You’ll Need Them Along the Way in Your Journey Through Life!
Originally Published in 2022
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
The Lord gave us an invaluable gift in His Word. The Bible is the infallible Word of God, and He has given it to us to show us the way through this life. He is our Creator, and for those that are His; He is our Redeemer and our Lord. He created all things and sustains them by His Almighty Power.
The Bible is about the fall of man and his redemption. We have a God who loves us and wants the best for us. He has given us free will so that we might choose our path in life. His Word shows us the way to walk, and through it, find our way back to Him.
The Lord offers a path back to Him by way of Calvary. Man is totally depraved and unable to save himself. These words are strong but true. Without the Lord we are lost and without hope. The Lord shows us that in His Word, and displays His love for us in His answer to our hopeless state. His love can be seen by all at Calvary. His death for the sins of mankind enabled man to be born spiritually and have communion with the Lord once again. As John the Baptist proclaimed regarding the coming of Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The Bible is our guide. We must read it and believe what it says. It is the wisdom of God given to us that we might escape our fallen nature and live a life pleasing to the Lord in this fallen world. The life the Lord offers is one of forgiveness of sins and fellowship with Him. We are born spiritually and have the Lord’s presence in our lives which blesses us and sustains us as we walk out our lives. The Bible calls it “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
As we look at what is happening in our world today; we see a world in trouble with unrest, lawlessness, and great uncertainty about the future. We need only to look to God’s Word to see that these times were prophesied by the Lord. He wants all those who come to Him through His Word to know that we can rest in the knowledge that our Mighty God has everything in His control.
The world as it is cannot continue forever. There must be a time of judgment for a world that goes its own way and sinks further and further into sin. This can be seen in God’s Word. He warns all that judgment is coming. He cries out to us through His Word that we might not perish, but that we might come to Him in repentance and faith and receive His mercy and grace. Mercy and grace that cost the Lord greatly to provide at Calvary.
The Bible is our guide. Read it today and live. Ignore it at your great risk. The Lord has done all He can. He came and died on a cruel cross to pay for our sin and points the way to Eternal Life with Him through His Word. The Bible is His loving gift to us. Read it today for in it you will find “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” May you be blessed as you seek to know the One that loves you. He asks you today if you have read his book because in it are the words of life.
“As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s Word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him” (Psalm 18:30).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
See The A,B,C’s of Salvation on this website. Link below:
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“Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus spoke these words revealing to all that Salvation comes from Him, and Him alone. We have a fallen nature and are unable to save ourselves. Those who try to do so in their own efforts “labor and are heavy laden” with the result being the lack of rest that only Christ can provide. Romans Chapter 6 tells that when we come in faith to Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary, spiritually we “we are baptized into His (Christ’s) death,” and “buried with Him by Baptism into death,” and finally “that like Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we should walk in Newness of Life.” So, we have rest in Christ as we come to Him in repentance and faith. These verses tell us what happens to us spiritually when we place our faith in Christ. This is all accomplished by the Holy Spirit, Who, by Christ paying the price for our sins on the Cross, comes and abides in all believers.
WALK
“This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).“
When we come to the Lord in “rest” we are then to keep our faith in Christ and Him Crucified which allows the Holy Spirit to work mightily in our lives (Romans 8:2). We are not to try and live for the Lord in our own strength. Paul tells the Galatians “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law.” The Galatians were tempted to go back under Mosaic Law to gain victory in their lives. Paul tells them that that will only lead to defeat. Today, we may not be tempted to go back to the Mosaic Law, but we can make up our own laws in trying to live a victorious life. The Christian disciples (e.g prayer, Bible reading, fasting, attending church, etc.) are all good and hold an important place in our serving the Lord, but if we place our faith in them to gain victory over some failure in our life; we will not realize any success, and we will fail. We are to live by faith. Christ fulfilled the Law and we are “dead to the Law.” Galatians 2:21 makes it all clear, “I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if Righteousness come by the Law (any law or work we could perform), then Christ is dead in vain (if we can have victory in our own efforts then Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was unnecessary).”
