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!

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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!

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

When the Rubber Hits the Road

The Moment of Truth That We All Will Face

“For whoever shall save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? (Matthew 16:25-27).

In our introductory verse, the Lord is addressing the most important decision we will ever make in our lifetime. He equated losing one’s life to coming by faith to Him and His sacrificial death at Calvary. We are a fallen race unable to save ourselves or live a life pleasing to the Lord. He offers “newness of life” in exchange for a life that will end in an eternity away from the presence of the Lord. We can save our life going our own way which will result in the loss of our soul, or we can lose our life to a life the Lord has prepared for us by His great sacrifice on the Cross. The Lord has given us the choice to go our own way or to follow Him.

The day will come when we depart this world. And that is when the rubber hits the road, so to speak. It could happen at any time. The moment of truth! We are not promised tomorrow. We will stand before the Lord as His child, or will we be judged on our own merit which will not end well for us.

Many today have no interest in the things of the Lord. They live their lives as they like with no concern for what will happen on “that day.” But that day will come and we will all face it alone. No family, no friends; we will face the Lord alone and have to answer for our lives here on Earth.

The question for us all today is: Do we know if once our life is finished down here that we will go to Heaven and share in all the blessings the Lord has prepared for His own? If our answer is yes to that question: Why do we think that our final destination will be Heaven? Some would point to their good lives. How they have tried to live lives that would earn them a place in Heaven. Others might say that if there is a Heaven they think they will go and live their lives with little thought toward “that day.” Whatever our thoughts, or beliefs, are on eternity, the Bible shows us what the Lord, who is the final judge, says about it.

The Lord gave us His Word, the Bible so that all would know what He requires of us. We have a choice to receive His Word and go His way or to reject it and go our own way. He paid a great price that we might lose our old life of sin and come to Him in repentance and faith. We are saved only by faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death on the Cross. He draws us in a love that brought him from His home in Glory to die at Calvary so that we might be saved.

When the rubber hits the road, our moment of truth will be upon us. We will pass from this world saved by the love that reached down in mercy, or we will have rejected His great love and lost our souls. The choice is before us today. What will our moment of truth bring us? Will we lose our life of sin and be rewarded with life everlasting in the presence of the Lord, or will we save our life, by going our own way with the end result being to suffer eternal loss? The road lies before us. The question before us looms large; When might our time come when we are required to give an account? One thing is sure. One day, the moment of truth will come for us all.

“This day I call Heaven and Earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses, now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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

A Purple Robe, a Crown of Thorns; Scourged and Beaten

Greater Love Has No Man Than This……

“…..His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14).

The Lord Jesus suffered greatly to bring about our Salvation. He was beaten so badly that He didn’t even look human. John gives the account of the Lord before Pilate in the following verses:

“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote Him with their hands” (John 19:1-3).

He was scourged by soldiers. This was a brutal beating consisting of 39 lashes with a leather whip containing sharp bones and small metal balls. The beating would cut into the flesh exposing His bones and internal organs. Many did not survive such a beating.

“Pilate therefore went forth again, and said unto them, Behold, I bring Him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the Man!” (John 19:4,5)

What a horrible and shocking site this must have been. He was beaten close to death and His appearance was so marred that He did not look human. He was then paraded before everyone present beaten beyond recognition, and wearing a purple robe with a crown of thorns on his head. The reaction from those present showed no mercy at all as the following verse tells us:

“When the Chief Priests therefore and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him” (John 19:6).

Of course, as we all know, the Lord was crucified that day. What He suffered for us in all that He went through, up to, and including, the crucifixion shows His great love for us. He came into this world to die. That was His purpose for coming. While He lived among us He taught the people and did many miracles of healing, but the Cross was always His purpose for coming.

The Father, in His great love for us, sent His Son to suffer all He did and to die to pay the sin debt that we might be saved and have Eternal Life with Him. Love was the driving force that had the Father send His only Begotten Son into this sinful world. The following verse makes this clear:

“For God so love the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life” John 3:16)

The Son came to do the Father’s will and showed His great love for us by all He suffered, even death on the Cross. He gave His life for His friends. We are his friends if do what He commands us to do which is to come to Him in repentance and faith in his great sacrifice at Calvary. He laid down His life on the Cross for us.

“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!

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

The Two Men Who Never Died

Could They Be the Two Witnesses of Revelation?

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

Our introductory verse clearly tells us that the Lord has said that all men will die, yet we have two men in Scripture, the only two, who did not die but were translated alive into Heaven. They are in Heaven today having not gone the way of all men, which is natural death. The Bible does not tell us why these two men did not die, but some Bible scholars believe that they will play a role in the coming Great Tribulation.

