The American Church as a Business

THE QUESTION that CHANGED MY LIFE
-by David Ryser.

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of
teaching at a school of ministry. My
students were hungry for God, and I was
constantly searching for ways to challenge
them to fall more in love with Jesus and to
become voices for revival in the Church. I
came across a quote attributed most often
to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of
the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship;
it moved to Greece and became a
philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an
institution; it moved to Europe and became a
culture; it came to America and became an
enterprise. Some of the students were only 18
or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I
wanted them to understand and appreciate
the import of the last line, so I clarified it by
adding, "An enterprise. That's a business."
After a few moments Martha, the youngest
student in the class, raised her hand. I could
not imagine what her question might be. I
thought the little vignette was self-explanatory,
and that I had performed it brilliantly.
Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's raised
hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked such a
simple question, "A business? But isn't it
supposed to be a body?" I could not envision
where this line of questioning was going, and
the only response I could think of was, "Yes."
She continued, "But when a body becomes a
business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several
seconds no one moved or spoke. We were
stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room,
and we knew we were on holy ground. All I
could think in those sacred moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't
dare express that thought aloud. God had
taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six
months, I thought about her question at
least once every day. "When a body becomes
a business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is
only one answer to her question. The
answer is "Yes." The American Church,
tragically, is heavily populated by people who
do not love God. How can we love Him? We
don't even know Him; and I mean really know
Him.

... I stand by my statement that most
American Christians do not know God--
much less love Him. The root of this condition
originates in how we came to God. Most of us
came to Him because of what we were told
He would do for us. We were promised that He
would bless us in life and take us to heaven after
death. We married Him for His money, and we
don't care if He lives or dies as long as we can
get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God
into a business, merchandising His anointing.
This should not be. We are commanded to love
God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--
that's pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to
be His lovers. How can we love someone we
don't even know? And even if we do know
someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love
them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one
day, and considered the question, "What's
the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
I realized that both do many of the same things,
but a lover does what she does because she loves.
A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as
you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to
search me to uncover my motives for loving
and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing
me? What if He never did another thing for me?
Would I still love Him? Please understand, I
believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children;
the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I
serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts
of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love
God without any conditions? It took several
months to work through these questions. Even
now I wonder if my desire to love God is always
matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch
myself being disappointed with God and angry
that He has not met some perceived need in my
life. I suspect this is something which is never
fully resolved, but I want more than anything
else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or
prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or
in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there
are plenty of former prostitutes in both places.
Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say
there is no substitute or unconditional, intimate
relationship with God. And I mean there is no
palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must
choose.

-Dr. David Ryser.

Love Warns the Wicked

The follower of Jesus is known by his love—love for God and love for his neighbor.

However, in this day and age, we need to be careful not to define “love” by the devil’s dictionary. This world, which is under the control of the “god of this world”—satan—would have us believe that love tolerates and keeps silent in the face of wickedness. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As Christians, we are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If you want to know why the earth has not been preserved, and why wickedness has gotten the upper hand, look no further than the professing church. She has become a silent accomplice to the spread of wickedness, and often harbors wicked men within her very gates. When she preaches at all, she preaches an effeminate Jesus and an easy “salvation” that allows men to serve two masters—God and their sin. She is afraid to tell sinners the truth because someone might think her unloving. So she lets the sinners remain under the wrath of God rather than risk offending them. What she thinks is love is really an inexcusable hatred. It is spiritual mass murder.

From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. (Jer. 6:13-14) “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” (Isa. 48:22) In short, when we treat the wicked as if they can have peace with God while they are still in their sins, we are giving them a false hope to cling to as they perish. Not very loving, is it?

True disciples of Christ preserve righteousness with their salt, and expose with their light what is hidden in darkness. Our testimony makes men angry, for men often love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19-20). In this way, we are like our Master, Jesus, who said the world hated Him because He testified of it that its works were evil (John 7:7). Are we more loving than Jesus Christ? Do we dare to think we have a better way to “love” the world than He did? Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends (John 15:13). Too many professing Christians are preserving their own lives by refusing to tell the whole truth, rather than preserving the lives of those they profess to love.

The one who loves God obeys God’s Word (I John 2:5). The one who does this will also love his neighbor as himself—by obeying God’s command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) But it isn’t enough to go out and preach a message—Jesus said it was possible to be zealous missionaries that make other men “twice as much a son of hell” as we are! (Matt. 23:15) There is probably no more zealous group of missionaries in the world than the “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” However, their zeal is not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2); thus they are the blind leading the blind, and both the missionary and the convert will fall into the ditch (Matt. 15:14). Going into all the world preaching is not enough—we need to make sure we are giving the correct message that leads people to eternal life. A false plan of salvation will not save.