STAND
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).
We have liberty in Christ and we are to stand fast in that liberty. That means we are to anchor our faith in Christ and Him Crucified. It is to be the object of our faith daily. Paul told the Galatians that if they did not live their daily life by faith in Christ but went back under the Law in attempting to live this Christian life, then “Christ is become of no effect to you” and “you are fallen from Grace.” This is a grave warning from Paul for us to consider. Again, we are to stand fast in the liberty that faith in Christ brings us. The result of not standing is bondage.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
Peter tells us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom He might devour.” He wrote this to Believers as a warning to “resist steadfast in faith.” We are saved and “kept by the Power of God by faith.” We have a powerful adversary, and under him, principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Our ark of safety is found only in our continued daily faith in Christ and Him Crucified. Christ came to deliver us from this present evil world. Most of the world is lost and under the power of the evil one. As Christians, we are to rest in the Salvation the Lord has provided, walk in the Power of the Holy Spirit, and stand fast in the liberty our faith provides for a victorious Christian life and power against our adversary.
“According to His Divine Power has given us all things that pertain unto life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who has called us to Glory and Virtue” (1 Peter 1:3).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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My name is Bill and there are so many things in my life that I look back on in shame. My life took a turn for the worse in my teen years. I fell in with the wrong crowd and did some things that I deeply regret. The memory of that terrible time in my life when peer pressure and my own foolish decisions caused others great pain stayed with me. Even to this day, these memories are with me. I cringe at even the thought of all I have done.
As I entered my twenties I became an angry person and let what happened in the past affect my life. I didn’t repeat any of those things that I’m now so ashamed of, but I believe the effect of the memories of those things caused me to hate myself and to do things that would cause me pain. Feeling poorly about myself resulted in broken relationships with friends. Most of them could not understand the anger that I lived with and projected onto anyone who attempted to draw close to me. I felt I didn’t deserve any friends, or even any goodness in my life. This turned into a deep depression that I could not seem to overcome.
I know the cause of it all now and have shared it here. My problem went back to my youth. I didn’t fully realize the impact it had on my life nor did I understand that this was causing me to live a life of torment. I considered suicide on a number of occasions. I was in deep trouble and could not see any way out.
One day as I was heading to work; I stopped at the mall to pick up a book I thought might help. It was one of those self-help books that so many people today look to for answers. As I walked up to the entrance to the mall, I came across a man handing out information on the Bible. I stopped, took one, and read the title. It said, “He paid the debt we could not pay.” I asked the man what that meant. The man told me that we are all sinners and in need of forgiveness for how we’ve lived our lives without God. He said Jesus paid the price for our sins by His sacrifice on the Cross and that if we would repent and believe in Him we would be forgiven and could have the “Newness of Life” that was promised us in the Bible.
I was stunned by what the man told me. I asked him if all the things that I had done in the past and have carried with me to this day could be forgiven. He said that not only would I be forgiven but God will remember them no more. In fact, he said the Bible says that “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.”
I said the Sinner’s Prayer that very day. All things became new to me. And I had a peace I never had experienced before. I was amazed at the mercy the Lord had shown me and I realized that by faith in Christ and Him Crucified I could remain in the peace of God and the Holy Spirit would help me to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
I went back to all the people I felt I had harmed both in my teen years and those who experienced my anger in my twenties. I asked for their forgiveness and shared the Gospel with them. I want to share the love the Lord showed me with all those so in need of the Salvation He freely gives. My life is now one of thanksgiving and praise to the God who loved me and died on a cruel Cross to pay the debt that I owed and could not pay.
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” ( Romans 5:8 ESV).
Always Remember,
God Loved You!
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Here I Am Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023
Ginny’s Path To Salvation and the Baptism With the Holy Spirit
A Fictional Narrative
Ginny was meeting her friend Sally for lunch and she was looking forward to it. She hadn’t seen Sally in ages and they had at one time been close friends. Sally sounded quite excited about some news she wanted to share with her. Ginny wondered what the news was that would cause Sally to contact her after all this time. As she waited for their meeting time to arrive, she realized that she missed Sally and the close friendship they had enjoyed. Life had taken them along different paths and it would be so good to see her again.
They met at a little outdoor cafe that they were both very familiar with. In fact, they had enjoyed sharing many lunchtimes at this same cafe in the past. They greeted each other with a hug and caught up with all that had happened in each of their lives since they had last met.
Ginny sensed that something was different about Sally. She seemed so at peace and had a glow about her. Ginny remembered attending church with Sally in their youth. The church they attended had a lot of church rules. As they grew older they both talked about how they didn’t really enjoy church or feel that they were getting anything out of it. They both stopped attending considering it was of no value in their lives and something to be avoided.
During their lunch, Sally shared the Gospel with Ginny. She told her that God’s Word made it clear that it was all by faith which was very much unlike what they had experienced in the church they attended in their youth. Sally told of the Savior Who died on the Cross to pay the sin debt mankind owed to God. The Cross was mentioned in their original church, but the fact that we could be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life all by faith was not. It was all about works in their old church. Ginny listened and heard the true Gospel for the first time. She was amazed at what she heard and felt a stirring in her heart. She realized that this was what was missing in her life. Ginny prayed the Sinner’s Prayer with Sally and they both read the following scripture:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9)
Sally had more good news for her. She said that when we place our faith in Christ and Him Crucified we are born again and the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. She quoted the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John when he told His disciples just before His death “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.” She explained that Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit Who comes to abide within and brings us victory in our lives over the world, the flesh, and the Devil as we daily make Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross the object of our faith.
Sally also told her that the Bible says that the Spirit also gives us power for service in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit which is available by faith to all those who are born again. Sally told her that the Lord, just before He was taken up into Heaven, told His Disciples that the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit coming as “Helper,” was the “Promise of the Father” that had awaited Christ’s finished work at Calvary. He was referring to the soon-coming Day of Pentecost which took place fifty days after His Resurrection and was the birthday of the church. He said, “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” She explained that the Holy Spirit plays dual roles in our lives. He comes as a “Helper” to bring us victory in our daily lives, and He comes to give us power for service.
Ginny was so grateful that the Lord had reached down in mercy and Grace and saved her. Her whole family for generations had been members of the church of her youth and had never heard the Gospel. After presenting the Gospel to them, some of them came to the Lord; some did not. Ginny, of course, knew that the Gospel was offered to whosoever will come and her family now had that opportunity. She felt so blessed to now know the Lord and to have the “Helper” within her to be her constant guide. She asked the Lord for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and received it with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. Ginny knew just how blessed she was in knowing and receiving Salvation. She now knew it was all by Grace through faith in the Lord Jesus and His sacrificial work at Calvary. She had entered the rest of God and the peace of God was the result.
“For by Grace are you saved through faith (in Christ and Him Crucified); and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
“….When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will lead you into all truth” (John 14:13).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
The Sinner’s Prayer at the link below
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Here I Am Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023
The Heart of the Father and the Riches of His Grace
“For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I have come from the Father” (John 16:22).
Jesus, just prior to His crucifixion, encouraged His disciples by telling them that the Father loved them because of their acceptance and belief in Him. It is the same for us today; The Father loves us because we have believed in His Son whom He sent to rescue us from this evil world and the judgment to come. The Father proved His great love for us by sending His Son so that we might know Him and His great plan of redemption. His redemption plan is the greatest display of God’s love.
Jesus said, “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
We can know the Father by looking at the Son. Jesus, in His earthly ministry healed all those who came to Him. He came for the people of Israel and never turned any away. He cast out demons from the many that suffered from them. He taught the people the ways of God, offering them the Kingdom if they would believe in Him. His love for all those that came to Him was seen by all. We can read the Gospels and see all He did in His three-and-a-half-year ministry. He spoke the words the Father gave Him and if we look to Him we will see the Father.
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1).
We have been adopted into the family of God by our faith in Christ and Him Crucified. Jesus called it being “born again.” We are joint heirs with Christ through faith. We will be changed and receive glorified bodies at the Lord’s coming. And glorious things have been prepared for us in the future by the Father.
