False Churches.. False Teachers

There are many churches that only teach you how to become a better you but they neglect to teach you that you have to die to yourself and allow God to make all things new in you in order for that to happen. 

I'm going to step on toes here and I'm okay with that because you see, Jesus died so we could be reconciled back to Him at the end of this life. Without Him, we are bound for hell for all eternity after this life on earth. If we say we love Jesus and if we say we are living for Jesus there will be a repentance and a turning away from sin will be evident in our lives. 

You cannot cannot cannot say you are a true believer in Christ and continue to live the same life you were living before you repented and asked Jesus to come into your life because you see.. once Jesus comes in, He cleans house! I'm going to say this boldly.. If your life didn't change, you don't have Jesus..period!

Maybe you got saved in what I call a feel good moment. Friends if that is the case, you need to check yourself and your walk because nothing changes if Nothing Changes. If nothing took root and there's not been a significant change with a walking away from your sinful nature, you need to go back to the foot of the cross and repent first and then make a conscious decision to allow God to mold you into the man or woman He desires you to be, daily.

Daily is a crucial word here because we must die to ourselves daily. We must crucify the thoughts and actions of our flesh daily. We cannot live the same life as we did before, after coming to Jesus. Yes, we are to come as we are, but we are not to stay as we are.

With Jesus there is transformation! There is a renewing of our mind and our heart because the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. Friends, let me share something real important with you.. The Holy Spirit is your helper. He is sent by your Father in heaven to be your guide and He will never steer you down the wrong path and He will never go against the Word of God.

Friends, if you are in a church or watching a pastor online and he or she tells you to come as you are and that Jesus will meet you right where you are BUT they don't tell you that you have to lay down your life through repentance, which begins with asking for forgiveness of your sins and making the decision to turn away from those sins and sinful behavior, and leads to inviting Jesus in to be the Lord over your life, through prayer, and then taking it a step further with teaching you how to crucify your flesh daily, that's not the pastor you should be listening to and it's not who you should be following for a Christ like example.

When you sell out to Jesus, your life is no longer your own. Your desires are no longer your own. Your thoughts will be guided by the Holy Spirit and when this happens, there will be a real and evident change in your life and Everyone you meet will see that change in you. Your desires will change. Your words will change. Your actions will change. Everything about you now becomes all about Him and once you come to know Him and love Him, you will have a desire to follow Him and do things His way and you will have a desire to tell others all about the One who saved you and changed your life.

So I ask you now to take a real good look at yourself and ask yourself this very important question..

Has there been a life altering change in my life since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior? If Jesus is your Savior, that means He came in and started cleaning you up.. He saved you from sin and essentially from yourself.

If your life didn't change, it beckons you to ask yourself the next question.. was I truly repentive of my sins when I asked Jesus into my heart? Did I turn away from my sinful nature? Friends if the answer is no, please search your heart. There's still time to get right with Jesus. You can come to him now, no matter where you are at this moment. It begins with a sincere prayer of repentance and believing that Jesus died for your sins so that you can have eternal life and then it requires you to dive into the Word of God to find out who He is and learn how He can help you stay on the path of righteousness. Once you begin to allow Jesus and His love to overtake you and to take root in your life, you now belong to Him. Please read Romans 12:2

Friends, Jesus is the only way and through Him there is Salvation but that only comes when we ask for forgiveness and then allow Jesus that place in our lives that can only be filled by Him. Jesus makes all things new.

Maybe you feel you've been running for far too long and doing things wrong for far too long and that you can't or won't be accepted. Well let me reassure you that Jesus is just waiting on you to come back to Him. You were His in the beginning but then sin crept in and we were all tainted. That's why Jesus went to the cross and willingly gave up His life for you. You are worth it to Jesus and His ultimate desire is for you to come to Him and allow Him to change you into the man or woman He desires for you to be. As long as you have breath in your body, it's never too late for you to come back to your first love, and that love is Jesus!

The Truth About “ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED” That Often Gets Missed

Consider this: one of the most debated teachings in the Body of Christ may also be one of the least understood. What if the truth goes beyond both extremes—beyond “you can never lose your salvation” and beyond “you can lose it at any moment”?

This is where confusion sets in. Some people rest in a false sense of security, while others live weighed down by fear. Yet God is not the source of confusion. His truth brings clarity, balance, and understanding.

