Here I Am, Lord – – tqministries.com

The Lord Has Loved Us with an Everlasting Love

Originally Published in 2022

A Fictional Narrative

[written in the first person]

My next-door neighbors are a wonderful couple who had befriended me when I first moved into the neighborhood. I moved to town for a job, and I had come alone. My wife of some thirty years had died just prior to my move. In fact, that was part of the reason for moving and taking the new job. The Lord had been so faithful and I felt blessed knowing that He was with me. His presence was my constant companion. I was thankful every day that I knew the Lord and that I had His Word to comfort me in my loss and in those times when sadness was an ever-present companion.

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

My neighbors were much-needed friends in my time of grief. I wanted to tell them how the love of God had changed me and to let them know just how faithful the Lord is to His children. But they attended a church that did not follow the Bible and many false doctrines had made their way into their church down through the years. Sadly, their church had substituted man’s ways for God’s Word. I didn’t know how to approach them with the love that the Lord had for them. They said they felt that they were at the right church and were getting the truth because it was the original one started by Jesus.

I knew all about the teachings of this church because I grew up attending it. This church taught that they were the one true church and that the Apostle Peter was their first leader. How could I reach them with the truth about Christianity? I remembered as a youth how this church warned about listening to those of other denominations. In fact, at the time, I felt sorry for those outside the church because the church said that they were lost.

One day, while I was talking with my neighbors, I felt the Lord prompt me to speak to them about their souls. I knew that this church put little emphasis on what the Bible said. They would hear selective verses from it on Sunday, but it really was all about what the church teachings required. Also, the neighbors knew that I was not “one of them” and would be on their guard against anything not taught by their church, which I was sure they had been warned about just as I had been those many years ago.

I followed the Lord’s leading and spoke with them about the love God has for us. How He left His home in glory and died on the Cross that we might be forgiven and saved. As I spoke with them I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit. The neighbors listened intently to what I had to say. I could see by their reaction that nobody had ever spoken to them this way about the love God had for them. When I finished speaking, we wished each other a good night and they returned to their home. I prayed that the Lord’s great love for us all would draw them to Him.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3).

I was very busy with my new job and did not see the neighbors for quite some time. One night, there was a knock at my front door and when I opened it I found the couple, my neighbors, standing there. I invited them in and we sat down in the living room. I felt that they had something on their mind that they wanted to discuss, but they didn’t bring up the real reason for their visit for a long period of time. Finally, the husband spoke up and said that they wanted to hear more about Jesus. They both said that they could see that I had something that they didn’t have. They had tears in their eyes as they told me how the words I spoke to them had stayed with them. In fact, they said that the love of God that I spoke about was all they could think about since that night. The Holy Spirit was drawing them and they both seemed overwhelmed by the fact that the Lord had reached down to them in His love. They said they wanted the joy and peace that they saw I had. Both the husband and wife wanted to know the Lord.

“We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

I led them in the Sinner’s Prayer that very evening, and this couple, my wonderful neighbors, became my brother and sister in Christ that night. The Lord blessed me with these great neighbors that were so good to me when I moved to my new home, and job, after losing my wife. And the Lord blessed this couple with the knowledge of the love the Lord has for them and the Salvation he offers to whomsoever comes to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus and the price He paid at Calvary.

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (the Cross represents the ultimate sacrifice the Lord made because of his great love for us)” (John 15:13).

See The Sinner’s Prayer page on this website. Link below:

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

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 Creators, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, and Apple Podcasts.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2022

A Question with Eternity at Stake

“You are our Epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; not in tables of stone, but in freshly tables of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:3)

The Apostle Paul is pointing to Christ as the writer of the “Epistle” which were those in Corinth who had been saved through the Gospel Paul preached. This speaks of the Gospel the Lord had given Paul to preach. He is saying that this Gospel comes from Christ and is the way, the only way, to Salvation. Souls will be saved from sin and their fallen nature by their trust in the Grace that Christ provided by His sacrificial death on the Cross. This Epistle of Christ analogy Paul used here was a testimony to the changed hearts that were the result of the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those in Corinth who accepted the Gospel.

