“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus gave us a gift that is uniquely from Him. He gave us life in this world, and by faith in Him, eternal life.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4).

The gift is free but must be accepted. It cost Jesus more than our human minds can comprehend, but His love for His creation is so perfect and deep that He freely shed His blood for our salvation. Can you think of anybody you would voluntarily die for? Maybe your child or your spouse, but would you shed your blood to save the life of a total stranger? Probably not. Jesus did more than just shed His blood. He left the glory and splendor of Heaven, and He left the worship of the Heavenly Host.

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

He left the pure love of His Father to step into His creation. He knew He would be ridiculed, mocked, beaten, spit upon, and crucified. Still, He chose to put up with all of that in order to save you and me from eternal damnation. Mankind had been separated from God ever since Adam sinned. Jesus willingly paid the price for our salvation. Because of His love, because of His sacrifice, you and I have the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven if we sincerely place our faith in Him. If you’ve earnestly accepted Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the atonement for the sin of your life, then you need to say thank You. You need to let Him change your life from a self-centered life filled with sin to a life of unselfishness, reflecting God’s love. You need to let Him know that you understand what He did for you by living for Him.

It seems that many people know exactly what to do in order to serve Christ. Many sports figures openly give God the glory for their talent and ability to excel in their chosen sport. Some actors use their talents to glorify God.

Starting with the Apostles, we can see how walking with Jesus changed the world. Peter often comes to mind when we think of someone who was changed from an outspoken man who was rash in his actions. It’s been said that Peter only opened his mouth to change feet. He was a fisherman and had no training in eloquent speech. He more than likely was prone to using “colorful” language when he was around his fishing buddies. Jesus saw past all of the rough edges of his character and saw a man who would be a leader in the Church. Not a Pope but a Christian leader who followed what he learned from walking with Christ. Peter was married but was able to do the tasks which Jesus put in front of him because he was married to a woman who was also a believer, as were the other apostles.

“Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Corinthians 9:5).

Paul is another example of a man who gave his life to Christ and served our Lord well. After Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, he spent many years waiting and wondering what he could do for Jesus. Then, one day, the time was right for his mission trips to spread the Gospel. During the time he waited, Paul learned more about Jesus. By the time he set out on his missionary trips, he knew exactly what Jesus wanted him to do.

Matthew was a tax collector, a sinful profession, but Jesus called him and changed him. Matthew was one of the original disciples.

John and James had an interesting nickname from Jesus. “And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17).

We can only imagine why Jesus called them the sons of thunder. Maybe because they wanted to call fire from Heaven on people who stood in their way. Walking with Jesus changed them. In more modern times, we all know of people who seem to know what to do to serve the Lord and know how to say “thank You” to Him. What about me? What can I do? What about you?

When I think of Jesus and what He did for me, I try to think how to repay Him. What can I do? I’m just a human with a sin nature. I can’t do great and mighty works for Jesus in order to say thanks. Most Christians have, at one time or another, asked themselves that question. What can I do to thank Him for salvation? How do I know what my gift(s) is/are? Most of us don’t have any great revelation from God telling us what He wants us to do. We need to pray for God’s guidance. Then, start doing, just doing something. First, get closer to Christ. How does that happen? Talk to Him and listen for His side of the conversation. Figure out what you enjoy doing. As long as what you enjoy is acceptable in the eyes of God, use it to glorify Him.

When trying to hear God’s voice leading you in how to serve, be sure to make friends with solid Christians and fellowship with them.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrew 10:25).

When we have Christian friends, it’s easier to see the things of the Lord rather than see the ways of the world. Secular friends see worldly gain and ways as the ultimate purpose in life. However, true Christians have their minds and hearts turned to serving Christ. We are to exhort each other, so if you see a strength in a friend, encourage them to use that strength to serve the Lord. Do you know someone who is able to discern God’s truth? Maybe they should share their knowledge with others. Maybe you are able to teach. By spending time with strong Christians, you will be encouraged to teach a class or two. You might have to step out of your comfort zone, but if it’s what God has planned for you, it will work out.

