water, and animals that live on the land. He also created man and woman, who are made in His image. Genesis says everything that has the breath of life belongs to Him. Second, God appoints His children to be the stewards of what He owns. He gave Adam, Eve, and their descendants the responsibility for taking care of everything He created...

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million. It depends whose hands it's in. A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in Mark McGuire's hands is worth about $19 million. It depends whose hands it's in. A tennis racket is useless in my hands. A tennis racket in Pete Sampras' hands is a Wimbleton Championship. It depends whose hands it's in. A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal. A rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty sea. It depends whose hands it's in. A sling shot in my hands is a kid's toy. A sling shot in David's hand is a mighty weapon. It depends whose hands it's in. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God's hands will feed thousands. It depends whose hands it's in. Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation f...

READ | Romans 1:16-17 If you're too proud to submit to God, you'll never get to heaven. You may be a kind, gentle person; you may even be naturally compassionate and charitable. But if your pride keeps you from admitting your need for Christ, then you'll never accept His gift of salvation. Many people are in hell because their heart was too hard and they believed their mind was too smart for God. There's only one way to reach heaven. Holy God cannot tolerate sin in His presence. In Romans 6:23, He decreed the penalty for sin is death. But, as Romans 3:23 tells us, everyone is a sinner. God mercifully sent His Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to provide a bridge between mankind and Himself. This gift is all that's needed for a person to enter into a relationship with God. The believer doesn't work or reason his way into heaven. The bridge spanning the gap between each individual and God is crossed only through an act of faith. That's achieved by acknowledging ...