Christmas Thoughts

From John Collins, Evangelist:

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (NKJV).

“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” Luke 2:40 (NKJV).

Jesus came to be our Savior, to teach us and to die for us. As you go through life, you are to look to Jesus to care for you, to guide you and to strengthen you. The human spirit is strong and can withstand more than you could ever imagine.

Jesus is strong in spirit and knows your weaknesses. He knows what scares you, what intimidates you and what you avoid. Jesus is there to help you face your fears and conquer what you thought you couldn’t. Jesus will listen to you and will help you.

Faith in the Lord allows your spirit to have courage. Hope in the Lord allows your spirit the freedom from worry and that confidence allows you to serve the Lord honestly. The human spirit is capable of being beat up, smashed down and trampled upon and it will still get up and fight. The spirit of a person is a gift from God and faith in His Son is the eternal blessing.

If you are in the need of encouragement just look to Jesus and His life and you will find it. Look to the character of Jesus and you will find the beauty and grace of God. Look to the Son to find the hope of all of your tomorrows and you will know that the spirit that is inside of you is made of strong stuff indeed.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN

Read more at John Collins Ministries or reach me personally at www.johncollinsministries.com

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: LOVE, WRATH, COMPLETE GOD

From John Collins Ministries:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV).

It is time for a serious reality check for every single person living on earth at this time: You are going to die an earthly death and will have to face the righteous judgment of God. You may think you know what that means, you may not care but let me fill in the blanks for so many….whether you choose to believe in God or not, whether you find God fair or not, whether you agree with God or not, whether you end up dismissing God or not, whether you reject God or not and whether you end up getting as angry at God as you want and as defiant toward God as you want and you can ignore Him, disobey Him and reject His Son but in the end, ALL will come before the judgment seat of Christ and ALL will face the righteous judgment of God, whether you want to or not and whether you believe it or not.

Heaven is NOT a given. Heaven is NOT guaranteed. Heaven is a reward of the salvation that you claim when you choose Jesus and obedience over your worldly life and yourself. People are so selfish and self-involved and so full of self-importance that they just can’t seem to work out their salvation with fear and trembling because they have lost their capacity for reverence and most have never bothered to develop it for God in the first place but have transferred that delight and wonder and awe for the material things of this world and for the prestige that can come with it.

Everyone wants to talk about how God is love and just ignore the truth that God is wrath as well. Remember that God is complete, God is divine and God is the Creator of all and is without flaws. Judgment happens in a moment and is irreversible and it is forever. Why take any chances with your eternal soul when today allows you call on Jesus and to obey the Lord. Do not be lazy in your faith. Get right with God.

“For it is written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:11-12 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, EVANGELIST: So you've sinned A LOT!!!

SO YOU THINK, "NO WAY"

From John Collins, Evangelist:

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV).

Okay, so you have sinned, A LOT!! At what point do you give up and believe that you are not savable? At what point do you believe that God would not forgive you, that only the devil will have you and that you are not worth saving anyway? This is more common than you may think. As many as justify their sin and take Jesus for granted, there are just as many who don’t bother to call on Jesus because deep down they don’t believe that they are worthy of walking the streets of heaven and living in eternal bliss.

Satan has done his work well. He has planted doubts and he has spread so many lies that many have come to believe that they are truth. God is not a cruel dictator in the sky and Jesus wants to forgive you and died for you before you even knew that you needed Him. God is merciful and compassionate and has forgiven the murderer in David, the whore in Solomon, the rebellion in Jonah, the persecutor of the church in Paul, the doubter in Thomas not to mention the sins in the twelve sons of Jacob and He is willing to forgive your sins too.

God is waiting for you to recognize your worth to Him and for you to honor that worth by believing in Him and His Son. The Christian must believe that they are worthy of forgiveness and work to submit to the will of God and to obey the commandments of Christ. It is important that your hope be true and your commitment to living the gospel be complete. You are not supposed to live in sin and just not care and you are not meant to give up on yourself because God does not want to give up on you.

You matter and the proof that you matter was given on the cross while Jesus gave His last breath for you. The Lord says that you matter so do not give up on you and do not give in to the devil.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:12-13 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: CHAUVINISM?

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS:  GOD IS PRO-SALVATION

Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Pastor John Collins:  "If you are a man or woman with an attitude of
self-righteousness or defensiveness, you are not right with God"

Is God a male chauvinist? Is the Bible geared toward male chauvinism? There are plenty of men who adhere to this belief and use it to justify their domination of women and there are plenty of women who adhere to this belief and use it to justify their hatred of men and their defensiveness of ‘girl power’. Let me set the record straight for all of those who like to blame God and the Bible for everything that is wrong in their lives and in this world; God is NOT a male chauvinist!!

God is pro salvation, be it for a man or a woman. God created both male and female and each have their responsibilities to God, to their families, to each other and to themselves. God does not want women to be dominated and treated with contempt just like He doesn’t want any race to be dominated and treated with contempt. God did not create one to be superior to the other but instead created both to complement each other. Man and woman were created to be teammates and to help each other through life. God wants salvation to come to all which is why He sent Jesus. Jesus is not only for the men or the Jews.

People will blame God for every little thing and that is just ridiculous. What people should be most concerned with is their own salvation and that only comes to the righteous and humble of heart. If you are a man with the attitude of superiority, you are not right with God. If you are a woman with the attitude of defensive self-righteousness, you are not right with God. God wants you to become humble, as Jesus was humble. This life thing is not about who is better, who has more, who comes first, who is above and who is below in status. This life thing is about godliness, kindness, love, forgiveness and grace. God is willing to show mercy to men and women and God is just in His judgment of men and women. Humans are the flawed beings that like to blame and need to feel more important than others. Believe me, God knows His worth, He is just waiting for you to realize yours, as a Christian who obeys His Son.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:25 (NKJV).

 LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN