Key #1 to Happiness – A relationship with God

I believe that having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the most important key to finding happiness.

“In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore”.  Psalms 16:11 (NKJV)

Knowing the one who made you, who planned your every feature and personality trait, who saw every day of your life before the foundation of the world – knowing this one is truly the cornerstone and the foundation of happiness.

There are several reasons why we experience happiness through a relationship with God.  Through this relationship, we find our origin, purpose, and destiny, which is a prerequisite to happiness (Read Gen. 1; Eccl. 12:13 and Matt. 25: 46).

It’s part of our DNA and how we were made.

An iPhone without any applications just wouldn’t be the same device.

A bicycle is meant to have wheels, without which it won’t work

A car meant to have steering…without it, it will drive, however, it will not work at it’s potential.

As humans, we’re meant to have deep emotional connections with others, without which there will be a void in our lives that can’t be replaced by anything else.

A baby is meant to have a mom and a dad who loves and cares for them, without which the baby will grow into a person with psychological issues through much of their lives.

When we ignore our need for God, life does not seem to work correctly.  In the same way as the above examples, God made us to have relationship with Him.  In a sense, God completes us.  When we choose to ignore that relationship, we fight against nature and our purpose and therefore elude happiness.

The Bible also says…“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
Phil 4:6-7 (NKJV)

“Happy are the people whose God is the LORD”!  Psalms 144:15 (NKJV)

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full”.  John 15:11 (NKJV)

Some people mistakenly believe that when we become Christians, we will not have any more problems.  The Bible clearly tells us that we will have trouble in this life.  The good news is that when we have a relationship with him, God becomes our great comforter in times of trouble.  Also check out my article on “Why do bad things happen to good people!”

”these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 (NKJV)

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”.  Psalms 73:25-26 (NKJV)

“Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life”.  Psalms 119:49-50 (NKJV)

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.   Psalms 23:1-4 (NKJV)

For additional verses check out our article on “Comfort”.

The biggest reason to start a relationship with God through Jesus His Son, the one and only Savior Messiah, is not for happiness…that is just a by-product.  The biggest reason to accept Jesus as our savior is because He was the only One capable of paying our ransom.   There will be a judgment day.  On that day, we will all be judged for our sins.  He does not use a sliding scale but judges by his perfect standard.  There is only one way to have a perfect record…it’s not by being a good person (check out “Are you a good person” – A test), but to accept His Son, Jesus as your savior.  He has paid the price for our sins, however, we need to accept that gift in order to receive it.  Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, there is a peace and happiness that comes from knowing that regardless of what disappointments or losses we face here on earth, our eternity is secure.  This is a peace like no other…in good and in bad times.

How to find happiness – Daily Exercises:

Put the following exercises into your routine daily…even multiple times per day for the next two weeks.

• Pray to God to reveal himself to you (God answers prayer)
• Ask Jesus to come into your heart (read the articles on “Salvation” below and let us know if you made a decision for Christ)
• Get a Bible and start reading it daily
• Find a bible teaching church (see link below)
• Feel free to e-mail us with questions
• Sign up for our e-mail reminder as soon as a new key to happiness is published

For more on what it takes to be saved check out:

Salvation – Questions and answers

Salvation – What it takes to be saved

Who is Jesus

Repentance – Key 1 to Salvation

How to find a church

Are you a good person – A test

May God answer your prayers mightily and may you find true and lasting happiness – Amen!

Additional Resources

How to find Happiness Course – Never miss a lesson – Get notified via e-mail as soon as a new lesson is available!

How to find Happiness Introduction

Matthew 18:19-20 — “Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”

My Lord, my God… no one can ever tell me that prayer does not work! Not after what I’ve seen, No, Lord, no. You see, I was working with this faithful group of growing prayer warriors at my church, praying, fellowshipping, interceding and seeking. So much of prayer is an exercise of faith as you pray for your family, your church, your neighborhood, your city and state, the country and for Israel. you don’t see immediate results that you attribute to your voice being heard in the heavenly realm. But every once in a while (for some even faster) an answer comes along that quickens your faith, strengthens your resolve and drives your spirit to pray even harder.

