Tony's Christian Blog

Read Philippians 2:5:
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. (NAS)

Paul in this verse is telling us to have the same mindset as that of Christ Jesus, by asking ourselves where I am headed in life today.   I know that I have to let go of my past so that I can start thinking as Jesus thinks for today, and for my future.  I had to ask myself what would Jesus say and do if He were alive today.   So far my journey has been to put one foot in front of the other without regard to asking myself where I am going.  I now ask myself what is my purpose in life?  Who controls my life, Satan or Jesus?   I know that I have the free will to choose who, or what is in control.  If I take control of my life where will it lead me?   If I allow Jesus to control my life and thoughts, I know in my heart that He will provide for me, and I will have a better life for it.  The hard part is for many of us is to choose which way do we want to go.  I know that if I choose Satan’s way I won't be a happy person.  So I have to get off the fence and make my choice.  Do I choose My Way, which is the way of Satan or choose the way of Jesus Christ.  I know that by choosing the way of Jesus Christ I'm on the journey to a better way of life.  Even after going through all the stumbling blocks in my life's journey, I know now that God is my only answer.   So what Journey are you taking for the rest of your life?  God's Way or Satan’s Way!!   Our God is an all loving and forgiving God.  All we need to do as sinners is by faith to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and all of our past sins are washed away, forgiven.  Just remember you’re in control of your life's Journey, and only you have the right to choose your path in life.   May your walk through life be joyful, smooth, and fruitful.  God bless you on your walk through life.

* I wish to give thanks to my wife Loleta for her inspirational note on this subject.   Without her help this post wouldn't be possible.  I love her very much.

A few of you have commented on making a donation to my blog, so here is a way to support this blog.  Thank you so very much, and may our Lord bless your walk with Him in Life.... 

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

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Tags: Confess our Sins and they will be washed away, Daily Devotion, God's Love, Jesus Christ, Journey through Life, Life's Journey, Meditation, Our God is a loving and forgiving God, Savior
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To fully embrace God; is to surrender our life to Him.  The question is; how do we do that?  Jesus tells it this way in Luke 9:23—25; 23And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?”  (NASB) 

We must remember that Jesus surrendered His life to save us.  We are to die to our self, and surrender our rights for Jesus Christ.  Paul says it best in Romans 12:1,2; 1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (NASB)

Here are five points to consider, or keep in mind when surrendering our life to God for our salvation.

• Position: Putting God in the first position of our life.  This means we put ourselves second, by sacrificing our needs and wants to follow, and worship Jesus and God.
  
• Passion: We must ask ourselves is our passion pushing towards Jesus and God, or our passions leading us away from Jesus and God.  We need to moderate our passions in life to make sure that they don’t cause us to lose sight of God.
  
• Pleasures: Loving what we do for pleasure can also cause us to lose sight of our eternal life with God.
  
• Purpose: We need to follow His purpose for our life.
  
• Priorities: We must change our priorities to follow Jesus in order to have a fruitful life in heaven.
  

One last scripture of encouragement on your journey to salvation; Read Philippians 2:12, 13: 12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (NASB)

Many of you have asked How to Donate to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar marked Donate for your contributions, its in the upper right corner.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Embrace God, God's Love, Have a Fruitful Life, Holy Sacrifice, Jesus Christ, Luke, Meditation, Mercies of God, Our Salvation, Passion, Philippians, Pleasure, Position, Priorities, Purpose, Romans
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Read 1 John 4:1—3:
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Additional Content:
First of all; do you confess that Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior, and that God has sent Him in the flesh to die for our sins?  I do, I confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior, and I also believe that I must test every spirit who claims to teach the word of God.  There are many churches out there that claim to know God, but they don’t confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  John in these verses is telling us as Christians to be on the lookout for false spirits, and false teachers.  The Antichrist is already here, and is teaching many false doctrines.  There are many churches today that preach mans’ laws, and not the laws given us in His Bible.  The Bible is the inspired word of God, and by reading it daily we learn how to test these false doctrines of the Antichrist.

Read 1 John 4:12—16:
12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

More Content:
Once again John points out in these verses that if we confess that Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and Savior, and love one another, God abides/lives within us, and we in Him.  Therefore God loves us as His children, and will provide all of our needs, and direct our paths.

