Abused? Try Jesus!

So I'm sitting here watching the Dr. Phil show. There's a woman on the show talking about her being molested by her Dad starting at the age of 7 till the age of 14. She says she still has feelings of blame for the abuse. Her Dad on the other hand, says she seduced him and since he never forced her it was consensual! For any child victims of sexual abuse. Even if you are the one who first touched an adult or you are the one who had the adult touch you....you are NOT to blame!! This guy on TV is saying he takes full responsibility, yet in the next breath he says she shouldn't play little Ms. Innocent! I'm sorry, but that shocked me! Personally, I DO take responsibility for my actions and inaction. I deserve to be in prison. I'll say that till I die. The way the accusations were said were half truths, but that's OK! As an adult, it is always your duty to protect children from everything that could harm them. I failed by not stopping certain behavior from the first time I knew it occurred. Being predisposed to that type of behavior by my upbringing and consumed with lust, by never talking about anything that happened to me, it allowed my thinking to be skewed. I thought that's what love was. Thank God for His Word! By giving my life completely to Christ, my mind was cleared and is being transformed daily via His Word! That is what's healed my mind and heart. God has already healed those who call on His Name! Victims, this healing is there for you too. Don't live your life as a victim. Don't live your life as a defeated individual. Yes, you had something horrible happen to you! Romans 8:28, Paul says " And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God,to those who are called according to His purpose." Does this mean God wanted you to be hurt? Heck No! If I'd never been abused, I would have no idea really how it can affect a persons way of thinking! Or how to help another victim. God allowed me to go through the years of abuse in order for me to be able to emphasize with others! Because of that, I can declare with the authority of Jesus Christ, there is Hope for the hurting children and adults! Number one, if you've been abused in any way, TELL someone! If they don't believe you, TELL someone else! Number Two, if you've given your life to Christ, He is there. His Spirit, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you! Praise God! You're one step closer to receiving the healing that Jesus's blood on the cross offers! The Bible says, in Isaiah 53:4A " Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried;" and " by His stripes we are healed." YES! Did y'all see that!? We ARE healed! Hallelujah!! If you haven't chosen Jesus as your Lord and Savior, what is stopping you right now? Put your trust in Him and you are healed! Will that mean all the pain, anger, fear, and shame will be immediately gone? No. We are humans, and in order for our hearts and minds to heal it may take some time because even though we are healed, if God were to take all those things away, how many of us would soon forget what God has done? It's easy to live in the past. Don't be stuck there! The past can't change, but praise God your present and future can! Choose Jesus: choose healing and life! Jesus said , this is the Amplified version of the Bible; "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised,crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [ the day when salvation and free favors of God profusely abound]. Luke 4:18-19. Please don't spend another second feeling crushed by the wounds of the past! Cry out to Jesus, He's waiting for you!

Christian Love and Homosexuality

1 Corinthians 1&2"I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have not love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains- but if I have not love, I am nothing.....Verse 13 " Meanwhile these three remain; faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love." Oh yes...love! The very core of Christianity! Y'all, I wrote a short time ago about the recent Supreme Court decision to include people who claim LGBTQ. I'm going to dig a little deeper, and maybe clarify our stance as followers of Jesus. Some may say " All you Jesus freaks are hate filled! You dare judge me!? Doesn't your Bible say don't judge!?" Ahh my beloved friends, indeed our Bible says that! Let me assure you as followers of Christ are not passing judgement! If any seem to be doing so, they have forgotten what Paul said about love! Can we be offended? Certainly! Psalm 97:10 says to hate evil! Does that mean we, as followers of Jesus hate murderers, rapist,drug dealers, and homosexuals? Heck NO! See y'all, many of us don't know how to speak in love, especially to the hurting and the lost. Some Christians even hold on to the offense they feel toward the sin and it comes out in their actions towards the individuals. But without love, it's all a bunch of noise! You see, to God, it doesn't matter what sin you may have, or are committing because all sin IS sin! When you break one law you've might as well broken them all! But God! Yes, but "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NASB) The Bible is clear on sin. As followers of Christ, it is our duty to present the Gospel ( Good News) of Jesus Christ in love. Then the Holy Spirit and the Word can do Their work in the hearts of the men and woman. It's not our job to convince anyone of their sin! If the Word is received by the people and not snatched away by Satan or fellow man, then another will come and water that seed with the Word of God. I will never force anyone to believe as I do, to live a Christ like life. My job as a preacher ( to proclaim) of Jesus, is to present the Word. Jesus is the only One Who can and will judge. And folks, He most certainly will! He's coming back to judge the world! He gave up His life so that you can be freed from the chains of sin and death! Because death is exactly what we deserve for not following Jesus. But hey, you have a choice! Will you continue to serve your own self, your flesh? Keeping silent and even condoning blatant sin!? Or will you choose life?! Jesus says in John 10:10" The thief (satan) comes to only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they ( you/ us) may have life, and have it

Body of Christ, Stand Up!