Such was the result of two prayers this past month. We were gathered in the small prayer room just before service, just finishing up morning prayer, when one of the prayer warriors, Shameccah, brought her daughter into the room. It seems she was very burdened over her uncle, who was caught up in drugs and was not attending any church. Indeed, she was in tears.

We were fresh from praying for the coming service for today, and our spirits were warmed and ready. “What is your uncle’s name?” I asked.

“Sam,” she said tearfully.

We gathered ourselves together in a circle and with a few words of focus and instructions, we offered up a “Prayer Bomb” for Sam: everyone praying out loud, bombarding Heaven, calling on the same of Jesus, claiming Sam’s soul for the kingdom, rebuking the spirit of sorcery, binding the hands of the enemy, releasing the angelic hosts of God to do intense warfare for Sam. Five minutes later, we wound down and the prayer ended. The atmosphere of the room was very charged. I turned to the young girl, who was also in the circle. “Now you continue to pray for him this week and expect the best,” I said. Then we left the room to prepare for the service.

The very next Sunday I was standing at the altar, preparing to pray for those who came forth for various reasons. A tall, somber-looking man walked up to receive the call to rededicate his life to the Lord Jesus. By the look of his face and eyes, I could tell that he was living a rough life. As I prepared to pray for him, both the young girl from last week and her mother stood behind this man and caught my attention. Their eyes were glossy with tears and they had smiles on their faces. They pointed to the man and mouthed something to me. “This is Sam,” they whispered. I was absolutely stunned.

It turns out that Sam suddenly decided that he needed to go to church to get right with the Lord. Something was drawing him so strongly and he was so determined to get there that he was in the process of walking to church that morning when someone gave him a ride the rest of the way. When we received the full report, the next night of intercession we were truly ON FIRE.

“Who shall we prayer for next?” we asked eagerly, gathered in our end-of-the-meeting prayer circle. Cynthia, one of the prayer leaders, volunteered her son, Booker. “He hasn’t been to church in ages and I’m always worried about him,” she said. “He truly needs the Lord.” We gathered in our prayer circle, bowed our heads and began to fervently bombard Heaven on Booker’s behalf: binding, claiming, declaring, renouncing, rebuking, thanking. It was ten minutes of intense, faith-filled prayer, fueled by last week’s victory for Sam. At the end of ten minutes we finally ended. You could tell by the look on everyone’s face that we had prayed out of ourselves and into the spirit realm.

I don’t know what I expected – I am careful not to put God in the box of my expectations – but I was expecting something, I don’t know what. After two weeks there was no report, no mysterious visitors dragging themselves in and falling on the altar, and no one mentioned the prayer request.

I received a call from Cynthia on Wednesday, April 26. “Pastor, I just wanted you to know that I just finished talking to my son to see how he was doing,” she said, and I could hear the joy bubbling in her voice. My heart began to pound. “He told me that he has visited two different churches in the past few weeks, looking for a place to fellowship. He wants to get right with God!” I could have screamed, not so much because I was invested in this person’s being drawn to the Lord, but even more so because, once again, I knew, I just KNEW, that his sudden seeking of the Lord was due in large part because we had bombarded Heaven on his behalf. Once again the Lord moved in response to an intense, heartfelt prayer of saints in agreement, just as He had promised.

There is nothing so faith-building, nothing so encouraging, as answered prayer, to see our communication with the God of Heaven followed by His visible, measurable response on the earth, to experience the divine connection between our requests and His responses. Truly, truly, as the Bible has said repeatedly, this is the key to all revivals, conversions, outreaches, ministries, warfares, breakthroughs and blessings. PRAYER WORKS!!

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, I will forgive their sins and heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14

The Gulf Oil Spill, which may become the largest man-made disaster in human history, is getting worse, as the news shows it’s now full of methane.