“In Whom we have redemption through His Blood, for the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
The Father loves us and sent His Son so that we might have forgiveness of sins. 1 Corinthian 6:11 says, “You are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified.” All made possible by the gift of God’s Son who paid the price at Calvary on the Cross. The blood of Jesus cleansed us of all our sins. We have been set apart for God and declared not guilty. In fact, the Lord looks at us now as though we had never sinned.
Yes, the Father loves us and has shown us His great love in the sending of His Son to die a sacrificial death on the Cross so that we might be forgiven and spend eternity with him. The Lord throughout His Word is telling us that He loves us. The Bible is God’s love letter to us all. Once we see this great love the Father has for us, we must tell others of God’s great love for them. He is saying through every verse of Scripture; Tell them I love them!
“Grace be with you, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in Truth and Love” (2 John 1:3).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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Here I Am Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com2023
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Tim was raised in a family that did not know the Lord. He was in trouble with the law as a teenager, but was now, as an adult, working full-time and had stayed out of trouble since his teen years. However, he was a committed partier and drinker and spent his nights and weekends indulging himself in all the so-called pleasures of this world. If you asked Tim about his life, he would have told you that he was living life to its fullest.
John, on the other hand, had grown up in a Christian home with parents who took their family to church each week. John had given his life to the Lord at an early age and was Baptized with the Holy Spirit at 11 years old. In his teenage years, he struggled with the things of God and the pull of the world, but in the end, he came through with strong faith in the Lord.
Tim and John worked together at the same firm. They both were good at their jobs and advanced in the firm from year to year receiving promotions and raises. Both married their high school sweethearts and they both had children. Everything in life looked great for both of these men. Tim and John, although friendly toward each other, were not close and did not travel in the same circles.
Tim had managed to conceal his drinking problem from his employer to date. However, his marriage was in trouble due to his drinking and his occasional long stretches of partying. John was serving the Lord, and he and his family attended church each week.
If you were to ask Tim about John he might tell you that he thought John a good man but that John was too straight-laced and did not join in the outside-of-work activities that Tim enjoyed so much. He felt John was missing out and thought that he must lead a rather dull life.
One day a processor came to the office and served Tim with divorce papers. Tim seemed stunned by this – he clearly had not seen this coming. Tim comforted himself with what he knew best and that was drinking and partying. His performance at work suffered and the firm considered letting him go.
Tim was beside himself, He didn’t know what to do or where to turn. One day, John came to him and asked him to go to lunch with him. Tim reluctantly agreed. At lunch Tim found himself opening up to John. This surprised him! And John surprised him. John just listened to all Tim told him. Tim was amazed at the kindness that John exhibited and appreciated his noncritical way of responding to all Tim had shared with him. He also sensed a peace that John had that he had never seen in anyone before. The lunch ended with John telling Tim that he was there for him any time he wanted to talk.
Tim could not get his lunch date with John out of his mind. John was so kind, and the peace he felt when he was with John. He remembered how they had talked about his problems all through lunch and how John had quietly listened and when he did respond, it was in kindness. John had said a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing over their meal before they began to discuss Tim’s situation. Tim wondered if the peace he felt had anything to do with that prayer.
In the following weeks, Tim watched John closely and saw how kind he was and how at peace He seemed. Finally, he went to John and asked him about the peace he felt at the lunch the two had shared.
John told him that the peace was the peace of God and that everyone could experience it in their lives every day. This got Tim’s attention and he asked John if he could experience this peace in the bad situation he found himself in. John assured him that he could and shared the Gospel with him. He told Tim of our need to repent of our sins – the way we’ve lived our lives without God. He shared with him the love God has for us sending His Son to die on a cruel Cross so that we might be forgiven and experience peace with God. He also told him that as we walk out our lives with faith in Jesus and what He accomplished at Calvary we would walk in the peace of God. He said our faith in the Cross brings us both peace with God and the peace of God.
