Bible Studies 18 (For newest Bible Study see "Bible Studies 19")
Atheist ... (added 8/22/2021)
Patty and I watched a movie the other day. It is about Lee Strobel. He was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune in the 70s & 80s. He broke a lot of big stories and was very well-respected in Chicago, and among his peers. Lee was a true investigative journalist. Once he got ahold of a story, an idea, a lead he did not give up. He would research (Remember, this was long before google and the internet.) and go to great lengths to verify his sources and get to the very truth of the story. He was tenacious.
One day his wife came home and told him some news. This news was so drastic it floored him. He was devastated. He was upset. It shook him to the very core of his being. What his wife Leslie told him that day was going to change her life, their marriage, and possibly their future forever.
You see Lee Strobel lived his life as an atheist. So too did Leslie. Neither of them believed in God and they certainly did not believe in Jesus. He was happy being an atheist. He knew for a fact God was a myth and Jesus was just a made-up figure to help the masses feel good and give them hope (albeit, a false hope). So, when Leslie told him she became a Christian he was furious. He thought his wife delusional and sucked into this false religion. He felt she betrayed him and their marriage. As time went by, Lee saw how his wife changed into a different person as she began to put her trust and faith in Jesus. And he did not like it. He felt as though he had lost his wife. They fought for months and months. And she was also teaching their young daughter about Jesus too. He eventually got to the point where he gave her an ultimatum: Either she would renounce her faith or he would leave her. However, if Lee was going down, he was going to go down fighting! He felt Leslie needed to be rescued from this cult she was in. And he was prepared to do just that. He was going to get his wife back!
Lee knew it was time to debunk this whole Christian thing and he was singularly prepared for this task. So what does an investigative journalist do when he wants to prove or disprove something? He investigates. Lee talked to a trusted friend about how best to prove there is no God. This friend told him the best, most direct path to proving Christianity was nothing more than another false religion was to prove the Resurrection of Jesus did not happen. His friend told him the whole faith rests on that one event. Christianity stands or falls on the Resurrection of Jesus.
Now Lee went into action. He spent months putting together solid evidence concerning the Resurrection. He so desperately wanted to prove it did not happen. Lee spoke with experts in every field: medical doctors, psychologists, archeologists, professors, pastors, experts in languages, etc. He did not leave one stone unturned. He tried to prove Christ did not overcome death and walk out of the grave. Although Lee was unapologetic in his stance against this religion, and wanted nothing more than to prove he was right, he began to realize something. As his research began to pile up, and he began to logically examine all of the evidence he had collected, he had no other recourse than to admit that the evidence, the proof of the Resurrection was so overwhelming he could not ignore it: Jesus did indeed walk out of the tomb. He proved Jesus Christ (Jesus the Anointed One) or Yeshua Hamashiach (in Hebrew: Jesus the Messiah, "the one anointed with oil") is the Son of God and that He is the Savior.
And once he accepted this truth he did the only logical thing: He gave his life to Jesus – Lee Strobel – a devout, assertive atheist put his trust and faith in Jesus, He became a Christian. And he and Leslie are still together.
So tell me again: what is still holding you back? Why do you refuse to admit the evidence which is so overwhelming? Jesus did walk out of that tomb. Come to Jesus now before it is too late. Repent of your sins (turn away, change your thinking), put your faith in Jesus now, and become saved and washed clean by His redeeming blood.
If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, simply pray the following prayer in faith and Jesus will be your Lord! "Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. Your Word says "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" and "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9). You said my salvation would be the result of Your Holy Spirit giving me new birth by coming to live in me (John 3:5-6, Romans 8:9-11) and that if I would ask, You would fill me with Your Spirit (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:4). I take You at Your Word. I confess that Jesus is Lord. I ask that you forgive me of all my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe in my heart that You have raised Jesus from the dead and I am a "New Man" (or Woman) in Christ. Thank You for coming to live in my heart, for giving me Your Holy Spirit as You have promised, and for being Lord over my life. Amen."
When you say the prayer of salvation, and put your trust and faith in Jesus, you become a new person. You should want to change from being the sinful person you were, to a new person in Jesus. If you don't feel an intense desire to change, and turn away from your sin and your old sin-nature, then you ARE NOT SAVED. I beg you to search your heart and really turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and TURN AWAY FROM YOUR OLD SIN LIFE. If you said that prayer would you please contact me and tell me if I can help you in any way? I want to rejoice with you in your salvation. Please don't hesitate to email me if there is anything I can do to help you.
If you want to read his book, and see how far-reaching, how long, and to what depths Lee went to discount the Resurrection (and thereby discredit Christianity and prove Jesus did not die on the cross and raise up the 3rd day) you can read his book or find it on Pure Flix: “The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus”, Lee Strobel
Yoga. Not for Christians. (added 9/12/2021)
With love and concern I feel I must write this. I know that “Christian Yoga” has become widely accepted by the church and that allot of churches even offer some kind of yoga class on-site or sponsor yoga in some way. People are being told, and unwittingly lied to, that you can do yoga and it is ok because you’re only doing it to improve your health and mind. It gets you closer to God. I completely disagree. A Christian should never submit their minds or bodies to spiritualism that is not of God. EVERYTHING about yoga is designed to attain “self-realization” or enlightenment. You cannot separate out parts of an eastern occult practice rooted in paganism, rename it, and make it a “Christian” practice. Just because it is relabeled and maybe some of the words are changed does not make it acceptable to God. “Spirituality” is not the goal of the Christian faith. Feeling good is not the goal of a Christian. Christians do not need to seek out new ways to “find God” or “find peace” or “find” whatever it is they think they need. A Christian only needs to develop his/her relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to God. The way to do that is by prayer, worship, reading the Bible (And not “The Message” version of the Bible. That version and many others are garbage, but that’s a whole different topic.), spending time with other believers, and submitting to the Holy Spirit. It is not through some re-purposed pagan worship practice.
And one other thing while I’m on a roll. Meditation is also not of God. Meditation, using a mantra (even if it is a bible verse or the name of Jesus, or some other word) and being in a trancelike state is not Biblical. It also is an eastern pagan worship practice.
Some of you may be saying, “But Jim, all we do is the some exercises and talk about God while we’re in class.” “Yoga has entered the Christian church through the notion that it is all right to adapt the Hindu practice of Yoga by using Christian terms and concepts; as long as only the exercises are practiced without meditation, Yoga is safe. Neither notion could be further from the truth. Former Hindu guru Rabi Maharaj, in his autobiography “Death of a Guru”, states, “No part of Yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it.” Hinduism is totally incompatible with genuine, biblical Christianity–the two cannot be absorbed into one. There simply cannot be any such thing as “Christian Yoga.” (https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1446)
“CHRISTIAN YOGA IS NOT CHRISTIAN AT ALL
Christian Yoga is a lie! Those who are caught up in it are deceiving and being deceived. The ultimate goal of yoga is “Self-realization” – to realize ones own divinity. This is the lie Satan gave to Eve: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5).
Christianizing Yoga is pure chicanery. This is exactly what Christian Yoga is. It is “deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry”. Christian Yoga is a form of satanic deception masquerading as “a deeper form of Christian spirituality.” These things ought not to be so. We urge: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess. 2:3)
Yoga’s goal is “Self-exaltation”, “Realizing” ones own “divinity” and “yoking with the Universal Consciousness”. These things have nothing to do with Jesus Christ and everything to do with Satan. Christian yogi’s it is time to repent!” (excerpt from CHRISTIAN YOGA: Rooted in Hindu Occultism, Part 1 By Chris Lawson http://www.spiritual-research-network.stirsite.com/f/christianyoga_rootedinhinduoccutlism_pt1.pdf)
Here are some links to other articles detailing this dangerous practice:
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=28725
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=2631
https://christiannews.net/2018/08/22/concerns-raised-after-serita-jakes-posts-photos-of-yoga-session-at-the-potters-house-church/
Who’s On Your List? (added 3/12/2022)
I was sitting in Man Challenge (Men’s Bible study at my church) today and we were talking about sinners. And the question was put to us “Who are the people you struggle with most, if you learned they turned to God and repented of their lifestyle, God forgave them and now they are Christ-followers?” We weren’t allowed to give a “Sunday school answer” so I really had to think about it. After some thought I came up with a person who did severe damage to some people I love and that was the person I chose – I had to admit I really did not want that person to go to heaven. Then on the way home from there the Holy Spirit really started working on me. I began to think about others who I would exclude from heaven if it were up to me (WOW - Hard to admit that!!!). So, I came up with a list. I could name them here and most of you would know some of the people I name: some famous people and quite a few false preachers and teachers who are leading millions straight to hell (false prophets: see Matt 7:5, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1). Yes, my list would be quite extensive. Basically, I would allow most of my family, some friends (not all probably) and some others who I deemed were “good enough” to be in “my heaven”. I know that each of us have a list of those we would invite and those we would not allow, or want, in our heaven.
