The Lost and the Found

The Blind and Those Who See

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. (Amazing Grace composed by John Newton)

The following actually happened some years ago. A husband and wife owned a restaurant in a western state. The restaurant was a family-style establishment and was frequented by many of the local residents of the town. Every Sunday night, after church services, a local pastor and his wife would come in for dinner. The two couples became friendly and would make conversation each time the pastor and his wife stopped in. During their conversations, the subject of faith would come up. The pastor and his wife shared the Gospel with the couple on many occasions during their weekly visits. They politely listened to the pastor and his wife as they presented the Gospel each time, but were not willing to receive the Lord – until one night everything changed.

One Sunday night, the pastor’s wife told the wife that she was going to go to Hell. It was a shocking statement and it took her by surprise. At first, she was angry but then came the conviction of the Holy Spirit. She sat under the conviction of the Holy Spirit for days. She just could not get away from what the pastor’s wife had said to her.

Admittedly, the statement from the pastor’s wife was a bold one and few would have been so blunt with the woman. But the truth is that this is the end for all those who are “lost” and do not see. In this case, it was the Holy Spirit working through the pastor’s wife to reach out to this woman and her husband. The end result was that the couple came to the pastor’s church one Sunday and heard the Gospel. They realized their lost state and repented and came by faith to the Lord. Years later, their son became a minister of the Gospel and was powerfully used by the Lord in world Evangelism. The pastor’s wife had been used by the Holy Spirit to reach this couple and it resulted in not only their Salvation but many souls beiing saved worldwide through the ministry of their son.

There are only two types of people in the world – the lost and the found. There are those who are blind to spiritual matters and there are those who see spiritually. Being “found” is being born again or being born from above. Jesus spoke of it in John Chapter 3. He said the following:

“…. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven”  (John 3:5).

He was speaking of spiritual birth. We are in a lost state with a fallen nature and must be spiritually born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. When we are born again, we go from our “lost” state to a saved, or “found” state. The word “found” is appropriate because it is the Lord who reaches down in His Mercy and Grace and saves us. We cannot, and will not, come to the Lord of our own volition. We are brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord by the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

In our story of this family, we see the Holy Spirit using extreme measures to convict them and draw them to the Lord. It was the Love of God reaching out to them in their lost state. The end for all those who reject the Love the Lord offers is Hell. This is so critically important that we must reach out to all those “lost” with the Gospel. They do not realize the extremely dangerous condition they are in. Their only hope is to be “found” by the Love of God and surrender to that Love that sent His Son to the Cross to pay the sin debt and make it possible for whosoever will to be forgiven and become “children of God.”

Do know the Lord today? If you do not – you are on the road to Hell. Have you heard the clarion call? Do not ignore His call. Your future depends on it. The Lord reaches out in love today. His mercy and grace are available to us only for the length of our life. Once we die our fate is sealed. In coming to the Lord, the “blind” can see spiritually and the lost can be found. We are saved by repenting and placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. We serve a wonderful merciful God Who seeks us out. Know Him today and be blessed.

“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).

For those of us who were once lost but are now found, we know we have crossed from death to life and we are so grateful. The lyrics of the song “If not for Grace” by Clint Brown expresses the feelings of all those of us who have come by way of the Lord’s Mercy and Grace and found the forgiveness and the love that reached down to a lost soul:

Where would I be You only know. I’m glad You see through eyes of love. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace. I once was lost but now I’m found. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace.

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

[Links to the A,B,C’s of Salvation and the Sinner’s Prayer can be found below.]

The A,B,C’s of Salvation

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/5448

The Sinner’s Prayer

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/1752

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

The Third Day

I Was There That Week in Jerusalem

A First-Person Fictional Narrative

The Via Dolorosa

“And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve Disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the Chief Priests and unto the Scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him: and the third day He shall rise again” (Matthew 20:17-19).

I live in Jerusalem and witnessed the crucifixion of the one that some said was the Messiah. I heard that he told his followers that he would be in the grave for three days and three nights and would rise from the grave on the third day. I don’t know if he actually said that, but those that told me about it were sure that he had. Will he really rise from the dead? It seems impossible! He did say many wonderful things while He was here. And all the healings! I wonder if he really was the Messiah? The one everyone has been waiting for. Two more days to see if what He said about himself would come about.