“Who has made us able Ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The Apostle Paul is again pointing to Christ in this verse. The New Covenant is Christ and Him crucified which Paul preached boldly. We are able Ministers only as we preach the Gospel of Grace. Obedience to the Law will not save us. It is only as we come in repentance and faith in Christ and Him crucified that we enter this New Covenant. Spiritual Life comes by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. We walk out this “newness of life” by faith alone.

The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 6 shows us how this “life” comes to us. He writes that spiritually we have died with Christ at the Cross, we have been buried with Him, and we have been raised with Him to Newness of Life. This is all done by the Lord’s Mercy and Grace afforded to us through, and only through, the Cross. The Lord’s work in us is an internal work. It results in a changed heart and the ability to walk in obedience to the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit as we place our faith daily in Christ and Him crucified.

Religion is man trying to serve God by what he does. It can only lead to self-righteousness and will end with a soul spending an eternity in Hell. This is an external effort by man to please the Lord. Man cannot please Him outside of an internal changed heart which only the Lord can bring about. So, our initial question with eternity at stake is answered unequivocally in the “Epistle of Christ” written on our hearts. The Lord loves us and has provided this great Salvation at great cost. The Holy Spirit draws us and we walk in the liberty the Spirit affords us.

Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

There is liberty in walking in the Spirit because it is the Holy Spirit Who works in our lives to bring victory. It is an internal work of God in our lives. If we try to follow the Law ourselves in our approach to God, we are trusting in externals and we will ultimately fail. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and we must come to Him to have Life – His Life in us. By having faith in His sacrificial death on the Cross, it allows us to walk in “Newness of Life.” Our closing verse speaks of Christ as the true light of the world and the Giver of Life to whosoever will come to Him.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life; and the Life was the Light of men” (John 1:1,4).

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

The Doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security

“I am the Vine, you are the branches: he who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5,6).

[I know there are many in the church today that believe in unconditional eternal security. My purpose today with this article is to share my thoughts on the subject and to present some of the evidence in the scriptures that, I believe, refutes this doctrine.]

Are we promised unconditional eternal security when we come to the Lord in repentance and faith. I believe that the short answer is, no. I have to admit that when I first came to the Lord, I believed in unconditional eternal security. It was preached from the pulpit in the church I attended, and I accepted it without studying the Scriptures myself.

We are secure in Christ as long as we keep our faith in Him and His sacrificial death at Calvary. We enter a relationship with Him when we come to the Salvation the Lord provides. We have “Newness of Life” as we walk out this life of faith. Our introductory verses clearly state that one who has come by faith and has abided in Him in the past, that is, been saved, but now chooses to not to abide in Him, will become a withered branch which will result in spiritual destruction if they do not return to faith and dependence in the Lord. Losing one’s way is a gradual, but sure, process that has happened to many down through the years who have left the path of faith.

What happens to us should we stop believing? The following was given to the Church of Sardis (Believers) by Christ in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, which was one of the seven churches He addressed. The Lord was calling them to repentance and to come back to the Cross , and if they did, their names would be not be blotted out of the Book of Life. Our names were entered into the Book of Life at Salvation. Obviously, names can’t be blotted out unless they were entered into the Book of Life at some time. These were Believers and this proves that Salvation can be lost. The following are the Lord’s words of warning to the Church of Sardis.

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent (go back to the Cross). If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come upon you (judgment will come, but Sardis will not see or hear due to spiritual  deafness and spiritual blindness). He who overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life (proving that names can be blotted out), but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His Angels (the key to this great “confession” is faith in Christ and His great Sacrifice)” (Revelation 3:3,5 w/ESB commentary).

If we believe that there is no way that we could lose our Salvation once we believe, we are on dangerous ground. As with any relationship, it must be maintained. Believing in unconditional eternal security can result in losing our Salvation because there is no fear of losing one’s way no matter what is done. If we believe Salvation is a “once saved, always saved” salvation then it becomes easy to drift away by not seeking the Lord as we should – to follow hard after Him. There is no risk of losing our soul, so we think, and we can become complacent. Jesus calls us to walk closely with Him – in Him is Life and we must continually walk in that Life to maintain our relationship with Him.