Enoch lived a total of 365 years. When he had lived 65 years the Bible says he “begat Methuselah.” This was of prophetic significance because the name Methuselah means “the Deluge (flood) will be sent when he is dead.” Methuselah lived 969 years, which is the longest anyone has ever lived and he apparently died right before the flood of Noah’s time. The Bible tells us that Enoch “walked with God.” The Word says “Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him.” The writer of Hebrews said of Enoch that he was translated “that he should not see death.” There is little else said of Enoch in the Bible. However, he did write the “Book of Enoch” (not a Biblical book and not accepted as inspired by the church) which many have read.

Elijah was the prophet who called on the Lord to send fire on the sacrifice at Mount Carmel to call the people back to the Lord from Baal worship. At the end of his ministry, he was translated to Heaven alive. The Bible tells us the following regarding his translation to Heaven: “Behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them (Elijah and Elisha) both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind (storm) into Heaven.” Both Enoch and Elijah were translated to Heaven alive. The only two men to ever live and not die. Are they awaiting a final appearance in the Great Tribulation that will culminate in the Second Coming of the Lord?

Regarding this possible future appearance of Enoch and Elijah: Revelation Chater 11 speaks of two witnesses that the Lord will send to prophesy before the Second Coming of the Lord. They will be dressed in sackcloth indicating that the preaching of repentance will be part of their ministry. Many scholars believe that these two witnesses will be Enoch and Elijah. However, some believe they will be Moses and Elijah because they both appeared at the Transfiguration with the Lord. However, I think that Enoch and Elijah will be the witnesses as when their ministry on earth is complete, the Antichrist has them killed. This would fulfill the scripture that says “It is appointed unto (all) men to die.” The Word says the following regarding these two witnesses after their death:

“And after three days and a half the Spirit of Life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them” (Revelation 11:11,12).

Whether Enoch and Elijah are the “two witnesses” of Revelation, or not. It’s a fascinating fact to realize that there are two men in Heaven right now who never died. We, as believers, will not be here to witness their ministry if they are, in fact, the two witnesses of Revelation. Our view will be from Heaven as the church will be raptured before the Great Tribulation. The certainty of the end-time events prophesied happening is confirmed in the following Words of Jesus regarding the Great Tribulation and His Second Coming:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven (the Second Coming): and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:21,30).

There are 66 books in the Word of God. We’ll close with the last two verses in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible which closes out the Word of God:

“He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:20,21).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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

Show Me the Way Home

A Love That Reached Through the Darkness

A Fictional Narrative

“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

Mark had grown up in church. He went forward in answer to an altar call at the age of seven. He attended Sunday Bible classes and memorized many scriptures. By the time he was in high school, Mark had seriously considered going into the ministry. All seemed to be going well for Mark. He was successful in all he attempted and received good grades in school. He assisted the pastor of his local church looking ahead to his going into the pastorate himself. The Lord was blessing Mark and all those around him saw him as an example of what the Christian life should be.

Mark attended a Christian college after high school and maintained excellent grades. His focus was on pastoral study. He felt the Lord was calling him to pastor a church. In his senior year, Mark had a crisis of faith. During his years at college, some of his professors had been liberal and had shared their beliefs in their classes. Their influence had taken its toll on Mark. He was also exposed to many classes on Psychology. The college believed that psychology could be used in the church to help people overcome their “problems.” By the time he graduated, Mark’s faith had been shaken, and he was unsure of what he wanted to do with his future.

Mark took a secular job while he assessed his future and how he should move forward. He was no longer sure of the Lord’s calling on his life and questioned whether the Bible was the guide he had believed it was in his younger years. The teachings he had received from the liberal professors in college made him question his very faith and question the inerrancy of the Bible. He continued employment in his secular job and before he realized it, ten years had passed. He had married during that time and started a family.

One day after work, as was his custom, he stopped at a local pub with friends. As he entered the bar a song was playing over the sound system. It was a secular drinking song. When he heard the title line from the song he just started repeating the words over and over. The title line was “Show me the way to go home.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he considered how far he had drifted from the Lord. How had this happened? How had he walked away from the Lord who loved him and had called him to work in the Kingdom as a pastor. He realized that he had bought into the lie. The enemies of the Cross had successfully sowed their liberal seed and it had taken root and produced a harvest in his life.

Mark went home that night and prayed with his wife. He repented of all the false doctrine and all the doubts he had been believing regarding the faith. He realized that Christ was the way to all the truth. He realized that allowing doubt to enter his heart resulted in a darkness of soul and a falling away from the truth.

Mark rededicated his life to the Lord and answered the call the Lord had on His life. Today he pastors a small but thriving church. He is a stalwart for the faith and preaches the Bible in its fullness. He realized that he lost his way when he took his eyes off of our Savior and listened to those who do not believe the Word of God. He now knows that victory comes from making Christ and Him Crucified the object of our faith which allows the Holy Spirit to work mightily in our lives. He came to understand why the Psychology he was exposed to in college has no place in the church. Our victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil is found only in Christ and His great work at Calvary. He has found his way home and he thanks the Lord each day for leading him out of the darkness and back to faith in the One that loves him and proved that love on a Cross at Calvary.