The disciple who loves God and keeps His Word will be eager to share with others the “good news” that Jesus came to “save His people from their sins.”

This gospel message will include:

1. The necessity of godly sorrow for and repentance from all known sin. (Matt. 9:13, 11:20-41; Mark 1:4,15; 6:12; Luke 13:3-5, 15:7, 24:47; Acts 3:19, 11:18, 17:30, 20:21; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Peter 3:9; James 1:21)

2. The necessity of obedient faith in Jesus Christ—crucified, buried, risen and coming again. (Matt. 11:28-30; Mark 16:16; Romans 10:9; I John 3:6-10; 1 Cor. 15:1-4)

3. The necessity of abiding in Christ, and through Him producing good fruits, practical righteousness and holiness. (Matt. 3:8, 13:23; John 15; Heb. 12:14, 1 John 3:7-10, James 2:14-26)

4. The necessity of enduring to the end in right relationship with God. (Matt. 10:22; Gal. 6:8-9; Heb. 3: 14).

All of these elements are present in the New Testament in connection with salvation, thus to leave out any part is to hinder a person from being set free by knowing the whole Truth.

It is fundamentally important that every sinning soul be told that “the soul who sins shall die” (Eze. 18:4), and “your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isa. 59:2) The one who is still dead in sins can expect no good thing from God, for “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” (Rom. 1:18) God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day (Psa. 7:11). We do the wicked no favors when we hold back this awful truth!

God has revealed what He thinks of—and how He will respond to—those who claim to be His witnesses, yet do not warn the wicked to repent.

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” (Eze. 3:17-19)

Notice, the watchman is to “warn the wicked from his wicked way.” It is not enough to get a man to acknowledge he is a sinner; almost anybody will acknowledge this. The wicked man must be warned that his wicked way will KILL him (spiritually), and he must turn from it or perish. If the watchman does not warn him, and he dies because of his sin, GOD WILL REQUIRE HIS BLOOD AT THE WATCHMAN’S HAND. God counts this as spiritual murder. Furthermore, if the watchman is faithful to give the proper warning, THEN his own soul will be delivered. Friends, this is deadly serious. The watchman, approved of God and knowing the Word of God—his very own soul stands in jeopardy, depending on whether or not he is faithful to deliver God’s warning to the wicked. (See also Eze. 33:8-11, 14-16)

How about when a righteous man turns to sin? What should we tell him? Should we tell him to just look back to his past moment of faith and rest in that? NO!

“When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” (Eze. 3: 20-21; see also Eze. 33:12-13)

Notice that this righteous man who turns back to sin must also be warned that his sin will kill him. It doesn’t matter if he “asked Jesus into his heart as a child.” He must repent of his sins or they will kill him. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16)

The wages of sin is still death (Rom. 6:23; Gal. 6:7-9; James 1:15). For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:7-9). A previously righteous man needs to be warned to repent of his sins, because “sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:4-5) Because this man is not abiding in Christ, he is “cast out as a branch and withered,” and is now in danger of being thrown into the fire and burned (John 15: 1-8). A proper warning can lead him to life if he takes heed and repents, but if the watchman fails to warn him, the watchman is accountable for his blood. To deliver his own soul, the watchman MUST give warning to the wicked!

God spoke thus through the prophet Isaiah, “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isa. 58:1) Why? Because if we don’t warn them, they will perish in their sins, and God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9)

Paul said, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (2 Cor. 5:11) Do we also know the terror of the Lord? Are we also persuading men? Are we giving them the whole truth, so as to give them every opportunity to inherit the kingdom of God? Are we convincing, rebuking, and exhorting “with all longsuffering and teaching”? Are we—through the Holy Ghost—convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment? (John 16:8) “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Tim. 4:2-4)

God is love, and God warns the wicked. Thus, love warns the wicked. Love wants no man to die. The man filled with God’s love would rather sacrifice himself than watch the wicked perish unwarned.

‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?' (Eze. 33:11)

If we refuse to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, we dare not claim to be God’s, for we are ashamed of His Words (Luke 9:26), and we prove by our self-serving silence that we do not love our neighbor as ourselves.

Does God Ever Hate? Do Christians Ever Hate?

Due to ever popular, so easy to preach "love doctrine" espoused in most pulpits today, I must ask the questions: Does God ever hate? Is it ever okay for a Christian to hate?