So, I had to ride my train of thought further: If there are some who I would exclude from my list, I can be 100% certain there are people who would exclude me from their list. I would be lying to you (and to myself) if I tried to make you believe I have never wronged another or treated someone badly. I have treated others with contempt, hatred, and cruelty. I have been mean, petty, jealous, prideful, uncompassionate, selfish, and unloving. So, looks like I’m not making it in either.
But God.
But God is the one who gets to make the list and His list is the only one that matters. Matthew 9:9-13 tells us “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me,’ and he got up and followed him. While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Now when he heard this, he said, ‘It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice (from Hosea 6:6). For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
But God.
But God’s list includes the sinners. In Romans 5:6-8 Paul tells us “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” So God’s list includes all of us: the beaten down and the downtrodden; the abused and the neglected; the hated and the reviled; the rich and the powerful; the murderer and the abuser; the liar and the thief; the undeserving and the unlovable – God’s list covers every single one of us.
So, God’s list includes me too. And God’s list includes you too. And God’s list includes everyone not on my list. So, what’s my next move? I need to ask God to forgive me for trying to pick and choose who is worthy enough to go to heaven. I need to ask God to forgive me for pounding on my chest and saying how great I am because I’m not like that sinner over there (Luke 18:9-14). I need to add their names to my prayer list and pray for their salvation. And I need to live with intentionality, compassion, love, kindness, and concern for every person I come into contact with because we are all numbered among “the least of these” (Matthew 25:31-46). Now, about your list…
God is Love … (added 8/24/2022)
My website and FB page are titled “Jesus Loves You Too” and He does. But I fear many in the church (and still more out of it) have taken this love of God and made it into something it is not. They have taken God’s holy Word and twisted it to mean things God never wrote nor intended.
If you ask the average Christian about God’s love I would venture to say most would say God is love, but then would be unable to explain what that means or what the implications of that verse are.
A.W. Tozer in his book “The Knowledge of the Holy” wrote: “The Apostle John, by the Spirit, wrote, ’God is Love,’ and some have taken his words to be a definitive statement concerning the essential nature of God. This is a great error. John was by those words stating a fact, but he was not offering a definition.
Equating love with God is a major mistake which has produced much unsound religious philosophy and has brought forth a spate of vaporous poetry completely out of accord with the Holy Scriptures and altogether of another climate from that of historic Christianity.
Had the apostle declared that love is what God is, we would be forced to infer that God is what love is. If literally God is love, then literally love is God, and we are in all duty bound to worship love as the only God there is. If love is equal to God then God is only equal to love, and God and love are identical. Thus we destroy the concept of personality in God and deny outright all His attributes save one, and that one we substitute for God.” … “The words ‘God is love’ mean that love is an essential attribute of God. Love is something true of God but it is not God. It expresses the way God is in His unitary being, as do the words holiness, justice, faithfulness and truth. Because God is immutable He always acts like Himself, and because He is a unity He never suspends one of His attributes in order to exercise another.”
What Tozer is reminding us here is that “God is love” does not equate to God only “being” love. Love is one of Holy Creator God’s attributes. It does not define God, but merely tries to help man understand the nature of God.
“… for God is Love” (1 John 4:8b) and “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 – my favorite verse in the Bible) tell us of God’s love for us. And if we were able to stop there it would lead us to believe that because of God’s love every single person who ever lived will end up in heaven – Well-intentioned, good-meaning people continue to ask “If God is love, then how can a loving God send people to hell?” and “How can a loving God punish a person for all eternity?” The first part of 1 John 4:8(a) is this: “He that loves not knows not God”. And if you read a little further the words of Jesus in John 3, to verses 18 & 19, Jesus said “He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” God’s love for each person individually is completely contingent on our love for Him. God does not need our love, but we need His. He loved (loves) us so much He made a way for us to be saved (through the shed Blood of Jesus) from the destruction we so richly deserve, but our continuing “in” His love is completely dependent on our surrendering to Jesus as Lord.