There are many here who think he was an imposter, including the religious leadership. I do wonder about their motives though. No one has ever done what this man has done. All those wonderful works! They witnessed it all yet they had Him crucified. Did they actually believe that he was the long-awaited Messiah? Did they feel threatened by Him? Their hatred for Him seemed to be so wrong and their treatment of Him so evil and unfair. Two more days.

I was there at the crucifixion and have never seen anything as awful as that. The man didn’t even look like a man. They had beaten him so badly that he was unrecognizable. Those standing around the scene at Calvary represented three groups. There were the mockers telling Him to come down from the Cross if God was with him. And there were those that just stared with astonishment at what was happening. They had never seen a crucifixion like this! The man was so physically abused! And so hated by the religious leaders of Israel. It was shocking to observe.

There was a third group present and they represented some of his disciples, his followers, and his mother. I cannot even imagine the sorrow they felt and the feeling of helplessness in being unable to stop what was happening. This good man was being crucified for no crime whatsoever and they stood there aghast at the sight. This group believed that he was the promised Messiah.

It’s now Saturday and groups of people are gathering throughout Jerusalem talking about the terrible events of the previous day. They talked about how they had heard that he promised to rise again on the third day. His disciples were nowhere to be found. As I walked down the Via Dolorosa there was great sadness and sorrow among all those walking along that way. It just seemed to hang in the air. Everyone knew that something quite terrible had taken place in Jerusalem. This was the very way that the soldiers had led the man down to his crucifixion. They spoke of him being so weak from the beatings that he was unable to carry his cross. All those that gathered along the way talked about all the good he had done. One more day.

It’s the third day and there is a rumor spreading throughout Jerusalem that the tomb is empty and that he had indeed risen from the dead. Someone said that they had spoken to some of his followers and they said that the rumor was indeed true. There was an account of a woman, who they said had actually seen him and had spoken with him. Incredible news! Amazing things are happening in Jerusalem on this day. It seems that the sadness that hung over the city for the last three days has lifted. It has been replaced with a sense of great wonder.

I remember those times in the past when I had journeyed many miles to hear this man speak. His words were like no other man’s. I was in need of healing and the man touched me and I was healed. Just being in his presence was something you would never forget. I have decided that He was in fact the Messiah and I am on my way to join His followers. It’s the third day and he has risen indeed!

“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher….and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus……behold two men stood by them in shining garments. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they (the Angels) said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen…..” (Luke 24:1-6).

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 for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

Down the Via Dolorosa, All the Way to Calvary

Like a Lamb Came the Messiah…

Originally Published 2021

The Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa (from Latin, meaning, sorrowful road) is a half-mile narrow winding route believed to be the path the Lord was taken down from Pilate’s Hall of Judgment to Calvary.

He left His throne in glory and walked among us for thirty-three and a half years. In the years of His ministry, He taught those that would hear of the ways of God. He healed all those that came to Him in need. He raised the dead. He cast out demons. In the end His own rejected Him. He was beaten and spit upon and so abused that it was said that He didn’t look like a man. But Calvary was the reason He came, suffered, and died. An amazing story of God’s love for us. As Isaiah 53 tells us:

Down the Via Dolorosa “brought as a lamb to the slaughter… He opened not His mouth.”

Down the Via Dolorosa, “a man of sorrows.”

Down the Via Dolorosa “despised and rejected of men.”

Down the Via Dolorosa to be “wounded for our transgressions.”

Down the Via Dolorosa to be “bruised for our iniquities.”

Down the Via Dolorosa, “the chastisement of our peace (it was all up to Him to restore peace between God and man) was upon Him.”

We were lost and undone. We could not save ourselves. He came and walked that final walk for us. We will be learning about all it cost the Lord to provide forgiveness for our sins throughout eternity. The Lord paid a price for us that we could not pay.

Yes, He walked that walk for us!

Down the Via Dolorosa as those who loved Him looked on with great sadness

Down the Via Dolorosa as the Angels looked on in amazement.

