2785 Walston Road
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-3724

Shorts with PD (Blog)

World Inclusion Day page 001Today is World Inclusion Day. A holiday to celebrate how everyone, no matter what they believe, feels included.

Jesus wants everyone to feel included. John 3:16 says everyone can go to heaven. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Jesus is all about including everyone., but the world says Jesus is not very including.

World inclusion Day celebrates you doing and believing however you want.  What if it offends someone else, and we are all just supposed to accept that? The world’s answer is yes, life is short, let’s just get along. Why does the world want to get along, so our life is better. They are right that life is short, and we should attempt to get along, but who we need to get along with is where they miss the point.

Jesus says everyone can be included and the choice is up to you. The choice is to give your life over to Jesus. That is a high cost, yes, it is, but then look at what you get.

You will live in Heaven. You will never die. You will have rewards in heaven that will blow your mind. You will never get sick again in heaven. You will never need money again in heaven. You will never need anything ever again in heaven. And so much more and one very important thing, what Jesus offers you lasts forever. And forever is a lot longer than your life here on earth.

Jesus also says we should share this message with everyone. Jesus desires for all to have the chance to be included. Jesus has no desire to exclude anyone.

Actually, it kind of is the opposite, Jesus wants you to include Him in your life. Wow what a way to think about that! Jesus is the one who is on the outside and wants to be included. He so much wants to be included that He paid the entry fee into heaven for you before you decided to include Jesus or not. The almighty God wants you to decide, to include Him. That is mind blowing when you really think about it.

Jesus is offering you the chance to join the ultimate club where you will never have a want or a need again and so much more. You have the opportunity to be included forever, and there is no limitation on how many can come in, and how many you can invite.

And while you on earth, Jesus says He will show many things through you, to confirm you are included and to show others you care about that they too can be included.

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!

PS – It is also National Give Kevin a Hug Day, to bad my name is Devin.

 
 

What Kind of ChristianIt is becoming popular to say, "I am a “fill in the blank” Christian".  The problem is with what people use to fill in the blank. Sometimes it is good, but more often than not, the "fill in the blank" is a creative way to say that one is a Christian even though they don't really want to be a Christian.

Acts 11:26 states, "And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."

Why were the disciples called Christians?  Well, it was because they followed Jesus and modeled their lives in the way that Jesus asked us to live.  Because of that, Jesus had an amazing relationship with them, and Mark 16:17-18 was evident in their lives.

Today, people want to qualify what kind of Christian they are.  The thing is, it should never be qualified.  A true believer follows Jesus in all they do.  When people try to say they are this or that type of Christian, they are doing one of three things.

(1)    They are trying to change what the definition of a Christian is, into something they want.  They begin to change the requirements Jesus asks for.  They then say that is okay, in order to make it okay in their eyes to do what they want, and still be a Christian in their mind.  The problem is, they do not consult Jesus on the matter.

(2)    They are trying to be more accepted in the mainstream.  They are compromising the Gospel message in order to fit in.  I got news for you.  You only need to be accepted by Jesus.  Jesus says that the mainstream will never accept the message of Jesus.  So, don’t go there.

(3)    The third thing is that they want to call themselves Christians so that they can justify sin.  If the Bible says it is sin, and you are openly doing it, and then calling yourself a Christian, I don’t want to be in your shoes when you meet Jesus.

I think that all three of the above people are in trouble with their eternal soul.  This is also why revival is hindered in most churches, because this has become acceptable. 

These people need to be shown that being a Christian is when you freely give your entire life to Jesus.  You give Him complete control, and you do it willingly.  Then Jesus sees that, and is now responsible for you, and will move in your life in ALL the WAYS, you have wanted Him to.

If you are a Christian, simply be a Christian.  Be like the early church, which is how the church was always supposed to be. Live your life so that people look at you and call you a Christian, not because you are a Bible thumper or holier than thou, but you are simply in love with Jesus, and Jesus shows up in your life on a regular basis where others take notice. 

When that happens, you can know a couple of things.  You truly are on the road to heaven with no doubt, and nothing in this life can stop you, because Jesus will make sure of that, because you truly are a Christian.  It really is quite simple.

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you; and you are awesome!