Pictures show things which appear to be out of the Book of Revelation, as the oily mess appears blood-like in color and texture. (It looks close enough to blood, the squeamish should be ready.) With devastation of almost Biblical proportions possible, including worst case scenarios involving billions of barrels , it makes one wonder if this is some kind of judgment.

God is a God of grace and mercy. He loves to pardon sinners who come to Him by faith and repent; He came to this world to seek and save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) He is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Mercy is not getting what we deserve – grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Because of His love, God loves to shower those good things on us.

But, God also is a God of justice. We like it when other people get what they deserve, especially if they wronged us. Well, this latest Gulf Oil Spill is so bad, it’s almost certain to be a disaster of Biblical proportions by the end. This leads some to ask, is America being judged?

Let’s look at that dichotomy for a moment, the love of God as shows in His mercy, and in His divine judgment.

Not a Contradiction

It is certainly not a contradiction – a police officer or judge, for instance, can be very wise and fair, and good at tracking down and punishing criminals to the “full extent of the law,” he or she may “always get the bad guy,” but yet that same officer or judge can be a warm, loving family man who is lenient and merciful with his or her children.

The difference, of course, is the relationship. Oh, that person will provide discipline and correction when needed, but in a merciful, more gentle way because they are his or her children. That person lovingly nurtures them, as the Bible instructs fathers, and will not provoke them to wrath, as fathers are warned not to do. (Eph. 6:4)

God is just like that. He hates sin, and must punish sin, because He can’t allow it into His perfect Heaven. This is how much he loves us, and how His love includes punishing sin. Because, just as a loving judge punishes criminals partly with innocent family members in mind, so, too, does God punish sin so we won’t have to deal with it in Heaven. He keeps sin completely out of it.

There’s another reason Heaven will be so wonderful. It’s because God will wipe away all tears, there will be no suffering, no pain, no sorrow or death. (Rev. 21) Nobody can imagine the wonders that await us, because we are finite humans. Who knows, we might have senses we never felt before, just as the blind will see for the first time.

See, this world was made perfect – there was no decay, no death, no sin. However, when people sinned, they brought that into the world, and it spread like crazy. It was a catastrophe that touched the whole world. God had to judge that sin, but He consistently gives us a chance to repent. Indeed, He will put it off if enough call on Him with repentant hearts. He was willing to spare Sodom from judgment if there were only 10 righteous people in the city. (Gen. 18) And, wicked Nineveh was spared from destruction for 70 years, because they repented. (Jon. 3)

However, even before He judges something or somebody, He lets them realize the natural consequences of that sin, which can be enormous. Indeed, even secular researchers have shown that humans naturally repeat mistakes & don’t learn from disasters.

They don’t always understand that it’s our fallen nature, but it is – we are not perfect because of sin. Sin separates us from God, and it’s only by His grace that He loves us. He never stops loving us, even when we turn away from Him. In fact, as he suffered on the cross, being punished in our place, Jesus – God Himself ion flesh – called out for them to be forgiven. (Luke 23:34)

That part – allowing people to experience the consequences of sin – isn’t always God directly allowing disasters; it’s often just His removing His hand of protection. Because, this entire world is filled with awful things that could happen, but don’t

Divine Judgment or not?

So, did God allow this to happen as a consequence for sin? Is He judging America? Has He removed His hand of protection?

Nobody can claim to know God’s heart for sure, except by what it says in the Bible. It can’t be certain that God has removed His hand of protection from anything. However, we don’t have guidelines that tell us it is possible, and that tell us what to do.

God condemns those which call good evil, and evil good. This has happened quite often in our society, as our culture has so much hatred, greed, corruption, and so on in it. The Bible tells us that in the end times, “the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat. 24:12) It’s true – that deep, unconditional love that we should have for others has been replaced by a shallowness in many cases. We’re so busy with our lives, few people care about others anymore. However, others are supposed to be put ahead of ourselves and our feelings. That means we shouldn’t be offended at every little thing, nor should we be selfishly trying to get everything for ourselves. The “great love chapter” of the Bible, after all, tells us what love really is; among other things, it isn’t hurtful or selfish. It “seeks not its own,’ meaning it doesn’t keep trying to get; it’s all about giving. And, so on. (1 Cor. 13) We have refused to condemn sin.

