I am so excited about what God has given me to write about today. I am excited because it is what brought me to Jesus. That is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! What is so amazing is; the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus is found in the reactions and lives of His disciples. Many in the time of Jesus considered Him to be a good person and a profit but He began to say a lot of things that people just couldn’t stomach. He angered the religious leaders of the day who thought they were good people by showing them they were not and He began to claim He was God and told people that the only way to heaven was through Him. He called Himself the door. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” ~John 10:9. He called himself the bread of life. He told people that anyone that eats of Him will have eternal life. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” ~John 6:51. He called Himself the good shepherd. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” ~John 10:7. He told people that He has the power to lay down His life when He wanted to and take it up again when He wanted to. “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again” John 10:17-18. He goes on to tell people that He is the way to heaven and the only way, whatever way you are counting on is not the way to heaven He is the way to heaven. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” ~John 14:6. He a man claimed to be God! He said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” ~John 14:9. To paraphrase if I may he basically said: “ if you’ve seen Me you’ve seen God”. Jesus said many other things like this. Can you imagine how hard it was for some people to swallow? Actually I can because it was hard for me to swallow. During Jesus’ time the people were looking for the messiah the chosen one of God that was promised by God and the profits to save them. So people of the time looking for the messiah seeing the qualities of the messiah in Jesus began to follow Him but when He began making these outrages proclamations about Himself many deserted Him and He was left with a select few that held on to the hope that He was the messiah.
Then came the capture, arrest, trial, and death by scourge and crucifixion on the Cross at the hands of the Romans; this left the remaining disciples without hope. If you read in combination the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you get a real picture of what happened. These men left, they completely deserted Him and were scattered, they weren’t even together as a tight net group anymore some of them as friends hung out together but the group has a whole was dispersed. They weren’t even to be found during the crucifixion it was the women who stood by and watched. Peter who later became a great leader in the church denied three recorded times that he ever even knew Jesus. There is strong indication that these men no longer believed Him to be the messiah and went back to their normal lives. After Peter and John see the empty tomb the bible tells us they went home. “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes” ~John 10:10. The bible talks about two men on the way to a village called Emmaus: “Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus” Luke 24:13. When asked what they were talking about they said that they were discussing Jesus and had hoped that he was the messiah indicating that they may have lost that hope. In the book of John: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John were all back in Nazareth fishing (back home working their jobs) meaning they went back to their everyday lives. They were referred to as the sect of the Nazarenes and all indications were that this sect of the Nazarenes had died along with its leader.
So then we move to “THE ACTS of the Apostles” The book of Acts. You have Peter who denied as a coward three times he ever even knew Jesus who went back to his job of fishing in Nazareth who then in the book of Acts stands up and preaches for the first time in front of thousands of people and preaches in such a way the bible tells us three thousand souls were saved that day. (See Acts 2) Then you have Peter and John going into the temple in broad day light professing the name of Jesus before everyone without fear. They’re arrested and brought before the religious leaders and even the religious leader’s marvel at the speech and boldness of these two men. The city of Jerusalem is in an up roar because these men who formerly followed Jesus where back and they were boldly proclaiming throughout Israel that the Messiah had come and Jesus was the Messiah. They were preaching to everyone ‘Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus’. They were doing this without fear of man at all. All of these men who were formally cowards preached salvation through Jesus Christ their entire lives without wavering even with the threat of death, torture, and imprisonment.
So why would these men who were cowardice suddenly be full of boldness? I’ll tell you why, they saw a dead man come back to life! That’s right the saw a dead man rise from the grave! This same man who said: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” ~John 10:9. This same man who said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” ~John 6:51. This same man who said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” ~John 10:7. This same man who said: “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again” John 10:17-18 and then does exactly that. This same man who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” ~John 14:6. This same man who said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” ~John 14:9. This same man who they heard say these things and more who died and is now alive. After His resurrection they saw Him with their own eyes; they walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him and touched Him. They could do nothing else but go around telling everyone that Jesus died for your sins and is raised, no matter the threats against them. As Peter and John said before the rulers who threatened and commanded them “not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus” ~Acts 4:17. “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” ~Acts 4:19-20 So I tell you here and now Jesus is the Christ the son of God and He is risen from the dead. The proof of this resurrection is in the lives of the disciples!