God’s love does not secure our salvation if we do not surrender to Jesus. We (man) have the capacity to love and to hate. And this we received from God when He created us. God hates as well. “When the Bible does speak of God’s hatred, the object of His hatred is sin and wickedness. Among the things God hates are idolatry (Deuteronomy 12:31; 16:22), child sacrifice, sexual perversion (Leviticus 20:1–23), and those who do evil (Psalm 5:4–6; 11:5). Proverbs 6:16–19 lists seven things the Lord hates: pride, lying, murder, evil plots, those who love evil, false witnesses, and troublemakers. Notice that this passage does not include just things that God hates; it includes people as well. The reason is simple: sin cannot be separated from the sinner except by the forgiveness available in Christ alone. God hates lying, yes, but lying always involves a person—a liar—who chooses to lie. God cannot judge the lie without also judging the liar.” (Excerpt from https://www.gotquestions.org/does-God-hate.html).
John wrote in John 14:21-24 “’The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me (Jesus is speaking here). And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus answered, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.’” We show our love for God (and Jesus) by obeying Him, by following Him, by abiding in Him. We know what His commands for us are by studying His Word (the Bible) - and we keep them. We “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
So, we are to admit our sins against Holy Creator God, ask for forgiveness for our sins (repent – turn away) and surrender to Jesus as Lord and Master of our lives. When we surrender, we grow in our relationship with Jesus, and then we will truly be loved by God the way He created us to be.
If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, simply pray the following prayer in faith and Jesus will be your Lord! "Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your Word says "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" and "If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9). You said my salvation would be the result of your Holy Spirit giving me new birth by coming to live in me (John 3:5-6, 15-16; Romans 8:9-11) and that if I would ask, you would fill me with your Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:4). I take you at your Word. I confess that Jesus is Lord. I ask that you wash me clean with the Blood of Jesus and forgive me of all my sins and all unrighteousness. I believe in my heart that you have raised Jesus from the dead and I am a "New Man" (or Woman) in Christ. Thank you for giving me Your Holy Spirit as you have promised, and for being Lord over my life. Amen."
When you say the prayer of salvation, and put your full trust and faith in Jesus you become a new person. Jesus sends the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to you and He indwells your spirit. You should want to change from being the sinful person you were, to a new person in Jesus. If you don't feel an intense desire to change, and turn away from your sin and your old sin-nature, then you ARE NOT SAVED. I beg you to search your heart and really turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and TURN AWAY FROM YOUR OLD SIN LIFE and receive the love of God.
Dear Loved Ones (added 11/23/2022)
Dear Loved One,
I am writing this letter to you because I love you. This letter is to help you understand what is coming to you. I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to speak with you and He gave me the words He wants to tell you. This has been on my mind for a lot of years and I am sorry it has taken me this long to “speak” with you.
I do ask you to please read this letter through to the end, and then spend some time digesting what I have written to you.
I know you are a good person. And I know that you always try your best to do right by people and to live your life like you think you should: You are honorable, upright, and a good member of society. You try do everything the right way. You know the difference between good and bad, right and wrong. You are a person of integrity and of high morals. You support others, you give freely, and you are compassionate and loving. You are a good person.
Please don’t think I think I am perfect or somehow that I believe I am better than anyone else. I am broken and I struggle just like everyone else. We are all works in progress. No one is perfect except the Lord Jesus Christ.
At this point I have to be 100% real and straight with you. I cannot leave any room for doubt or misunderstanding now.
I know you grew up in the church and I imagine at one point you said the “Sinner’s Prayer” and invited Jesus into your heart. I know you consider yourself to be a Christian. Loved One, all of those things are good first steps in the right direction. But, unfortunately, not one of them guarantees your salvation or your eternal place in heaven. In reality, a huge portion of the western churches have misled millions of people. The church (as a whole) has unknowingly given their flocks a false sense of security and has encouraged them to think they are saved and going to heaven when they die. But instead millions and millions of people will spend eternity in hell. You see, at some point in recent church history (within about the last 200 years) satan has convinced people that as long as they tell God they’re sorry for their sins, and “invite” Jesus into their hearts, they are saved and going to heaven. They are led to believe their eternity is secure in heaven. They are taught change is not required because their sins are already forgiven. But this could not be more wrong - this is a lie from satan. This would be like a child who is taught to say they are sorry when they do something wrong, but are not taught to change their behavior.