Down the Via Dolorosa as His Father watched His only Begotten Son make His way to be offered up as the Sacrifice for the sin of all mankind. Isaiah 53:4 says:

“Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…”

As John, the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold, the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” All of the Bible points to Jesus and His great sacrifice. It can be said that the “red thread”, which is a reference to the Blood He shed at Calvary, runs throughout the whole Word of God. Yes, down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Cavalry; the ultimate display of God’s love for us. The following lyrics tell of the measureless love of God for us:

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest Hell …Oh the love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forever endure.

The Love of God – Composed by Frederick M. Lehman

He left His home in Glory, walked among us, and gave His Life for us on the cross. The Lord endured what He suffered at Calvary because of a love for us that is measureless. The following verses from Psalm 22 will give us some insight into his suffering there.

“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people” (verse 6).

“All they who see Me laugh me to scorn…” (verse 7).

“Many bulls (religious leaders of Israel who were bent on crucifying Christ) have compassed Me….. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and roaring lion” (verses 12,13).

“I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels” (verse 14).

“My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue cleaves to My jaw, and you have brought Me into the dust of death..” (verse 15).

“For dogs (Gentiles carrying out the crucifixion) have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked (religious leaders) have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet” (verse 16).

“I may tell all my bones (He was completely exposed for all to see): they look and stare upon Me” (verse 17).

“They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (verse 18).

C.H. Mackintosh said the following regarding Christ:

“He not only came as ‘The Truth,’ but also as the perfect expression of all the love of the Father’s heart: ‘grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’ He was the full disclosure to man of what God was…..”

The “Lamb of God” paid the sin debt for all those that will come to Him in repentance and faith. The Lord endured all He suffered for us. Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find the podcast of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2021

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall…..

……I See My Need and Hear His Call!

“There’s none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Romans: 3:10, 23).

When we take a good look at ourselves it becomes obvious that we are not perfect. We may try to ignore this obvious fact by trying to live a good life or we may look to others that we see as less “perfect” and try to justify our own failings. But the truth is that we are a fallen race unable to walk out a perfect life. We can hide this fact from ourselves or face the truth. In His Mercy and Grace, the Lord shows us our true condition and reaches out to us through the Gospel. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and draws us to the Lord. We can reject the Gospel and the imputed Righteousness (i.e. His Righteousness is ours by faith) He graciously offers us, or we can accept this judgment on our fallen nature and repent of our sins and come by faith to the God Who loves us and has provided a way in which we can have fellowship with Him.

“Therefore being justified by faith (in Christ and Him Crucified) we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 w/ commentary).

Having placed our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary we have peace with God. We now look to Him to walk out this life. It is no longer us trying to justify ourselves, but the Lord living within us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We can look at ourselves as saved by the “Blood of the Lamb.” His shedding his Blood and dying on the Cross as payment for the sin debt owed to God, opened all the blessings of Heaven for us.

“But God commended His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Roman 5:8).

We walk out our new life in Christ by faith. We cannot live this new life in our own strength any more than we could walk out a perfect life before we were saved. The Lord does not give us a stronger willpower to live this life. The following verse shows us what happens to us when we come to the Lord by faith:

“Know you not, that so many of us were baptized (spiritually, not by water) into His Death (spiritually, we died with Christ)? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death (along with all our sins): that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we should walk in Newness of Life” (Romans 6:3,4 w/ commentary).

We have “Newness of Life” because we believe in all that the Lord accomplished at Calvary. The Lord provides a complete Salvation. By faith alone, we are saved from our fallen nature becoming “children of God,” and He has given us many wonderful promises whereas we become partakers of the Divine Nature as the Apostle Peter tells us in the following verse:

“According to His Divine power has given unto us all things for life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who has called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us precious promises: that we might be partakers of the Divine Nature….” (2 Peter 1:3,4).

We have this “knowledge of Him” by our faith in what Christ accomplished at the Cross. He has given us “precious promises” in His “Word” that we might be partakers of the “Divine Nature.” All that has been afforded us is due to the Father’s love for us in sending His Son to die on a cruel cross so that we might be forgiven and given “Newness of Life” in Christ. He has given us “all things for life and Godliness” by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. Romans 8:2 shows us how the Holy Spirit works to bring this about in our lives.

“For the Law of the Spirit (how He works in our lives) of life (all life comes from Christ through the Spirit) in Christ Jesus (by what He accomplished at the Cross) has made me free (victorious living) from the Law of Sin and Death (we cannot overcome this “Law” by our own efforts)” (Romans 8:2 w/ commentary).