So you have a choice to make, just as I did. You have a problem. The bible tells us and your own conscience tells you that you’re a sinner you have broken God’s laws. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. What do you get for breaking God’s laws? Death: “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23a. But God through Jesus has a gift for you. “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” ~Romans 6:23b. “But God demonstrates His own lover toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” ~Romans 5:8. How are we saved? “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” ~Romans 10:9. Just as with the disciples you cannot truly believe Christ is raised from the dead and remain the same. Just like Thomas said when he saw and touched the risen savior proclaimed: “My Lord and my God” ~John 20:28. I encourage you to repent (turn away from your sins) and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Confess your sins to Him today and put all of your trust in the risen savior, Jesus Christ!
God Bless,
Mike Peek
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Look Into the Mirror
I have a mirror and would like you to look into it and see what you look like. We look into a mirror to make sure our faces are clean while the mirror at home reveals the surface of your body the mirror God has given us reveals who you are in the depths of your soul, when you look into this mirror you will see what God sees. The mirror is called the Ten Commandments, written with God’s own finger on the tablets given to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20). Now let’s take a look into the mirror of the Ten Commandments.
Have you ever told a lie? Isn’t it true if you’ve even told one lie you are by definition a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all regardless of its value? If you have taken something that doesn’t belong to you doesn’t that make you a thief? Have ever used God’s name in vain? Used God’s name the one who gave you life and instead of using a dirty filth word to express discuss you used His name instead. Jesus said: You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” ~Matthew 5:27-28. Have you ever looked at another person who you are not married to with sexual desire? This is but four of God’s Holy Ten Commandments we have looked at the 9th, 6th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. I don’t know about you but when I look at just these four I’m filthy, but there’s even more. Have you always loved God with all your heart has He always been first in your life from the time you were born until now? The second commandment says to not create any false gods any graven images and bow down to them. If you say in your heart that God is all loving He would never send someone to Hell haven’t you done just that created a false god in your mind? Have you always observed the Sabbath given God one day out of seven? Have you always honored your mother and father, remember those teenage years? God is spiritual He sees the desires of are heart have you committed murder? Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the Judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the Judgment. And whoever says to his brother Raca! shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says ‘you fool’! shall be in danger of Hell fire” ~Matthew 5:21-22. In another place the Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murder, and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him” ~1 John 3:15. Have you hated anyone? The 10th commandment says do not covet anything that is your neighbors. Have you always been happy with the blessings God has given you or have you desired the things others have, there home, job, or car; or even their family? The Bible says: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” ~James 2:10. So if you are guilty of breaking one of these laws even one time you are as guilty as if you had broken them all.
So be honest, when you look into this mirror of the Ten Commandments how do you look? The bible says: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” ~Hebrews 9:27. So according to the bible every one of us has one life and when we die we must face God in judgment and God is a righteous judge the bible says: “He shall judge the world in righteousness” ~Psalm 9:8. So ask yourself these two question: If God judges me by the Ten Commandments on the Day of Judgment will I be found innocent or guilty? Would I go to heaven or Hell? If you said Hell I have good news for you but if you said heaven lets go a little further. The bible says that God is good and He is a just judge if God is good and just by His very nature He must judge correctly and He must punish the guilty. If you robbed a bank and murdered someone and then where caught when you went before the judge if He is a good judge he will find you guilty and send you to prison so someone must pay for your crimes.
The bible says that God is just but also while He is just He also is merciful. Now how can a judge be both just and merciful the two terms contradict one another? If God is a good and just judge He must punish the guilty, he can’t be merciful and just and simply let you go because He would then be neither good nor just. So how can God be both merciful and just? If God correctly judges you by the Ten Commandments (His law) because He is good and just He must find you guilty and punish you but He also is merciful and does not want to punish you. God new from the beginning that man would rebel and fall into Sin but He had a plan. God will judge you correctly for breaking His laws and the punishment for breaking His laws is death in Hell eternal punishment. So God did something unimaginable He took your punishment Himself. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ; He lived a sinless perfect life never once breaking one of God’s Commandments. He was falsely accused beaten and crucified on a Cross like a criminal, dead and buried. He took your punishment on the Cross and died in your place. But because He is God He rose on the third day and defeated death. God offers to all of us that have broken His laws mercy no matter who you are, it is a free gift from God. All you and I have to do to receive this gift is believe. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” ~John 3:16. If you believe and know that you are a sinner repent of your sins today and put your faith in Jesus Christ, the one thing that will keep you from coming to Christ is; loving your sins, Christ offers something better than your sins everlasting life with Him in heaven. So confess your sins to God admit to Him all you have done and put your faith in Jesus Christ death on the Cross as payment for your sins.
