The surest guarantee you’ll ever receive

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14

It’s funny how much people love guarantees today, isn’t it? If you buy an appliance, an automobile, or make an investment, you want a certain guarantee that you’re going to get what you expect. That’s because it’s in our nature to minimize our risk.

Well, in the greatest investment of all time—the investment of your life—you have a guarantee as well! God has given those who are in Christ Jesus a permanent pledge to ensure they are His forever… a guarantee that He will fulfill His promise of salvation. And that guarantee is the Holy Spirit.

Now, many today think of the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force rather than the personal member of the Trinity He really is. And when He comes into your life, the Spirit imparts to you the fullness of our personal God who loves you deeply and seals you for the day of redemption.

God loves you so much that He sent His Spirit to live in you and guarantee your position in Christ. So as you live your life, remember that through your faith in Christ, you have access to God’s full resources in the Holy Spirit and a permanent guarantee of your eternal inheritance!

REMEMBER, IN CHRIST GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS HOLY SPIRIT AS A GUARANTEE OF YOUR ETERNAL INHERITANCE.

Seeking forgiveness from others

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24

I heard about a pastor who was taking over a church and his predecessor told him, “I’ve left you three envelopes in the top desk drawer. If you get in trouble, open the first envelope. If you get in trouble again, open the second envelope. And if you get in trouble again, open the third envelope.”

One day he found himself in trouble and he pulled out that first envelope and read a little note that said “Blame it on your predecessor.” So he blamed everything on his predecessor and things smoothed out for a while.

But later on, he was back in hot water again. So he reached into that top drawer and pulled out the second envelope and the note said, “Blame it on the people.” He got up and tried that for a while. But really it just made matters worse!

So he reached into that drawer, pulled out the third envelope, and with quivering hands, he opened it to read. “Prepare three envelopes!”

Blaming others for your problems only leads to more blame. So if you make a mistake, own up to it. Admit when you’re at fault with someone else and allow God to restore you back to fellowship!

DON’T BLAME OTHERS FOR YOUR FAULTS. INSTEAD, ADMIT YOUR WRONGDOING AND SEEK FORGIVENESS AND RESTORED FELLOWSHIP!

How to shine with God’s glory

(Wives) do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear–but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. – 1 Peter 3:3-4

Have you ever known people who just glow? I’m talking about those men and women whose faces just glisten with Christ in their lives. And while their outward features, that is, their external beauty, may be great, the glory of Christ that shines through them is so much better.

You see, our world today has such a twisted and distorted view of  beauty. That’s why when you stand in line at the grocery store and look at the cover of those magazines, all you see is airbrushed and photoshopped pictures of people who look nothing like that in real life!

The truth is that God is making something beautiful out of your life if you are in Christ. And as a member of the the Church of Jesus Christ, the Bible says you are adorned like a beautiful bride. While there may be some spots on the outside, Christ has made you beautiful so that you might shine for Him forever.

So let me ask you this question: Where do you seek your beauty? Do you spend more time on your outward appearance or your inward condition? Follow God and He’ll make you shine like the stars as He transforms you into His glorious bride.

IN CHRIST, GOD HAS TRANSFORMED YOU INTO HIS SPOTLESS BRIDE. SO LIVE EACH DAY BY REMEMERING THAT TRUTH AND FINDING YOUR REAL BEAUTY IN HIM!

–Jack Graham

Letting your light shine in the darkness

 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Have you ever noticed that when you’re in the dark, everything is confusing? Some things may look closer or farther away than they may be. And many things can’t be distinguished at all. That’s why, when you’re in the darkness, the most instinctive thing to want to do is turn on the light.

And you know, that’s the way so many people are living today in this dark world. They’re stumbling and falling and failing because they’re living in a dark and decaying world and barely managing to get around. And that’s exactly why Jesus told us as his people, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Jesus has given his people the unique privilege of being his light in the world. But the light that we shine in the darkness is not our own. We, like the moon, reflect the light of a power much greater than ourselves.

As God’s people, you and I are to simply be reflections of God’s light to a dark world. So shine God’s light by living a Christ-filled life to a watching and waiting world. When you do that, you’ll make a significant impact for Christ on the people around you!