Tim took all this in and thought about all that John had shared. He just couldn’t get it out of his mind. However, there was an inner battle going on. Can all of what John shared with him be true? Had he lived his whole life in the wrong way? What about his partying and drinking? He would have to change these things and he didn’t know if he could, or even if he wanted to. The battle in his mind raged, but the love of God that John had told him about eventually caused him to fall to his knees and ask for forgiveness from the Lord. He immediately sensed the peace of God. Tears came to his eyes as he truly realized the love the Lord had for him. He was overwhelmed. He was so thankful for the Lord reaching down in mercy and grace and saving him.
Tim’s problems at home and at work took some time to work out, but the Lord took away the drinking right away. He has absolutely no desire to drink or party as he had before. His wife and family saw the change in Tim and they eventually came to the Lord. His employer saw the change, as well, and although he had to go through a probationary period, he came through it with the Lord’s help and became a rising star in the firm. There were still issues in his life, as there are with all of us until we come to glory, but the Lord is faithful and will see him through as he walks out his life by faith. Tim realizes that his faith placed daily in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, allows the Holy Spirit to work mightily in his life. He realizes just how blessed he is and walks out each day with thanksgiving and praise.
Tim and John are now not only coworkers but have become friends. In fact, their families attend church together and get together frequently outside of work. The Lord had worked the miracle of Salvation and restoration in Tim’s life. Tim now having peace with God walks out each day in the peace of God.
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ” (Philippians 4:7).
Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify, Spotify for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.
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Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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Here I Am Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023
This article was originally published in 2021, but I felt the Lord wanted me to release it once again considering the moral downward spiral we continue to find ourselves witnessing today. Our children are being exposed to greater and greater evil. The question is how long will the Lord let this go on before he brings judgment to our nation? We must pray for our nation!
“Lord, You have searched me, and known me. You have covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:1,13b,14a).
We were known by the Lord before we were born. As the above verse states, we were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139 says, “My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.” We were given life by the Lord and He watches over us for our good all the days of our life. We are blessed to be under His loving care. We see His watchful care and love for us in our very existence and His provision for us in all our needs. His greatest show of love for us came through His great sacrifice at the cross.
In all this, He has proven His love for us and has shown us that we are dependent on him for all things. Just as little children are dependent on their parents, we too are totally dependent on the Lord. We are to come in childlike faith believing in His love for us, and we are to place our faith in Him and His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary.
“Except you be converted (born-again), and become as little children (totally dependent on the Lord just as children depend on parents), you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (unbelief will result in being lost” (Matthew 18:3).
But what of the children coming into the world today? Has He not formed them? Are they not the work of His hands? Is He not grieved at the pregnancies that are terminated through abortion? And how about the things our children are now being exposed to in our society. How long will the Lord allow us to terminate a life He created and not protect the innocence of our children that He has entrusted to our care? He has said in His Word that children are a blessing and a reward from the Lord.
“Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” (Psalm 127:3,4,5a).
As a society moves away from the Lord, the ways of the Lord are disregarded and evil creeps in. One of the ways to determine the health of any nation is to look at how that society treats its most innocent and vulnerable, the children. Our nation has much to answer for in this regard. We should be protecting our precious children and encouraging them in the ways of the Lord.
“But Jesus called them to Him, saying let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God” ( Luke 18:16).
The Lord has expressed His love towards us throughout His Word. The Bible says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.” As we have seen: He knew us from before we were born and watches over us for good our whole lives. However, we should know that the blood of the unborn whose lives are taken from them through abortion calls out to him. He said this to Cain regarding the murder of his brother Abel: ” What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out unto Me from the ground.”
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Our country needs to seek the Lord’s forgiveness regarding this great sin. The Lord is a merciful God and loves us, but He is also a God of judgment and must judge sin. It has been said; As the church goes, so goes the nation. The church in America has lost its way. We must get back to preaching Christ and Him crucified as the answer for this nation. The Apostle Paul said it well, “Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God.” If we, as believers, come to the Lord in repentance; He will hear us, forgive our sin, and bring healing to our land.