I Hope You Will,
Mike Peek
Have you ever told a lie? Isn’t it true if you’ve even told one lie you are by definition a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all regardless of its value? If you have taken something that doesn’t belong to you doesn’t that make you a thief? Have ever used God’s name in vain? Used God’s name the one who gave you life and instead of using a dirty filth word to express discuss you used His name instead. Jesus said: You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” ~Matthew 5:27-28. Have you ever looked at another person who you are not married to with sexual desire? This is but four of God’s Holy Ten Commandments we have looked at the 9th, 6th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. I don’t know about you but when I look at just these four I’m filthy, but there’s even more. Have you always loved God with all your heart has He always been first in your life from the time you were born until now? The second commandment says to not create any false gods any graven images and bow down to them. If you say in your heart that God is all loving He would never send someone to Hell haven’t you done just that created a false god in your mind? Have you always observed the Sabbath given God one day out of seven? Have you always honored your mother and father, remember those teenage years? God is spiritual He sees the desires of are heart have you committed murder? Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the Judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the Judgment. And whoever says to his brother Raca! shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says ‘you fool’! shall be in danger of Hell fire” ~Matthew 5:21-22. In another place the Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murder, and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him” ~1 John 3:15. Have you hated anyone? The 10th commandment says do not covet anything that is your neighbors. Have you always been happy with the blessings God has given you or have you desired the things others have, there home, job, or car; or even their family? The Bible says: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” ~James 2:10. So if you are guilty of breaking one of these laws even one time you are as guilty as if you had broken them all.
So be honest, when you look into this mirror of the Ten Commandments how do you look? The bible says: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” ~Hebrews 9:27. So according to the bible every one of us has one life and when we die we must face God in judgment and God is a righteous judge the bible says: “He shall judge the world in righteousness” ~Psalm 9:8. So ask yourself these two question: If God judges me by the Ten Commandments on the Day of Judgment will I be found innocent or guilty? Would I go to heaven or Hell? If you said Hell I have good news for you but if you said heaven lets go a little further. The bible says that God is good and He is a just judge if God is good and just by His very nature He must judge correctly and He must punish the guilty. If you robbed a bank and murdered someone and then where caught when you went before the judge if He is a good judge he will find you guilty and send you to prison so someone must pay for your crimes.
The bible says that God is just but also while He is just He also is merciful. Now how can a judge be both just and merciful the two terms contradict one another? If God is a good and just judge He must punish the guilty, he can’t be merciful and just and simply let you go because He would then be neither good nor just. So how can God be both merciful and just? If God correctly judges you by the Ten Commandments (His law) because He is good and just He must find you guilty and punish you but He also is merciful and does not want to punish you. God new from the beginning that man would rebel and fall into Sin but He had a plan. God will judge you correctly for breaking His laws and the punishment for breaking His laws is death in Hell eternal punishment. So God did something unimaginable He took your punishment Himself. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ; He lived a sinless perfect life never once breaking one of God’s Commandments. He was falsely accused beaten and crucified on a Cross like a criminal, dead and buried. He took your punishment on the Cross and died in your place. But because He is God He rose on the third day and defeated death. God offers to all of us that have broken His laws mercy no matter who you are, it is a free gift from God. All you and I have to do to receive this gift is believe. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” ~John 3:16. If you believe and know that you are a sinner repent of your sins today and put your faith in Jesus Christ, the one thing that will keep you from coming to Christ is; loving your sins, Christ offers something better than your sins everlasting life with Him in heaven. So confess your sins to God admit to Him all you have done and put your faith in Jesus Christ death on the Cross as payment for your sins.
I Hope You Will,
Mike Peek
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Rest
Moses came before the people of Israel and made this proclamation: “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death” ~Exodus 35:2. The Sabbath is a command from God it is the 4th commandment in the Ten Commandments that God wrote with His own finger on the two tablets He gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. (See Exodus 25:16 and 31:18.) In Exodus 31 God promises death and separation from His community for anyone who works on the Sabbath. “You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community” ~Exodus 31:14. “These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God Himself” ~Exodus 32:16. This was the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. The account of creation says that God made everything in six days then on the seventh day He rested. On that day He looked at all that He had done and marveled at His creation and said it is good, it is Holy because it is the day God marveled in His work. Therefore the people of Israel worked six days and rested on the seventh worshiping their creator God reliving the account of creation over and over again. This may shock you but this promise of death and separation from God’s community for anyone who does not rest in the Sabbath is just as true today as it was when God gave this commandment on Mt. Sinai! Follow along a little further and I will show you how.