We need to love all sinners, but sin separates us from God’s perfect love, and needs to be confessed and forsaken. At the same time, we need to love the sinner, and show them compassion and understanding. We need to help them do as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery when he forgave her – “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:10) And, if we sin, we need to confess and forsake it, because “We have an advocate with God the Father – Jesus Christ the righteous,” (1 John 2:1), who took the punishment for our sins.

Of course, we’ve had problems for centuries, in how we treated other human beings. We refused to show natives, Africans-American/blacks, and other minorities love and compassion. We were, at times, filled with hypocrisy, as individuals, state governments, and as a national government.

Yes, we built a great nation, but we confess that we are not a perfect one. We were still blessed richly, though, despite all of our problems, because we had enough people who insisted on following the Golden Rule with everyone, regardless of who they were – such people were just drowned out by the wicked. Just like today, those who insist on moral decency and common sense are drowned out at times.

The Conclusion:

It’s hard to say if God has removed His hand of protection on us or not. But, we know 2 things for sure about this situation.

1. The Gulf Oil Spill could be a foreshadowing of the prophecy of a third of the seas of the world turning to blood, and a third of the sea life dying (Rev. 8:7-9, which also mentions hail – which the evaporation could cause to look like bits of blood), and then everything in the sea dying (Rev. 16:3-4). Revelation tells us it will partly happen because of a comet or meteor, but the tidal wave caused by a meteor crashing into the sea would definitely cause this to spread a lot more than it is even now. In other words, we could be close to the end times, just based ont his alone.

2. Just as we, and other nations, have in the past called on God in repentance and prayer to forgive and save us, we can do it, too. Second Chronicles 7:14 is a great model for this type of national prayer of repentance, calling on God to forgive us.

Whether or not this is God lifting His hand of protection, we are getting closer and closer to the days prophesied many years ago in the Bible. Life won’t be the same. However, each person alive today has a future.

That future is with Jesus. Jesus is God in flesh – He and His father are one. (John 10;30, etc.) He came to this world because, while He is a God of justice, He is also a God of mercy. That same Jesus who cried out, while being crucified, “Forgive them, Father, they know not what they d,” died for you, and rose from the dead the third day. He took the punishment for each of our sins – mine, yours, everyone’s – because HE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO FACE JUDGMENT. (I normally wouldn’t type in caps like that, but something in my Spirit, which is how God indwells believers, is just thinking about how bad this *could* get, and crying out for people to come to Jesus, so He can lead them through this with the peace that passes understanding!)

He is a God of everlasting mercy, who doesn’t want to see people suffer. Like that policeman or judge in the first example, who doesn’t want his or her children to grow up to become hardened criminals, God knows what awaits those who reject his perfect love and goodness. It’s everlasting destruction from the presence of God. (2 Thess. 1:9)

I don’t know how bad the oil spill will get, but even if it’s not near the end, this is the time to make peace with God, because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring. You don’t have to do anything to make peace with Him, though. You don’t’ have to clean up your act and then come to Jesus – you can’t. It was “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) He gave us a free gift – the gift of life forever with Him. (Rom. 6:23) All we have to do is “call upon the name of the Lord,” and we’ll be saved.(Rom. 10:13) Salvation is “by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

All you need to do to receive Him, and have Him in your heart to give you peace and to guide you through things and get you to Heaven someday, is to: A. Admit you’re a sinner, just like me, just like everyone, and that this sin keeps you from heaven; B. Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins, took your punishment on the cross,and rose from the dead; and, C. Choose to turn from your sins (repent) and receive Him as your Lord and Savior; invite Him into your heart and life, making you new on the inside.