Our complete salvation comes from the Lord and now, when we look at ourselves, we can say that we are saved by the Mercy and Grace of the Lord. He has given us His Righteousness, imputed to us by our faith in Christ Crucified, and we now have peace with God. We no longer depend on our own efforts to live a victorious life, but we now know that victory comes by the power of the Holy Spirit as we daily place our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. How great a Salvation the Lord has provided for us!!!!! When peering into the mirror we can now say:

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I’ve come to Jesus and He has forgiven me all!

                                                          

Mirror, mirror on the wall, when I walk out this life by faith I will not fall!

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

It Happened Without Warning!

We Do Not Know What a Day May Bring

A Fictional Narrative

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The man found himself in Hell. Death had come suddenly! It happened without warning, in a moment. He had lived a good life according to the standards of this world. He worked hard and provided for his family. He raised three sons and they all were living successful lives with families of their own. The man realized as he looked around at all the suffering around him that this was his final destination. How had it come to this?

“There’s a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverb 14:12).

The man knew why he was there. He realized that he had gone his own way and that all his success in life meant nothing here. He had lived his life thinking that living a good life would earn him Heaven if there was such a place. As he looked around he did not recognize anyone. They all seemed to be in great pain. Their features seemed to be contorted due to the suffering of this place. He knew that he too appeared as they did with the look of hopelessness on their faces.

“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

He thought back to that moment. He was enjoying working in his garden in the backyard. He was harvesting some of the fresh vegetables for a special dinner party they were hosting that evening. The last thing he saw before collapsing was his wife through the kitchen window preparing for the party. His health wasn’t perfect but to have this happen so suddenly was something none in the family ever expected. The finality of it. He had no last chance to see his family or to say goodbye.

He thought about his sons. He had raised them to be independent. They all respected their father and sought to live a life that he would be proud of. In other words, to follow in his footsteps. He knew now, being in this place of torment, that, although he tried to live an ethical life, He had ignored the most important thing he could have given his family. And that was faith in God!

“If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).

He had heard this Gospel from other family members but had ignored its call to repentance and faith. He thought that these family members were weaker than he and needed the crutch of religion. He was a “self-made” man and stood in his own strength. In the natural, it had paid off for him in that he was very successful. All that success now seemed like nothing compared with what he could have had by coming to the Lord. He realized now that being successful was not wrong, in fact, the Lord wants to bless His children. What was so wrong was rejecting the love that had sent the Son of God to the Cross to pay our sin debt and to open the door for a relationship with the Lord.

The man wished that he could warn his family to not come to this place. He knew that was not possible, but hoped that they would hear and accept the Gospel. He thought of the many times he had the opportunity and rejected it. He now knows that the Lord loves all those in the world and calls whosoever will come to Him to “Newness of Life” in Him. He also knows there are faithful workers who go forth with the Gospel. Although he knows that he cannot be heard by the ones he loves; He continually calls out into the darkness of this place of suffering yelling, “Please, hear the Gospel that will save you so that you will not end up here.”

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

[A discussion on Hell is not a pleasant or popular subject. It’s something not spoken of much today, but it is a real place and needs to be understood by all. Jesus spoke of it many times. Hell and the Lake of Fire are the final destinations for all those who reject the Gospel. We are unable to save ourselves and will perish if we do not accept the “gift” of eternal life that cost our Savior greatly to provide at Calvary. The Gospel is going forth through those who have accepted the love offered them by our Great God and know the end for those who reject it. If you do not know the Lord today, do not put off coming to Him, but hear and accept the Gospel as it’s presented by those whose lives it has changed.]

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim Salvation……” (Isaiah 52:7).

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 for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

The Natural Man

The Gospel Is Foolishness to Them Who Are Perishing!

“For the preaching of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness…….. (1 Corinthians 1:18a)

The natural man, those who have not been born of the Spirit, cannot understand spiritual things. The unredeemed are lost and will perish if they do not come to the Lord in repentance and faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. The Lord, in His Wisdom, sent His Son to die on a cruel Cross to pay the sin debt of man. The world, in its wisdom, cannot understand this. The things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned.

