PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: PRAY

From Pastor John Collins:

Evil is real and it infects our lives. There has been persecution for the righteous since Cain slew Abel.

There have been times when the persecution has ebbed and times when it has peaked. There is persecution in the world today for the Christian and it is a time when faith needs to grow stronger and not weaken. It is a time for people to KNOW that they belong to Christ and to not bow down to evil.

We may not see the persecution of Christians up close and personal in a way that they may come face to face with it in the middle east but that does not mean that we cannot pray for those who are persecuted, that does not mean that we cannot choose to draw closer to God and our Lord Jesus Christ and that does not mean that our faith should be found wanting.

Choose to take some time and pray today for those who are in jeopardy because of their faith and praise the Lord for providing Jesus. Take some time today and pray with thanksgiving in your heart for the safety that you and your family are experiencing and pray for comfort to find those who need it. Take some time today and pray for those who need strength in the Lord that their faith will keep them. Take some time today to let the Lord know that you are grateful for your life and loved ones and praying for His people.

God bless each and every one of you!

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: THE BLIND CHRISTIAN

From John Collins, Evangelist:

“Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their heart, And return and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10 (NKJV).

“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seek after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12 (NKJV).

When we think of those who have been blinded and made deaf, those who have been given over to their lusts, we think of the obvious sinners, the ones living life in defiance to the commandments of God and Jesus Christ. Yet, the most pitiful and dreadful blinding that exists is the blind Christian.

Blind Christians believe they have it right. These believers gossip, hate, are self-righteous, are greedy, selfish, proud and just don’t even realize it. They believe because they know scripture, may even be able to quote it, they go to church and claim Jesus as their Lord that they are the real deal. These are the most dangerous and desperately lost of all. When one is so confident in their salvation that they cease to look within, that person is not working out their salvation with fear and trembling.

We must walk a fine line in our faith. We must believe in our salvation and forgiveness yet we must always maintain our awareness of our souls and the need for repentance, the need for purity of our mind and heart as well as the need of our devotion to gaining knowledge in the word of God.

Our faith must be active and alive. We must nurture it so that it grows. It will be tested and it will be tried by fire. We must learn to participate in our lives with Christ. We must be willing to seek the truth in our souls. This I can tell you plainly: whatever ugly is inside you, God already knows it is there. We must acknowledge it, face it, and release it through repentance and forgiveness that is genuine and not lip service only or we will take it with us to hell. Fear nothing, be honest when you look within and make sure that your personal inquiry is based on the truth of the gospel and not your perception of some weakened version of it. Come to the foot of the cross in truth, naked and trusting, bare your souls and receive genuine salvation. It is only with transparency that we will find forgiveness and we are unable to be honest as long as we are holding on to our self-image as seen through the eyes of this world.

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:14-15 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: THANKSGIVING

FROM PASTOR JOHN COLLINS:

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NKJV).

People think of these words and think of communion to be taken in church. Before there were Christian churches the apostles gathered in the homes of their fellow believers or those they hoped to bring salvation to and they would share a meal and share the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving in their hearts. They would break bread and drink wine and think of Jesus’ broken body and the new covenant and they would share their faith with one another and encourage one another.

As you come and sit down to the table today just know that what you have most to be thankful for in this world is the sacrifice of Jesus because it has given you the chance to be saved. As we pray for those without food and those without shelter today, let us also praise God for His mercy and thank God for His precious Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

All the bounty that you will ever experience in your life and all of the hope of your eternal reward comes from God. No matter how little one has in life, as long as there is breath in the body then there is hope for salvation and every day is a day of thanksgiving.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, 

BELIEVE THAT

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: DENIAL, HURT, LONELY, PAIN

From Pastor John Collins:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NKJV).

In this life, we all want to love and to be loved. We want to share a connection that is meaningful whether we realize this or not. This world is shallow and frivolous and impersonal more often than not. We lack intimacy and depth of emotion. We can get lonely so very quickly in life and we can lose our ability to deal with our emotions in a healthy way, if we ever really learned how to deal with them in the first place.

Too often, we will self-sabotage and create messes in our own lives that become habits that undermine our health. There are all kinds of ways to hurt ourselves while remaining in denial such as drugs, alcohol, whoring, over-eating, smoking and so many other ways that put our lives at risk at our own hands.

People put on a smile and cover up pain. People have problems and hurt and don’t always know what to do with that hurt. Be willing to take extra time in your life for those in need of a friend, a conversation, a willing listener and if you are this person who is in need then take some time to get closer to Jesus and He will bring you opportunity to be of service to others and in doing so you will find yourself connected and appreciated.

We are capable of rich friendships, rich love and rich experiences in this life and they all start with knowing the love of God and His Son. Faith heals and a heart that is full of faith is full of love even in the darkest hour.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: JESUS' ENEMIES

From Pastor John Collins:

“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” Psalm 110:1 (NKJV).

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 (NKJV).

