As a teacher, I have to be very careful that I don't use questions on a test that can be considered as "bad". A "bad" question is a question that can have more than one correct answer or be interpreted in more than one way. For example, answer these 3 simple questions:

1. Who discovered America? 2. What was the President's name in 1982? 3. How many months have 28 days?

Typical answers are Columbus, Reagan, and February. Those are considered correct answers. However, depending on how you look at the questions, the answer to the first one could be Native Americans since they were here long before Columbus. For the second question, another correct answer is Obama, since that has been his name all his life, including in 1982. And the third question, yep, you guessed it, all the months have 28 days. What would be your answer to this simple yes/no question? Did Christ's death on the Cross give us Eternal Life?

It is true that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did die on the Cross for our sins and to give us Eternal Life. But we are not automatically saved because of His death and Resurrection. What Christ did was only an offer for forgiveness and Eternal Life. When people say that Christ died on the Cross to save us, we must remember that we are not truly saved until we receive His offer. We MUST accept Him as our Personal Savior in order to be forgiven for our sins and to receive Eternal Life. So, did Christ's death on the Cross give us Eternal Life? Only if we accept it and choose to believe in Him. Have you received Christ into your heart? If so, you are promised Eternal Life from a God who never lies! But if you have not accepted Christ as your Personal Savior, the Bible explains that you are not saved. What Christ did on the Cross was an amazing gift and offer of true love for each one of us. But we must believe in order to receive.

Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 

Father, thank you for sending Your precious Son Jesus to die for me. Also, thank you for stirring my heart at age 13, and helping me to accept Him. I pray for all those who have not accepted Christ. Stir their hearts, too, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Desires of our Hearts

I love Psalm 37, in particular, verse 4.  It says, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart"  I guess what I like about it is that it gives me a feeling of hope, especially when things are not going my way.  We all want the desires of our hearts.  But will God really give us those things that we desire?  What if I desire a million dollars?  Will God give this to me?  No, I don't really think He will do that, so what does His promise really mean? 

When I was in my 30's, I loved to play church-league softball.  I mean, I really, really loved to play; I could hardly wait for Tuesday and Thursday nights to arrive.  But I also worked 2 nights a week and had a baby to take care of.  My wife would really fuss and make me feel guilty, like I was being a bad Daddy or something because I was gone 4 nights a week.  Granted, the job was needed, but did I really have to play softball?  I finally "agreed" with her one day that I would not play anymore, but after seeing me mope around for a couple weeks like a little kid, she gave-in.  I knew I had too much on my plate, but my desire to play softball was almost over-whelming.  So I began to pray and ask God to take away my desire to play.  I don't really remember how long it was after that, but I do remember how all of a sudden, I didn't desire to play anymore. 

When we decide to delight in God and really put Him first in our lives, the desires of our hearts become more aligned with His.  Instead of us wanting things for ourselves, we begin to want things for God.  Our hearts undergo an amazing transformation! It is at this point when He keeps His promise and gives us the new desires of our hearts.  All we have to do is put Him first in our lives and completely trust in His will.  All we have to do is completely immerse ourselves in Him.  Are we truly delighting ourselves in the Lord? A quick search of our hearts' desires will help us to answer that question.