Doctors say many people die because they have no hope that they will recover from a severe illness or surgery. People who live without hope, goals, dreams or a vision are missing one of the most important experiences in life. When I hear Christian having times of depression, negative fears, living without hope, I have to believe they are not living and believing the promises of Christ.

If you read Scripture that tells us we are born with a purpose for life and God has a plan for us, how could we not have hope? Hope is based on expectations and God says He will meet our needs and give us peace and prosperity. It is sad to realize that people without hope do not believe there can be hope.

Have you talked to a person having serious problems and explain that Christ can change their life? Most will change the subject, because many times they don’t expect anything can change their circumstances. If you really talk seriously with them, their past and their conscience keeps them from thinking of succeeding in life. Many of us, in our younger years, have failed or have a past that takes away any hope we may have had for a successful future.

If you have no hope because of your past life, you know that God forgives and erases all of our sins if we accept Christ as our Savior and receive the Holy Spirit. Many cannot forgive themselves and they have little or no hope that they can become a success. The Bible is full of leaders for God who have done worse sins than many of us. Moses murdered an Egyptian. King David committed adultery and conspired to have her husband killed. Abraham lied saying his wife was really his sister. Jacob took his brother’s birthright and his mother helped pull it off. Why do you think the Bible gave us these many examples? God wanted us to know that He would forgive and change who we were and give us another chance. Christians must believe there is hope to become a new person with the past erased.

Paul writes to the Romans 8:5–11 “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” NLT

Accepting Christ requires a repentant heart and a desire to go a completely different direction. There can be no relationship with Christ unless the Holy Spirit is within you. Salvation is not necessarily a feeling. It is God’s promise that if we accept Christ, we commit and surrender to Him and He will allow the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. Once we receive the Holy Spirit our spirit and our attitudes turns from possible despair to hope.
Romans 8:14–18 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

As we receive the Holy Spirit, God adopts us. We are given a new identity being sons and daughters of God. In Roman culture we would have been given full rights of our new family and became a full heir to our father’s estate with a tremendous hope for our future. God’s children learn to face major problems and obstacles in their lives with joy and a peaceful heart. Why: Because as God’s children, we gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. Therefore, we are no longer a slave of sin and the world’s ways, but the Master’s children and a new hope for the future. As children we are asked to live as Christ lived. We are to serve others, resist pressure to act as the world acts and be willing to give up some rights.

Our earthly problems and displeasures are nothing compared to the rewards we will receive in heaven. Christians should be able to handle our sufferings better than a non-Christian. Not because we have a high tolerance to pain or because we enjoy being hurt, but because we have the ability to see the big picture and hope for the future will be better.

How should a Spirit-filled, mature Christian deal with pain and suffering? We must realize it is the result of the curse placed on man for his disobedience to God. It is not a personal consequence to anything we may have done, except we receive what we sow. Sickness, misery and continuing problems are not a punishment; they are part of the curse.

Having had heart surgery in 1984 and continuous problems since and prostate cancer since 1997, I always had hope that I would recover. That has been 31 years. Would I be alive today if I had no hope as the doctors say causes death? If you pray daily and read your Bible also, you must have hope that God will meet your spirit, physical and financial needs. That is not just a hope that is a promise from God.

Many Christians do not deliberately sin, but we do sin. How do we know that we sin? The Bible tells us we do. Have you ever done or said something that you then wondered: “Why did I do that?” It could be a lie, spreading rumors, alcohol or prescription drug abuse and many others such as hate, unforgiveness, selfishness, anger, etc.

Romans 7:15–25 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

Most sin committed by a sanctified Christian does not necessarily come from demonic influence but from man’s original nature. Part of that nature is rebellious and the desire of independence. The above Scripture is describing a Christian who loves the law of God and wants to please God, but is trying to do so by his own strength.

It is not uncommon for our old nature, from time to time, to seek to rebel and be independent of God. Too often, when we try to rely on our own strength, we slip into the grasp of sin’s power. Scripture teaches us that when we become a Christian it does not remove every temptation or the possibility of sinning. Conversion takes a moment of faith, but becoming a Christian is a lifelong process. We learn in Romans 7:9 that knowledge is not the answer. “At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,”

This is why we want to emphasis that Christian growth is like a race. Winners do not give up and they are continually training and preparing. That is why Scripture is saying: “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” This can apply to a person who is desperately struggling against sin or trying to keep the rules and commandments in order to please God without the Holy Spirit’s help. We must never underestimate the power of sin and never try to fight it without realizing our chances of doing it on our own, mostly doesn’t work. Once we are tempted, it is easy to make excuses and rationalize.

