Being a mom is so much more than just the things mom does for her family.  So many moms are always on the go getting things done, from household chores to playing games to taking kids where they need to go and so many other things.  But a great mom isn’t just the stuff she does, it’s who she is.  It’s a heart full of love that is poured out for her family, making sacrifices to care for her kids because her heart is so full for her loved ones, that really makes a mom.  And that is what truly makes a mom so wonderful!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:38 — 21.3MB)

How do you usually celebrate Easter?  Coloring eggs?  Opening baskets of candy?  Cooking marshmallow peeps in the microwave?  Maybe you have a big Easter dinner, or maybe you just sleep in and don’t do anything special.

Did you know that the Resurrection of Jesus has implications that affect everybody?  And it’s a lot bigger than bunnies and eggs and even chocolate.

Yes–even bigger than chocolate!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:52 — 17.3MB)

Ephesians 4:1-13 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ²Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ³Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. ⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.

⁷However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. ⁸That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”

⁹Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. ¹⁰And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

¹¹Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹²Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:05 — 17.4MB)

Here’s a good test of faith:

Listen to the podcast to hear the secret.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:15 — 20.7MB)

What if you found out that there was going to be an attack against your town?  In one week, missiles and bombs would begin to fall.  And you were the only one in town who knew about it.  So the only way to save all those people would be to evacuate everybody to bomb shelters or get them out of town.  Would you bother trying to tell anybody?  How about family or friends?  Or would you leave all by yourself, and let everybody in town die?

What if you tried telling people, and nobody believed you?  Why should they believe you?  How hard would you try to convince them?  How easily would you give up?

This is the dilemma that faces every Christian.  All believers are commanded by their Lord and Savior to make disciples and to teach people to obey the commands of Jesus.  In other words, they are to save lives by making Christ followers out of sinners, who are otherwise doomed to Hell.  Missiles and bombs might kill people’s bodies, but people who die with their backs to God suffer an eternal death that is described as a lake of fire.  So, obviously that would be worse than any kind of death we could imagine on Earth–and since our soul is eternal the torment would never end.

So, knowing that, how hard do you try to tell the world what Jesus commanded?  Do you share the message of salvation with anybody–friends, family, neighbors?  What if they don’t believe you?  How hard to you try to convince them?  How easily would you give up?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:44 — 24.6MB)

I think all the prophecy that pointed to Jesus coming is pretty cool.  I watch movies all the time where there’s some sort of prophecy to be fulfilled, and I remember back when Nostradamus was popular in the media, but the movies are just somebody’s imagination and the Nostradamus stuff is just so random that you really have to stretch to make it fit any real events.  But the prophesies about Jesus are real life!  And there are just so many things that match perfectly with his family line for generations and where he’d be born and how he would die and so much stuff.  So, of course, the natural conclusion is, if the prophecy about his first coming was proven, we can be pretty sure about the prophesy of his second coming.  And that means a lot of people are going to be in big trouble if they’re not ready.  And the Bible is pretty clear that you don’t survive the Judgment of Christ by the skin of your teeth.  It’s an all or nothing thing.

A lot of people do religion with a 51% attitude.  They figure as long as they do a little more good than bad, they’ll be ok.  Or they think that God grades on a curve.  So as long as their morality is slightly above average they’ll be fine.  But Jesus demands perfection.  And people who don’t accept that are in for some sad consequences when Jesus comes back.

Of course most people see religion as jumping through hoops and checking off lists, and they totally miss out on the purpose of living for God.  They miss out that God offers grace so that we can stop living in the past, so we can throw off all that old wicked baggage and start with a clean slate.  It’s like God changing your “F” to an “A” and giving us the Holy Spirit as a tutor to help us keep that “A.”  Plus when you realize how much more enjoyable it is to live a good life and to be motivated by love instead of all the bad junk, then you start living a pure life for the joy of it, and religion becomes a pleasurable opportunity.  You look forward to Christ’s return because you love obeying him, and you can’t wait to share the pleasure of his company.  If you miss that crucial point, religion does nothing but offer hoops to jump through and rules to keep track of, and you wind up being lost in your failures.

Religion without true love for God is a joke.  If you think you can please the Almighty God of Heaven with an impersonal 51% effort or a C+ attitude, I’ve got some really bad news for you.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:28 — 14.9MB)