Jesus said: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” ~John 3:18. In Matthew 12:1-8 it was the Sabbath day Jesus and His disciples were hungry they were walking through a grain field so they started picking the grain and eating it as they walked. Some Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath by harvesting grain. Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is Lord of the Sabbath. “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” ~Matthew 12:8. Earlier Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” ~Matthew 11:28. I found this so revealing and so significant and was just wowed by God. Jesus is the Sabbath! We are to rest from our works in Him. Quit trying and working so hard to earn your way to heaven rest from your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You can’t earn your way to heaven you will never be good enough, take rest from your labor and rest in the Lord of the Sabbath Jesus Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So do you see? If you do not rest from your works and put your faith in the Sabbath whom is the Lord Jesus Christ the promise is death and separation.
Thank God for Jesus! Thank God! Rest from all your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires you will move from death to life.
Rest from your labors in Jesus Christ the Lord of the Sabbath,
Mike Peek
Jesus said: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” ~John 3:18. In Matthew 12:1-8 it was the Sabbath day Jesus and His disciples were hungry they were walking through a grain field so they started picking the grain and eating it as they walked. Some Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath by harvesting grain. Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is Lord of the Sabbath. “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” ~Matthew 12:8. Earlier Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” ~Matthew 11:28. I found this so revealing and so significant and was just wowed by God. Jesus is the Sabbath! We are to rest from our works in Him. Quit trying and working so hard to earn your way to heaven rest from your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You can’t earn your way to heaven you will never be good enough, take rest from your labor and rest in the Lord of the Sabbath Jesus Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So do you see? If you do not rest from your works and put your faith in the Sabbath whom is the Lord Jesus Christ the promise is death and separation.
Thank God for Jesus! Thank God! Rest from all your labors and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires you will move from death to life.
Rest from your labors in Jesus Christ the Lord of the Sabbath,
Mike Peek
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Foolishness
“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” ~1 Corinthians 1:18. The gospel is a hard pill to swallow for many or should I say most, it is offensive. Because to accept the Gospel message you must accept the fact you’re not good and not in charge. The Gospel should be preached with power causing conviction and repentance but most times it is changed in such a way to make it more palatable; easier to take and spoken of in such away to keep from offending the majority. The world would have you believe that God is all loving and since God is all loving He would never send someone to Hell. There are two thoughts in the world today that I see as destructive and keep people from ever trusting alone in Jesus Christ for salvation.
1) There are many ways to heaven: I’m not sorry if this offends you, there are not many ways to heaven there is but one. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” ~John 14:6. Jesus was, is, and always will be how we are made right with God. Doing good deeds doesn’t get you into heaven, following the teachings of any and all of the world’s religions can’t get you into heaven, there is one way and that way is in the Man Jesus Christ. Buddhism can’t save you, Mohammad can’t save you, Judaism can’t save you, following Joseph Smith’s teachings in Mormonism can’t save you, the watchtower can’t save you, being a Catholic can’t save you, being a Baptist can’t save you, being a Methodist can’t save, or any other Religion or belief system you can come up with can’t save you. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are” ~Romans 3:22. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” ~Acts 4:12.
2) I’m a good person: Do you know what God thinks and says about your good deeds? “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” ~Isaiah 64:6. All of our good deeds are like filthy rags to God they are nothing in His sight. Our sin is such an abomination to Him He doesn’t look on your good deeds because He can’t look past what you have done. You say but I’m a good person or at least try to be. Oh yeah! Have you ever told a lie? If you’ve even told one lie doesn’t that make you a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all insignificant of its value? If you steal doesn’t that make you a thief? Have you used God’s name in vain, you used God’s Holy name in place of a filth word to display disgust? That makes you a blasphemer, you’ve taken the name of the God who gave you life and made it common. Have you ever looked on another person with lust? God is spiritual He sees all of your thoughts as well. Jesus said: “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in His heart” ~Matthew 5:28. So if you have ever looked at another person with lust that makes you an adulterer. So if you have answered yes to these questions doesn’t that make you a lying thief, an adulterer, and a Blasphemer. Sounds pretty bad and it is, like it or not this is how God sees you. What we have done here is gone through a few of God’s commandments: the 9th, 8th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. James said: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” ~James 2:10.
This is the Gospel! You have sinned; you have broken God’s commandments and have sinned directly against your creator God. There is a penalty for sin that penalty is death. The Bible says: no thief or adulterer will enter the Kingdom of God ~1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “all liars-their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” ~Revelation 21:8. Jesus, born of a virgin came and lived a sinless perfect life. He was perfect in the sight of God; perfect in His thoughts, what He said, and how he acted. He gave His life and blood on the cross as payment for your sins, what you must do to receive this is: Repent (turn from sin) and turn to the savior put all of your trust in Jesus Christ death on the cross as payment for your sins. If you do that you will be saved, cleansed from all of your sins and will no longer be under God’s judgment.