God knowing mans carnal nature and provided to Christians His Spirit to live in us and provide us with power to overcome temptations. Yet, it is amazing when we fall or fail and then repent; He lovingly reaches out and helps us back up. Is our faith sufficient to trust God and believe this? Paul writes that we have two natures. One desires in keeping God’s laws and one wages war against God’s laws. We must not allow other Christians trying to live up to God’s standards in their own strength, become frustrated, disillusioned and depressed and close to completely giving up influence us. We learn that having a desire to live to please God indicates His laws and commandments are good.

Scripture goes on to say that it seems nothing good lives in me. Can it possibly be that all of my sinful mistakes that I commit are caused by demonic influence? No, but we like to blame someone besides ourselves because it is hard to accept responsibility. We may have good intentions, but our self-centered nature can still control us if we have not surrendered our lives to the Holy Spirit. If we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and help us, sin can be stronger than we are.

Paul tells us he is an awful man, but Christ had rescued him. We too must realize that our self-centered natures are most often what cause us to sin. Our comfort zone may be to trust in ourselves rather than trusting in Christ or the Holy Spirit. Most of the time, we just do things without praying and asking for Spiritual guidance. Do you find yourself thinking: should I do it my way or God’s way? Chances are we do not take the time or think to ask God. Old habits are hard to break and many Christian are not willing to repent and change. These are the ones who are continually struggling with sin. It is only when real problems confront us; the ones we got ourselves into, that we realize: we need God’s help and pray and hope for an instant intervention by God. Don’t you think God is thinking: they will not learn to trust me unless He makes us wait for His answer or intervention?

The positive is: we know that God promises there will be no eternal punishment to those who have committed themselves to Christ and do not allow their self-centered natures to control their lives, but follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. God recognizes that a Christian’s self-centered nature will rise up from time to time. God does not expect perfection but He asks that we strive toward it and our example is Christ.

Being a member of a church of 470 meeting on weekends to a church responsible for having 70,000 attend at special events, is quite an experience. Continual expanding is just another experience. For those 26 who have been a member since the initial church was founded in 1962, it is not a surprise we have outgrown our present facilities. Our expansion has included Canyon Ridge Christian Church, The Crossing Church plus satellite churches in the Las Vegas area, God Behind Bars and elsewhere.

Having spent 20 years as a board member, beginning in 1983, I would like to explain what caused a small church to become one of the 10 largest churches in America. If you live in Sin City, as we are often referred to, you realize that there are a number of people who live with different morals than those living in the Bible Belt. The board had a vision that God wanted us to evangelize Las Vegas and beyond.

Romans 5:20 – “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,”

One of my best friends and fellow board member, the late Dick Shine, wrote a book on the history of Central. He is the one who encouraged me to write a book and later the blogs written these past five years. He writes that I was selected chairman of the Relocation/Construction Task Force. But I will let him tell the story.

From here on I am quoting from his book. “One of the first acts of the RSTV committee was to appoint Mary and Roger Felgar to organize a prayer group. The group’s task was to bathe the church in prayer for: the congregation, the leadership, the community at large and especially the relocation project. Mary was (and still is at this writing) one of those people who would find something optimistic to say if she was traveling on an airliner whose wings had just fallen off and what was left of the plane was careening toward a mountain of solid rock! So the fact that the church had no money, no land and no prospects bothered her not at all.”

“Undoubtedly, the first thing she did was pray about the matter. The first visible thing she did was organize a team of people, most of whom, were of the same optimistic mindset as herself, though few were as outgoing and demonstrative as she was. The team itself met regularly for the next ten years and over those same years greater numbers of people were drawn into the ministry of prayer through periodic twenty-four hour prayer vigils. In time the ministry expanded to include several hundred people, each agreeing to pray for one hour a month. The goal was to have someone praying every hour of every day, every day of the year. They would pray for the church, its staff, its members, lost people in general, the community at large and an appropriate item that came up along the way.”

“There is no way to know with certainty how the prayers of this team of hundreds of people impacted what took place over the years between 1993 and 2003. But as uncanny number of fortuitous things took place during those years that were, in human terms, inexplicable. The fact was that Central would never have been able to make the move from Mojave Road in Las Vegas to Henderson on its own resources. Figuratively speaking there were just too many mountains to climb and too many rivers to swim for the church to make this move on its own. Central was either the luckiest church on planet earth; or, there were an incredible number of fortunate coincidences…or, God was active through the prayers of His people.” (End of Quotes)

As we were looking for land or erecting our facilities many problems occurred. We had problems with the city and problems with contractors. When we reached an impossible problem, I would meet with Dick Shine and tell him our problem and have him get in touch with Mary Felgar. Every time, within a short period, the problem would get solved. It didn’t take long for me to believe God gave us the vision and He was answering our prayers. Can you believe the faith our leaders received? There was no doubt that we were doing what God had led us to do. It seemed like growth kept pushing us to expand. I know of no leader who said: let’s build bigger buildings so we can have a bigger congregation. I believe God wanted a mega church in Las Vegas as an example to encourage others that they can do the same no matter where they live.

Many of you may know that more than 50,000 conversions have occurred since 1999. Few cities have as many churches of more than 1000 as Las Vegas. The reason I write this blog is many Christians do not realize the importance of prayer. My experience in what I have witnessed has caused me to pray, the first thing each morning, 15 to 30 minutes to start my day. Hardly do I ever miss a day that I do not read the Bible. I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY TIMES GOD INTERVENE AS A RESULT OF PRAYER. I wish everyone could have had the opportunity that many had, seeing God answering prayers and intervening.

Much prayer is needed anytime God gives a church a vision. We need Central Christians praying for our current expansion.

As I watch the actions of President Obama and Senator Harry Reid, who have claimed to be Christians, would we know it by their actions? When we see the President’s compassion for Syrian refugee children, why do we not see the same passion for Kurd or Coptic Christian children? We know the Presidents early childhood was connected to Islam. He spent 20 years under Jeremiah Wright who, if you remember, dammed America. Obama called the sound of Islamic prayer being the most beautiful sound in the world. How can a Christian praise Islam who deny Christ? It seems our president supports Muslim extremists more than Christian refugees. In fact, according to Investment Business Daily paper, the deal John Kerry and President Obama made on the nuclear program has never been signed by Iran. The Iranian president said: “Why should we place an unnecessary legal restriction on the Iranian people?” This means we have no deal. ARE THESE THE DEEDS AND BELIEFS OF A TRUE CHRIST BELIEVING CHRISTIAN WHO CONTINUES TO MISLEAD US? Acts 26:20b “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.” May we judge one’s deeds to determine if a person is living a Christian life?

President Ronald Reagan said: “If we ever forget that we are one Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” “The Constitution was never meant to prevent people from praying; its declared purpose was to protect the freedom to pray.” “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all problems men face, if we’d only look there.” Do you see a difference today and what America was like in the 1980s? Then was a time of great prosperity. Do leaders make a difference to God?

2 Peter 2:1–3 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”

Each of us as Christians must ask: “Do others see Christ in us?” If not, we are not true witnesses of Christianity. Our deeds and our character are the most important sign of who we live for. Are we living as Scripture has taught us: For Christ or ourselves?

Romans 12:1–2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We are urged to do three things: Offer our bodies as living sacrifices, we are not to conform to the patterns of this world and we are to be transformed with a new mind. We are called to totally be surrendered and committed, striving to live a Christ-like life. Do most Christians understand this and if they do, why do they continue to live as the world lives? Do these Christians understand what God has done for us? We should know that the greater our commitment, the more spiritual rewards and blessing we will receive?

We should realize that once we have committed our lives to Christ, we are not to revert back to our former selves. We must be careful what we read and watch. We must not be afraid to challenge the ways of the world. To be transformed by the renewing of our minds means we are to be set apart from the ways of the world. We can avoid most worldly customs and still be sinfully proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn arrogant or self-righteous. These are things, those influenced by demons, do. I think Satan is preparing the world for the Antichrist to take over. I often wonder if some of our politicians are actually allowing demons to make their decisions. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is given to us that our minds are renewed to re-educate and redirect our thinking. Are we listening to the Holy Spirit or demonic influence?