Many of you have asked How to Donate to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar marked Donate for your contributions, its in the upper right corner.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

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Tags: 1 John 4, Accepting Jesus as Our Savior, Antichrist, Christians, God, God's Love, God's Word, His Bible, Jesus Christ, Pray, Prayer, Son of God, Your Personal Lord and Savior
Filed under: Christian | 37 Comments »

Read Matthew 9:37-38:
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."   (NIV) 

Additional Content:
Jesus looked at the crowds following him and referred to them as a field ripe for harvest. Many people are ready to give their lives to Christ if someone would show them how. Jesus commands us to pray that people will respond to this need for workers. Often, when we pray for something, God answers our prayers by using us. Be prepared for God to use you to show another person the way to him.

My Thoughts:
What is Jesus asking us to do?  I believe that He is asking us to become Sheppard’s of His people.  There is an abundance of people out there hungry for the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father in heaven.  It is up to you and me to spread the word of His gospel to those who thirst to know more about Him.  There are many teachers out there that only teach people to worship Idols, not our true Lord and Savior who lives in heaven.  We are to learn to be true Sheppard’s of His sheep.  We don't have to be missionaries in foreign countries to lead, but we can lead those around us by living as an example of His word.  By reading, studying, and meditating on His word we learn to become His Sheppard in the harvest of souls for God.

Many of you have asked How to Donate to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar marked Donate for your contributions, its in the upper right corner.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Daily Devotion, God's answer, God's Sheppard, His Gospel, His People, Jesus Christ. Prayer. Pray, Meditation, Missionaries, NIV, Sheppard His Sheep, You Version, Your Donations Welcome
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Read Matthew 7:21:
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  (NIV)

Additional Content:
Some self-professed athletes can "talk" a great game, but that tells you nothing about their athletic skills. And not everyone who talks about heaven belongs to God's kingdom. Jesus is more concerned about our walk than our talk. He wants us to do right, not just say the right words. Your house (which represents your life) will withstand the storms of life only if you do what is right instead of just talking about it. What you do cannot be separated from what you believe.

My Thoughts:
How I live my life, and how I treat others tells my Father in heaven whether I am doing His will or not.  I believe that I am walking along side of my Lord Jesus Christ by studying, and teaching His word to myself and to others.   Some of you may have heard the saying “Walk the Walk”, well I believe that I am walking the walk daily with Him at my side in life.  I pray that the little that I have posted here helps all of you who read my posts to  become believers, and that they help you to walk the walk with our Lord Jesus Christ as well.  Putting God first in our lives is taking the first step to an eternal life with Jesus Christ, and with all of those who we love here on earth.  The next step is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.  Reading and studying His word is the next step, and the last is putting it all into action.  God bless, and may your walk with our Lord Jesus Christ be long and full of joy.

Many of you have asked How to Donate to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar marked Donate for your contributions, its in the upper right corner.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Daily Devotion, God's Knidom, Jesus Christ, Meditation, Our Father in Heaven, Read and Stucy His Word, Walk the Walk, Your Daily Walk, Your Prayers
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Read Matthew 6:7-8:
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (NIV)

Additional Content:
Repeating the same words over and over like a magic incantation is no way to ensure that God will hear your prayer. It's not wrong to come to God many times with the same requests-Jesus encourages persistent prayer. But he condemns the shallow repetition of words that are not offered with a sincere heart. We can never pray too much if our prayers are honest and sincere. Before you start to pray, make sure you mean what you say.

My Thoughts:
I believe what Jesus is teaching us here, is that rambling on in our prayers with many words just doesn't get the job done.  Our Father in heaven already knows our needs and our wants ahead of time.  All of our prayers should be short and to the point, and said with heartfelt meaning.  Rambling on and on in prayer gets nothing done.  This just sounds like babbling to our Lord and He closes His ears to them.  Prayers; prayed often and straight to the point with feeling will get His attention much faster, and we are likely to receive His answer much sooner than later.  Living a life as He has intended us to live brings us closer to Him.  Talk with the Father on a regular basis, and you will get to know Him better.  God bless, and may your walk with the Father bring you joy and happiness throughout your life.

Many of you have asked how to contribute to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar for your contributions, upper right.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Daily Devotion, God Bless.Heartfelt Meaning, God will Hear, How We Should Pray, Jesus Christ, Jesus' Teachings, Matthew, Mean What You Say, Meditation, Prayer, You Veraion
Filed under: Christian | 15 Comments »

Read Matthew 6:14-15:
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  (NIV)

Additional Content:
Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask ourselves, "Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?"