Let’s begin with what Scripture clearly affirms. In John 10:28, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This shows the security believers have in Him. Salvation is not something others can take away—it is God’s gift.

Ephesians 2:8–9 also tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. This means salvation is not earned by human effort and cannot be boasted about.

But Scripture does not stop there. It also gives strong warnings. Hebrews 6:4–6 speaks of those who were once enlightened and yet fell away. Hebrews 10:26 warns about continuing in sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth.

So how do we understand this?

The key is this: salvation is not merely a moment—it is a relationship. Many see it as a one-time decision, but the Bible describes it as an ongoing walk with God.

In John 15:5–6, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches… if anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers.” The focus here is on remaining.

Remaining in Christ is not passive. It is a daily choice to walk in faith, obedience, and surrender.

Here is the balance:

God is faithful to keep you, but you must continue with Him

No one can take you out of His hand, but you can choose to leave

Grace saves you, and true grace changes you

Jude 1:24 declares that God is able to keep you from falling—but it does not remove your ability to resist Him.

Galatians 5:4 even warns that some have “fallen from grace,” showing that it is possible to step away—not because God fails, but because people stop walking in truth.

This leads to an important truth:

Salvation is secure in Christ, but it is not a license for careless living. Grace is not a free pass to keep on sinning.

Genuine salvation produces a changed life. If there is no transformation, something deeper needs to be examined.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father.”

This isn’t about being perfect—it’s about direction. A true believer may fall, but they don’t remain there. They repent, get back up, and continue walking with God.

Today, many teachings lean too far in one direction. Some emphasize security without responsibility, which can lead to carelessness. Others emphasize the risk of falling away without assurance, which can lead to fear. But truth is found in balance.

Philippians 2:12 says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” This doesn’t mean earning salvation—it means taking it seriously and living it out with reverence.

In summary:

Salvation is a gift of grace

God is faithful to keep His people

No outside force can remove you from Him

But a person can choose to walk away

True salvation results in transformation

Remaining in Christ is a daily commitment

Balance brings both assurance and responsibility

Reflect on your walk. Are you actively abiding in Christ, or relying only on a past moment? This is not meant to bring fear, but to bring clarity and truth.

Take time to think on this. Let it shape your heart. And if it speaks to you, share it so others can grow in understanding as well.

El Roi.. The God Who Sees Me

El Roi means “The God who sees me.” Ro'iy in the original Hebrew can be translated as shepherd, or as seeing, looking, or gazing. In other words, when we feel most invisible and forgotten by everyone else, we can remember that God does see us.

We all face circumstances that can leave us drained but when you trust in God to lead you through them, you will come out of your circumstances with a better understanding of who God is as well as who He is to you. You'll begin to see how He was and still is with you thru it all. You'll experience His unconditional love for you.

There was a time in my life when I felt I had lost everything I had worked hard for and most importantly I felt I had lost everyone in my life except my ferret Koda Bear, now deceased. Before his passing many years ago, there were days I was afraid to say good morning to Koda for fear of what I might find when I woke up. There were times when I felt alienated by everyone around me and there were times when I felt I couldn't tell anyone what I was going thru for fear of how they might take it. I feared they would condemn me rather than offer to help or to pray with me. Rumors went around that were not true and I didn't know how to counter them with anything other than the truth, which is what I stand for yet it never seemed to be enough. Unfortunately the truth isn't always what people want to hear so they draw their own conclusions. This caused me to steer clear of people and retorted to only talking to God for a few years. I alienated myself and threw myself strictly into reading the Bible and praying. Music is my passion and I had lost interest in music and in watching tv. I had no desire for anything but to read, pray, go to church and talk to Jesus.  That's not a bad thing but it's a hard thing when you feel you have no one else you can talk to.

What I've learned during that time of really drawing nearer to God is this.. When it feels like all else has fallen away, God is always near and when we draw near to Him, He will draw nearer to us. He is the God who sees us and He is able to change things in the blink of an eye. He never leaves us nor forsakes us and in Him there is total freedom from whatever is causing our fears. Fears cancels out faith and faith always cancels out fear.  We only need to trust Jesus for when we ask we shall receive. God is good! He's going to give us the desires of our hearts. This doesn't mean you'll get exactly what you're asking for but when we seek Him first, He will change our hearts desires to meet His own. 