The Bible implies that if we surrender, make a commitment and stop living a sinful life, the Holy Spirit will transform us and give us a new mind in a way similar to Christ. Keep in mind it is a gradual process. We are not to become impatient and frustrated because it doesn’t happen instantly.

We are told in 1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.” I Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” I Thessalonians 2:10–12 “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

We must be careful in what we say. It is easy to create the wrong impression. Our life-style must be consistent with the gospel at all times. It is important that others see our love through being concerned, caring and being fair to all in our decisions. People must see our faith and confidence by our motives, deeds and actions. They must see us as moral, being truthful, having integrity and being consistent. We are told to help those who have gone astray and to provide an example for all the believers of what is meant to live a Christian life.

Any person ought to be able to tell if A Christian has the Holy Spirit and is allowing Him to guide them. It hurts Christianity to see people who are Christians in name only. There are too many divisive people in the overall churches. The devil does everything to disrupt the body of believers and he uses some, so-called Christians, to do his work.

What is coming is found in Revelation 13:7-8 “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” “It” stands for the Antichrist.

If you have ever been given a vision, God will do everything to make it happen. King David was just a shepherd boy until he faced Goliath. What if he received a vision but was too fearful to take the risk? Have you ever been given a vision and were afraid to trust that God would help you fulfill it?

Acts 2:17–21 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

Romans 12:6–8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

We are living at a time when many are receiving all types of visions. Our forefathers had a vision for a new nation. God selected leaders during war times with visions to defeat the enemy. Look at all of the people who have created our technology because of a vision or dream they had.

A lot of hopes, dreams and visions are determined by our attitudes. If you are not where you should be spiritually, it may affect any vision that God would give you. You must trust what God says, in the end times, He will give visions, dreams and some the ability to prophesize, serve, teach, encourage, etc. Too many Christians do not feel worthy that God would give them a specific task to accomplish. What if the Holy Spirit gave you a vision or a dream, would you accept and pursue it?

You have heard it said: God will take an ordinary person and help them do extraordinary things. I have done things I never believed I could do. A very good friend that served with me on our church board was having a discussion. I told him how I believed the Holy Spirit had given me a real advantage in my Career. He asked me to explain. I related my story that in my freshman year in college, during the summer I worked for Birds Eye Frozen Foods. I had read Matthew 5:41 “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” The Bible tells us to work to please God. I was given the most physical job in the plant, dumping 20 pound boxes of lima beans, into a hopper. I worked harder than all of the seven others doing the same thing. After one month, I was promoted to one of the most responsible jobs in the plant. I did the same thing. I made sure that everything was done above what was expected. The next year they asked me to be the assistant foreman of the plant. I did everything I could to please God. The next year I was asked to be the plant foreman of the night shift over more than 200 people.

My wife had graduated and it was the end of my college junior year and a Christian high school asked me to be the coach for all three sports my senior year. The college asked my wife to be head of a girl’s dormitory housing freshmen women. We were very young and there were many more qualified to do those jobs than we were. We had free room and board, free college tuition my senior year plus, the government paid us because of my GI service. My income at Birds Eye was more than what I received coaching.

After two years, I took a job with Montgomery Ward on their management program. After six years, I became one of the youngest store managers in our region. My eighth transfer, I was promoted to Las Vegas which became one of the largest and most profitable stores in the nine western states. After 29 years with Wards, I started my own business and God made it successful.

My friend said I should write a book about how God will give advantages to Christians who live by His principles. I laughed! I have absolutely no talent to write even a paragraph. He said, “If you give me notes, I will help you write it.” This is what I did. I would give him notes on different subjects and he would write it for a book. When it was completed, it was submitted to a number of publishers. None would accept it.

A member of my men’s Bible class said I should rewrite it and he would give his input. He had been a professional basketball player for the Nets and the Sacramento Kings. It was like God was given me a vision to rewrite the book with his input. I felt the Holy Spirit was encouraging me to start. After completely rewriting, I sent it to my friend’s daughter, the one who help me write the first book. She edited and improved it. It was then sent to a publisher and it was accepted. One condition, I was to write a Christian blog as it would help sell the book.

My grandson set up the blog’s format. My son reviews, edits and puts them on the Internet. My brother-in-law and my oldest son read them prior to posting and say whether they are acceptable or not. They have been read in over 100 nations and viewed by approximately 75,000. Who would have thought that a person with no original talent for writing would write approximately 700 blogs over the past five years?

