PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: A JOB TO DO

From Pastor John Collins:

“And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” Luke 2:42-49 (NKJV).

As a Christian you must be able to look at the life of Jesus and to see the focus and devotion that He had to doing the will of God and to make the effort to emulate it. Jesus knew that His life on earth was temporary and that He had a job to do while He was here and although the life of the Christian may not have the importance that the life of Jesus had, each life of a Christian comes with a job to do. Each person that is a believer in Christ has an obligation to the kingdom of heaven to glorify God and to follow Christ. That is the most important job that you can ever have and it is the only job that will see that you are permitted entry into the kingdom.

Whether you are busy being a parent, an employee, a student, a child, an athlete or a bum, you still have a responsibility to God. There is not any activity or obligation that you have that takes precedence over being a man or a woman of faith and living a life that shines for Jesus. There is not any excuse that you can give that will justify you ignoring God and choosing to not follow Jesus. We all have a job to do and either you do that job and receive the reward or you don’t do that job and you deal with the consequences. God is merciful and has much compassion but He is also righteous and His wrath will fall upon the wicked and the self-serving.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are too busy for God because He is not too busy for you.

“And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Luke 4:12 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, EVANGELIST: RISK

From Pastor John Collins:

“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.” Psalm 39:4-5 (NKJV).

People take undue risks with their lives every day. Some people drive crazy, some take drugs and drink too much alcohol and drive, some have chosen to be in gangs, to deal drugs, to steal and break in to places and some just like to fight. People take risks with their lives in the activities that they choose to do and some have risky jobs that require bold courage.

I don’t believe that people value life as they should and I don’t believe that the youth of this world values life as they should. Each person that is born is given a certain amount of time to get it right so that they can get to heaven and too many risk that life that has been given and don’t claim salvation prior to losing that life.

Life is precious and nobody should take it for granted. There is not any job that is too important to risk your safety on the road. There is not any fight that needs to be fought so that your life is taken in a bar or in an alleyway at night.

Don’t take the amount of time that you are given here on earth for granted. You never know what tomorrow will bring and you never know when it will all be over and judgment must come. Don’t risk your life for foolish reasons and don’t delay calling on Jesus. Time goes by so quickly and there is not any reason to rush off to join the dead by risking your life.

Take your faith seriously and take your life seriously because every Christian needs as much time as possible to get right with God and to bear fruit in the name of Jesus.

“The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” Psalm 33:13-17 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: CHOICES

From Pastor John Collins:

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV).

“The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.” Proverbs 15:24 (NKJV).

There is a process to growing up, claiming adulthood and proceeding to live your life. There are choices that you make and each one of those choices determines who you are and who you will become. Those that are aware of their eternal soul and want to go to heaven learn to make those choices by determining the good will of the Lord and choosing to do His will.

You may not think that it is any big deal to tell a lie, omit the truth or to be selfish in this one small matter. You may think nothing of passing up an opportunity to be kind and compassionate just this once. You may think that work is more important than that baseball game or that home cooked meal. You may think that you can make it up to them at another time. You may think that you deserve to let loose and finally have some fun so who will it hurt if you have that fling, you deserve it. You may think that there is plenty of time in the future for you to settle down and be boring and do what the Lord expects of you but He knows your motives and intentions and all of those things will be taken into account.

Each day you will make choices that will lead you toward righteousness or toward wickedness. Each day will determine your character and where your eternal resting place will be. Each little choice that you make adds up to the totality of your life. Choose Jesus and choose to live.

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

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

From Pastor John Collins:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV).

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.” Psalm 51:12-13 (NKJV).

The gang-banger, the drug dealer, the thief, the liar, the cheater, the adulterer and every other sinner out there is a soul in need of Christ. We live in a world of despair and fear of our fellow man. We have so many horrible truths that fill our streets that we are cautious and wary. There are bad people in this world and many of them do not want to change. I believe that there are also so very many people that have not been given the chance to change. Their environments have created a need to survive and there seems to be so few ways to get out.