Even though it is a FACT that God is a God of love (1 John 4:16), and Christians MUST love God and others, the Bible also teaches that God hates. Furthermore, the righteous will hate certain things as well. Take notice of the following Scriptures:

These six things the LORD hates,Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19

For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Isa. 61:8

Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’Says the LORD.” Zecariah 8:17

For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.” Malachi 2:16

But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I [Jesus] also hate. Revelation 2:6

You [Jesus] have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. Hebrews 1:9

The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;You hate all workers of iniquity. Psalm 5:5

The LORD tests the righteous,But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Psalm 11:5

I [God] have forsaken My house [Israel], I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest; It cries out against Me; Therefore I [God] have hated it. Jeremiah 12:7-8

[God speaking of Ephraim] All their wickedness is in Gilgal, For there I hated them. Because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them from My house; I will love them no more. All their princes are rebellious. Hosea 9:15

The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: “ I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.” Amos 6:8

As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Romans 9:13

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor [hate] what is evil. Cling to what is good. Romans 12:9

A righteous man hates lying,but a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.Prov. 13:5

"Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness..." Exodus 18:21

I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the LORD. Psalms 31:6

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 8:13

Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? Psalm 139:21

A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days. Proverbs 28:16

The Bible shows from these scriptures that God hates many things, including: dishonest gain (including the prosperity "gospel" and message), idolatry, lying, haughty eyes, murder, wicked schemes, trouble making among the brothers, stealing, iniquity, divorce, evil, and anything that is FALSE!

And then there is the COMMAND, "Do not love":

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

1 John 2:16 shows that the "world" in this context is not the earth, or the people of the earth who need salvation, but it is the "system" of the world that is under the control of the devil, including the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boastings of what he has, and what he has done.

Clearly, God loved the world by sending His only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world, and He demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Nevertheless, God hates sin and has condemned unrepentant sinners to damnation. His love demonstrated at the cruel cross will not stop Him from casting the wicked into hell. The only escape is in the Savior Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7). Repent, and believe in the gospel... for unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

While feel-good preachers teach their out-of-balance "love doctrines", which are often really worldy and dangerous messages of acceptance of those things which do not please God, they deceive many with partial truth because they fail to teach the "hate doctrine" that the sheep need to know about also. The Bible says that the righteous hate what is false.

If you are truly a Christian continuing to trust 100% in Jesus alone for salvation, you MUST HAVE A HOLY HATRED for some things, INCLUDING THE THINGS OF THE WORLD (that are in opposition to God) AND ANYTHING THAT IS FALSE!

God bless you.

Catholic Truths

An excellent video and witnessing tool for our Catholic friends. This video is from www.evangelicaloutreach.org.

Jesus Christ: The Power and Wisdom of God

Jesus Christ IS the power of God and the wisdom of God. This is worth serious meditation.

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (I Corinthians 1: 23-24)

Jesus doesn't just HAVE power and wisdom. HE IS THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD.

Not only that, we preach the gospel of Christ because it also is the power of God. It is not simply a nice religious story. It is the POWER of God to the one who believes. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead takes the broken lives of those that are bowed down in repentance, and makes them new.

So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:15-16)

Why then—if Christ is the power and wisdom of God, and if the gospel of Christ is the power of God—do we see very little POWER at work in the lives of people who call themselves "Christians?"

Jesus spoke these words to some religious people who thought they knew God:

Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)

They do not know Christ—if they did, they would know the power of God!

They do not know or believe the true gospel—if they did, they would know the power of God!

They do not lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save their souls! (James 1:21) Thus they do not know the POWER of God—they are still slaves to sin and corruption. Christ is both the Word of God and the Power of God. I repeat: they do not know Christ.

The Bible says the POWER of God has given us all we need to live a life of godliness, through KNOWING HIM, and we can ESCAPE the world's corruption/lust and partake of the divine nature (holiness.) Knowing Him gives us POWER to live godly and holy.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

There are some who have only a FORM of godliness (going to church, talking the talk, saying many religious things), but they DENY THE POWER of godliness. In other words, they are still in their sins in spite of their great and swelling words.

Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:5)

I am amazed at how people will say that if you turn away from such a person, you have no love. The Bible commands the believer to do it! It is not love to encourage someone in a delusion of fake godliness, when they could have real godliness through knowing Christ.

If a person has only a FORM of godliness but not the power of godliness that allows one to live holy, does he KNOW CHRIST? The Bible says you can know if you know Christ by examining what you DO. Doing things won't get your sins forgiven; that can only be accomplished through the mercy of God and the blood of Jesus. But examining what you do is a test to see if you know Christ.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (I John 2:3-4)

Notice the person who knows God KEEPS HIS WORD—that is, he reads and studies it so as to DO IT.

This man understands that man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. (Deut. 8:3)

Many say they know God, but they stumble through life without wisdom, without strength to do right, without joy in obedience. If they happen to do right, it is out of self-preservation or duty to their conscience, rather than out of love for God.

Notice the Scriptures say that the one who KEEPS HIS WORD has the love of God perfected in him. God’s commands become the joy and rejoicing of the heart that yearns to please God.

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. (Ps. 19:8)

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:3-4)

God gives grace to the humble. May we draw near to Him, understanding that we NEED both His POWER and His WISDOM. If we are not coming to God for these—no, not in words only, but in actions—we will surely ERR over and over again.