This blog is written to encourage you that Christ can use you and don’t be surprised if you are given a vision or an unusual dream. These blogs are Holy Spirit inspired and it seems like it is not me writing them. Remember, had King David not approached Goliath, he would have continued as a shepherd herding sheep. Do you want to herd sheep or become a king? Trust God! Look for hope, a dream or a vision as God promises He may give.

The Bible is a practical book that can be applied to our present lives. It is much more than a holy book. We realize that many Christians find it difficult to interpret, but if thoroughly studied, you will find that it tells you how to live an abundant life with your needs being met.

Many do not understand that the Bible tells us God expects us to communicate with Him. In order to continually communicate with Him, you must have His Spirit in your life. That does not mean God does not hear all prayers, regardless of who is praying, but without His Spirit you may not be able to get an answer.

When you accept Christ into your heart the Bible tells us we will become reconciled with God. 2 Corinthians 5:17–20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

God brings us back to Himself by erasing our sins and reconciling us. The Holy Spirit gives us a new life and makes us righteous. We are no longer God’s enemies but His adopted children. We cannot come to God without having repented and having a pure heart. Once God makes us a new person, His Holy Spirit protects us from Satan’s influence. That does not mean Satan isn’t going to mess with us and cause all kinds of problems, but he can no longer influence us. All sin is the result of us, our flesh and one’s carnal or original nature. Scripture says we must surrender our flesh to the Holy Spirit and allow His Spirit to guide and council us. A reconciled Christian saying: “The devil made me do it” is no longer an excuse. It is you, your flesh, who caused the sin.

If you are married and you are not considerate of your wife you will find communicating with God will be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 “ Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

The Bible has described the woman’s role in marriage as being submissive. Scripture defines how a husband is to treat his wife. Biblical authors have said that husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the church. That may require putting her needs above the husbands. She is to be honored, protected, given security, treated as a partner and is to be respected. He is to relate to her with courtesy, consideration, insight and tact. Scripture says if you don’t, your communication with God will be hindered.

We are told that to communicate with God we must make restitution and reconcile with anyone who we have wronged. Matthew 5:22–24 “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and then remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Broken relationship can hinder our communications with God. If we have a problem it is our duty to resolve it as soon as possible. We are hypocrites if we claim to love God yet, hate others. Our attitude toward others is a reflection of our relationship with God.

Another thing that will block our communication with God is an unforgiving spirit. Matthew 18:21–22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” How difficult this is for many people. Yet, it is one of God’s requirements if you want an open line of communication.

You cannot rob God and have an open line of communication. Malachi 3:7–10 “Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (It has worked for our family.)

We must not live a life of continual disobedience if you want open communication with God. 1 John 3:21-24 “ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” Psalm 66:18–19 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.”

Sadly there are Christians who feel guilt-ridden, unsure of their standing with God. Their hearts are not at rest and they may not want to draw near to God. Instead, they may wish to flee from His presence. John is saying believers will have this assurance; they can approach God if their conscience is clear and the Holy Spirit will provide a sign of His presence. I find that something supernatural will take place from time to time. Once we know that we belong to God’s family, we will know that He will receive all of our communications. Remember, God wants to communicate with us every single day! Jesus set for us an example of how often and the length of His communications.

According to the Bible there will be a time when the whole world is under a world government ruled by one man. We are seeing, both Republicans and Democrats, who have an agenda to diminish the United States as a world power. This must be done in order to become a one-world government that would give power to a privileged few.

Revelation 13:7 “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.” (“It” is the Antichrist)

Some leaders believe that a well educated populace would never allow a one-world government to happen. They have instituted a plan to revise our education system and teach our children that America is not a privileged nation. In fact, America has no right to be a world leader and it has abused its powers. These leaders realize that they must not allow students to believe that history has allowed dictators and kings to have enslaved civilizations previously. Their purpose is to dumb down our students, deny that there is a God and teach that there is little need to teach morality and they encourage them to have tremendous self rights.

We are seeing reaction to progressive education when Universities are allowing students to protest and causing administrators to resign. This is a result of a lack of respect for authority, patriotism, morality and the belief that the government can take care of all your needs and God is not needed. It is teaching children they can be their own god and they are to be served rather than loving and serving one’s neighbor. It is easy to get people to believe a lie as was witnessed in Germany under Hitler. The truth is that Satan and demonic spirits are the ones really instigating and planning the demise of America.