Is Healing for today page 001Jesus wants to heal all your diseases. The thing is many Christians openly wonder about that. And many people have become former Christians because they ask why does God not heal me.

I actually completely get this, and it needs to be addressed.

1 Corinthians 7:4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

The Bible is a marriage contract, and we are the Bride of Christ. When you come to Jesus, you give yourself to Jesus, not just your heart but all of you. So, Jesus can use you to bring people to Jesus through your life. But I want to be healed. this doesn’t seem fair that I am not. 

Read I Corinthians 15:51-58. It says that death has no power of us and that one day we will have a perfect body in heaven. We will be in heaven for a very long time. That is comforting, but what about now? We do seem to focus on the now, don’t we?

We want to please the one we love, and Jesus wants to put you in a position for His glory to shine through, so others can experience THE HEALING (salvation) in their lives.

In college I had an injury that caused seizures. I claimed to be healed in Jesus’ name. I refused to take the medicine. Guess what, I still had seizures. I prayed for them to go away, and they kept coming and I got mad at God. Then I started taking the medication, and they still came, and I was even more mad at God. I then tried all kinds of other things, and they still came. Then one day, I was like Whatever God, just heal me. Now when I said whatever it was not a nice conversation, but God knows your heart. God said listen to your wife. My wife had been telling me to take my meds and do what I needed to do from the doctors. God said I need you to be a witness to them. I said OK. Since then, I have not had one episode in 10 years. The doctors still have no idea why I had them to begin with and have no idea why I don’t have them now since nothing seemed to work before. Now I go to the doctor’s for my meds, and I share my testimony that I would not be able to share before.

God gives us a right to not have to worry about the disease and live an amazing life despite it. What is healing, making something better than it was.

If you are a believer, you have the guarantee that you have a perfect body waiting for you that will never get sick and tired again! So, can God be putting you in a position to bring someone to Jesus through what is going on? When we look at it like that and say! go ahead and use me anyway you want, the amazing will happen.

Back to being Jesus’ bride. Do you think Jesus wants to hurt or shame you. Absolutely not. He wants to shine His glory through you in a way that gets others attention, and where you also experience something amazing!

God is not looking for fair weather Christians, He is looking for the faithful. Faithful no matter what. When we become that, the stuff we want to see will happen because we are His bride!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!

What is God s Will page 001What is God’s will for my life? I get asked that a lot, and a lot of people say that they just want to do God’s will. A lot of people get frustrated with their faith, because they wonder if they will ever know what His will is.

The answer to this question is very, very simple. We as humans tend to overcomplicate it.

I Timothy 2:4 states, "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth".

So, God’s will for your life is two-fold.

  1. God wants to have a relationship with you. He doesn't just want to save you, but He wants you to come to the knowledge of the truth.  That happens as we deepen our relationship with Him.
  2. God wants you to then share that message with every other human being that you come in contact with. Tell them that Jesus wants to have a relationship with them.

God’s will, is for everyone, and I mean everyone, to have a relationship with Him. It does not matter what you think of those around you.  To be in God’s will, you have to look at each one knowing that God’s deepest desire is to be in a relationship with them too, just like with you.

You may then ask God what He wants you to do to help make that happen. When you decide to make that your goal in life, you are right in the middle of God’s will for your life. Then God will reveal things and do things for you so that you can help meet God’s greatest desire.

While you do that, God will bless you along the way. The devil cannot win. The devil can only thwart God’s will in this world by keeping people from a relationship with God. So, the devil will oppose you, make no doubt about it, but God is greater, stronger, and smarter. As long as you decide to show others who Jesus is, God will bless you so that you can overcome, and not just overcome, but succeed in ways that will blow your mind.

If you want to see the Book of Acts come alive, and also want to see revival and the signs following, then you need to decide right now that this is your mission in life.  If you do so, then you will always be in the center of God’s will. God will take notice, and God will do the amazing through you, not only to show others how great a real relationship with Him is, but also to show you how much He loves you.

If you want to be at the center of God’s will, then make this choice and it will all become crystal clear. Have you ever heard the phrase, "not my will but Your will be done? Many use that phrase as a cop out, but when you actually practice it, it is sacrificial love. That is the best kind of love, and God will respond.

Psalm 37:4 states, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart".

This verse says to be happy going after what God wants and watch how God goes after the things you want!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!