This past Easter 2016, over 61,000 attended Easter services from Central Christian Church in Henderson, NV. During these services, including our satellite churches, over 1300 accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is what took place:  Romans 10:8–10 “But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

We are taught according to Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Having been a Christian over 50 years, I have experienced God having kept His promise in my life and met my needs.

But I must warn you, there is a great possibility that you could immediately be confronted by demonic influence every day of your life. At the same time, the Holy Spirit will do everything to help you grow spiritually to become more Christ-like. Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t seem like a battle goes on in one’s mind to continue living like the world or live for God.

God’s purpose for everyone created, He wants us to become a part of His family and spend eternity with Him, Christ and the Holy Spirit. To be with God in eternity, we must learn how to live a holy life while on earth. Therefore, we all are told to be financially prepared for retirement and that we understand. God is saying: become spiritually prepared for eternity and we must know what is expected.

We must be careful as to what we allow into our lives. 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

The world is hostile to godliness. We must strive for personal purity. Satan wins many victories over Christians who are negative and divisive. Here is how Scripture tells us to live: Mark 12:30–31 “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.”

Christian love can create circumstances in which conflicts can be solved. The gospel message is that love corrects man’s selfishness and perverted love. God’s love, as we know, is unconditional, unlimited and impartial. This love is not automatic or mechanical. It is this love that changes a person’s life. This is the kind of love Christ wants us to accept and practice. The more people that practice this type of love the more peaceful the world would become. Love is the one thing that can change everything and overcome hate!

The moment one is saved from our sins, our goal is described in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians verses 2 to 8 “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

As the Bible tells us, we are to live a holy life. Living a holy life is not possible without love. Love only exists when a person feels free. You cannot force someone to love. We can measure how much we love God by how much we love others. Are we compassionate and encouraging? Are we willing to accept our commission to influence others to also prepare for eternity?

We need to live a vision driven life. That vision is to do whatever it takes to please God. We must stay focused because Satan will do whatever he can to break that focus. But develop a vision of heaven and the years that we will live through eternity.

While we are selecting our next president, do you see Christian examples? We can judge one’s behavior by how they treat others. We need a leader who can help a nation that needs to repent and again worship God. I am afraid we are not seeing an example of Christian love. Love is one’s greatest way to inspire and influence others. We need to set the example for others.