Romans 13:1–2 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

Are there any public educators that are teaching students the above Scripture? They are teaching political correctness replaces free speech; the taking of babies is okay for body parts, evolution and not creation. They are teaching that God is a fictitious character to the uneducated and those who are misguided.

Globally, we are seeing demonic acts of terrorism by the downing of a Russian airplane and attacks and killings taking place in Paris. Many of our own leaders and national leaders are being influenced by demonic spirits. According to Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:12 “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” Satan is behind terrorism to establish his one-world government.

Let me define what I mean by being influenced by demonic spirits. Many leaders are led by the spirit of the world or demonic spirits and deny or ignore God. Christians know there is a God and a Holy Spirit and many have received that Spirit. We are told how to receive the Holy Spirit, by accepting Christ and the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” That new life is no longer influenced by the spirit of the world.

Romans 8:9–10 “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.”

If you have the Holy Spirit, we are no longer that old person we are a new creation. We are tempted by our flesh and not demonic spirits. Prior to salvation, we were tempted by our flesh, demonic spirits and the Holy Spirit Who was trying to influence us to accept Christ and the gospel. What we are told to do, once we receive the Holy Spirit, is to surrender the lustful desires of our flesh and be guided strictly by the Holy Spirit.

As we come closer to the end time, as described by the prophets and the Book of Revelation, we are seeing our leaders doing things that are preparing our nation to become part of the one world government. They are lying to the American people, telling them that the government is here to replace God. It is done by preaching global warming, Obamacare, regulations, etc. Why do we believe what they are saying? We must understand that many are being influenced by demonic spirits. Satan is preparing the world to accept his chosen person, the Antichrist, to take over the world.

Romans 11:8 “as it is written: ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.’”

Matthew 13:13-15 ““Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’”

Many hearts have become hardened because of their unbelief. It appears God has removed their ability to see and hear and some to repent, thus they will experience the consequences of their rebellion. This is a terrible judgment but it is brought on by their actions. We may be coming to a time when it may not be possible to accept Christ once a person takes the mark of the beast in their right hand or forehead.

The result, under the one world government, will be what has happened in Paris on Friday, the 13th of November 2015 everywhere on earth. It will be a time like never before. There will be earthquakes, abnormal weather, famine, plagues, anarchy in the streets, no freedom, etc. It all ends with the war of Armageddon. Before it is over, two billion people will be killed.

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Matthew 24:11 “and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”

Christian blogs that I have written about stress or pressure are read by hundreds. In fact, they are the most read of my almost 700 blogs. I did not realize their importance until I read that 90% of all the tranquilizers taken for nervousness, depression and stress are taken by Americans. That must mean we are a nation of worriers and many are without true hope. You would think a nation with so many Christians, there would not be a problem with depression and stress. Could it be the pace of life and the lusts of life that Americans are faced with?

We are told that the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. One of the greatest fears of older people is death. Is there a heaven or a hell? If there is, where will I go? To others, it may be will I ever become financially independent? Will I have health issues? Will I ever have a happy life? Will I keep my job, my business or my career? If fear is a great part of your life, no wonder we lack hope and a joyful life and become stressed out or depressed.

Many of our fears come from our past and present actions. Do you realize that Christ came to take away our fears? He came to provide forgiveness and a life filled with joy, freedom and love. Scripture says: I John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Perfect love cannot coexist with fear according to John. (Hebrews 2:14–15 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.)” Negative fear has to do with death, failure and punishment, it should not be a part of a Christian’s experience. Too many Christians are unwilling to take on certain tasks because they fear they may fail. If the Holy Spirit leads us to do certain things why are we fearful to accept the assignment?

If we have unconditional love in our hearts and we have hearts without hate we will know positively that Jesus on the Day of Judgment will accept us. There is nothing more important in a believer’s heart than having the confidence to know that they will go to heaven. The Bible and John have made it very clear. We do not get there by working for it. We do not have to be perfectionists. We must have God’s love in our hearts and the Holy Spirit guiding and checking us.