Trust in Jesus I hope you will. If you needed to contact me for any reason my email address is: peekmikeb@aol.com
God Bless,
Mike Peek
1) There are many ways to heaven: I’m not sorry if this offends you, there are not many ways to heaven there is but one. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” ~John 14:6. Jesus was, is, and always will be how we are made right with God. Doing good deeds doesn’t get you into heaven, following the teachings of any and all of the world’s religions can’t get you into heaven, there is one way and that way is in the Man Jesus Christ. Buddhism can’t save you, Mohammad can’t save you, Judaism can’t save you, following Joseph Smith’s teachings in Mormonism can’t save you, the watchtower can’t save you, being a Catholic can’t save you, being a Baptist can’t save you, being a Methodist can’t save, or any other Religion or belief system you can come up with can’t save you. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are” ~Romans 3:22. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” ~Acts 4:12.
2) I’m a good person: Do you know what God thinks and says about your good deeds? “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” ~Isaiah 64:6. All of our good deeds are like filthy rags to God they are nothing in His sight. Our sin is such an abomination to Him He doesn’t look on your good deeds because He can’t look past what you have done. You say but I’m a good person or at least try to be. Oh yeah! Have you ever told a lie? If you’ve even told one lie doesn’t that make you a liar? Have you ever stolen anything at all insignificant of its value? If you steal doesn’t that make you a thief? Have you used God’s name in vain, you used God’s Holy name in place of a filth word to display disgust? That makes you a blasphemer, you’ve taken the name of the God who gave you life and made it common. Have you ever looked on another person with lust? God is spiritual He sees all of your thoughts as well. Jesus said: “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in His heart” ~Matthew 5:28. So if you have ever looked at another person with lust that makes you an adulterer. So if you have answered yes to these questions doesn’t that make you a lying thief, an adulterer, and a Blasphemer. Sounds pretty bad and it is, like it or not this is how God sees you. What we have done here is gone through a few of God’s commandments: the 9th, 8th, 3rd, and 7th in that order. James said: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” ~James 2:10.
This is the Gospel! You have sinned; you have broken God’s commandments and have sinned directly against your creator God. There is a penalty for sin that penalty is death. The Bible says: no thief or adulterer will enter the Kingdom of God ~1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “all liars-their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” ~Revelation 21:8. Jesus, born of a virgin came and lived a sinless perfect life. He was perfect in the sight of God; perfect in His thoughts, what He said, and how he acted. He gave His life and blood on the cross as payment for your sins, what you must do to receive this is: Repent (turn from sin) and turn to the savior put all of your trust in Jesus Christ death on the cross as payment for your sins. If you do that you will be saved, cleansed from all of your sins and will no longer be under God’s judgment.
Trust in Jesus I hope you will. If you needed to contact me for any reason my email address is: peekmikeb@aol.com
God Bless,
Mike Peek
Saturday, October 9, 2010
What Happened to Fairness?
Everything is unfair! There is no equality in anything. There is no fairness in this world at all. There are people who have children born strong and healthy with average and even above average intelligence; there are people who have children with physical or mental and sometimes both physical and mental deficits. This is unfair! There are people that live into their 80’s and 90’s healthy their entire lives that die of old age never being ill until the end; then there are those who battle illness their entire lives after suffering for years they die as a child or young adult in their 20’s and 30’s. There are two people that I know; one with stage four colon cancer the other just finding out this week he could have cancer, both in their 30’s with very young children. This is completely unfair! There is no fairness in athletic ability most every high school student can attest to that; some with little effort become the superstar of the team and others work day after day with extreme effort practicing in-season and off-season and never get in the game spending their days riding the bench. This is unfair! One of the things I love to do is run, I ran my first mile with my Dad at the age of 5 and have been running ever since, I have seen so much of God’s beautiful creation on my runs it has truly been a gift from God; tomorrow at the age of 42 I’m running in a Marathon 26.2 miles; there are so many people my age that can’t even walk around in a grocery store, there entire existence is limited to confined areas mostly indoors. This is so unfair! Look at this from a world standpoint most of you reading this are born in America the richest country the world has ever known, you may not think you’re rich but you are, 50% of the world’s population is born into extreme poverty and lives on less than $2 a day. Why are you and I living in the richest country in the world and yet there are so many others that would think it was a great day to have a slice of bread? Totally unfair! It gets even worse; the 3 richest people in the world have more assets than the entire bottom 10% combined. The world’s population is 6,874,004,308 almost 7 billion people; so that would mean that the richest 3 people in the world have more than the bottom 70 million combined. There is nothing fair about that!
It hasn’t always been this way. God had a perfect system in place. Everyone had equality, everyone had the same opportunities, everyone had perfect bodies without illness, everyone was governed by the same rules; all was fair. God didn’t make this world unfair man did. When sin entered the world unfairness entered the world, in a world where everything was fair everything became unfair. “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All of your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it” ~Genesis 3:17. When the first man Adam and the first women Eve sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin entered the world and all of life became unfair. You might be saying well it’s not my fault, why should I be penalized for something someone else did; that’s not fair! Exactly, it is unfair; unfair it maybe but true it is as well! Who among us can’t tell a story of how we have been hurt or penalized for a decision someone else has made. A child’s life cut short by a drunk driver, a women afraid for life because of a rapist, a women that has to scratch by on minimum wage to support her children because her husband committed adultery and abandoned her and their children, an entire family killed in a head on collision by a distracted driver veering into their lane. Yes it is unfair that we are penalized for the mistakes of others but it is also just as true.
Jesus Christ came into this world the sinless blameless Lamb of God who suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world. Now I ask you, is that fair? Is it fair that a man that lived without sin should suffer and die for those who are sinful? We have found that it is unfair for us to be penalized for what someone else has done but we also know that it is true. It is also unfair that Christ had to die for our sins but it also is true. Two of my favorite verses in the bible are John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” ~John 3:16. What could be fairer than that in an unfair world; God offered his Son so that we could have eternal life and it is free, available to all that are willing to take it at no charge. “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” ~Romans 5:8. Did you catch that; “while we were still sinners Christ died for us”? Now you may be willing to die for an especially good person but no one would be willing to die for a bad person yet that is exactly what Jesus did. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us”! He didn’t say get right with me first, He didn’t say become a good person and then I will die for you, He didn’t say perform a bunch of good deeds and religious acts with self denial and then I will die for you, He died for you why’ll you were still sinning.
The statement I’m about to make is unpopular; as unpopular as it is and unfair as it seems it is still true. Without the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you are under judgment by God and will spend all eternity suffering in Hell! You might ask what must I do to be saved? Jesus began His earthly ministry with these words: “Repent of your sins and believe the Good News” ~Mark 1:15! What is the good news? The good news is that Jesus Christ the son of God lived a perfect, sinless, blameless life; He was perfect in thought, word and deed. He took your spot on the cross; he died in your place as payment for your sins. What you must do is this: Repent (turn away from sin and turn to the savior) trust that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is payment for your sins. If you will do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires; the old life will be gone and a new life will have begun, you will be saved from judgment and will spend all eternity with God in heaven.
Trust in Jesus I hope you will,
Mike Peek
It hasn’t always been this way. God had a perfect system in place. Everyone had equality, everyone had the same opportunities, everyone had perfect bodies without illness, everyone was governed by the same rules; all was fair. God didn’t make this world unfair man did. When sin entered the world unfairness entered the world, in a world where everything was fair everything became unfair. “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All of your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it” ~Genesis 3:17. When the first man Adam and the first women Eve sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin entered the world and all of life became unfair. You might be saying well it’s not my fault, why should I be penalized for something someone else did; that’s not fair! Exactly, it is unfair; unfair it maybe but true it is as well! Who among us can’t tell a story of how we have been hurt or penalized for a decision someone else has made. A child’s life cut short by a drunk driver, a women afraid for life because of a rapist, a women that has to scratch by on minimum wage to support her children because her husband committed adultery and abandoned her and their children, an entire family killed in a head on collision by a distracted driver veering into their lane. Yes it is unfair that we are penalized for the mistakes of others but it is also just as true.
Jesus Christ came into this world the sinless blameless Lamb of God who suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world. Now I ask you, is that fair? Is it fair that a man that lived without sin should suffer and die for those who are sinful? We have found that it is unfair for us to be penalized for what someone else has done but we also know that it is true. It is also unfair that Christ had to die for our sins but it also is true. Two of my favorite verses in the bible are John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” ~John 3:16. What could be fairer than that in an unfair world; God offered his Son so that we could have eternal life and it is free, available to all that are willing to take it at no charge. “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” ~Romans 5:8. Did you catch that; “while we were still sinners Christ died for us”? Now you may be willing to die for an especially good person but no one would be willing to die for a bad person yet that is exactly what Jesus did. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us”! He didn’t say get right with me first, He didn’t say become a good person and then I will die for you, He didn’t say perform a bunch of good deeds and religious acts with self denial and then I will die for you, He died for you why’ll you were still sinning.