The recent SCOTUS decision to include the LGBT and whatever else abbreviations with the non discrimination against race or religion has offended me. I'm not against people who claim this confused mind set, I'm against the acts that it causes to occur. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should believe that the Bible is the Truth and stand on the principals therein. I fully believe in non discrimination against race or religion! LGBT is neither. It is a choice. Sure people say " I was born like this" that's exactly what Satan AKA the father of lies, would have you and the world believe! Why? Because if the world sees Christians as hateful toward a " legitimized" people, then the Truth is then eradicated from the world! Christians should stand on our beliefs and while doing so, show love, just as Christ did for us to these lost people! Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and since we are His followers, it is our duty to do likewise!

Salvation is a Promise?

How can I say to you that when you say yes to Jesus you'll see Him in glory? Can it be so simple? What about baptism? These are all great questions I've recently ran across while studying the Word with a dear friend. John 5:24 says ( Jesus is speaking ), "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word, and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgement , but has passed out of death into life." Let's read 1 John 5:10-12" The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Romans 10:9-10, Paul states, " that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." I've got to throw in Mark 16:16 which states ( Jesus speaking) "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Now, the reason a said " I've got to", is because folks who feel you must be baptized or your going to hell use this verse to " prove" themselves correct. Y'all, Jesus said believe and receive! 1 John 3:5" You know that Christ came to take away our sins. There is no sin in Him," There are no hoops, nothing we can do physically can give us the atonement unto forgiveness except to fall on your knees, turn from your sins, ask forgiveness and to accept Jesus into your hearts! If a person gets baptized and he doesn't believe on Jesus, is he still forgiven because he was baptized!? NO! All they are is a wet sinner! It states that fact in Mark 16. " he who does not believe will be condemned." You won't find that not being baptized sends you to Hell in the Bible, because we are saved by faith in Jesus, not works. (Romans 3:21-31.) What being baptized does, is show the body of Christ and the world you are committed to Jesus through the death, burial, and resurrection of Him! It is purely a symbolic gesture following in the footsteps of Jesus Whom was also baptized in water! Jesus said it in John 5. Believe and you will be saved! Thank you Father for sending Your Son to die in our place! Without His death and resurrection, we'd never have salvation! No forgiveness from sins! No eternal life in heaven with God the Father! " For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Inmates Behind Bars on the 4th of July

The purpose of this blog is not only to show the way to Jesus, it's also a window into our life behind bars. 4th of July is right around the corner and to be totally transparent, this is the first time since I've been locked up that I'm sad I'm not out with my family for it. Most people aren't like me in that regard and they hate the fact that they're in prison and not out with family and friends! The difference for me I believe was finally being able to talk to my son. We've talked a handful of times in these 4 years, but they were more one sided with me talking and him halfway answering. Video games..ughgh. So, he and I had a decent conversation and it brought back memories of my childhood and times with him. I remembered times at Grandpa Cutchall's during this time of year, the smell of the chicken, and vegetables that Grandma was making on the grill, the hot sun beating down on me as I drove the tractor through the field with Grandpa beside me on the footrest because I wasn't tall enough to reach the clutch or brake! Times when I had my son in my lap on that same tractor, the pride I felt as he steered it through the trees as a toddler! How I miss him! Heck I miss all my family and friends! Communication is very important in any relationship. As an inmate who is taken out and even ostracized from society it becomes glaringly important. For me personally, anytime I get a message via Jpay, or even a letter, it makes me feel loved and not forgotten. Everyone who's behind bars has times of loneliness. Surrounded by hundreds of men every day, yet they feel alone and unloved. Matthew 25:35-36, Jesus is speaking of the coming Day when He will return and Judge the world. Verse 36 states " I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Growing up, I never heard about visiting prisoners! Heck, I just thought ' They did the crime, they deserve the time!' Yet, I never knew how it was! The justice system, the prison system, or what it's like behind bars! The system is broken! People do get locked up who are innocent. But still, we should never throw anyone away because of a crime they committed! Did Jesus turn His back on law breakers? No! He said while being beaten, and whipped, " Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing!" in Luke 23:34He also said to the thief on a cross beside Him, " Today, you will see Me in Paradise." in verse 43. Y'all, what is Christianity really about? Love. And Relationship. Glory to God! His love is never ending! He loved us ALL even while we turn our backs on His law and His Love by not repenting and obeying His commands! Jesus said in Mark 12:29-31, replying to the scribe's question of the most important commandment, Jesus stated " The most important one, is this: Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Please take time this weekend to think about what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Do you have family or friends who've been in prison for years and you've never taken the time to just say " Hi I am thinking about you and praying for you." That's all most people want in here. Remember those who are in prison too, while you thank God for the Good Ole U.S.A.!