Through His word and prayer He has taught me how to open up to Him while holding nothing back. He's shown me how to love with no condemnation. He's restored family, relationships and friendships as well as bringing more family, relationships and friendships into my life.  The things I've lost in other areas He's graciously restored in more ways than I can count.  What did I have to do? I had to let go and let God work. I had to trust in Him and then have faith and believe that He is everything He says He is and will do all that His word says He will do.  I also had to give Him praise, honor, and to glorify Him even in the midst of my trials, and in my circumstances I had to be content in knowing that God is in control of ALL things.

God will restore what we have lost when we allow Him to move in our lives. He is the God who sees. He has restored many people and things in some areas and some are still a work in progress but I know He will fulfill my life in the best way He has planned, according to His plan for me.

We sometimes tend to forget that He alone is in control when we surrender all self unto Him. This includes the giving of every part of our lives and the depths of our hearts desires. If we can do this and trust Him, He will make our paths straight and conform our will to His. His desires will become our desires and in turn we will become more like Jesus Christ in knowing how to love and how to accept His love. It really is all about love and God is love.

The greatest commandment is to Love! Look around you and if you see someone or hear of someone that is hurting, struggling or in need please take a moment to pray and see if God is asking you to be the one to reach out to them with God's love by physically helping or by praying over and for them. We may not know what someone may be going thru or has gone thru and we should never make an assumption of thinking that we do. Unless we ask that person directly and they tell us, we just don't know. Hearsay and gossip breeds fires and rumors. Just ask the person instead of drawing your own conclusions about who they are, what they're about and what's going on in their life. Pray for them and then pray a hedge of protection over them. After all..that's what Jesus does for us. He goes before us to make intercession to our Father on our behalf. Angels are sent to fight our battles while God gives us strength and peace to wait for His answer. 

Don't misunderstand me. We should never enable bad behaviors to continue. We should pray that if the person is not willing to listen to us, then ask for God to send someone along their path that they will listen to. 

Love without condemning.  Judge from a righteous spirit and not a fleshly one. For by what rule we measure we too will be measured.

Prayer sets us all free! When we pray for others God will answer our prayers too. Always remember that there is nothing hidden from your heavenly Father for He is the God who sees.

What Does "Be the Salt of the earth" truly mean?

 

Salt Stings.

Anyone who has ever felt it in an open wound knows that instantly. It burns, it cleans, and it refuses to pretend the injury isn’t there. Salt preserves by confronting decay, not by politely coexisting with it. It does not make peace with rot. It stops it.

That’s why Jesus’ words land harder than we usually let them.

When we hear “you are the salt of the earth,” we hear a compliment. Dependable. Pleasant. The kind of person who keeps things civil. We hear “nice” when we think of being salt.

That is not what the Hebrew people heard. To them the salt wasn’t seasoning. It was survival. They had no refrigeration, no backups, no second chances with food. If meat wasn’t salted, it spoiled quickly. Salt stood between provision and loss, between nourishment and hunger. Without it, decay won.

When Jesus called people salt, He wasn’t talking about flavor.

He was talking about preservation.

About slowing what naturally falls apart.

Salt was also weighty. Valuable. It was measured, guarded, traded. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt—worth your weight in salt wasn’t a figure of speech; it was a paycheck. Salt meant cost. Importance. Worth. Salt meant covenant.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, salt appears in sacrifices and binding agreements. A “covenant of salt” signified permanence and loyalty—something that would not spoil, fade, or be abandoned. Salt sealed promises. It declared, this will last.

Salt was never about being flexible or agreeable. It was about faithfulness. Stability. The kind of presence that holds the line when everything else begins to erode.

Jesus adds a warning we often gloss over: if salt loses its saltiness, it becomes useless. Not boring. Not outdated. Useless—because it can no longer do the one thing it exists to do.

Salt that doesn’t preserve is just dust underfoot.

To a first-century listener, salt wasn’t flattery. It was responsibility.

What does Salt man to you?

It means You matter because You preserve.

You are needed because You slow decay.

Your presence keeps things from spoiling completely.

Not loud.

Not flashy.

Not always comfortable.

But essential.

That’s what salt meant to them and it's what salt should still man to us.

And once you hear it that way, the verse stops being about being “nice people” and starts being about faithful people—standing firm in a world that naturally falls apart which makes far more sense than assuming Jesus was just using the word salt to compliment.