“…… Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world” 1Corinthians 1:20b)

The world in its wisdom could not and cannot bring man to a knowledge of God. The Lord sent His Son to Calvary to open the door to a relationship between God and man. This is the Wisdom of God!

“For after that in the Wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God” (1 Corinthians 1:21)

With God sending His Son as a Redeemer for mankind, the world cannot, in its natural wisdom, know God. The Bible calls man’s wisdom regarding spiritual things – foolishness. Man’s attempts to either know God in the natural or live a life without him by their own wisdom is …. foolishness.

The natural man must come to the place of knowing that without God they are perishing. The Bible tells us that Christ is man’s answer for all that ails him. Christ stands at the crossroads of history as a beacon of hope for all those who will come His way! The Bible puts it this way:

“Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24b).

The Gospel is the only answer for man and one that shows the Wisdom of God that rescued us from our fallen hopeless state and pardoned us of our sin. Faith in this wonderful plan of God allows whosoever will to come His way and to have a relationship with the Lord, and, in fact, become “sons of God.”

The Gospel goes forth by the “foolishness of preaching” and is confirmed by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is Christ and Him Crucified. The Apostle Paul made it clear in the following verse:

“For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

This is the only message that will save those who hear it and accept what the Lord has graciously offered to whosoever comes to Him. We are saved by faith in what the Lord accomplished at Calvary, and we can walk out victorious lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Wisdom of God! How great is our God? The following verse points the way:

” …Even so the things of God knows no man, but by the Spirit of God” ( 1 Corinthians 2:11b).

This makes it very clear. In summary, the natural man cannot know the things of God but is perishing in his fallen state. The Gospel is presented which is Christ and Him Crucified, and the Holy Spirit confirms it. We are born of the Spirit by repenting of our sins and the way we have lived our lives without the Lord and accepting the gift of Salvation by faith in Jesus and His great work at Calvary.

Our introductory verse for this article was “For the preaching of the Cross is to them who are perishing foolishness.” The following is the remainder of the verse: “…but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” God’s power is at work in the lives of all those who realize that they cannot come to God in the wisdom of this world. That wisdom sees the things of God as foolishness. In the natural we cannot even image the things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him, but in the Spirit…..

“But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them who love Him. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

Just Who Is the “Word?”

The Light of the World

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. In Him was Life, and the Life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4).

The four Gospels are each unique. Mathew presents Jesus as the Messiah, the King of Israel. Mark presented Jesus as Servant. Luke presented Jesus as Man (the Son of Man).” But John presents Jesus as God. He wastes no time in presenting this Truth in His Gospel. The very first verses speak of the “Word” that was with God from the beginning and was, in fact, God Himself. John tells us that in Him was “life.”

Just in case those reading this Gospel had any question as to who the “Word” is, John makes it abundantly clear in the 14th verse when he writes the following:

“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only Begotten of the Father” (John 1:14).

The Word was with God from the beginning and was God. There is only one God but manifested in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So God became Man and lived among us. John tells us that those who hear what is being related in this Gospel and believe it will walk in the “light” which will bring them out of the darkness. The darkness is our condition in this fallen world. We are unable to come into the light ourselves because we have a fallen nature due to sin, and if left on our own, we will not come to God. Jesus shined the light into the darkness so that those who saw the light could become sons of God as the following verse tells us:

“But as many received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe upon His Name” (John 1:12).

What a promise! We become “sons of God” when we believe in His Name. But what exactly does it mean to believe in His Name? John the Baptist lets those present at the time, and us, know the reason He came and what He was here to accomplish in the following verse:

“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The Jews had the sacrificial system where they offered up a lamb for their sins. These sacrifices of a lamb could only cover their sin, but not forgive them. All the millions of lambs sacrificed through the years pointed to Jesus Who would come and “take away” the sin of the world. He did this by His sacrificial death on the Cross which paid the sin debt owed to God by man.

So the “light” that Jesus brought to this world in His Incarnation was to show man their need for a Savior. Jesus said the following regarding His being the Savior and the provider of Salvation:

“Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The rest Jesus spoke of comes to us by placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. By His death and our faith in it, we are forgiven and become “sons of God.” We rest in His finished work by placing our faith in Christ crucified daily and the Holy Spirit will enable us to walk out this life in victory. We are dependent on the Lord for our very life’s breath and we are dependent on Him to walk out our life in victory.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Jesus made it very clear just how we are to walk out our Christian life. He made it clear that we are dependent on him for everything. This is an every moment trust in Him. We must rest in faith in the one who loves us and cares for us. Jesus said the following regarding our total dependence on Him for “Life.”

“I am the True Vine (the true source of all life), and My Father is the Husbandman (the authority). Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it (to bring us to the place where the Cross is the total object of our faith), that it bring forth more fruit” ( John 15:1,2).

When the object of our faith is Christ and Him crucified then we are walking in the light the Lord came to provide. We have “Newness of Life” all because of the love the Father had for us in sending His Son to rescue us from the darkness we lived in and bring us into the Kingdom of His Dear Son as the following verse tells us:

“Who (God) has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into Kingdom of His Dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

I Saw the Lord!

Paul’s Testimony Before King Agrippa

Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem due to accusations made by the religious leaders. The accusations were spurious but they stirred up the people which resulted in an uproar in the city. Due to the uproar, Paul was taken into custody by the Chief Captain of the Roman soldiers. Paul asked to address the people and was granted liberty to do so by the Chief Captain. He stood before the people and made his defense. The response from the crowd was their demand that Paul be killed. Concerned for Paul’s safety, the Chief Captain bound him and brought him into the castle.

Paul also appeared before the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish Supreme Counsel with the High Priest as president. This also devolved into great dissension. The Chief Captain, fearing for Paul’s safety, once again, had him removed and brought back to the castle. The Lord appeared to Paul that evening and said the following:

“Be of good cheer, Paul: for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also in Rome” (Acts 23:11).

The Jews “banded together” under a curse to not eat or drink until they killed Paul. The plot was uncovered, and Paul, accompanied by two hundred soldiers, was taken to Caesarea and delivered to the Governor, along with the charges made by the Jewish religious leaders. Paul appeared before Felix, the Governor, and his accusers from Jerusalem made their case before Felix. Paul again made his defenses before the Governor. Felix had some knowledge of Christianity but did not make a decision on the matter at that time. He gave Paul liberty to have his acquaintances have the freedom to visit him, but kept him confined for two years.

Festus now replaces Felix as Governor, and Paul, once again, makes his defense before Festus. The Jewish religious leaders, once again, made accusations against Paul that they were unable to prove. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be judged on the charges laid against him. Paul, knowing that they would kill him if he went to Jerusalem, said that he would appeal to Caesar which was exactly what the Lord told him would happen when He appeared to Him earlier. The Lord said, “So must you bear witness also in Rome.”

Paul gave his testimony of his Damascus road conversion with the Lord appearing to him to those who accused him in Jerusalem, and he now gives that testimony before King Agrippa (the second son of Herod Agrippa) who now comes to Caesarea to see Festus. Festus knew that King Agrippa had a better knowledge of Jewish Law than He, and discussed Paul’s case with the King.

Paul now stands before King Agrippa. Paul starts by acknowledging King Agrippa’s knowledge of Jewish custom and Jewish Law as his father, King Agrippa 1, was zealous for it when he ruled. Paul’s defense included his background as a Pharisee and his time of persecuting those that expressed faith in Christ including imprisoning them and his effort to get them to turn from the faith that he now upholds.

He then testifies how he was on his way to Damascus, with the authority of the Chief Priest, to persecute those He found following Christ in that city. Paul now comes to his miraculous conversion. He testifies that about midday on the road to Damascus, a bright light from Heaven appeared before him being seen by those that traveled with him. Paul, and all those with him, fell to the ground (the Power of God). The following is his account from Acts:

“…..I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul,, why do you persecute Me? And I said, Who are you?, and He said, I am Jesus Whom you persecute” (Acts 26:14,15).

Paul goes on to testify that the Lord told him that he would use him as a “Minister and a witness” of what had just happened to him and of the things that the Lord would show him. Paul then gives an alter call, so to speak, to King Agrippa. King Agrippa responded by saying “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” The Greek does not make it clear whether he was moved to a place of Faith in Christ, or not.

King Agrippa, after hearing Paul’s testimony tells Festus that Paul could have been freed if not for his appeal to Rome.