It’s not about specific words, but you can pray something like this right now to receive Him:

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I can’t reach Your perfect Heaven on my own, because my sin separates me from you. I know You died for my sins, though, and rose from the dead. You took my place, You suffered my punishment on the cross. Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin, and I trust You to forgive me. I choose today to become a follower of You, and I invite You into my heart to make me new on the inside, so I can have a relationship with You. I accept You have done all that is needed to get me to Heaven, and I trust You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

That’s all there is to it. If you prayed that and meant it, you are a child of His now, and nothing can take you away from Him. (Rom. 8:38-9, Eph. 4:30) Tell others all about His wonderful love and grace, in how He has forgiven them, too, and all they must do it turn to Him by faith for forgiveness. He never tells us in His Word to do anything but call on Him.

Find a good Gospel preaching church where the love of God is also shown, as well as the truth of God’s Word being preached. I recommend the “rapture ready” bulletin boards, too, as a good place to fellowship and learn about all the apostasy (false religion) that is out there.

Our nation has lots of problems. It may or may not be under God’s judgment; but soon, the whole world will be. It might still be quite a while from now. But, His return for us has always been imminent; even in the first century, people awaited that blessed hope of His Glorious Appearing.

We can look forward to that, too. The Gulf of Mexico, and life in that area, may be greatly harmed, but Jesus promises that “In this world, you will have tribulation; but, be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And, He can help you to overcome, too.

The incredible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to draw attention, as people struggle to find fixes . Warnings of a massive hurricane season, even if they prove to be wrong, make it seem even worse. Pollution now is bad enough that some fear that the whole planet – the oceans, air, land, and everything – is in dire trouble.

There is incredible anger over what this is doing to the environment. While the Earth has the capacity to bounce back in time – sometimes faster than we realize – things may well get worse; and one day will get much worse before they get better.

Thankfully, there is hope. Everyone can rest assured that one day, the world will be new. Here’s why.

The world was once perfect

Yes, this terrible world of man-made and natural disasters once was Paradise. Though mankind has done many horrible things, we see in places like Chernobyl that things are slowly rebounding – even if the rosiest outlooks are untrue.

The world, then, has the ability to recover – but short term results are catastrophic. This is analogous to the problem that changed this world from its perfect paradise into the sin-laden world we have today. As the beautiful Gulf of Mexico is, in many parts, a toxic mess exists – though for now, the Tampa/St. Pete area and some other parts of Florida are still unaffected and can hopefully help take some sting out of the economic calamity), In the same way, mankind’s sin brought all sorts of problems to the world – and brought with it consequences that went far beyond spiritual and eventual physical death that God warned about. All Creation groans because of sin.

Things will get worse before they get better

Sadly, not only the Gulf, but the whole world, will get worse before it gets better. The Bible warns us of that, and promises a way to escape.

That way is by putting your faith in the One who wrote it.

We all live by faith, every day. You live by faith sitting in a chair. You don’t hold tight to the arms, preparing to leap up quickly because you fear that chair will collapse. You rest in it, put your whole weight in it. Fiath is the same, whether we’re talking about chairs or God. And, we have a very sure word of faith – his Bible.

The Bible has over 2500 prophecies in it. All have either come true or will come true – 2000 have already come true. I’ve mentioned a few in other blogs – television and webcams (the world looking on something in Revelation), for instance, or the nations lining up now in the Middle East (Ez. 38), or how Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling, and a burdensome stone, to all who touch it. (Zech. 12:2-3)

There’s a big one about the oceans, too – a full third of them will become as blood, totally unlivable, toxic, etc.. A third of all marine life will die.

Think what that will do to the rest of the environment. Think of the horrible stench. Think of the damage of a huge sheet of oil is underwater, and a hurricane comes, or…a “star” (meteor) comes crashing into it, a ball of fire. God says such an event will happen in Revelation 8:8-11. With all that oil, it’s eventually possible. Or, it could be something supernatural, too.