Most people like to think of the truly evil as the enemies of Jesus. Most people would see themselves and their loved ones as loved by Jesus and part of the kingdom of God. Most people see themselves as good people and deserving of going to heaven. Most people are in denial about the perfect and righteous judgement of God.

What would you do if Jesus told you personally that you are His enemy? How would you feel if Jesus let you know that you had offended Him and you were not in His good graces? Can you imagine such a thing? What would you do to change that if it were true? What would be the circumstances that would make that true? Would it be true if you were a liar, a whore, a manipulator, a gossip, a greedy person, a person who had an abortion without guilt, a person who uses drugs and alcohol to excess, a person who holds hate in their heart, a person who won’t forgive, a person who is vain, a person who does not believe in Jesus, a person who does not believe in God?

Jesus did die for our sins on that cross so long ago but He did not die so that His sacrifice could be taken in vain and that He could become the justification for those who choose to continue to live in sin and think that it is covered by His blood. If you want to have salvation then you have to obey the Son of God.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: WHAT MATTERS?

From Pastor John Collins:

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NKJV).

We have fallen down on the job people! When did we get lazy in raising our children, apathetic in watching the downfall of our society, encouraging in sinful behavior and unwilling to be part of the solution while loving complaining about it all. When did the blame fall on everyone else’s shoulders while we stand and watch our country burn?

We are systematically ruining our existence and doing nothing worthwhile about it. Why? Because not enough people want to stop their own nonsense long enough to make a change first. Everyone wants the other person, party, gang, opposition etc. to give in first because they all want to win. Stubborn, selfish, foolish pride and egos will tear families apart, tear cities apart and tear this country apart.

We have got to get to a place where the choice to do right, stop doing wrong become ours as a whole, not just individually. We need to find our humanity amongst each other and choose to be God’s people and not our own people. In the end, the choice is up or down and there is nothing in this life that is worth stopping you from going up. Whatever fight is being fought, whatever battle is being lost or won, whatever argument is being raged and whatever moral decay is the price that is paid is just not worth it.

God is what matters, no matter how often people want to deny that fact, it remains a fact. Jesus is what matters and our commitment to walking the path that He has designated for us is what matters. The violence, the drugs, the alcohol, the hatred, the partying, the greed, the lust, the pride, the status, the betrayal and pain of it all is just so base and such a waste of time. Choose life by choosing Jesus.

“See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, BELIEVE THAT, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: PERSECUTED

From Pastor John Collins:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:18-20 (NKJV).

Satan came to Jesus when He was in the wilderness and tempted Him and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and promised to give them to Jesus if He would fall down and worship him.

As a servant is not above His master, a Christian must realize that there will be temptation for him also. Yet there are just too many Christians who do not have enough faith to withstand the tempter. There are so many people who are bowing down and worshiping Satan willingly because they want the world and they want to enjoy the bounty thereof.

When you find yourself tempted call on Jesus to strengthen you. When you find yourself surrounded by sin and feel like you are drowning call on Jesus to save you. The more you think to call and the more you actively seek your Lord is when your path begins to be cleared by the Father. God wants you to choose His Son and God wants you to choose to do right.

It is not easy to begin to think, act and react like a Christian when you have been raised in this world and are a part of this world. You must work to change the way you see this world and how you find joy in this world. You must choose to not be friends with this world but desire instead to be the friend of the Lord.

Call on Jesus and He will help you, He will guide you and He will love you. God is pulling you in His direction and all you have to do is follow.

“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” John 15:14 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: A JOURNEY TO BELONG

From Pastor John Collins:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:5-7 (NKJV).

There has been many a preacher to make a pretty penny with these words and to guide many a soul in the wrong direction. Jesus is not on stand-by to do our bidding and God is not waiting to fulfill our wish lists.

Jesus could easily say to His disciples and apostles these words because they all understood that once you truly belong to Jesus and believe in the gospel and the power of the Cross, you would not ask amiss. Jesus knows that those that have obtained righteousness will ask those things that the bible instructs and that God approves of.

When you seek the kingdom of heaven with all of your heart and you come to love God with everything that you are then you begin to desire things that are pure and good and will only benefit your faith and the faith of those you know and also don’t know. You will look at this world differently and upon meeting people or interacting with others you will pay attention to the small details that will let you know if their faith is strong or not and you will listen to what they say and it will guide you in your prayers for them. You should desire that others get to heaven and that you obtain righteousness so that you are a shining light in this world working for Jesus.

Never assume that you have done enough and never assume that you are pure enough. If you are always working to please God and to purify yourself then you will always be gaining more faith and more wisdom. Your life is a journey and as you come to know more you can share more. Be willing to desire good for others and not only yourself.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” John 15:8-9 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: LOST

From John Collins Ministries: 

“The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.” Psalm 11:5-6 (NKJV).