satan (through the church) has lied to millions through deception and half-truths. Just as he slightly twisted God’s words to Adam and Eve in the garden to entice Eve to eat the fruit (as Adam allowed it and ate as well – Genesis 3), satan has slightly twisted scripture and given half-truths to mislead millions away from true salvation. I know professing Christians who did all of those things and even say “I believe in Jesus.” However, repeatedly in the Bible we see that even the demons believe in Jesus and knew who He was - and obviously satan knows who Jesus is - but the demons and satan will ultimately end up in hell as well. Millions of people throughout history have asked for forgiveness, said a prayer, and considered themselves to be a Christian. But they are on their way to hell for all eternity! Not one person will go to heaven because they are a good person; or because they said the “Sinner’s Prayer” and “invited” Jesus into their heart (which is nowhere to be found in the Bible); or because they served in the church and in their communities. Hell will be filled with those people.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus addresses just those kinds of people: ““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 in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’’ Yes, we all must ask forgiveness for our sins. Yes we all want the title “Christian.” And yes, we all want to go to heaven when we die. But this is where the rubber meets the road: It is not about doing good; or saying the right words; or professing to be a Christian - it is about true change. Change from the inside out. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 24-27 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
This is what separates Believers - Followers of Jesus – true Christians from those who only profess to be Christians: Believers have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. They have put their faith and trust in Him alone. They have surrendered to Jesus as Lord and Savior. You see, it is not about being religious. It is about a relationship. It is about a personal, loving, ever-growing relationship with our Lord. Just like you have an intimate, loving relationship with those close to you, we need to have that kind of relationship with Jesus. Yes, He is Lord and Savior, but He is so much more. When He died on the cross He said “It is finished.” The law, the old way of doing things, was completely fulfilled by Jesus’ blood on the cross. When He came out of the tomb three days later He came out with a new covenant – now we have an advocate with God and a High Priest who knows how we suffer and is our Hope.
Salvation is freely given to us by God through His grace alone by our faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8). Basically what that means is we can never be good enough or do enough things to earn our way into heaven. It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus alone was the perfect, sinless offering (sacrifice) for our sins. When we put our faith and trust in Him alone - when we surrender to Him as Lord and Savior - the Holy Spirit comes into us and helps us change. He guides us into Godly truth, and our relationship with Jesus grows deeper. We want to serve Him and so we turn away (repent) of our sins and our sinful lifestyle. We want to be holy and righteous (Not holier-than-thou or self-righteous, but truly changed from the inside out.). We begin to truly change into the Man or Woman of God He designed us to be. Then, we become more like our Lord. We want to live for Jesus and to glorify God's name.
Loved One, every single one of us WILL MAKE the most important decision that determines our very eternity: Do we submit to the Lordship of Jesus or do we reject Him? I know you are familiar with John 3:16 when Jesus said “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” But very few read beyond that, or are taught the rest of this passage. In verses 17 & 18 Jesus tells us “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world, through Him, might be saved. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” God has not given us the option to live in the middle. We must choose: God or satan. Jesus or the world. Heaven or hell. We alone make that choice for ourselves. God does not give us an out. We either surrender and put our faith and trust in Jesus or we perish and go to hell when we die. Jesus told us in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I wrote this many years ago: "The Good News is that Jesus loves you right now, just the way you are. You cannot be too hard-hearted, bad, mean, hateful, heartless, or too lazy, jaded, uncaring, apathetic, unpleasant, or sin too much in your life for God not to forgive you, and Jesus not to love you! There is nothing you have done in your life that will keep you from entering into God's presence as a child of God, if you will put your trust, your faith, in Jesus and believe in Him. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
I once had a very dear friend tell me he could not put his trust or faith in anyone but himself. Loved One, I have watched you through the years. You are strong, independent, self-sustaining. You are a Hard Charger, a Go-getter and you have always provided for yourself and your family. You have pretty much done it alone. I know that. And perhaps you find it extremely hard to surrender everything to Jesus, but Dear One, that is what you must do. Jesus is the only One who can give you an internal peace like you have never felt before and love like you have never experienced. We are not guaranteed our next breath. I pray and hope you will realize now is the time to turn to Jesus - to surrender completely to Him and to put your faith and trust in Him alone. I would love to tell you more about the love of God, and His love towards you, and guide you to true freedom and an eternal salvation through Christ.
With love and exceeding respect,
Jim