Everyone wants and can have: joy, freedom, an abundant life and a life filled with love. In order for this to happen a person must have hope. My hope comes from Scripture: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

We know that many people who seem to have everything, have problems with depression. We read it in the Bible and history tells of leaders with this problem. They fear the future because of its unknowns. They do not feel free. Learn how to become free of stress, pressures and fear. John 8:28–32 “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Over the past fifty years I have read, studied and taught Bible classes and have learned what Scripture teaches does make life different. I have learned that if you know the truth, the truth will set you free. Once I learned that the Holy Spirit was with me at all times and I was to do only those things that I believed would please God, my life changed.

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

When we visited Israel we went to the Dead Sea. Nothing can live in those waters. It is so salty that you can lay back and float easily. The reason it is dead is because it only receives water and does not allow any water to flow out. I believe it was God’s illustration for the Jews. I believe it is to teach the necessity of giving. This is what happens to a person who only expects to receive and refuses to give to others. They can become as dead in spirit as the Dead Sea if they are not a giver.

One of the greatest commandments is to Love God and to love others. Scripture tells us, chances are, we cannot love others if we first do not love ourselves. Those who are depressed have little hope and lack joy in their lives probably have a problem loving themselves. Often they are very judgmental of themselves and others. They find it hard to let others love them and they have difficulty providing love to others. If you are a person struggling with depression or unusual pressure, try giving your love to others. You may have to make new friends if your present ones refuse to accept your love.

I John 4:7–12 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Christ taught that we must love one another; we are to encourage each other; we are to be at peace with each other; we are to serve and submit to each other; we are to show kindness and honor to each other, instruct one another, forgive one another, not judge each other and are to care for each other’s burdens.

God is the source of love and love comes from God. Christ came that He could demonstrate God’s love through His life. God’s love is not something we are born with nor is it something we can learn. Only those who have received the Holy Spirit understand the kind of love God gives and expects from each believer. This is not a natural love. Human love most always expects something in return. God’s love is given by grace and is not something we earn.

Often time’s families have problems giving love to each other. Their biggest problems are, they don’t live up to your expectations. Many times the problem is not them but you. A person who does not love other Christians does not know God nor have they ever known Him. Love is God’s essence. The world thinks that love is what makes people feel good and that it is alright to sacrifice moral principles and other’s rights in order to obtain such love. But that isn’t true love. If you want to be free of stress, you must overcome fear and allow Christ’s love to flow through you and into others.

FOUR THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE AND SAVE AMERICA

Do you believe in promises that God makes to believers? Scripture states that God says that if we do certain things He will heal our land. He also says that if we don’t, He will discipline our land and our people. Because it is stated in the Old Testament, many believe it no longer applies to believers today. Many theologians believe it was meant for all times, especially today.

II Chronicles 7:13 – 14 – “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

First, God says that He controls the weather. Do you believe there is a God and He controls the weather? If you do, do not let Satan cause you to accept man-made global warming. He has convinced many of the world leaders and especially our president that man is going to cause the earth to burn up. The Bible tells us if it doesn’t rain it is because God or nature’s law caused it. Don’t allow our leaders to destroy our economy by pushing man-made warming. That does not mean we should not control smog and pollution, which America has to a great degree.

God says: “If my people.” Who would you describe as God’s people? In the Old Testament it was the Jews. In the New Testament it is anyone who accepts Christ, as the Son of God, and the One able to forgive our sins and allow us to be saved and become adopted into God’s family. This means we, as Christians, can petition God to heal our land. In order to do so, we must do, corporately, four things:

1. We must humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness. We should know from Scripture what it means to be humble. Are we here to be served or to serve others? We are told to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

2. We are told to pray and have an attitude of prayer. Prayer is a type of worshiping God. We must pray for our personal needs. You can’t give something to others that you don’t have yourself. We need to pray for our and other’s spiritual, physical and financial needs. We need to pray for a revival for America. We need to pray for our local, state and government leaders that they will direct us back to being a Christian nation.

For years, I and many others have prayed for our church that we would evangelize the Las Vegas area and beyond. Our attendance went from 470 on weekends, to some weekends over 40,000. We are one of the ten largest churches in America and I believe it is the result of prayer and asking God for His vision for our church. It is apparent God pushed us into growing and we grew by prayer and faith as we never had the money to do what was done.