The statement I’m about to make is unpopular; as unpopular as it is and unfair as it seems it is still true. Without the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you are under judgment by God and will spend all eternity suffering in Hell! You might ask what must I do to be saved? Jesus began His earthly ministry with these words: “Repent of your sins and believe the Good News” ~Mark 1:15! What is the good news? The good news is that Jesus Christ the son of God lived a perfect, sinless, blameless life; He was perfect in thought, word and deed. He took your spot on the cross; he died in your place as payment for your sins. What you must do is this: Repent (turn away from sin and turn to the savior) trust that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is payment for your sins. If you will do that you will be born again, God will give you a new heart with new desires; the old life will be gone and a new life will have begun, you will be saved from judgment and will spend all eternity with God in heaven.
Trust in Jesus I hope you will,
Mike Peek
Saturday, October 2, 2010
It’s Not Your Pastor's Job!
I just finished reading the gospel of Matthew this morning in my daily morning bible reading and it got me to thinking about being a witness for Christ. Before Jesus ascended into heaven “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations’ (or all peoples)” ~Matthew 28:18-19. Jesus is fully God and He was given full authority in heaven and on earth, He could have chosen any way He wanted to for the gospel to be spread throughout the world but He chose us. This is not a request from the Lord it is a command, he didn’t tell this to the great leaders of the day He gave this command to His disciples the people that followed Him. If you’re a Christian you are a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ so He was talking directly to each and every Christian. He wasn’t talking just to pastors or other leaders in the church He was talking to everyone that believes everyone that claims the name of Christ. Your Pastor is probably a good man, a good speaker, and a good teacher but He is very limited; he can’t be more than one place at a time. Your pastor is in the church the majority of the time; he preaches a message on Sunday morning to who (believers), he visits the sick that are believers in the church, he councils believers in the church. Your pastor is a Sheppard; he takes care of the group of believers that are assigned to him by God. His job is to teach those that believe so that we can go out and be a witness for Jesus Christ telling all people everywhere “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” ~John 3:16. I have been called by the Lord not to be a pastor but to be a witness for Jesus. Do you know that the majority of us are in a better position to reach the lost than our pastor is? Your Pastor is in the church surrounded by believers most of the time. We are out in the world working differing jobs coming in contact with all kinds of people. In fact we come into contact with people that never darken the doorways of a church, if you don’t bring them the gospel who will? In reference to Isaiah 52:7 in his letter to the Romans Paul was talking about believers spreading the gospel and how could anyone know that there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ unless someone tells them. He said: “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news” Romans 10:15.
And there is a lot at stake here we are talking about people’s lives, without Jesus Christ all of these people that you come into contact with on a daily basis are going to suffer for all eternity in the Lake of burning sulfur (Revelations 21:8). Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” John 14:6. Do you believe that, do you believe that there is no other way into heaven except through Jesus Christ? Jesus came for one reason and one reason only “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” ~Luke 19:10. Who is lost? Every man, women, and child walking the face of this earth that doesn’t have their trust in Jesus Christ, the bible says “everyone has sinned” ~Romans 3:23. Your coworkers, your customers, your friends, your family, the telemarketer that calls your home, the cashier at the grocery store; all need to hear that there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ.
If you are a believer I encourage you to tell people about Jesus and if you are not a believer I plead with you to repent (turn from your sins) and trust that Jesus Christ death on the cross is all the payment that you need for your sins.
“Not called, you say. Not heard the call, I say.” ~William Booth
God Bless,
Mike Peek
And there is a lot at stake here we are talking about people’s lives, without Jesus Christ all of these people that you come into contact with on a daily basis are going to suffer for all eternity in the Lake of burning sulfur (Revelations 21:8). Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” John 14:6. Do you believe that, do you believe that there is no other way into heaven except through Jesus Christ? Jesus came for one reason and one reason only “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” ~Luke 19:10. Who is lost? Every man, women, and child walking the face of this earth that doesn’t have their trust in Jesus Christ, the bible says “everyone has sinned” ~Romans 3:23. Your coworkers, your customers, your friends, your family, the telemarketer that calls your home, the cashier at the grocery store; all need to hear that there is salvation alone in Jesus Christ.
If you are a believer I encourage you to tell people about Jesus and if you are not a believer I plead with you to repent (turn from your sins) and trust that Jesus Christ death on the cross is all the payment that you need for your sins.