Does anyone take notice of the violence in our children’s video games, the violence in movies and the violence in our streets? Violence is entertainment and violence is a way of life. People want to say that guns are at fault, others want to blame the parents, or the schools, or the gangs, or the mob, or the terrorists, or the government and of course they want to blame God.

People don’t value life. People take life for granted, become embittered, nurture hatred and ponder violence and then act on it. People don’t care about consequences. People don’t want to hear about the judgment of God. People have lost their way.

Life is precious and can be good. Life matters and God wants each of you to value life and to seek the kingdom of heaven. God is loving and compassionate and God is wrath. There is a limit to His longsuffering and judgment does come and in the end God always wins. God is the one who always wins. When people show utter contempt for His creation it is an offense to Him and He notices.

Before it is too late, turn and learn to do righteousness, learn to love forgiveness and learn to seek God every minute of every day and teach that to your children. It is time to turn this thing around and time to stand up for all that is righteous and good and learn to walk in the ways of Christ.

“For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.” Psalm 11:7 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: ACCEPT THE INVITATION

 From Pastor John Collins:

“Then He said to him, ‘A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’

And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask that you have me excused.’

 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 

And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 

Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highway and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” Luke 14:16-24 (NKJV).

God has invited you to come to His supper and to join Him in celebration. Are you one of those who received the invitation and are just too busy to come? Is your job keeping you busy, your home and family keeping you from God, or your cars, clothes, friends, hobbies and past-times keeping you from joining God at His supper?

God deserves time, our time and attention and our thoughts and actions. God deserves for us to consider Him, take time for Him and to obey the gospel and that takes time. Obeying the gospel is not accomplished in a few hours a week. Obeying the gospel is a way of life, a devotion of thought, time and effort. Obeying the gospel is a conscious decision to show up with bells on ready to serve every day and every minute of that day. Do you have your priorities right? Have you been invited to supper only to ask to be excused because your life holds your full attention?

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS! PASTOR JOHN COLLINS 

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: BE READY

From Pastor John Collins:

“Oh, that You would rend the heavens!  That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence- As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil- To make Your name know to Your adversaries,That the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence.” Isaiah 64:1-3 (NKJV).

God created mankind and has not left him alone. God has come down, given His word, directed and fought for His people and has given His Son for us. God has come down and instructed His people and God has given man free will. God has not given up on mankind and yet so many want God to come down again.

What would you do if God came to you? Would you feel justified in His presence, would you welcome Him and would you feel good about discussing your life and your choices with Him? If God came down would you be ready and would your faith allow you to believe?

Many people only want to think of God as love, compassion, kindness and grace and they choose to ignore that He is righteous anger, justice and truth. God is full of love and grace for the soul who seeks Him and believes in His Son which is why it is so important to care for your soul before you care for anything else because once you pass away then you have to deal with God’s righteous anger and justice if you have failed to obey His instructions.

Benjamin Franklin said that you should not put off until tomorrow what you can do today and today you can get right with God so that when He does reveal Himself to you, you will be ready.

“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And we are all the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: TO DO BETTER

From John Collins Ministries:

“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.” Genesis 3:22-23 (NKJV).

Maya Angelou has said when you know better you do better. I don’t agree. I don’t believe that people cheat on their spouses because they don’t know better. I don’t believe that people murder because they don’t know better. I don’t believe that people gossip and slander one another because they don’t know better. I don’t believe that people drink and drive because they don’t know better. I don’t believe that people are aborting children because they don’t know better. I don’t believe that people neglect their children while they entertain themselves and pursue their own lives because they don’t know better. I could just go on and on with so very many examples of knowing better and doing anyway. There is a time when you know right from wrong. That is what is called the age of accountability.

God gave us emotions and we need to learn how to handle them. We need to learn wisdom and take responsibility and that is life. God gave us guilt because our heart knows better than we give them credit for. When you do wrong, you know. Do it long enough and you won’t care anymore and will make excuses.

We do better when we WANT to do better. We obey the gospel when we want heaven more than earth. We submit to God when we want salvation more than anything. We do better when we want to do better. We all make mistakes but you learn from them and stop repeating them when we want to. It is not in the knowing it is in the wanting to know because your heart will tell you that you have hurt those you love, even when it is you.

We live in a world of education and knowledge. Jesus is not a secret. The Bible is the most sold book in existence with over 5 BILLION copies sold. Think about that. It is not a secret how to get to heaven. It is not a secret how to act with righteousness. This world knows better. It is time to do better. There is not going to be the excuse of ignorance to claim when judgment must come.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:18-19  (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: YOU ARE LOVED

From Pastor John Collins:

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 (NKJV).

God loves you, cares for you and has always known you. God cares for His creation, which you are. God has given you a heart to hear Him, trust Him and know Him. You are not in this alone. You are loved.

Jesus loves you and cares for you. Jesus said on the cross that you matter. Jesus wants you to know Him, follow Him and obey Him. You are not in this alone. You are loved.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” 3 John 1: 4 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS