Are you a Just in Time Christian?

Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 6

King James Version (KJV)

6 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

² (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

When I left Colorado and returned to Kentucky, it had been too long to return to police work here without going through their academy again. Frankly, my body at that time was already worn out. Working night shifts for most of my life, a busted up back, a bad knee, results from injuries on the job and so on just did not lend itself to passing the physical aspect of the academy again. So I took a job my friend offered me at a factory in New Albany.

During this time, I wasn’t going to allow myself to stay on an assembly line, so I made some choices that got me into management and finally an office job.

While in management, I took some of the new fangled manufacturing ideas that came and went. One was called J. I. T., or Just In Time manufacturing. The idea was not to keep a storeroom full of raw material and a warehouse full of stock waiting to move, there by tying up capital, but to make it just as the order was ready and ship it out the door. As usual, this is all well and good in theory, but practicing it is another story. Your vendors, those who supply you with the parts or raw material necessary must also be in a working program of JIT, not getting your material on time will result in you being late manufacturing and shipping.

Then we have employees involved. They get sick, come in late or leave early. They quit and new ones have a training curve. Machinery breaks down or goes offline for maintenance. Inspection or Quality Control finds defects that were missed in the line and now there aren’t enough parts for the shipment. If anything can go wrong, it will. But the inventors and engineers will always say that it is a wonderful production plan, the employees just aren’t smart enough to do it right.

But see, they don’t live in the real world of manufacturing. They come up with these wonderful processes for a perfect industrial world were nothing throws a wrench in the plans. It’s funny, but the poor guy on the assembly line, if he or she stays there long enough, will see many such “ideas” and new miracle innovations come and go. 

Sighing and shaking their head at each one, because no one asked them if it will always be possible to have a perfect timing on the production process.

In the real human world, there is no such thing as “Perfect” timing, or even just in time.

Remember, the bible teaches there are two worlds, the world we see with our human eyes, and the spiritual world, which we can on occasion catch a shadowy glimpse as if we are looking through a frosted up window.

God the father operates in the spiritual world, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit operate in both worlds. Jesus was born to Mary in our world, but returned to the Father in Heaven, but he returned to talk to others before his final assent, as seen in the gospels. Then He sent the Holy Spirit to us, and He abides in all true believers. Jesus did all his works in God’s time, not just in time. The Holy Spirit came in God’s time, not just in time. Calvary happened in God’s time, and Jesus will return in God’s time, not just in time.

See the devil will fight us every inch of the way to keep us from being saved JUST IN TIME. Many will walk out of a church service convinced they will have until next week to come to the altar. But death will find them before that next Sunday.

Romans 13:10-12

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
¹¹ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

You are not promised next Sunday, nor tomorrow nor even another minute. The Lord says cast off the works of darkness, cast off your sins, and put on the armor of light, that is Jesus Christ, for the time is closer than you think.

Today I’m giving out tough love. If I didn’t love each and every one of you I would just shrug my shoulders and let you not hear the word of God concerning your state of salvation. See, you either have salvation through Jesus Christ, or you don’t. You either know Jesus as your personal savior and King, or you don’t. There is no middle ground. The middle ground will get you to Hell just as fast as the wide path.

My friends, there is not just in time salvation. If you are waiting for a specific time then it isn’t going to happen. But you say, Bro. Terry, how can you say that; look how old you were before you came to Christ. And I say yes, by the grace of God he allowed me to live long enough to come to my senses, but do you know the things I’ve seen I wish I never had? Do you know the hurt and anguish I’ve been through? Do you know the loves I’ve lost, the regrets I have, the hurt I did to others, all because I refused to come to an alter, when He spoke to me at practically every church I walked into, saying “Come to me”? I’m telling you young person, there may come a time when he may withdraw His calling. He will no longer tug at your heart, he will turn you over to a reprobate mind and harden your heart.

He did it to King Saul in 1 Samuel Chapter 15 verses:

²⁴ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
²⁵ Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
²⁶ And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel

God turned away from Saul, and not long after, King Saul was dead upon his own sword.

If God is calling you, today is the day to answer. Sin has dragged your soul to hell already and Jesus is the only one who can restore you. You cannot leave here today, and expect God to hear your prayers if you are living a sinful, Godless life. Until you repent of your sins and ask Jesus for forgiveness, your prayers are bouncing off the floor of Heaven. The only prayer God will hear from an unforgiven sinner is a heartfelt prayer for forgiveness and acceptance of Jesus. Then the Heavens and God’s ears will be open to you.

Are you a Just in Time Christian? Thinking you will give in when you are done doing whatever it is you are doing? Maybe when you get older, or if your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife does it? You think you can make it just in time? You are playing with literal fire and eternity to think that my beloved. When you’re young, you think your invincible and life will go on forever. In one sense you’re correct, life will go on forever, but where, heaven or hell?

See, Jesus loves you, that’s why He came. He knows there is no such thing as Just In Time. That’s your time, your idea, not His. I tell you a truth, playing games with your soul and Salvation like that is mocking God, and soon the door could be closed.

Don’t think so?

When the Trumpet for your life blows, when death comes for you, or if Our Lord returns tomorrow, will your words be the words from Jeremiah 8: ²⁰ The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.?

Today is the day of salvation, today is the day of the Lord, today is the day to decide for all eternity which path you choose, for there are no tomorrows, no Just in Time, but NOW IS THE TIME>

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

TEXT: Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 
Gal 5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 


Many in this country will celebrate our declaration of liberty from tyranny that was proclaimed on July 4, 1776. Many brave people signed this declaration knowing that if they did not win, then not only their lands and titles would be taken, but also their lives. But they believed it was worth the dangers and the struggle because living under unjust laws, being taxed  without having any representation and having the goods and resources produced here  taken to England without benefiting those who supplied those resources was bondage in and of itself. It is a history of this country that is not being taught in our schools anymore, unless it is rewritten to the point it would be unrecognizable to the founding fathers and to those who fought for that liberty. I can speak of it, as I am the descendant of a veteran of that struggle and have seen the letters of service and the places he served. There are untold numbers of sons and daughters of liberty in this country, if only they would take the time to check their family history.

But the liberty I speak of today isn't about our forefathers struggle for a free country, but our individual struggle for a freedom from sin, from oppression of the flesh and the yearning to be restored to our God. A desire to be made whole.

Everyone has an inherent knowledge placed inside them that something isn't quite right. Humans are either making idols for themselves, worshipping animals or nature as gods, sacrificing to appease some diety to change or assure an outcome, or turn inward with meditation seeking to establish a connection or "conciousness" with a higher being. Others claim they have no belief in a god, but that in itself makes them continue to seek, in the form of self help books, yoga (which is an eastern religion), humanist seminars and on and on.

The core reason for all this searching, for all the books written, for all the positive thinking gurus that make big bucks, is the fact that we know there is something wrong that is holding us hostage, something that just isn't right about our life. We have too many broken relationships. We have too many flaws either in our character or morality, or both. We jump from bed to bed, or marriage to marriage. We drink to be happy, or forget. We lie instead of admitting failure. We get jealous when we think someone else has it better than us. We steal, just because we can. We murder in the name of anything. The core problem is a word the secular world cannot stand and will fight against at every mention. The word is "SIN".

Sin is man's tyrant. Sin is what keeps us in bondage. Sin in your life is what causes that search to fix whatever seems wrong in your life. But sin won't let go of you just because you try something different. You can't wash it away with a shower if you feel dirty, you can't offer a sacrifice to appease it and clear your conscious. You can't try to tip the scale by doing more "good" than "bad". And you can't ignore it by just saying sin doesn't exist and it is all just relevant. Only seeking the core problem will lead you to the core answer. And the core problem is....get ready for it...a transgression against a divine law, or God's law. It's simply called SIN.

Sin will take you farther than you would ever think you'd go. Sin will hold you down and keep you down. Sin will make you sick, destroy your health, destroy your family, destroy your finances and destroy your life. Sin may seem pleasurable for a while, but always requires a great price in the end. Sin will make you the aggressor and the victim. Sin is what keeps you from what your soul truly longs for, to be one with the Creator again. To be able to walk and talk freely with the one who really understands your problems and will help. Sin is what we are born in, but do not have to stay in. There is freedom from it, but you must know what declaration to make, and who to make it to.

God did not make you to be a sinner, but God did make you with free will. He did not create, nor want robots, programmed in a certain way. That is why we are all individuals we look different, act different, speak different than others. Even in the same family, kids can be vastly different in their likes and dislikes. That is where free will comes in, to be free to choose what pleases us. But in that free will, our character flaws appear.

God started man and woman in a beautiful garden, with all the blessings associated with His love for them. But he also gave them one rule, or law to obey. Only one. Not to eat of a certain tree or there would be severe consequences. Everything was going fine, until a tempter came along and began using double speak and half truths to confuse and deceive the woman. By her own free will, she chose to disobey God and ate of the tree. In turn the man, also willingly disobeying God, (stop blaming the woman!), also ate of the tree. They were banished, but not forever. The sin was disobedience, NOT the fruit. Sin entered the world as disobedience, and has been disobedience every since. Sin is not the item, BUT THE ACT.

