They Left Everything and Followed Jesus

Don’t be afraid.  Jesus paid the price for our sins.  Follow Him, and He will make you more than you are and more than you could ever be on your own. 

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.  Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.  They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11 ESV) [1]

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[1] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/5.htm

 

In God We Trust

God bless our military.  We are grateful for their skill, and we love them for their willingness to sacrifice on our behalf.  God Bless President Trump.  We know that despite being assailed from all sides, he is trying to do what he believes to be best for our country.

Let’s acknowledge that without God’s protection, we are still vulnerable.  God gives His blessings of safety, security, and prosperity to those who humbly follow Him and obey Him.  On the occasion of America’s 250^th birthday, Please pray for the USA. 

“…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14 ESV) [1]

Psalm 91 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.” 

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked. 

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent. 

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 

 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

(Psalm 91:1-16 ESV) [2]

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[1] https://biblehub.com/esv/2_chronicles/7.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/esv/psalms/91.htm

Reasons Why

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse …" 

John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy [1]

These are the reasons why the US Congress, per the War Powers Resolution (Act), should approve further military intervention in Iran:

•  To permanently prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and other chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction, and the materials and means to produce such weapons.

•  To permanently prevent Iran from having ballistic missiles or other delivery systems that can be used to attack other nations.

• To permanently prevent Iran from claiming sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and from restricting in any way the passage of shipping through the Strait. 

• To permanently prevent Iran from supporting terrorist groups worldwide, and from using terrorist groups as proxies to attack other nations. 

• To permanently prevent the current government of Iran from oppressing the Iranian people.  To require Iran to hold free, fair, and internationally supervised elections to be held within six months that will allow the Iranian people to freely and peacefully choose a representative government and provide for free and fair elections to be held at regular intervals thereafter.

• To permanently require Iran to formally recognize Isreal as a nation, and to declare Israel’s right to exist.

• To permanently require Iran to stop persecuting religious, ethnic, and political minorities. To establish that no reparations for war damage are owed to Iran.  To use the frozen Iranian funds to partially reimburse the Unites States for the cost of our recent military actions.  To require Iran to pay reparations to their neighbors, including Israel, for the war damage caused by their missile and drone attacks and the economic hardship caused by their closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

If Iran refuses to agree to these terms, then Congress must authorize the use of military force necessary to affect the government of Iran’s unconditional surrender.  Congress must end its interference with the conduct of this conflict and give President Trump the tools he needs to resolve this matter in our favor.  The government of Iran must no longer be allowed to threaten the peace and safety of people throughout the world.

 

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[1] https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/57651.John_Stuart_Mill

 

Why We Need a Savior

The reason we need a Savior is that we have all fallen short of God’s holy standards.  The good things we do on our own without Jesus amount to nothing. (John 15:1-5, Isiah 64:6) 

 

Psalm14

A psalm of David

Only fools say in their hearts,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;

not one of them does good!

The LORD looks down from heaven

on the entire human race;

he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,

if anyone seeks God.

But no, all have turned away;

all have become corrupt.

No one does good,

not a single one!

Will those who do evil never learn?

They eat up my people like bread

and wouldn’t think of praying to the LORD.

Terror will grip them,

for God is with those who obey him.

The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,

but the LORD will protect his people.

Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?

When the LORD restores his people,

Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

(Psalm 14 NLT) [1]

 

 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (1John 1:8-10 NLT) [2]

So, we are saved by the Grace of God.  If we yield ourselves to Him, He will give us the ability to do His will and fulfill His purpose for our lives.

 

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT) [3]

 

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NLT) [4]

 

This is the gospel, the good news, that there is hope for us, who are unworthy sinners, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  All praise and honor and glory be to Him!  Please accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord today.

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[1] https://biblehub.com/nlt/psalms/14.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/nlt/1_john/1.htm 

[3] https://biblehub.com/nlt/ephesians/2.htm

[4] https://biblehub.com/nlt/philippians/4.htm