“If my people, which are called by my Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
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Here I Am, Lord –Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2021
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“He (John the Baptist) said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare you the Way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Luke 3:4).
Ben had recently returned to the state he had grown up in. He was glad to be back. It was familiar ground for him and he was thankful the Lord brought him back to his place of birth. Many of those living in the area he had just returned from were serving the Lord. Ben considered the time he spent there a blessed time and was so thankful for it. But he was excited to return to his home state because he missed it and he knew there was a great need for the Gospel there.
His home state was unlike the place he had just come from. It was a very conservative and liberal area. People were reluctant to discuss spiritual matters. Some attended churches in the area, but many did not seek the ways of God. Ben found it hard to share the Gospel to those in this area. He prayed for a move of God and he prayed that the Holy Spirit would move throughout the state in a mighty way convicting and drawing souls to a saving knowledge of the Lord.
Ben felt he was a debtor to all those who did not know the Lord. The Lord had graciously saved him and opened up the Gospel to his family. Ben saw this as an incredible miracle as his family had been steeped in religion for generations. Upon hearing the true Gospel, some of his family had accepted the Lord and were serving Him. Others had passed on after coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord and were now with Him. The Gospel had come to his family for the first time and Ben was so grateful. Ben knew it was up to those in his family who did not initially come to the Lord after hearing the Gospel to realize the love that the Lord has for them and come to Him.
Ben had been wonderfully Baptized with the Holy Spirit and the Lord also had shown Ben the way to victory in his Christian life. Ben now knew that the key to a victorious Christian life was to make Christ and Him Crucified the object of his faith daily which allowed the Holy Spirit to work mightily in his life. Yes, Ben felt He was a debtor to all those who did not know the Lord, and also to those who knew the Lord but did not know how to gain the victory in their daily Christian walk. He felt so blessed and wanted all those he came across to know the joy he felt and the wonderful Salvation the Lord offered to all. Ben also realized that the hour was late and that prophetically we were nearing the end times spoken of in the Bible when judgment would come on this world.
Ben so admired John the Baptist who the Lord had sent to Israel. The Lord spoke to Israel through John to call all Israel back to Him and His Word through repentance. He was sent to proclaim the Lord’s arrival in announcing to all “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” When John was asked who he was he quoted the Book of Isaiah replying that he was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”
Ben knew that sharing the Gospel was the most important thing he could do especially considering the lateness of the hour. He walked out his daily life telling all those who would listen of their need for Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross that paid the sin debt owed to God. He felt a certain affinity with John the Baptist realizing that just as John called Israel back to God, we cry out to a lost and dying world with the hope that they will come to the Lord. The world is a wilderness in need of Salvation. Ben saw the great need and sought to walk in the love that the Lord had for all those who are so in need of His Salvation.
“And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature (The Great Commission)” (Mark 16:15).
Today, Ben is working along with all believers to help fulfill the “Great Commission.” He knows that the Gospel is the only hope for mankind. Satan, the “god of this world” is doing all he can to blind people to this wonderful Gospel. But Ben knows of the Lord’s great love and remembers how his family was lost and on their way to Hell before the Lord reached down in His mercy and opened the Gospel to them. He prays for all those who do not know the Lord.
Ben realizes just how much the Lord has blessed him and his family and wants to share all the Lord has given him with whosoever will receive it. The questions Ben might ask of those he shares the Gospel with are: Can you hear the voice of the Lord as He reaches out to you in His mercy and grace through His Gospel? Have you felt the tug of the Holy Spirit as He searches out whomsoever will hear and place their faith in Christ and His great finished work at Calvary? And most importantly; Has the Gospel found a place in your heart?
The Way of Salvation
We are to admit we are sinners unable to save ourselves: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23), and “There is none righteous, no, not one”(Romans 3:10).
We are to acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross: ” He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
We are to place our faith in Him (Jesus) and His great sacrificial work on the cross: “If you 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”(Romans 10:9).