God says NOT to do someting. He has HIS  reasons and knows best. But the human disobeys and does it. That is the sin. God says stop getting drunk. There are health isues, family issues, money ssues and addiction issues related to continually getting drunk. But we disobey and have bad results. We suddenly can't understand how we got this far. It is the SIN from disobedience.
But there is good news! We can have freedom from this tyrant called sin. We can be restored to our relationship with a God who knows everything about us, knows every sin, and loves us anyway. He requires only one thing, a declaration of independance. He requires you to spiritually sign your name to His Book of Life. How? By believeing who His Son Jesus Christ is, why He came, and why He died, and why He rose again.

God has divine laws that must not be broken. They are for our good, but we rebel against them. For our entire lives we have been lied to and told that disobedience is enjoyable or ignorance is bliss. These are the same lies told since the beginning. Nothing is new under the sun. We are told repeatedly in today's world that there is no God, or that Christianity is now evil. The truth is turned upside down. But God is sill the same.

Accepting Christ as your savior from the punishment of that sin in your life IS liberty. Understanding  the reason God became flesh was to give you the option of accepting His Gift of Grace from a judgement for your sin. It is what gives you freedom to restore your relationship with Him. Christ broke the back of tyranical oppression called sin and gave us the door to repent of it and be restored to what we were meant to be, free and loved children of God. We must declare it through our faith in Jesus Christ, hold on to it with our hearts and fight the devil with God's Word.

See, Christ did the work before us. Just as our founding fathers fought for freedom long before we were born to establish the United Sates of America, Christ fought and died for our freedom from condemnation of sin and eternal death. He took our place, because justice demanded punishment for disobedience. He bore our sins, every sin, because he loved us enough to be in our place. He rose on the third day as promised to complete that work of salvation, and there is NOTHING we can add to it. That is why trying to work off sins is fruitless, you can do no more than Christ did. He did enough. YOU just have to accept Him, and repent of those sins and follow Him.

See freedom never comes without a price. And the price of your freedom is Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Your freedom from your constant seeking for answers to your failings and sins is Jesus.

Galatians 5:1 tells us to Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

See, freedom to choose NOT to sin is freedom in itself. Freedom in Christ will show you love for your neighbor, and you don't hurt those you love. Liberty, my friends really begins with God, freedom is through Christ and joy comes from this freedom. Will you be free today?

Hello Again My Dear Brothers and Sisters

I know October of last year was my last post and for that I am deeply sorry. Between health issues, and pastoring a small but growing church, I let my ministry here slip. But God has been good to Lisa and I and our congregation is growing slowly but surely with God loving, Christ filled folks.

I opened up this blog after a long absence to see people posting some very nice comments, especially about the last entry on "The Meaning of Life". I also check the stats and have had almost 9000 views on different messages I've posted. I know it is small compared to many, many others, but I always believe God will bring those to a message He wants them to see. Quantity means nothing to me, but God's word to the one person seeking answers means everything to me.

So believing God's word never returns void, I am going to get on this blog often, believing someone out in the world will be blessed by something said here.

To my cowboy friend out west who comments favorably on my posts, you are appreciated and hope you are still out there.

Check back in the next couple of days dear readers, I will post a message after much prayer. In the mean time..

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Meaning of Life

     There have been many times when I have been reading my bible, meditating on His Word, and suddenly God gives an answer to a question. It may seem as an epiphany at the moment, but careful reflection may remind you of a prayer for an answer to something puzzling. When answers come at a later time,  when you have forgotten asking, I call those my God winks.

     Studying the bible not long ago, I came across a verse in Micah that answered a question most of us have in our pre-Christian life, and that is “What is the meaning of life?” I see it more and more on TV and hear it on radio. I see and hear despair in some voices searching for something only to stay unfulfilled. They don’t know it, but they are searching in the wrong places.

     God has given me, and each of us, answers. He will answer you also if you just give your life over to Him and study His word. Jesus came to give life, to save the sinner and to give peace to a searching heart.

     So yes, I do know the meaning of life. I am not the smartest man in the world; I am not a scientist, nor a philosopher, nor a degreed intellectual. I am simply a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and study God thorough the Bible.

     So what is the meaning of life? What does God want out of us? The prophet Micah says in 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

     What more can we ask? Accept Jesus, open you bible, pray for the scriptures to come alive in your heart, and God will reveal Himself to you. It is beyond mere mortal understanding, it is a Spiritual Awakening! Now, open yours and see what God reveals!

My Time Away

Hello dear friends and followers. It has been a while since I last posted and I apologize. I've had two extensive abdominal surgeries in the last two months as I have been very ill with a hole in my stomach causing a sever internal infection, then a very large incision hernia developed, so I needed that repaired. I am on the mend now with God's touch and thankfully only missed three total services at the church I pastor. God's family truly come through when a brother is down.