The Lord wanted Paul to go to Rome to bring the New Covenant, which the Lord had given to Paul, to all those in Rome. Paul had been faithful through all he had gone through starting in Jerusalem with the accusations of the Jewish Leaders, his appearance before Felix and Festus, and finally standing before King Agrippa to witness to all the Lord had done and point all those who witnessed his testimonies to the Gospel. He had been faithful to the Lord’s calling. He would now testify in Rome to the Lord’s great love for us all by dying on a cruel cross so that those who would hear of it would see the mercy and Grace extended to them.

All who hear the Gospel are affected in some way. Some will harden their hearts against it while others will fall on their knees and thank the Lord for His great love for them. Salvation comes to all those who repent and place their faith in Christ and Him crucified. The Lord said the following before His leaving:

” And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall, the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Paul, through his journey from Jerusalem to Caesarea and finally to Rome, carried the Gospel with him and testified to the truth of it to all who would listen. This Gospel continues to go out to all those who will hear. It goes out despite persecution, and despite how those we come across receive it. And it stands as the Truth. Those who carry and present this precious Gospel will boldly continue, despite all obstacles, to share the love of God that would seek us out and offer a Salvation that we could not attain on our own merit. He calls all those who call on His Name to, like Paul, testify to all those who will hear.

All, like King Agrippa, have a choice before them. A decision must be made one way or the other. Accept the love that calls you to a new life in Him, or reject it and remain in your sins. The Gospel continues to go forth “to all the world as a witness” just as the Lord said it would. Of this you can be sure, the end will come and all will give an account before the Lord. Choose life today for the Lord paid a huge price that we might have “Newness of Life” in Him.

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

Please, Lord, Beam Me Up!

Awaiting the “Blessed Hope.”

“Looking for that Blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 3:13).

Our world will not continue on as it has for some six thousand years. There’s coming a time when the Lord will bring judgment to this rebellious world. That judgment will be the seven-year Great Tribulation spoken of in the Book of Revelation and also prophesied in the Old Testament. It will culminate with the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We only have to look around at all that is taking place in our world today to realize that the Lord has been extremely patient and not willing any should perish, but His judgment will come and that judgment may come very soon.

The church has looked for the Lord’s coming in the Rapture of the church since its inception two thousand years ago. The Rapture is any moment catching away of all believers before the judgment coming in the Great Tribulation. The Bible gives us many signs of what the world will be like just before He comes. I won’t go into the signs in this article, but, let’s just say, that our world is looking much like the Bible said it would before the judgment.

Although the title of this article is somewhat humorous (Where’s Scotty when you need him); all true believers are longing for the Lord to come for us amid this evil world that has for the most part rejected Him. His coming for us is imminent. It could happen at any moment. Whether He does come soon or we must wait a little longer; we must be ready when He comes. If you do not know the Lord and have not been born of the Spirit, then it is extremely important to make sure that you are among the redeemed.

We are saved and made ready for the Rapture by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Christ and His Sacrificial death on the Cross. The Lord sacrificed His life at Calvary to pay the sin debt owed by each of us to God. We cannot save ourselves. Today, the Lord draws whosoever will hear the Gospel and come to Him. Tomorrow judgment will come on all those who have gone their own way rejecting the love offered them by the One that proved that love on the Cross.

The First Epistle to the Thessalonians written by the Apostle Paul tells us exactly what will happen when the “Blessed Hope” promised happens. The following is the account by Paul with commentary:

“For the Lord Himself (Jesus) shall descend from Heaven with a shout, and the voice of the Archangel with the Trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first (all believers who have died): then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up (Raptured) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” ( 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

The Lord, through the Apostle Paul, wanted His church to be comforted with these words. We are to look for the “Blessed Hope,” expecting it to happen at any time. The Lord, Himself, gave us the promise of His return for us just before His Crucifixion. He comforted His disciples, and us, with these words in the following verse:

“Let not your hearts be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s House are many mansions: if it were not so I would of told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

The Lord was letting us know that no matter what we go through in this fallen world our final destination will be with Him in Heaven and we will receive all the blessings of God.