“Not called, you say. Not heard the call, I say.” ~William Booth
God Bless,
Mike Peek
Saturday, September 25, 2010
What is Good?
I’ve got a statement that may shock you: There will be no good people in Heaven! What is good? You could probably talk to 100 different people and you would probably get 100 differing ideas of what good is. You can ask almost anyone (are you a good person?) and the answer will almost always be yes. A lot of people call the Bible the good book and think if the live by what the Bible tells them they can go to heaven but if that is the standard you’re going by you’ve got a real problem. Psalm 53:3 says: “No one does good, not a single one!” Romans 3:23 says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” You might say “I fallow the ten commandments” or I follow the golden rule “I do to others as I would have them do to me”. The law of God wasn’t given so that we could earn our way to heaven it was given to shut us up. Romans 3:19-20 says: Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”
So what is good? Like I said earlier you could ask 100 different people and get 100 different answers. Do you know that you and I can sin and not even know it? We can do things we think are right and they actually be wrong. Did you hear about the pastor in Florida (Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center) that wanted to burn several Qurans on September 11th? I think this man really thought that this was the right thing to do and really thought that God would want him to do it. I personally don’t think he is right because I feel that doing something like burning the Quran puts up a barrier and would keep a Muslim man or women from hearing that there is salvation in Christ. So is he right or wrong? There are many that would argue either way but the point is we really just don’t know, wars have been fought over this kind of thing and both sides think what they are doing is right and God is on their side. So if both think they are right who is right? And there are many things like this: the Baptist for years thought it was sinful to dance and the Pentecostal’s dance to praise God. Both will quote scripture to backup their beliefs. So who is right?
The point is, we are all just muttering along on this backwards confusing world with mixed signals differing cultures and differing belief systems everybody thinks there way is right. Jesus came into this world with a completely different message he told the Pharisees that tried as hard as they could to follow the law of God and thought they were good that they couldn’t go to heaven and He told prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors your forgiven and can enter Heaven. While on the cross in Luke 23:42-43 one of the criminals being crucified along with Jesus believed in Him and said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise’.” Jesus claimed to be “The Son of God” “The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”. In the three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus said: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners”. It’s not about who is right or who is wrong and there is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven we are made right because Jesus is right, we are made right because He took our place on the cross and there is nothing we can do to effect that. “God saved you by 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” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So what must I do to be saved? Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Trust in His goodness to save you on the Day of Judgment and not your own. You will never be the same God will change you He will give you a new heart with new desires and He will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Read His words and Believe! Jesus has the same message for all who believe as he did for the Criminal on the cross, “I assure you, you will be with me in paradise”.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" ~John 3:16.
So what is good? Like I said earlier you could ask 100 different people and get 100 different answers. Do you know that you and I can sin and not even know it? We can do things we think are right and they actually be wrong. Did you hear about the pastor in Florida (Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center) that wanted to burn several Qurans on September 11th? I think this man really thought that this was the right thing to do and really thought that God would want him to do it. I personally don’t think he is right because I feel that doing something like burning the Quran puts up a barrier and would keep a Muslim man or women from hearing that there is salvation in Christ. So is he right or wrong? There are many that would argue either way but the point is we really just don’t know, wars have been fought over this kind of thing and both sides think what they are doing is right and God is on their side. So if both think they are right who is right? And there are many things like this: the Baptist for years thought it was sinful to dance and the Pentecostal’s dance to praise God. Both will quote scripture to backup their beliefs. So who is right?
The point is, we are all just muttering along on this backwards confusing world with mixed signals differing cultures and differing belief systems everybody thinks there way is right. Jesus came into this world with a completely different message he told the Pharisees that tried as hard as they could to follow the law of God and thought they were good that they couldn’t go to heaven and He told prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors your forgiven and can enter Heaven. While on the cross in Luke 23:42-43 one of the criminals being crucified along with Jesus believed in Him and said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise’.” Jesus claimed to be “The Son of God” “The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”. In the three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus said: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners”. It’s not about who is right or who is wrong and there is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven we are made right because Jesus is right, we are made right because He took our place on the cross and there is nothing we can do to effect that. “God saved you by 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” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So what must I do to be saved? Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Trust in His goodness to save you on the Day of Judgment and not your own. You will never be the same God will change you He will give you a new heart with new desires and He will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Read His words and Believe! Jesus has the same message for all who believe as he did for the Criminal on the cross, “I assure you, you will be with me in paradise”.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" ~John 3:16.
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