My Thoughts:
Holding on to bitterness only hurts you, and this does nothing to solve the problem.  Jesus is telling you to let go of your bitterness, and forgive others of their offenses'.  We all need to remember that God will handle the sins against us come judgment day.  If you want to be judged as righteous at judgment day, you need to forgive others of their sins against you.  By forgiving others their sin against you God will then judge you as righteous, and will forgive your sins.  Life is too short to go around angry and with a chip on your shoulder, and wind up in the wrong place at judgment.  When you decide not to forgive others of their sins, God will judge that as sin against you.  God wants you to enjoy life with the neighbors around you.  So it is up to you to love your neighbors as you love yourself, as this is God's command.  Forgive those who sin against you, and your walk with our Lord will be much sweeter, and happier.  May God bless you, and make your daily walk with Him better and better each day of your life.

Many of you have asked how to contribute to this ministry; well there is a link in the sidebar for your contributions, upper right.  I thank you for your support, God bless.  

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Daily Devotion, Forgiveness if Sin, Forgiving Others, God's Blessing, God's Forgiveness, God's Judgement, Jesus Christ, Matthew, Meditation, NIV, Our Heavenly Father, Our Neighbors, Solving the Problem, You Version
Filed under: Christian | 6 Comments »

Read Matthew 5:14-16:
14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  (NIV)

Additional Content:
Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill? Its light at night can be seen for miles. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, or (6) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth-don't shut your light off from the rest of the world.

My Thoughts:
Our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us to let the light of our God shine that everyone in this world may see His glory.  We are to be as a city built on a hill whose lights shine for the whole world to see.  We are to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.  We are to be a beacon of truth and light to everyone that they may see and glorify our Lord who lives in heaven.  Let your light shine for everyone to see it in all different circumstances that they may know your good deeds and come to glorify our Lord in heaven.  Are you letting you light shine brightly?

Read Proverbs 13:9: The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Daily Devotion, God's Love, Jesus Christ, Let Your Light Shine, Light, Light a Lammp, Meditation, of the World, Our Lord, Our Lord Jesus Christ, You Version, Your Father in Heaven
Filed under: Christian | 89 Comments »

Read Matthew 5:3-5: Three of the eight Be Attitude of blessed people.
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)

Additional Content:
Jesus began his sermon with words that seem to contradict each other. But God's way of living usually contradicts the world's. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate, to help when others abuse. By giving up your own rights in order to serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you.

Commentary by Matthew Henry on the first three verses of the Jesus' sermon on the mountain, The first three of the Be Attitudes of blessed people:
"Our Savior here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. 1. The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. 2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which works true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God. 3. The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world."

My Thoughts:
If we are to live for God, we need to live the examples provided by our Lord Jesus Christ in this sermon.  Living by these Christian principles for God may seem strange to the world around us, but for us to have an eternal life with God we need to humble ourselves, serve others, and follow these Christian principals.  We then will have a closer walk with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Be Attitudes, Blessed are the Meek, Blessed are the Poor, Blessed are those Who Mourn, Daily Devotion, God's Way of Living, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew, Meditation, Our Savior
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Read Matthew 3:8:
8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

Additional Content:
John the Baptist called people to more than words or ritual; he told them to change their behavior. "Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins" means that God looks beyond our words and religious activities to see if our conduct backs up what we say, and he judges our words by the actions that accompany them. Do your actions match your words?

My Thoughts:
"Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins."  What does this verse really telling us?  This verse is telling us to prove to our Lord by the way we live, and cease from sinning again.  We also need to be truly sorry for our sins, and live our lives according to His laws.  Then the verse goes on to tell us "turn to God"; in other words ask God for His forgiveness of our sins and for His help to not sin again.  We need to repent of our sin, and to be truly sorry for the wrong we have done in the eyes of our Lord.  We just can't ask for His forgiveness and keep on sinning, for the wages of sin is everlasting death.  I pray to God that you can repent of your sins, and have everlasting life with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Starting a daily devotion and meditation is the best way to learn about our God, and visiting You Version is a great place to start.  I visit this website daily.

Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you find this information useful in your daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.  My prayers go with you, and I thank you for your prayers.  Remember to pray for all those lost souls out there, and may our God bring you many blessing. Your brother in Jesus Christ, Tony...

Your Comments are Always Welcome...

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Tags: Be Turly Sorry, Daily Devotion, Jesus Christ, Matthew, Meditation, Our Lord, Prove by the Way You Live, Repent of Your Sins, Sin No More, Turn to God, Wages of Sin, You Version, Your Daily Walk
Filed under: Christian | 2 Comments »