There are many things we can do for Jesus, but they don’t all seem as if they are important. Living as an example of Jesus’ love so the world can see is something every Christian can do.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

That is something you can do for Jesus no matter what. Don’t be ashamed of Him, and live openly as a follower of Christ. When you put Jesus first in your life, you will thank Him by living for Him. Study Scripture to learn His ways. Jesus forgave people.

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22).

Forgiving others is a way to imitate Jesus. Our sin against God was fatal. Our choice to sin sends us to Hell. No matter what others do to us, it doesn’t compare to our sin against God.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Our sins are forgiven through Christ. Since He forgives us, we need to forgive others. We can do that in order to show our thankfulness to Jesus.

Jesus commands us to love one another. You can do that.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:12-14).

It isn’t always easy to love others, but love is what Jesus commands us to do. When you ask, “What can I do?” try showing love to others. Jesus spoke those words to His disciples not long before He was arrested. If you call Jesus your friend, then follow His commandment and love one another. Something else we all can do to show our gratitude is to live for Him by sacrificing our selfish desires and serving Him with joy.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Set selfish desires aside and die to self. Think of others, and show God’s love and forgiveness. Jesus loves you; do you love Him?

It isn’t always easy to live life as Jesus wants us to live, but we need to try. Sometimes a job can make living for Jesus hard. Earning your living is an important part of a Christian’s life, but the job may be filled with challenges to our faith. That’s one reason we need to choose Christian friends and support each other when the world seems to beat us up. The early Christians faced much persecution, but they drew closer to each other, and Christianity flourished.

“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

That’s something you can do for Christ… fellowship with brothers and sisters who love our Lord and encourage them in their walk.

When you ask, “What can I do?” look into Scripture and see what the great men and women who loved the Lord did. The Old Testament records many accounts of people who did what they could for God. The New Testament records the life of Jesus and His example to us. It also records what people just like you and I did to serve Him. None of the things we can do are works in order to obtain salvation, but works of love to show our gratitude. Time is drawing to an end, and only the things we do for Christ will last.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

There is no doubt at all that this world holds a lot of evil. Too many people blame God for that evil, but that just shows a lack of understanding of Scripture. God has given us Truth, but most people pick and choose what they want to believe at any given moment. Instead of studying Scripture and knowing God’s heart, God gets blamed for the bad happenings in life. Scripture leaves no room for doubt that it is Satan who deserves the blame for evil. God created the beautiful Garden of Eden and placed Adam and Eve there. He told Adam that if he ate the forbidden fruit, death would become a reality. When Eve chose to speak with Satan, who was in the form of a serpent, she believed his lies over God’s truth.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).

That was a lie, but people still seem to believe Satan over God.

“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” (Genesis 3:5).

That was more of Satan’s lies. Eve was deceived, but she had made the mistake of allowing Satan’s words to confuse her. Instead of standing firm on what Adam had said about the fruit (God had told him), she questioned God’s truth. That always brings trouble. Then, Adam went along with the lie. He was directly told by God not to eat the forbidden fruit but chose sin.

“For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13-14).

Whether you are male or female, don’t allow your minds to be corrupted by allowing Satan to twist God’s Truth. Scripture is God’s truth.

There is much beauty in this world, and we can thank God for His creation. Sadly, Satan has deceived the weak-minded to believe lies. Acclaim for creation is now given to nothing – first there was nothing, and then it exploded. That is a huge lie from Satan, and like the lie about the forbidden fruit, people listen to him and are deceived.

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:21-23).

Nature is worshipped. Animals are worshipped. “Mother Nature” is worshipped. What about God? Only God is worthy of our worship and praise. He is patient, but when the creation is continually worshipped instead of the Creator, trouble happens.

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:24-25).

This passage of Scripture goes on to say that homosexual behavior is the result. Not only is that activity an abomination, but it brings disease and leads to more sin.

“Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:29-32).

Brothers and sisters, if we claim to be Christians, why do we turn a blind eye to the evil?

Evolution is taught in schools, drag queens have story time with children, teachers are teaching children how to hide homosexual urges from parents, furries are allowed to have litter boxes, and so forth and so on. If we claim to be Christians, then we need to study and believe Scripture. None of the ungodly things of the world should be acceptable to Christians. Yet, we keep silence. We don’t want to be known as “haters,” and we don’t want to offend anyone. We aren’t to judge, but we are to use Scripture as our guide. Our silence allows people of the world to die in ignorance of God. Shame on us. If someone was about to be hit by a train, we would take action, yet we keep silent as many people die in their sin.

When Adam sinned, the evil darkness that Satan promoted seemed more tempting than light of the truth of God. The darkness of sin is great. Look around and you can see the result of Satan’s evil. Just as we read in the first chapter of Romans, humanity is on a downward spiral.

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

Men loved darkness? That means mankind loves Satan. Christians should be different. We should not conform to the darkness of Satan but walk in the light of Jesus and His love.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Each one of us must decide who to follow and who we conform our lives to. God wants us to follow and love Him, but loves us enough to give us free will to choose. He told us what the result of our sin and disobedience would be, but we make our choice and can’t blame God for the result of our sin.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

If you have confessed that you love Jesus, then you need to turn away from sin and evil and allow Jesus to transform you into a child of God.

Sin will always tempt us, but in those times when the flesh is weak, that’s when we need to pray and ask for God’s strength to resist. Satan was arrogant enough to even try to tempt Jesus, but do you remember what Jesus did? He answered each temptation by quoting Scripture. Not the twisted Scripture that Satan uses to tempt us, but Jesus used the pure word of God; Jesus was God.

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Are you tempted to judge others? Are you tempted to let pride inflate your ego, so you feel justified in putting others down? Does anger rule your emotions? None of these things can be seen in Jesus. When we conform to God rather than to the world, our sin nature will diminish while the light of God will shine through your life. The world and the ways of the world can offer no hope. You may find it easier to conform to the world and the sin found there, but only conforming to God’s ways will give you peace in your soul.

There are so many things we see in the world that are opposed to God. We are in a spiritual battle, and Satan doesn’t want you to find joy in your Christian walk. If you’ve truly accepted Christ, then your salvation is safe, but you need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

That might take effort on your part, but trust the Holy Spirit to strengthen you.

“For though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds:) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

If you keep your mind fixed upon Jesus and have Scripture memorized, Satan and his minions will have no power over you.

Another truth found in Scripture is that wickedness and deception will abound as we draw closer to the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, also known as the Tribulation. Because Christians seem to be conforming to the darkness of Satan rather than standing firm upon God’s truth, wickedness is able to flourish. Look around and you’ll see that evil is being called good.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

The world, run by Satan, promotes “gay pride,” abortion, and sexual freedom. This is calling evil good. Jesus likened the end times to the days of Noah (Luke 17:26) and also to the days of Lot (Luke 17:28). I would encourage everyone to study, really study, Genesis to understand what truly was happening in Noah’s time and in Lot’s time. Most mainline pastors will teach a man-made story that Seth’s sons married Cain’s daughters, so God destroyed the entire Creation. This is another lie from the father of lies. In Noah’s time, fallen angels were mating with human women, and monstrous creatures known as Nephilim were the result. Genetic manipulation is going on today, and Christians turn a blind eye.

In Lot’s time, homosexual activity and desire for “strange flesh” were so evil that God sent fire and brimstone upon Sodom and the surrounding cities. God’s judgment is coming, and Christian’s sleep. Pastors are more interested in tickling ears than in preaching God’s truth. That’s another sign that the end is drawing near.

Paul directed the young pastor, Timothy, to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Does your pastor speak God’s truth and encourage the congregation to conform to God? Many pastors don’t want to step on toes, so they tell jokes, promote their favorite sports team, and give an ear-tickling sermon so as not to upset anyone. Christians accept this and sleep. As bad as the preachers who don’t preach the word of God are, there are ones who embrace the sin of the world and promote it. If you’re sitting in a congregation where the preacher has compromised God’s word in order to conform to the world, then you need to speak up and/or find a congregation that teaches the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. Don’t conform to the world.

Do you conform to God, or do you conform to the world? It does matter.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.