God’s Love For Us
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life” (John 3:16).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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Here I Am Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com2023
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Many today believe that how they live their lives will determine where they go for eternity. This is true, but not in the way most believe. We are born with a fallen nature and incapable of pleasing God by what we do. The Lord wants us to live good lives, but we are unable to do this in ourselves because in our fallen nature we cannot live a righteous life. It is impossible!
Cain and Abel are our first examples in the Bible of the two roads that people choose to please and be accepted by God. Cain offered up the “fruit of the ground,” his labor, to the Lord, and the Lord rejected it. The Lord loved Cain as he did Abel and encouraged him to offer up the right sacrifice. But Cain refused and, therefore, as the sacrifice he offered was rejected, so was Cain. Cain’s approach is the approach of all those in the world today who believe that living a good life is enough. They believe that God will accept them because they have walked out this life trying their best to do the right thing. This seems so right in our fallen human nature, and the Lord does want us to live good lives before Him. But this will not make us acceptable to God, nor will it result in us going to Heaven.
Cain is in Hell today if he did not change his way of approaching God and come God’s way. Well, some might say, he killed his brother so that his fate was sealed. There is no sin the Lord will not forgive if we come His way. There is no evidence in the Bible that Cain came to the Lord, but we all have until we breathe our last breath to make things right with the Lord.
Abel brought from “the firstlings of his flock.” In so doing, Abel realized that he was in need of a redeemer and that a blood sacrifice of an innocent lamb was required by the Lord. This was a type pointing ahead to Christ Who would pay the sin debt owed in His sacrificial death on the Cross. The Lord had shown his parents, Adam and Eve, their need for a redeemer by providing “coats of skin” to cover their nakedness after they sinned against the Lord in the Garden and attempted to cover their nakedness with “fig leaves.” By this, the Lord was showing them that without the shedding of blood, which spoke of the animals sacrificed to provide a covering for their nakedness, there could be no forgiveness of sin. This represented a type of Christ Who would provide the ultimate covering for sin that is the only covering the Lord will accept. Adam and Eve, and all those who have come after them, were shown by this that the Lord must provide the covering or payment for sin, not man.
We can read this account of these two men in the first book of the Bible and know that their story is there as an example for us today. As has been mentioned, these two men and their individual approach to the Lord represent the two ways that mankind has sought to approach God down through the ages. I believe the Lord gave us this account in Scripture that all would see what He required in order to have fellowship with Him.
The Gospel is very simple. A child can understand it. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the Cross of Calvary to pay the sin debt owed to God. We must come to the Lord in repentance and faith believing that by Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross, our sins are forgiven and that we are now accepted by the Lord and have become children of God. Those that do not come this way will go the way of Cain. Pride is what holds many from coming to the Lord because we must admit we are sinners in need of a Savior.
So, we cannot live a life pleasing to God through our own strength and ability. The “fig leaves” we try to cover ourselves with by trying to live good lives outside of God will reap the same results as that of Cain’s sacrifice. We must come to the Cross seeking forgiveness and believing that the covering for our sins is accomplished and accepted by God at Calvary. For those who go the way of the Lord, there are untold blessings. We’ll close with a verse from the Bible in which the Lord makes His way very clear for all to see:
“For by Grace (unmerited favor) are you saved by faith (in the “covering” for our sin He provides which is Christ and Him Crucified); and that not of yourselves (salvation is completely of the Lord): it is the gift of God (paid for by His Son’s sacrificial death on the Cross). Not of works (we cannot earn it by what we do), lest any man should boast ( in our own abilities)” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com
“And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon (Satan); and the dragon fought and his Angels” (Revelation 12:7).
This “war” happens at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation. Satan and all the Angels that threw in their lot with him will now be cast out of Heaven. This has to do with the “Mystery of God” that will now be brought to completion (Revelation 10:7). The mystery is; Why has the Lord allowed Satan and his followers to be in Heaven all this time? There are many thoughts on this but the Lord has not revealed His reason for this to us. This is why it’s called a “Mystery.” The result of this war is that Satan and his angels will no longer be allowed in Heaven.