Jesus said, "You ERR because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

Christ is the Word of God, the power of God and the wisdom of God!

Do you know Him?

Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?

If you love Him, you will keep His commandments.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15


Jesus will give the Holy Spirit to those who love Him and keep His commandments. This Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH (not the spirit of miracles, the spirit of signs, the spirit of tongues, the spirit of error, the spirit of drunkenness, the spirit of laughter, the spirit of greed, or the spirit of confusion.)

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:15-18


If you refuse to love and obey Jesus, you will NOT have the Spirit of Truth. You will follow spirits of error. The Holy Spirit is ONLY given to those who OBEY God.

And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Acts 5:32


You can know that you love Jesus by keeping His words. If you keep His words, God the Father will love you. God the Father and Jesus the Son will come to you and live with you in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

If you do not keep the sayings of Jesus, you do not love Him. If you do not love His Word, you do not love Him. If you hate emails with Scriptures in them, perhaps it is because you do not love Jesus. Scriptures are not my words. They are God's words.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. John 14:23-24


If you love Jesus, you will "feed His sheep." You will tell His children the truth. You will teach them His words faithfully, no matter what. You will do this even in the face of persecution and trouble.

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. John 21:15-17


Jesus told Peter that he must feed the Lord's sheep if he truly loved Him. Then He told Peter that he would die for it. In other words, after Peter completed his faithful service to the Lord, the Lord would let Peter DIE a horrible death in order to glorify God.

(Funny how Jesus did not tell Peter that his life of faithful service would result in a fatter bank account, a bigger house, a better job, and popularity. Perhaps if Peter had watched "Christian tv" instead of listening to Jesus, he would have heard something more positive and exciting!)

After Jesus told Peter he would die an awful death, He commanded him, "Follow Me."

In other words, "I—Jesus—came and fed my sheep because I love my Father. For my faithfulness, I was killed on a cross. You, Peter, if you love me—you must do the same. You must FOLLOW ME. You must DO AS I HAVE DONE. "

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. John 21:18-19


Peter did feed the Lord's sheep faithfully. In the end, he was crucified on a cross. Peter did not love his life on earth so much as to shrink from death. His love for Jesus, and for His truth, and for His sheep, led him to a cross where he spilled out his blood. He carried his cross, he obeyed Jesus, he loved Jesus. He died for it. God was glorified.

Does the Lord expect us to endure anything difficult if we love Him?

Every follower of Jesus is promised a CROSS to carry. He is told to FOLLOW JESUS. He is told that he shall LOSE HIS LIFE for the Lord's sake and the gospel's. He is told that if he refuses to LOSE HIS LIFE on earth, he will LOSE his eternal life!!

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Mark 8:34-35


Followers of Jesus are often HATED by many.

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. I John 3:13

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26


In the end, before Jesus comes back, ALL NATIONS (including the USA) will hate and persecute true disciples of Jesus. The truth they proclaim will be rejected. But FALSE teachers, who teach lies, will be accepted. All of this has already begun, but will intensify.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24:9-10


This deception (believing of lies) is a judgment. God has sent truth into the world. Jesus is the Truth. The lovers of Jesus, who keep His word, are witnesses to the truth. (Remember—those who obey Him have the Spirit of Truth in them.) But most men hate truth and prefer lies. God will give them what they want. He will allow DECEIVERS to seduce them, even showing them MIRACLES and SIGNS, supposedly from God. Because they do not love the Truth, they will not be able to resist the ERROR. They want to be "religious," but they do not want to OBEY God. So they will follow religious phonies, (some of whom treat the Holy Spirit like a side-show freak, rather than the Spirit of Truth that He is.)

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11


So I ask you—do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do not love the truth, you cannot be saved. Jesus is the Truth. You must obey Him to love Him. Oh, that we would reason through the Scriptures and not blindly accept easy and religious fairy tales designed to keep us in darkness! God's truth is plain and free. The Spirit and the lovers of Jesus say "come and drink" to all who recognize their thirst.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5


Church person, do you really love the Lord Jesus? Do you obey Him? Do you feed His sheep? Are you carrying your cross and marching toward your death? Do you hate your present life and look forward to the next life in the City of Truth? Are you willing to give up relationships, results, desires and dreams for Jesus, if He should ask you to? Are you prepared for persecution? Are you willing to be hated and insulted for Him? Are you prepared, as Jesus, Peter, Paul and countless others have been, even to DIE for Him?

I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 21:13


May the Lord Jesus Christ be greatly loved. Amen.

"The Fire"

One of the best videos of good preaching I've seen in a LONG time. This young man, Nate Pfeil, is being faithful to the Word of God. Please watch and share with professing Christians.