There are many outreach programs that are trying to help. I believe that more can be done. It is not only in the inner cities and slums that these lost souls reside. The address of a soul in need is not of importance. Remember the 1 lost sheep and know that our responsibility to each other is greater than we have owned up to. We are all God’s children and we should all be willing to enable change in another. Sometimes it is just believing that change is possible. Sometimes it is faith in helping another create the desire to change within themselves. Change is possible.

The true hope of the gospel is this change. This is what getting to heaven involves. We cannot claim to believe and then not change our lives and ourselves. It is the hope of Christ that allows us forgiveness and with that forgiveness comes change. We are new creatures and we are no longer the same person that we were. Sometimes we must bear with the doubt and judgment of others. 

Sometimes we must overcome the doubt within ourselves. I don’t care what your past was because whatever that past was it is now your testimony once you have come to Jesus and become His disciple.

This is what we should look for and hope for in others. We should be encouraging the drug addict, the alcoholic, the cheater, the gang-banger and the abuser. All these would be terrible sinners are the souls of the lost until they find the truth in Christ. Each one of us will find in our lives opportunities to encourage faith in others and we should be willing to take the chance to do so. Remember Jesus did not come to heal the healthy but the sick. Do not look down on someone that is a prisoner of Satan’s, look up to God and pray that the lost be touched by the Lord and drawn to Him. Do not doubt the transformation that comes with the Cross. That is the beauty and hope of our faith.

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: CHERRY PICKING THE BIBLE

From Pastor John Collins: 

“Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Luke 3:7-9 (NKJV).

John the Baptist did not hesitate to speak boldly and proclaim the truth. He saw right through the hypocrisy of the people. There were many Jews who would like to claim Abraham as their father which would place them in the approved lot except they did not do anything to claim righteousness for themselves. Many Christians today will do the same thing by saying that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and all that they have to do is believe in order to claim heaven because they will not be judged on anything else but that belief. Wrong!!

You cannot cherry pick the bible and you cannot force God to change who He is. God is righteous and true and our behavior, whatever that may be in its entirety, will have an effect on the outcome of the judgement of our souls. Our eternal well-being is in our own hands and we must bear the responsibility for our souls.

The Baptist said to those who came to be baptized to bring fruits worthy of repentance. Each of us must carefully examine our hearts so that we acknowledge what motivates us and what holds us back. The fruits that we must bear should fulfill the law of God to love our neighbor as ourselves; humility, forgiveness, kindness, charity, encouragement, acceptance, and submission to the will of God. We are responsible to act on what we know and not just assume that entitled position belongs to us.

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:14-17 (NKJV).

 LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, JOHN COLLINS MINISTRIES: BAD DAY

From John Collins Ministries: 

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’” Lamentations 3:22-24 (NKJV).

Have you ever had a bad day that just went on and on into the next and then the next? Have you ever enabled your own sin by saying to yourself that you have already sinned so what does it matter? You do not have to allow one bad day to just stretch into an undetermined amount of time while you wallow in your own filth and excuses.   

God is amazing and His mercy and compassion is fresh and new each day so if you messed up yesterday and regret it there is no reason to continue today. You have to stop your own self-sabotage at some time and just get on with it. There is no excuse for any of us and we are prone to justify our mistakes. God does not want justifications, He wants us to accept responsibility and to make the effort to change our ways.

God does not expect perfection but He does expect you to care enough to make the effort. He knows when you are slacking in your faith, making excuses and just refusing to change your ways. If today was a bad day for you, find your remorse and then with a prayer seeking forgiveness you can move on and hope again in a new day, a new opportunity to get it right and a new chance to bear good fruit.

You have to decide that you are worth it and that you matter enough to desire heaven because God has already done that for you by sending Jesus and He died on that cross for you which proves His love and His belief that you are worth it. With our Lord validating your self-worth you need to do the same and choose to obey the gospel of Christ. Let each day be a day that you praise God and thank Jesus.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

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