 SHINE GOD’S LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD BY LETTING OTHERS SEE CHRIST’S CHARACTER IN YOU!

–Jack Graham

What is the fear of the Lord?

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.Proverbs 9:10

You don’t hear the phrase “The fear of the LORD” much anymore, do you? I think that’s primarily because we’re so casual about God today. And that attitude has led to a half-hearted approach to the Holy One. But the Scriptures are clear that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Now, this kind of fear isn’t one that makes us quake and shake like the boogeyman does. But it’s a fear that ought to give us a wholesome, healthy respect for the almighty God. We should stand in awe at a God who is so holy that he must judge and punish sin!

I’m so grateful that God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son. And when Jesus died on the cross, the judgment that we deserved fell upon him and he accepted our wrath and our punishment.

But let me tell you something, there also is a promise day of judgment coming. And on that day when God’s justice is carried out, it will make the flood in Noah’s day look like a drop in the bucket. To have a healthy fear of the LORD means we are just as much in awe of that justice as we are his grace!

So when it comes to God’s justice, have a healthy reverence for his awesome power because that’s the beginning of wisdom!

TO HAVE A HEALTHY FEAR OF THE LORD, WORSHIP HIM JUST AS MUCH FOR HIS JUSTICE AS YOU DO HIS GRACE BECAUSE THAT’S THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM.

–Jack Graham

The Spiritual Dangers of Addiction

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

Back in the late 80s, I was in Houston, Texas where a group of about 50 ministers met to talk about the war on drugs. One minister’s wife stood up and spoke to all of us about her own story. She told us about her addiction to Valium and prescription drugs and how it almost destroyed her marriage and her husband’s ministry.

Addiction can happen to anyone. And as I look around today, I see so many people with so many addictions. There are drugs, yes. But there’s also addiction to work; there’s addiction to social media; there’s addiction to pornography; there’s addiction to sports, to name just a few. Addiction can be to anything that owns you and owns your affections. And today’s passage tells us that addictions that steal away our rational thoughts are evil and cripple us in spiritual battle.

If there’s anything you have to hide about your behavior from those who know you, that’s addiction. If you’re not honoring God in the way you spend your money by blowing it on a habit, that’s addiction. Or, if your relationships with God and people are suffering because you have to make time for this one thing, that’s addiction.

When it comes to any habitual behavior you have, ask yourself, “Could this behavior potentially possess my life?” If it can, leave it alone. When you own your behavior and are in control of your actions, you’ll be ready for the spiritual battle of life.

YOUR ADDICTIONS CAN OWN YOU AND POSSESS YOU. SO MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN CONTROL OF YOUR BEHAVIOR SO YOU CAN FIGHT LIFE’S SPIRITUAL BATTLE.

–Jack Graham

How you can demonstrate God’s love to the world

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” – 1 Peter 4:8

What is love?

So often today, I hear people throwing the word ‘love’ around when it’s clear they have no idea what it means. Our world has stripped ‘love’ of its meaning and made it a description of an emotion rather than an act of selflessness.

But today’s passage says, “love covers a multitude of sins.” Now there is no real love without a cross. And it wasn’t just an emotion that put Christ on the cross 2000 years ago. It was an act of God, who loves the world so much that he was willing to allow his Son to be tortured and killed so you and I could have a chance to be saved.

Now grace is love in action on the cross. Grace is love paying the price! Christ’s selfless, active love for us covered our sins in God’s eyes. And in much the same way, our love for others compels us to forgive them just as we’ve been forgiven.

So as you remember the death Christ died for you to cover your sin, show that same love to others by forgiving them when you are wronged because love in action will lead others to Christ.

LOVE OTHERS BY FORGIVING THEM AND ALLOWING THEM TO SEE GOD’S GRACE THROUGH YOU!

–Jack Graham–

The importance of honoring the name of Christ

YESU KRISTO

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

I’m so thankful for my family name. And I’m thankful for parents who gave me that name and for the character that they built into my life as godly parents. And as a parent myself today, I want to make sure that my children carry our name well. Sometimes when I used to drop them off at school, I’d look them right in the eye and say, “Now remember who you are and whose you are.”

Now I know that most people feel the same way as I do about their family name. And if you and I don’t want to bring shame to the name of our family, then how important it is that we never disgrace the name of Jesus?! We should rather die than to disgrace the name of our Savior.