The horrible end this present world will come to is spoken of in toher places, too. Isaiah 24 gives a number of illustrations, such as the earth going “to and fro as a drunkard” – much like the many recent big earthquakes.

Thankfully, the worst of the calamity will come after an event known as the Rapture. The Church is never shown on Earth in Revelation 4-18, when all the destructiveness happens, and the world criesout so that a world ruler known as AntiChrist comes on the scene. Instead, the Church is in Heaven, protected, celebrating its redemption. Faith in Israel are brought through the judgments as God’s chosen people, despite the war the AntiChrist tries to wage against them.

You can be one of those who escapes the worst of the problems, by simply accepting that Jesus Christ – God in flesh – died for your sins and rose from the dead, and receiving Him into your hart and life as Savior, turning from your sin and letting Him make you new on the inside. It’s not about what you do for Him. It’s all by simple faith.

Thankfully, one day, all that will be over, and a new Heaven and Earth will appear.

Eventually, God will remake the world

An earthquake of about 11 on the Richter scale willl come at the end of what’s known as the Great Tribulation, and the whole world will miraculously be made new. The lion will lay down with the lamb, and all God’s creatures – including people who receive Christ during the Tribulation – will live together in peace. There will still be sin, because of people’s choices, but the devil and his demonds will not be allowed to tempt people for a thousand years. That Millennium is mentioned numerous times in Revelation 20; it’s a literal thousand years. And, Christ will rule and reign over the whole world.

Then, the devil will be let out a “little season,” and the final battle will end. After that, the whole Heavens will be made new again. (Revelation 21) Everything will be perfect once more.

The first world was destroyed by flood, and next time – the one we are on, that is – it will be by fire. (2 Peter 3:7) But, thankfully, you don’t’ have to be part of that destruction. Things are bad now, but you can be redeemed from that.

Two verses later is one of the many verses that show God’s love toward us – He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) See, it’s never God’s will that people spend eternity separated from him. He is constantly calling on people to trust in Him. It is they who choose not to, when they reject His free gift.

That free gift is eternal life forever, in God’s perfect heaven, where nobody can imagine the awesome wonders that await us. If you’ve never received it, you can do so right now, just as I said above. If you have, tell everyone, through your words and actions, about Him. Because, He gave us the duty to tell others, as part of His longsuffering ways, about His great love and grace and mercy toward sinners such as ourselves. We’re not perfect – we can’t be, because of that human nature that started when man brought sin into the world. But, we can be forgiven, and made new creatures, with Christ living inside us, working in us till the day when we join Him.

Do you feel worthless?  Do you feel like you’re a mistake?  Don’t Believe It!

You are special – You are uniquely and beautifully made!

I remember as a child, my mother told me in the heat of an argument that she was sorry I was born.  When I was in my twenties, she told me the story how she tried to abort me 3 times.  These statements surely had a negative affect on me well into my 30s.  Thank God, he has healed me from the stings of these words.  Today, I look at these happenings in a very different way….despite the fact that my mom tried to abort me several times…God willed me into existence.  What incredible plan God must have for my life.  It made me also realize that my words might have hurt people and that we need to be careful about what we say to one another.  The subconscious can’t take a joke.

Words are one thing.  I can only imagine the abuse some of you might have had to endure.  Some of you might had to endure not only verbal abuse but also physical and sexual abuse.  Watching the movie “Precious” gave a glimpse of what that would be like.

Abuses like that can make you feel worthless and full of shame.  I understand that there are even symptoms of guilt with being sexually abused, making you feel like that somehow it’s your fault you have been abused.  Let me make it perfectly clear…these are all lies of the enemy, who wants nothing less than to kill and destroy you.  Don’t you believe it!

