Jesus is coming again! Tim Lahaye's passion and hope for Jesus' second coming is real. His devotional, "Perhaps Today" is the most inspiring and perhaps to be the most life changing devotional that I have ever read. Hear are some things that he has said about his ministry. "solid Bible teaching produces a harmonious church."
"Whenever I preached on the Second Coming, the church grew rapidly"
"My sermons on the Second Coming were always accompanied by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our services."
"Those who were excited about the coming of Christ rarely became involved in the conflict [that was started by those who intended to stir up trouble]."
"There is something about second-coming truth that reduces our little differences to their proper size."
I don't want to miss it, and I don't want my friends to miss it, but I can't wait for Jesus to come back.
God is awesome!

One of the biggest idols that is being worshiped in America today is the “perfect body”. However it is, like all other idols, not real, not attainable, and it hurts people. People starve themselves, vomit and spend a lot of wasted time trying to get the “perfect body”.
The problem with the image of the “perfect body” isn't just that it isn't real, and that it hurts people, but it also draws our attention from our real needs and our real identity. Too many people (most of us) in our culture settle for making their body their identity, and forget about their spiritual need for God.
One thing that I learned in my spiritual walk is that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit; that each of them are as real as my own hand. Our bodies will not last, and this “perfect body” idol, is not real. Jesus is real, an authentic being, as well as God the father, and the Holy Spirit. They want to be involved in your life, but the images set before you day after day have no eternal significance at all.
If we choose to get right with God, and to serve him now, even after our bodies die, we will still be living with God ever present in our lives. On the other hand those who chose not to follow God's plan for their life and except the call to live the life they were created to live (the life of holiness and fellowship with God) will be separated from God and forever tortured. (Rev. 20:11-21:4) and (Luke 16:19-26).

Just wanted to share this with you.

A King That Could, The Saving Man
12/3/00


Upon the hill of death he arose
On a pedestal of dark he was placed
Placed for the entire world to see

His chest heaving up and down
Exhausted by the pain running through his limbs
His face flapping from side to side
The world whirling around his head
Insults coming from every direction

The blood that was to save
Dripped from head to toe
Down to the earth it fell

Skin broken through by metal stakes
His scourged back of blood and skin
A striped flag nailed to a pole

He lay what seems as helpless
A waste of flesh and blood
A soul that waste no righteous cry
All for nothing
It seems

Wood spikes came in and out of his head
For the servant a fair crown it is
For the master an insult around his brow

Dark clouds rose from the earth
From the heavens they fell
To the pinnacle of this evil world they came

From every human soul arose
From those dead and those not born
From alive men and women
Came a black curse
The curse

Every bit of this abomination
Resided above one man
The saving man

There it was above his head
A funnel cloud sinking down into this man
Its mission almost done

It came upon this Saving Man
It seeped into his broken flesh
Crawled under his skin
Slowly it made its way to his heart
To this Saving Man’s spotless soul

With every ounce of this disease
Came tons of pain and countless nightmares
Came hate and lust and untold secrets

Our own fantasies came into him
Our fantasies thoughts and hates
Every time we left him for something else
Every pity and every sin
It stabbed him from inside his heart

He saw it I tell you
He saw it all
Every time we rejected him
He saw it in his heart
And so it became him

Our sin he bore
Our hate for him he took upon himself
Our lust our idles and sin he took

This Saving Man he broke his own heart
He broke his heart to save our souls
He left his home to rescue us

A King a King
Oh that would die for me
How could a King how could a King

And as the last bit of poison seeped into him
He gave his final signature
It is done

Like so he forsook himself
Every ounce of sin gone
The saving man slipped into Hell

A King a King
Hell is not fit for a King
How could a King how could a King

He fought all hell despite the grief
He fought for sinners
For wicked people like you and me

So that Saving Man fought
He struck the gates of Hell and so they opened
They opened to a glorious light

Like so he rose to life
This saving man what can I say
This man this King this Prince Father and God
What can I say but that he won my heart
He won it all

A King a King
Not fair to love a cheater like me
How could a King how could a King

And yet you won my heart
You won it all though it is nothing
And I bow down to a King that could a King that could

Jesus said, " I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the father except through me." (John 14:6) Here he establishes that the only way to get to be right with God, and to be accepted in heaven. Only through his sacrifice, resurrection, and commands can we be saved.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
That means that we cannot make it on our own, to heaven or to being in a right relationship with God, not even through doing "good deeds":
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That means that we deserve death because of our sin, which gets in the way of our "good deeds". On the other hand, God wants to give us what we don't deserve... eternal life and a right relationship with him.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In this prophecy, "him" refers to Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our sins, in order that we would be able to receive God's gift.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
That's where the right relation ship with God comes in. When we receive him as who he is, he will receive us, and he will clean us up and make us his own, and then we will be at peace with him, but as long as we remain obedient.

Romans 10:9&11 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death... The Scriptures say that no one who has faith will be disappointed."
All you have to do is be honest with God that you were a sinner, and receive him and his ways, saying, "Jesus is Lord," and believe that Jesus was raised from the dead by God. It is also important to recognize that it is one's faith Jesus that pleases God, not just that one simple action. It's a life of faith that God wants.

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
The purpose of Jesus was not necessarily to get us to heaven, but so that we could have a right relationship with him and God, from the time that we believe in him to our physical death, and to the end of eternity, that we may be with them in heaven. Heaven was built to be the setting of our relationship.

Back to the beginning...
When Jesus said "the Way" he meant that we must follow all of his commands, and all of his leadings.
When Jesus said "the Truth" he meant that we must believe ion him, and every word that comes from his mouth, and that he should be the foundation of our lives, as the laws of the universe are the foundations on which it was built.
When Jesus said "the Life" he meant that we must depend on him as if we couldn't live without him.
When he said that he was the only way to God, he meant that he was that he was the only sacrifice that could have been made for us. That we must trust in him before we are to trust anyone else.

It is very important to be a part of a Godly church so that one can grow and be nurtured in his/her faith.

Reading Fox's Book of Martyrs always makes me rethink myself. The Ministers, lay people, and even everyday Christians of their times were so faithful and given over to prayer and ministering in piety that they dared to do anything worthy of the Lord's pleasure, no matter how risky it would be. They challenged kings, stayed in cities that they knew were to be run over by pagans, and offered themselves over to death for the lives of others. They gave themselves over to great study and prayer, and never gave in to torture. They were faithful to God and the church at all times no matter the circumstances. They always wanted to please God, to show people to Christ, and to minister to the poor. It makes me reconsider my commitment to God, and my faithfulness to prayer and the church, and my zeal for God. They were so sold out to these things that they gave their lives and their bodies for their benefit. If you would like to read this online, go to:

http://bible.crosswalk.com/History/AD/FoxsBookofMartyrs/