The name of Christ is above every name on the earth. Even the name of the greatest leader you could ever imagine pales in comparison to the King of kings. So as you go throughout your life and work to have a good name for yourself, remember that we should work even harder to honor the name of Jesus, our Savior.

So yes, remember who you are. But especially never forget whose you are!

WHILE THE BIBLE SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT FOR YOUR NAME TO HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION, HONORING THE NAME OF CHRIST SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST PRIORITY

--Jack Graham–

How to protect your family from the enemy

 

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.- Psalm 127:1

Several years ago, a gentleman walked up to me at church and told me about a lady he had met on an airplane. And he noticed that this lady next to him bowed her head as the plane was taking off and offered a prayer.

So he turned to her and said, “Are you a Christian? I noticed that you were praying.” She answered, “No, I’m not a Christian. I’m a Satanist!”

And he said, “Well, what do Satanists pray about?” She replied, “We pray, for one thing, for the demise of the family.”

That is Satan’s attack! Satan’s grand plan is to dethrone God, to deface mankind, and to destroy the home. But God knew this before Satan even came into being. So he promises you and me that if he is the center of our home, he’ll protect us from the evil one. But if God is not the center of your home, then you and your family are powerless against the devil.

When it comes to your family, remember that Satan would love to destroy it. But take comfort that families who seek shelter in God’s loving arms will be safe!

ONE OF SATAN’S KEY TACTICS IS TO DESTROY THE FAMILY. SO MAKE GOD THE CENTER OF YOUR HOME AND YOU’LL BE PROTECTED FROM HIS ATTACK.

–Jack Graham--

 

Stepping out of your comfort zone for Christ

 

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. Mark 2:1-4

The great evangelist Billy Graham once said, “The greatest strike of our generation has not been by labor unions, but by twentieth century Christians, the Army of God which has refused to follow the Savior’s commands.”

As we read the Scriptures, Jesus’ commands couldn’t be clearer: Our call is to go out of our comfort zones and to bring men, women, and families to safety in Christ Jesus.

And that’s just what the men in today’s passage did. They had a friend, a paralytic, who had no other way to get to Christ unless they exerted the physical effort to pick him up and take him. So these four men cooperated together and did whatever it took to get their friend to Jesus. They made a stretcher, put him it, and each grabbed a corner as they led him across the countryside to Capernaum where Jesus had gone to preach and teach.

And their friend was healed!

So when it comes to leading others to Christ, are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices, as these men did, to lead others to the physical and spiritual healing that Jesus offers? As you go through life, you will be called to uncomfortable situations to bring others to Christ. But when you obey and follow, you’ll experience blessings like never before as you see others come to know the healing of our Savior!

FOLLOWING THE SAVIOR’S COMMANDS WILL TAKE YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. BUT AS HE LEADS YOU, YOU’LL EXPERIENCE HIS ABUNDANT BLESSINGS!

 

Appreciating the resurrection work of Christ in your life

 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience… Ephesians 2:1-2

I heard about a man from China who was keeping up a family tradition of putting a nine-course meal on one of his family member’s graves. Now, an American man was in that same cemetery putting roses on a different grave, and he stood there and watched the man from China set up that large meal on the ground.

So the American walked over and said, “Let me ask you a question. When is the man in that grave going to eat this nine-course meal?” And the Chinese fellow said, “As soon as the man in that grave smells those roses!”

Three times, Jesus raised people from the dead. And all three that Jesus raised from the dead were completely dead. So what characterizes somebody who’s dead? Well, there’s no awareness, there’s no response to physical surroundings, and they are oblivious to everything.

Lost people without Jesus Christ do not understand spiritual things. That’s why a person can come to church, be in the very presence of God’s people, hear the message of Jesus, and yet walk away and never experience the power and the presence of God.

The only reason you are in Christ is because, by his Spirit, you’ve been made alive. So thank God for his grace because apart from it, you would have never chosen him!

GOD’S GRACE IS WHAT ENABLES YOU TO BELIEVE IN HIM. SO THANK HIM EACH DAY FOR REVEALING HIMSELF TO YOU!