You are special!
There is only one like you and God has a plan for your life.  He willed you and me into existence.  Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about your and my existence.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.  Psalms 139:13 (NKJV)

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.  Psalms 139:14 (NKJV)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Matt 10:29-31 (NKJV)

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.  How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  Psalms 139:16-17 (NKJV)

God Loves You!
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  1 John 4:9-10 (NKJV)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  ”For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

God Can Help

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. Prov 18:10 (NKJV)

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.  Isaiah 40:29 (NKJV)

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.  Psalms 147:3 (NKJV)

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.  Matt 5:4 (NKJV)

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  ”Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  ”For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matt 11:28-30 (NKJV)

New Beginnings
We can’t undo our past, at the same time however, we should not live with our false past identity.   I surely could have not done it myself.  God has not only healed me, but he has also given me a new identity…one that is based on my true identity that is in Christ.  As a Christian, we are no longer bound by our old identity…we’re a new creation.

Jesus is waiting.  Ask him to give you a new identity.  His word says…”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it wll be opened to you.  “or everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Matt 7:7-8 (NKJV)

Don’t ever give up, because God has not given up on you!  You can choose to cling to your loss or hurt, or you can , with the help from God, learn to dance again.  LET GO AND LIVE!

Check out this beautiful video You are Special – by Max Lucado

Also, check out our articles on We’re Created Different, But We’re All Useful, What is Heaven? A world better than Avatar’s Pandora, Can Your God Do This?, In The Wilderness, It’s not fair! But, why isn’t life fair? And, can it be?, The Comforting Word of God, Salvation, Success and Failure Articles,

I also found other blogs that relate to this subject like this one that talks about that Americans are more pro-life now than ever before…praise God.  Or this site Jill Stanek…a true fighter for the cause…go Jill.  Stay up to date about he abortion issue on Pro-Life with Christ and check out this new movie that is hitting theaters this fall called “True2LifeTheMovie“.  Here is a great site called Stand for Life…I love the video on “How to defeat a pro-abortion argument“.

Avatar is a blockbuster movie about a fabulous utopia. One might wonder, is it possible that there could be an even better place?

Not only is there a wonderful place of perfect peace, with no suffering, but you can have your ticket punched to go there someday.

The Bible promises that in Heaven, there will be no pain, no suffering, no tears, no heartache, no sorrow. Imagine, a world where you won’t have to suffer anymore.

Avatar sounds like a cool movie, but it’s over after a while. Heaven, however, is forever! And, it’s the most beautiful and fabulous place you can imagine! Nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. He wants you to be ther esomeday.

In this world, we have problems, though. Life is short, and full of trouble. Why? Because of sin.

God made this world perfect, but He gave people free will. People chose to sin. Becuase of that sin, death was brought into the world. Things are so corrupt here. they decay, they grow old, they get ruined. Pople, animals, even the planet itself has problems.

The problem is, we all have sin in us, too. but, God made a way for us to get rid of the sin. he came to this world to suffer and die on the cross for your sin, for mine, for everyone’s. Then, He rose fromt he dead.

he rescues us from 3 potent p’s when we receive Him by simple faith, believing that He took the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross, and then he rose from the dead, conquering that great spiritual death that haunts us. What are those 3 potent p’s He saves us from when we receive Him?:

1. He saves us from the penalty of sin. Because of our sin, we can’t get to heaven. Heaven would cease being perfect if *any* sin were allowed in it. Just thikn – if anyone could be mean to someone, or hurt them, or anything bad, it would stop being perfect. Remember, Pandora had problems because of the threat. But, Heaven will have no problems.

The penalty for sin is separation from god’s love and goodness forever, in a place of outer darkness, with wailing and gnashing of teeth. it’s full of all the people who rejected God’s perfect love over the years, and all those who received his perfect justice becuase of their sins.

You don’t have to go there, though. You can be saved from the penalty of sin by trusting in Jesus Christ to forgive you right now.

2. He rescues us fromt he power of sin. We all have sin natures. But, when Jesus saves you, he comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit. then, He can guide you to do what’s right, to live a Godly life where you keep away from sin.

You won’t always succeed, becuase of that fleshly nature. that’s why this world still isn’t perfect. We should be making it better. Christians should be known by their love. However, we are not here to save the world from sinners. We are here to save sinners from a lost and dying world.