Our opening verse shows the father’s love for the prodigal son who had returned to a father who loved him, and who eagerly watched for him to return, and ran, to embrace him. Our Heavenly Father does the same for all those who have lost their way and seek to return to His loving care. What a wonderful Lord we have!

“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness, I have drawn thee” ( Jeremiah 31:3).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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

Just Who Are the Broken People?

They Do Not Function As the Lord Originally Intended

The dictionary gives us the following definition for “Broken:”

BROKEN- having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order.

So, who are the broken people? Well, the answer to that question is that we are the broken people – all of us. We are broken in that we do not function as the Lord intended us to function. Due to sin, we have a fallen nature and we cannot fix ourselves. The Bible is all about fixing that which is broken in us.

The following is the definition the dictionary gives us for “Salvation:”

SALVATION -preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.

The Bible offers salvation to all those who admit to being broken. It shows us clearly that we need a Savior to rescue us from our hopeless state. It took the Lord becoming man and dying on a cruel cross to save us from harm, ruin, and loss. We are lost and undone before a Holy God. In His love, He calls out to us through His Word. We are to come to Him in repentance and believe in Him and His great sacrifice as payment for the sin that our broken state produces in our lives. In a word, in coming to the Lord, we are blessed.

BLESSING – God’s favor and protection.

The Lord wishes to bless us. He comes to us individually and offers us His blessings through His Word as we come to Him by faith. His Word is replete with blessings He has provided for those who love Him. We can know and have a personal relationship with the Lord Almighty. We become “children of God” and joint heirs with Jesus. The Bible has incredible promises for all those who admit to their brokenness and come to the One that loves us.

ETERNITY- infinite or unending time.

The Bible says that we will all live forever, and we have a choice as to where we will spend eternity. The Lord does not send anyone to Hell. Our own choices determine where we will spend eternity. The Lord paid a great price so that we could be with Him always! That’s the total message of the Bible. What more could the Lord have done?

“For God so loved the world that he gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

We were broken beyond our ability to repair the damage. The Lord in His mercy reached down to a broken and lost world and offered not only to rescue us from our broken state, but He offered us a place with Him in eternity. The choice seems simple. We can choose to reach up and take the hand of the one Who loves us, or we can remain broken and suffer the consequences. The Lord is gracious and longsuffering, but we are not assured of anything passed today. We must realize our brokenness and come to Him. Today is the day of salvation!

“As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me” (Psalm 55:16).

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 Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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

The Future May Be Uncertain, But the Promises of God Are Not

Learning to Lean on the Everlasting Arms

“The Eternal God is your Refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms” (Deut. 33:27).

As we leave this year behind and venture into a new year full of uncertainties; we can count on the Promises of God we find in His Word. With the world around us is changing at an incredibly fast rate; with our nation moving in a direction we would not have believed possible; with the new challenges we may face in our personal lives: we can know that the Lord never changes and we can know that we can count on the Promises of God. The Bible is God’s love letter to us and it is said that there are some 8810 promises He made to us within the pages of this Book. We can see in this a love for us that provides for all our needs through all the promises made within. We can trust in His Word as David testifies to in the following verse:

“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your Word” (Psalm 119:114).

The Lord loves us and has provided a way to rescue us from our fallen state so that we might be saved from eternal destruction and have Eternal Life. He sent His Beloved Son as the only possible answer to our hopeless condition. He left His home in Glory to die at Calvary to pay the sin debt and open the way to Heaven for all those who will come to Him by faith. It is the greatest promise we could ever hope for. He has promised this to us in the following verse:

“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).

This great promise God has made to us cost Him greatly to provide. If we do not know the Lord; if we have not come by faith in Christ and His Sacrifice for our sins on the Cross, then coming into a new year with an uncertain future before us could certainly cause us some anxiety. The Lord’s promise to those that go His way is peace. Peace with God, and the Peace of God in the midst of all that is going on around us. The following verse promises the peace of God to His children:

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

As we walk out our lives by faith in Christ and what He accomplished at Calvary; we are kept by the peace of God. The Lord has also promised to provide for us.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory” (Phil. 4:19).

The Lord watches over us in His loving care. The Lord’s care for us is seen in the many promises He has given us to comfort us and show us that He is our refuge and strength. The following is one of those promises:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And lastly, Jesus has promised to return for all those who love Him prior to the judgment of God on this world known as the Great Tribulation. He makes this very clear in the following verse:

“In My Father’s House are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have 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 (the resurrection or Rapture of the church)” John 14:2,3).

So as we enter this new year, let us go forth in faith in the God that loves us and watches over us. We can walk out our lives knowing that the Creator of all things, the Lord of Glory, is watching over us. We are much blessed in knowing Him. He has saved us and made us sons and daughters of God. We have peace with God and the Peace of God. He provides for us in all our needs. And we are safe and secure in His loving care. And best of all: He is coming back to take us to Heaven and we will be with our Lord for eternity.

“It Is the Lord Who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut. 3:18).

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 Anchor, 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 – 2022