We, as believers, have the promise of the Lord’s soon return for us. We will meet Him in the air and be with Him forever. As our world heads toward certain judgment, we can rest assured that we will be “caught up” before the start of the worst time the world has ever seen or will see. Our Lord loves us and we are not “appointed to wrath” which is what awaits the Christ-rejecting world, but we are saved by the One Who died for us and will return for us. So as we walk out our daily lives by faith in Jesus and what He accomplished at the Cross; we look for His soon return. We’ll close with one of the final verses in the Book of Revelation which closes out the Word of God and in which He gives His last words to the church He loves and the church responds with a heartfelt desire for His soon return:

“….Surely I (Jesus) come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” Revelation 22:20).

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 for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024

By Faith, Yes, But What Is My Part?

Joey’s Story – A Letter to All Seekers of God

Fictional First-Person Narrative

To All Those Loved by the Lord:

Dear Loved Ones,

My name is Joey and I have a story to tell. I was living my life without God and came to realize that I was making a real mess of it. I thought I had it all together and was living the life everyone wanted. I was successful in business and my social life was, shall I say, in high gear. But I found that the way I was living my life had led me into deep sin and depression.

One day, while flipping through the channels on my television, I came across a program where a man was talking about the Lord. He spoke of the Lord like someone who knew the Lord and His ways. I couldn’t pull myself away from listening. The man said that all of us have sinned and needed forgiveness. He went on to tell of the great sacrifice Jesus made at the Cross. He said that by that sacrifice we are forgiven of our sins and that He offers us “newness of life.” He said we need only repent of our sins and the way we have been living our lives and that the Lord would save us. I prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer” with him and knew I had been saved by the God Who loved me and died on the Cross so that I might be forgiven. I felt great joy. Let me share the following scripture regarding Salvation:

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

I was so happy that I had heard the Gospel and had accepted the Lord as my Lord and Savior. I wanted to please Him in all that I did. The joy of the Lord was my constant companion for the first several weeks until I failed the Lord one day. I was devastated! How could I do this after all the Lord had done for me? After berating myself for the failure; I determined that this could not happen again and I wanted to do everything I could to make sure it did not.

I was reluctant to share my failures with others in the church not knowing how my sharing them would be received by them. It seemed like all the sermons I heard, and all the books I read, pointed toward the Christian disciplines like reading the Bible more, fasting, praying more, and generally just trying harder. They all said this would bring me victory. I was already trying hard to follow the Lord, but I took this advice and set up a regimen that would surely give me the victory I sought. Well, it did not. I found myself failing the Lord again! What could I do? I had tried my hardest to follow the Lord and it resulted in failure?

I knew that there was an older man in my building who was a Christian. The man had a peace about him that I had never seen on anyone. I worked up the courage to approach him. He was so kind. I found myself confessing my failures to him. He just smiled at me and said that he could see how much I loved the Lord by what I had shared with Him. This took me back some as I had related the failures I was so ashamed of – I had let the Lord down.

The man explained to me that just as we cannot save ourselves; We cannot live this Christian life in our own strength. He said the Christian disciplines like praying, reading the Bible, and going to church are important, but they will not give us victory over the sin in our lives. He said it took the Lord going to the Cross to pay the sin debt. He said that Jesus defeated sin at the cross, but that we cannot gain victory over sin in our lives by self-effort. He explained that we are to place our faith in Christ Crucified daily and the Holy Spirit will work mightily in our lives to bring us the victory we seek. The man said that when we come to the Lord in salvation we have peace with God. He said that when the object of our faith remains in the Cross (Christ Crucified) we have the Peace of God as the Holy Spirit leads our way and makes us more in Christ’s image. The following verse speaks of the Peace of God in our lives:

“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

From that time forward I have made Jesus and His great sacrifice on the Cross the object of my faith daily. I now walk in the peace that the Lord intended that we all experience in our lives. I know the Holy Spirit is working in my life to make me more Christ-like. I seek the Lord in prayer and Bible reading every day, but my faith is not in these. My faith is in the One that loved me and proved it by dying on the Cross so that my sins might be forgiven and that I might walk in “newness of life” by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have Peace with God and the Peace of God. By faith, we travel this road of life and are kept by His power. How great is our God!

I’ll close my letter with a verse of scripture that is a Law of God and shows us how the Holy Spirit works through Christ’s work at Calvary to bring us victory over the sin in our lives.

For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death” (Romans 8:2).

Yours in Christ,

Your Fellow Traveler

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 for Podcasters, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024