However, between surgeries, I completed my four year studies and was fully ordained with the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) in September. Maybe that's why the devil has fought so much. But for those who knew about my health issue and prayed for me, God Bless you and my wife and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I will restart my blog postings and trust God to lead those by these pages as He wills, for His purpose. I don't argue or brow beat, I just present the Gospel as I feel God has led me. It is up to the Holy Spirit after that.

May God Bless you and Keep you.

Bro. Terry

Combat

   Whether we thought about it or not, when we became Christians, we went to war, drafted into the battle for mankind’s souls. We are the infantry, the foot soldiers in the quagmire that is this sinful world to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ. But ours is a spiritual war, fought in seen and unseen realms. Our weapons are prayer, fasting and the word of God (sword of the Spirit). Our armor consists of spiritual helmets, breastplates, shields, footwear and belts as described in Ephesians 6:10-18.

   We have as our General our Lord and Savior, our tactician and field adviser called the Holy Spirit and our Supreme Commander who is God the Father. Our enemy is Satan and sin. We must not be dependent upon ourselves, or we will loose the battle. We must depend on Jesus because the war has already been won, but the individual battles will rage on until Christ takes the battlefield once and for all.

   We will get bloodied at times, earning many spiritual purple hearts. Although we can be confident in the eternal outcome, we must never take our eyes off Jesus and stop lifting Him up. If so, our battles will turn sour and the result could be a defeat to the enemy in our lives. But returning to the promises of Jesus in our lives can and will turn the tide.

   Dear believer, I remind you of our battle because the war is quickly getting bigger and more intense. Many of our brothers and sisters are being martyred and our faith is being attacked. Our very beliefs are close to becoming illegal to practice and the devil is winning the ground, flanking us on all sides. So now is the time to put our weapons on full auto and pray without ceasing and fasting with divine purpose. God Bless us all!

Teaching Moments

   As I continue my walk with Christ, I find He uses people, places, animals and things as a learning experience. At the time it may be a joyous experience, at others a painful one. There are those rare times when it will be a combination of pain and joy that is inexplicable.

   Many of you remember I wrote three years ago about putting down my dog, Custer, and how painful it was, especially because I had taken him for granted all those years and didn’t realize what he meant to me. I grieved a long time, and still do on occasion, even though God has placed Toby the Goldie in my life. The lesson learned was not to take anything for granted. Now Toby is spoiled, and that’s OK. He is also my praying partner at home when we’re alone.

   Yesterday, as I write this, I had to give up another that was loved, but this time it was my Tennessee Walker mare. She has been a faithful, well mannered, gentle lady of a horse and I shared my time with her for eleven years. We got her when she was thirteen years old and they said her name was Granny. I thought it an odd name until I had her for a short time. Then I came to see she had the patience and demeanor of a human granny. Over the years, she taught me more than any instructor ever could. We spent time together on trails here on the farm, just singing like Roy Rogers, or talking to God or just enjoying nature (without the sound of a motor). She will be twenty-four years old this year, but doesn't look anywhere near that age.

   However, during the last couple of months, I would lay awake at night; because I was getting the strong impression it was time to let her go. I would agonize over this thought, because I had grown to love this old horse and there was a bond between us that can’t be explained. My wife can attest to how Granny would whinny for my attention whenever she saw me. She was my horse and I was her fella. Now I felt God was telling me I had to let her go, because He has things He wants me to do. There is no one here to take care of her if I’m gone for days at a time.

   So I began the search for a new home for her. I was going to give her away to a good home, where she could retire in comfort, if I could just find one. One phone call to Vicki Ervin was the step God wanted me to take, Before I could make any more calls, Vicki put the farrier in contact with me because his son, who has a farm, was looking for a gentle horse to teach his kids to ride. I knew Granny at her age would be perfect for that.

   Then the snows came and I had to take almost hourly care of her. Those days were hard, knowing she was going to leave. Then yesterday came and it was time to say goodbye. It seemed she knew something was up, she kept nuzzling me and I couldn't stop the tears. When it came time to load her on the trailer, she went like a trooper, but when they pulled out, I could hear her whinnying for me. Then I went home and cried like a baby.

   During those tears I felt God speaking to me again. He brought to mind verses of sacrifice, of love, of faith, and of comfort. God used that horse to teach me patience, to listen to something other than myself, to be a good master and to trust. Now I realize it’s the same relationship with God. He can be trusted, He can be listened to and He loves me. He is a good Master.

   Yes there is pain in her going, but there is a joy in knowing God was in it, and there will be a reason revealed for my good and His glory. What that is, I do not know. It’s just another chapter closed and another to begin. Thank you Granny the horse and Happy Trails. Thank you God for the lesson.