“And (they) prevailed not: neither was their place found any more in Heaven” (Revelation 12:8)
Satan was defeated by Michael and the Angels of the Lord and cast out of Heaven. It’s interesting to note that this war was not started by Satan. It was brought on by the Command of the Lord. Some have questioned whether Satan has actually had access to Heaven all this time, but a reading of the first chapter of the Book of Job dispels all doubt. Satan has had access to Heaven in the past and gone before the Lord to accuse the brethren as evidenced by his accusations against Job.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the Earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).
Satan is referred to here as “that old serpent” because he used a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve in the Garden and since that time has worked to deceive the whole world. Jesus warned His Disciples to be on guard against deception just prior to His Crucifixion. Satan has come to “steal, kill, and destroy” and our only defenses against the Devil and his ways are knowing the Word of God and placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. Satan now being cast out of Heaven is the beginning of his end, as we shall see.
“Therefore rejoice, you Heaven, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows his time is short” (Revelation 12:12).
Those in Heaven now rejoice because they have seen the last of the adversary. Satan has no more access to Heaven. However, this verse proclaims a “Woe” to those on Earth at this time because Satan has great anger at being cast out of Heaven and knows that he has a short time. Satan, through the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all his minions now wreaks havoc on the Earth. He does not succeed, of course. The Lord, Who has cast Him out of Heaven, will now cast him off the earth.
“And an Angel came down from Heaven, having the keys to the bottomless pit and great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that, he must be loosed a little season” (Revelation 20:1-3).
At this time, Satan and his Antichrist have been defeated at Armageddon with the Glorious Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which will be the greatest happening in human history since the Cross. Satan and his minions will be literally bound for a thousand years. Notice there is a rehearsal of his various names that portray him using great cunning as our adversary and our accuser. Many have fallen to his devious ways and have ended up in Hell. As we will see, he will be released for one last time of deception and rebellion against the Lord to attempt to deceive all those on Earth at that time. This will occur at the end of the thousand-year Millennium Reign of Christ on the Earth.
“And when the thousand years have expired (finished), Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the Earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7,8).
All those on Earth at that time who did not accept Christ during the Kingdom Age will join Satan’s final rebellion against God. Incredibly, it says that the numbers that follow Satan are “as sands of the sea.” They are deceived by him and follow him to their eternal doom.
“And they went up on the breadth of the Earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them” (Revelation 20:9).
We are not told much about this final rebellion except that Satan and his army came against Jerusalem and the Lord puts it down quickly. This is the final attack against this great city – the city of God.
“And the Devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, where the Beast and False Prophet are, and will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
This is the end of Satan and his influence over God’s creation. He will never again rebel against the Lord, or be allowed to deceive, or to “steal, kill, and destroy.” His end will be eternal suffering and torment in the lake of fire. But what of those who followed him and rebelled against the Lord’s ways? I’m talking about all those who have lived from the time of the Garden until now. What is their end?
“And I saw a Great White Throne, and Him Who sat on it…. and I saw the dead small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged according to their works…and death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death….and whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake Fire” (Revelation 20:11,12).
Those appearing before the Great White Throne Judgment are all the unredeemed. The Lord will open the books and they will be judged by their works. Our works will not gain us Heaven. It is only by faith in Christ and Him Crucified that our names are written in the Book of Life. This is a judicial proceeding and will result in all those standing before God hoping to justify themselves by works being cast into the Lake of Fire. What a horrible end for those who did not come by the way of faith.
And what will become of all the redeemed? All of us who have loved God served Him and accepted the gift of Eternal Life through the Lord’s sacrificial death on the Cross. What will happen to us? Well, we have a glorious future to look forward to. In closing, let’s take a look at what God’s Word has to say about this:
“And I saw a New Heaven and a new Earth: for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed way (pass from one condition to another), and there was no more sea. And I John (the Apostle John) saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, come down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great Voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4 & ESB notes).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify, Spotify for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.
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Here I am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries -tqministries.com 2023
Here I Am, Lord - - tqministries.com 