And, the benefit is that you will still be in this world, so you can make this world better while you are here. But, you will be doing it to glorify God. And, if you mess up and you do sin, then we have the promise that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That’s Jesus saving us from the power of sin – the closer we stay to Him through prayer, Bible reading, etc., the further we’ll be from sinning. We will be as protected from the power of sin as we want to be on this world, until we go to the next. There is where…

3. We will be rescued from the presence of sin.

that is the promsie of Heaven. That one day, we will be rescued fromt he very presence of sin! No more suffering, no more pain, no more heartach,e no more death, no more of any of that bad stuff. You will have eternal life, that will never end! That is so amazing!

Pandora is a wonderful, fictional world. But, it’s nothing compared to the wonders that await us in heaven. Are you going? If you have ever chosen to let Jesus Christ forigve you for your sins, you can receive Him right now, by simple faith.

And, one day, you can go to that real life Heaven, which is more incredible and amazing than the most imaginative person could invent!

It was a very windy day in 2001 and I was going paragliding… being 60 years old at the time I was excited about the prospects of flying again.  Six months earlier I had gone to a paragliding school and learned how to take off and land.  It was exciting!  However; this was one of those days that I should have spent some early morning quiet time with the Lord…

I’m sure the Holy Spirit was trying to get my attention that blistery morning with gusts of wind that were very threatening.   My “mind” unfortunately was doing just the opposite!   After a wild takeoff, I pushed back into the ‘cruising’ position and enjoyed quite a ride.  On my way to the target landing things look normal, I could envision where I was to land and I had plenty of time before that point was arriving.  Things were going really good!  As a normal precaution I looked up to check the position of the sail and when I looked down – I hit the GROUND!  OMG! When I recovered a bit the first thing that came out of my mouth was “I AM HEALED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS – I AM HEALED!”  I WAS REALLY SCARED.

I thank God that Pastor Arland Steen taught me for twenty years that divine healing is one of our rights in Christ.  We learned to claim our healing first and THEN call 911.  The scripture 1^st Peter 2:24 says that I was healed by the stripes of my Lord!  I kept screaming it out as I realized that I could feel my toes move.  I knew that I had survived a very serious crash!  The damage to my spine was considerable.  The prognosis was not good…

During my recovery and still bed ridden a friend called on me and seeing my distress and my depression said “Hank, where is your faith?” I could only answer “I don’t know where my faith is, I only know what my confession” is – that I AM HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF MY LORD JESUS!”  The medication and pain easily confused my mind so I did not have much control of the thoughts coming and going through that brain matter.  I could however; control what came out of my mouth and thereby could control and override what went through that mind of mine!

This constant confession reinforced my faith position of being healed even though I would not see the manifestation for years.  Since my salvation in 1985 I have always believed that my salvation and my healing were both received by me BY FAITH because of God’s Word.  The words that come out of our mouths demonstrate our faith position.

I have always said “tape yourself for 24 hours and then play it back – you will then know what you will receive!”  I may not know many scriptures – but the one I do know I believe without doubt!  My precious ones are; Rom 10:9,10, 1 John 1:9, Gal 6:7, 1 Peter 2:24, Phil 4:19. Even today years after experiencing the manifestation of my healing when I am asked “Hank how are you?” – My answer is ALWAYS “I’m well!”  In Jesus Name.

Many people when you asked them “do you think you will go to heaven?” will tell you…” yes.   

Take the 2 minute Who goes to heaven QUIZ.

If you asked them why, they will tell you that they have been pretty good or they tell you that they are better than other people they know.

Other people will tell you that even though they are not perfect, God is a merciful God and therefore we will all go to heaven.

Many people believe that Jesus died for all of our sins and therefore we’re all going to heaven.

Others believe that you can work your sins off in purgatory.

Some say that there are many ways to salvation.  Or they say that all religions lead to salvation.

What does the bible say about “How to get into heaven” or “Salvation“?  Find out here.

Also check out:

The good person Test – see how you score.

Good Works