How you can receive powerful answers to prayer

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10

 So often among Christians today, prayer is too general. Some ask, “Lord, bless us. Lord, bless the church. Lord, bless the missionaries. Lord, bless and save the lost. Amen.” Now that’s safe praying because you never know if God answers it.

When you pray that way, you miss out on the joy of seeing your prayers answered. I talk to Christians all the time who can’t name one prayer that God has answered for them. And inevitably, it’s because they aren’t praying for specific things!

But when Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray specifically. As we see in today’s passage, we aren’t to be timid when it comes to prayer, but to present our requests to God knowing that he is going to do something great. And when you begin to ask God to do specific things in your life, you’ll see him work in amazing ways.

So the next time you pray, make a list with specific prayer points and pray boldly. Then, write the answer down when God gives it! Doing this will not only help you see a clearer picture of God’s faithfulness, it will empower your prayer life as you continue to pray boldly!

PRAY BOLDLY FOR SPECIFIC REQUESTS AND WATCH GOD ANSWER IN POWERFUL WAYS! 

–Jack–

What a friend you have in Jesus

Luke 19:1-6 “He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.”

One of the most enjoyable things to do when you go to the land of Israel is to go to Jericho and see the ancient sycamore trees. And you can’t help but wonder which tree it was that Zacchaeus climbed to look for Jesus.

To most people in Jericho at this time, Zacchaeus was more of a nuisance than anything else. Jewish tax collectors were seen as sellouts, people who could make a lot of money working for Rome and ripping off their kinsmen. No one wanted anything to do with them.

No one, that is, but Jesus.

The crowd had gathered and pushed Zacchaeus out of the way. So he shimmied up that tree and he was looking for the Lord Jesus. And as Jesus passed that way, to the amazement of that little, lonely man, Jesus stopped, looked up at him, and called his name! Zacchaeus must have thought to himself, “He knows my name!”

Isn’t that wonderful about our Lord? God knows you and he knows me. He knows the very hairs of your head; they’re numbered by him.

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, the best friend you can ever have is Jesus Christ. He loves you so much that he died on the cross for you. So spend time with him every day in prayer and in God’s Word.

WHEN OTHERS REJECT YOU, JESUS ACCEPTS YOU. SO CLING TO HIM EVERY DAY!

–Jack--

T.H.I.N.K. before you speak!

 

.. .. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….

–Ephesians 4:2

You and I need to give careful consideration to how we engage our culture on behalf of Christ. That’s why I want to share with you a little acrostic that will help you “T.H.I.N.K” before you speak. Try using this simple little outline. It will help you present the Gospel in a positive manner.

“T” stands for True. Before you speak and offer criticism of someone’s ideas or behaviors, make sure that what you’re saying is true. Don’t mistake spiritual discernment for merely opinion, innuendo, slander, or gossip. Are you addressing a true spiritual issue?

“H” stands for Helpful. Ask yourself if the words you’re offering are helpful. Don’t judge, but seek to build up an individual rather than tearing them down.

“I” stands for Inspiring. Be uplifting and point others toward what the Scripture says about Christ, his love, and restoration.

“N” stands for Necessary. Don’t be a fault-finder regarding matters of little importance. Ask yourself if it’s really necessary to take action and what’s at stake.

“K” stands for Kind. Be kind and humble in your approach.

BE UPLIFTING AND POINT OTHERS TOWARD WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT CHRIST, HIS LOVE, AND RESTORATION.

–Jack--

Christianity Is Christ Alone!

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

–John 14:6

Jesus is not the best way to heaven… he’s the only way to heaven.  Now, I know this is a very exclusive statement to make in the day of tolerance and inclusion. But there is an exclusive nature to the Gospel even though many call this a narrow perspective.

The Scripture is clear on this matter. Christianity exists only because of the deity and sacrifice of Christ. Without Christ, there is no Christianity! That’s what the Scripture says and what you and I think will never change that fact.

You see, I can’t choose what I believe is right and you choose what you believe is right and we all somehow magically end up in heaven. But that’s the mentality of the world, isn’t it? And it’s dead wrong.

If you believe Christ who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”, then it follows that you would also believe in the exclusivity of the Gospel.

But listen, while Christianity is exclusive, Jesus died for all!

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus died for you… and he died for all.

–Jack–