Our leadership believed the following: John 5:30 – “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” This is what Jesus said of Himself. But it fit our leadership; we could do nothing without God. We did not make decisions to please ourselves but to please God.

3. We are told to: “Seek my face”. This means to seek God continually. We are to become as Christ-like as we can. Jesus spent hours in prayer and continually asked God for guidance. We are told to totally surrender ourselves to Christ. Imagine what would happen if everyone, who called themselves a Christian, would do this; would God not heal our land?

4. We are to “turn from our wicked ways”. God is talking to believers not non-believers. Too many accept Christ as their Savior but, are unwilling to repent and live their lives as Scripture directs. It seems many are seeking insurance from going to hell and not accept the Scripture that says: John 13: 34–35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And 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.”

If every Christian would believe Scripture and do what it says, we would see a different nation and a different world. Too many have been deceived by Satan who is continually attacking and convincing many that God doesn’t care what we do. Does this sound familiar? We read what happened in the Garden of Eden and what Satan told them. God didn’t really mean they couldn’t eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. Satan is telling Christians today, just be moral people and you will go to heaven. God is telling us differently, He will change our nation if we do just these four things. Do you care about America? Do you want God to forgive America’s sin and heal our land? Do you realize what that would mean? It would mean we would revert back to the pre-1960s when America was prospering and there was no political correctness, people were honest with each other. It was love your neighbor not let’s take what we can get.

All prophesy in the Bible’s Old Testament, history has proven it to be accurate each time it has been predicted and it happen exactly as the Jews were told it would. Why is it so difficult for us today to believe that future prophecy will occur exactly as predicted?

Why isn’t the United States specifically mentioned in the Book of Revelation or is it? Is it because we will no longer be a superpower? If we are in the last days, as many theologians believe, isn’t America supposed to become less powerful? Don’t we have the current political leaders to allow this to happen? Are we not becoming less significant in the world today? Who our next president is, could continue the demise of America’s position in the world. Or, if the right president is elected it could mean America will protect Israel. Revelation 12:14 – “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.” The woman is Israel and a great eagle could stand for America. We must watch who becomes our leaders.

The Bible says that no one, but Christ, will protect Israel in the war that is prophesied in Scripture. Up to this time, the U.S. has always protected Israel against her many enemies. The Bible says that God will draw the nations north of Israel to attack them. In the latter days, Isaiah 45:3 says Israel will become wealthy. “I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” We believe the hidden treasure is the enormous discovery of oil in the Golan Heights that was captured from Syria in the War of 1967. This was discovered in October 2015. We also believe this is what God will use to bring the many nations to attack Israel. God will not allow America to protect Israel. WHY?

What we are seeing in the streets of America presently, is anarchy. It is only going to get worse according to Scripture. There are many difficult times ahead of us and as Christians there will be times when there will be many who are anti-christian. This is when the Bible tells us we must trust God. He will give believers a faith to trust Him more than many other times in life, because He is directing all things for His purpose.

Not only does God predict the future but He tells believers how we should be living. He knows exactly what we need to do to have a happy and abundant life. He says we must have faith in Him, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Scripture then describes the kind of life we are to live to worship Him and live as He says.

Unless you read the Bible and study it daily you may not realize the many promises He makes to every believer. Having read and studied the Bible for over fifty years, He has met my every need, spiritually, physically and financially. I have witnessed God’s intervention in my life almost daily; at least I give Him credit for my many blessings. Were it not for the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, I would not have been able to write two blogs every week, for over five years. I count it a privilege to be a small part of Christ’s ministry though Christian blogs.

One of the most read blogs I have written is: “How Scripture tells us to deal with pressure”. I also read how almost every prophet, king or God’s chosen leader in the Bible faced depression. I read how many world leaders throughout the centuries have had the same problem. Looking at the end-time prophecy I can see where many will suffer from depression and a lack of hope. This is why it is so important that Christians spread the gospel to as many as will accept. We are going to be witnessing times like we have never seen before. It is very possible that we are headed toward a nuclear war. When that happens, nothing will be able to grow and food will be scare. We are told one-third of the world’s population will be killed.

Who will you put your trust in, the government or God? Our leaders are trying to convince us there is no God and they are our only hope and savior. How will you handle what is about to happen? It will depend on your faith in God and will you trust Him to meet your needs? Is it time to begin reading your Bible daily and learn what you need to do in preparation for what is to come?