The Message of Jesus

The Message of Jesus
Key Passage: Matthew 4:12-17

Topic: Salvation
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17, KJV)

The core message of all Jesus said can be summed up in His statement, "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because His Kingdom is near."

It was a simple but very serious command. Jesus basically told people if they wanted to know God they had to turn away from their sins. Or, to put it simply, stop doing bad things and start doing good things, stop living for yourself and live for God.

Now Jesus knows that we are all selfish people. We like to do things we want to do, things that make us happy, things that make us feel good. But Jesus tells us this is not what's best for us. What is best is to know God, to have a relationship with Him.

In order to do this, we must turn from doing bad things and turn to God. The Bible says we need to give up control of our life and give it to God. We need to live for God and not for ourselves. But we can't do it on our own. We need God's help.

So, if you want to really know God, if you want to have a relationship with Him, then start by admitting your need. Confess that you have done those things which are wrong.

Second, express your desire to turn from your old life and begin to live for God and not just for yourself. Believe in your heart and mind that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for you and was raised back to life again (Romans 10:8-9).

Next, invite Jesus to come into your heart and life and save you from your sins (receive Him as your personal Savior). Thank God for making all this possible through His Son.

That's it! It's not complicated, but God never intended for it to be. It's God desire for all to come to a saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus (2 Peter 3:9). So do it today.

Sponsoring a child

A couple weeks ago we went on the Christian Children's Fund website and sponsored a little girl named Lebasite Abby. She is 4 years old and lives in Ethiopia!

Today we got her picture and information booklet in the mail!! She is so beautiful! It feels so good to be able to help her and do this in Jesus' name! We can help a child go to school, get health care, clean water, food etc. Learning about where she lives really makes me think about the amount of food we waste a day. Or the amount of money we waste on too many toys at Christmas. We are truly blessed to live in Canada.

It really moves me that Brooke and Hannah are so compassionate about her. They immediately wanted to draw her pictures and make letters. Hannah said that they would make her feel better. We are going to send her a pretty sundress with our letters.

I ask that everyone please pray for Lebasite Abby and her family as well as her community! Maybe this is something you would like to do. It is a great feeling knowing we are helping a child :)

http://www.ccfcanada.ca/SponsorNow/

Blessings!

Lindsay

What is God's plan for your life??

What is God's will for your life? Many students desire to do God's will, but struggle because they don't know what God's will is. The following are some principles from God's Word that will help you to discern what God's will is for you.

1. God does have great plans for your life!

   We were created by God, in His image, for a purpose. Just as God set apart from birth Isaiah (Isaiah 49:1), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5) and Paul (Galatians 1:15) for a specific purpose, he also has a specific plan for your life.

   “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declared the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

   The Bible says that God's will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

2. God's will, first and foremost, is that we have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

   “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

3. God wants us to be Christ's disciples.

   This means Christians must be committed to following God's will daily, whatever the cost.

   “If anyone would come to me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

4. The Bible will help us to know God's will.

   “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).

5. God promises to give us wisdom if we just ask Him in prayer, believing that He will give it.

   Sometimes we need to just ask God to give us wisdom to discern His will.

   “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

   In Philippians 4:6, God tells us that we can pray about everything.

6. God has given us the Holy Spirit for guidance.

   “...when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...” (John 16:13a).

7. We should listen to the advice of godly men and women that God has placed in our lives.

   Many times the advice of a parent, pastor, youth minister, Sunday School teacher or other mature person is just what we need to hear to help us decide what God wants us to do.

   “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).

   “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).

8. The Bible says that there is a peace that comes when we are pleasing God with our lives.

   When deciding between two alternatives that you have been praying about, sometimes one of the options will give you a greater peace. That option is probably God's will.

   “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

9. We should trust God in faith that He will accomplish His will in our lives.

   “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

   “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

10. God has given each of us gifts and abilities to use in His service.

    God always equips us to do what he calls us to do. If you aren't gifted in a certain area, God is probably not calling you to minister in that area. (see Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Ephesians 4:11-13 for lists of spiritual gifts and a discussion of them.)

    Remember that God's ultimate purpose for all of us is that He would be glorified (1 Corinthians 10:31) and that the gospel and God's kingdom would be advanced (Genesis 50:20 and Philippians 1:12).

Praise God!

I just want to quickly share with you that my little girl came up to me today and said" Mommy, I want Jesus." She wanted to pray and ask Jesus to live in her heart! At the age of 4 this is wonderful. Although she doesn't understand everything, she still knows she needs Jesus at this little age! Matthew 19:14....... Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

Meet my family

Hi everyone!!

I want you to meet my family today! The Lord blessed me with a beautiful family!! A wonderful husband, Jason, whom I have been with for almost 11 years. Married for almost 7. A beautiful daughter, who is 4 years old. Every bit like her mommy! Her name is Brooklyn Ava Grace! And my little man. 2 years old this May. This little guy has a heart of gold. It amazes me how kind and caring he already is at such a young age. His name is Landon James! The blond cutie you will see in these pictures is my niece(8), Hannah Grace. She is very special to me. So is her mommy! My sister, Jennie, is pregnant with her second baby!! So take a look at my family!!! Photos taken by the lovely Megan Cristello in Florida! http://www.megancristellophotography.com/



Blessings and love,

Lindsay

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Mark 16:15

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

I have been praying a lot lately. Asking God what he wants me to do with my life. How I can serve him and what he wants from me. All that has been coming into my thoughts was this verse. I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now. Not knowing what it would be about. I put two and two together and here I am!

I am not here to judge you. That is not what Christians are suppose to do. We are suppose to show others what Jesus is like. We should come off as kind and welcoming. Leave the judging to God. It is not our place. Matthew 7:1 says Do not judge, or you too will be judged. We as Christians have to be very careful with this. We don't want to scare anyone away!

Who am I? Nobody special. I am the same as everyone else. I am a sinner. There was only one perfect person in history and that was my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We need him. It is very simple really. John 3:16 says. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Whoever believes in him shall have everlasting life." Pretty amazing stuff. He sent Jesus to save us sinners by dying and all we have to do is truly believe? Wow. Now that is love!

Those are my starting thoughts for you! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Like I said, I will not judge you. Nor am I trying to be a pastor/minister. The Lord knows I do not like talking in front of people LOL. But think how many people we can reach over the Internet today! I am just a regular person like you! A sinner, but I am forgiven because of Jesus! Amen!!

This will be a blog about my everyday life. My family. I will post thoughts and verses as I read my Bible everyday. Things that are important for you to hear!

Remember, Jesus Loves You!!

Lindsay