Our introductory verses tell us what happens when we stop believing in Christ and His finished work at Calvary. Our Lord can only be talking about someone who once knew the way and was in relationship with Him because He used the word “abide.” He is speaking of a “withering” process which is not instantaneous, but is gradual over a period of time. Our faith must be continually placed in the Lord which will result in a vibrant relationship with Him and allows us to live in this “Newness of life” which our Risen Lord provides. As the Bible exclaims, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”

The Lord will never violate our will. We have free will to either believe, or not believe. Turning from faith is not easy, nor does it come about quickly, as we have said, but it can, and it does happen. There are many Scriptures that speak of this and I would like to include a few of these in this article. Keep in mind that the Apostle Paul is writing to Believers in these verses.

“For if God spared not the natural branches (Israel), take heed lest He spare not you (referring to the church). Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness (conditional on continued faith in Christ and the Cross): otherwise you also will be cut off (a warning to be taken seriously)” (Romans 11:21,22 commentary ESB and mine).

“Moreover, Brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you (Christ and Him crucified), which also you have received (unto Salvation), and wherein you stand (live the victorious Christian life); by which you are saved,  if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain (this refers to believing at first and then drawing back, which will cause one to lose one’s soul)” (1 Corinthians 15:1,2 w/ commentary).

The Apostle Paul, in these verses, writing to Christians in Rome, and in Corinth, states clearly that Salvation is conditional on continued faith, faith which must be in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. There are many other examples we could visit including Hebrews (which I believe Paul also wrote) chapters 2,4 and 10 which contain similar warnings. I would like to also include the words from the writer of Hebrews to those Jews who were contemplating leaving the faith, at the time, due to persecution.

“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence (faith in Christ and Him crucified) firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:14).

One last thought. In John Chapter 6, Jesus gave a teaching that was hard for His Disciples to accept. In fact, it says many of His Disciples “walked no more with Him.” The Lord turned to the Twelve (Apostles) and asked, Will you also go away. This proves it was possible for the Apostles, who were saved, to lose faith and walk away from the Lord. Likewise, we are secure in the faith as long as we continue to have faith in Christ and His great work at the Cross. He is the Vine, we are the branches. I’d like to close on a positive note with these words from the Book of Hebrews.

“Though we speak in this way (a stern warning about falling away from the faith), yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things – things that belong to Salvation (Hebrews 6:9 ESV).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

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 Creators, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

The Israelites at Sinai

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My Voice indeed, and keep My Covenant, then you shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto Me above all people: for all the Earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:3,4,5).

The Children of Israel having been delivered from Eygpt were now in the desert of Sinai at the foot of Mount Sinai. In our introductory verses, the Lord was telling them, through Moses, that He alone delivered them from their bondage in Eygpt. He was also showing them that the way to live lives pleasing to Him was by obedience to His Voice. In their obedience, they would be a “Peculiar Treasure” to the Lord “above all people.” They were, in fact, the only people upon Earth that were serving the Lord at the time. The people responded to that which the Lord had said as follows:

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to the Lord” (Exodus 19:7,8)

The Lord had just told the Israelites two things that seemed quite contradictory. He told them that they could not, and did not, deliver themselves from Egyptian bondage. That He alone was their Deliverer. Yet, in seeming variance to what the Lord had just said, He told them that the path to living pleasing lives before Him was obedience to His commands. He wanted them to see that they were just as incapable of obeying His commands in their own strength, as they were incapable of delivering themselves from Egypt. Their answer to the Lord was quite revealing. They said they would do all the Lord had spoken. If they had truly realized their total inability to do this, they would have sought the Mercy the Lord has always been ready to extend to the seeking heart. Just as deliverance from Egyptian bondage was all of the Lord – Salvation was, and is, totally of the Lord, as well.

Looking to the church today, we too have sought to walk before the Lord in our own strength. We profess to have faith in Christ, believing that He has delivered us from our fallen state in sin, and He definitely has, but we seek to obey His voice by a combination of faith and works for our sanctification- our daily walk before Him. Just as it was impossible for the Israelites to obey the Lord in their own strength, it is impossible for us to walk out a life pleasing to the Lord by our own efforts. When we come to the Lord in Salvation, He does not give us a stronger willpower power to enable us to walk in obedience to His voice.

“I do not frustrate the Grace of God (by anything other than the Cross of Christ the object of our faith): for if Righteousness come by the Law (by my own efforts to be obedient to the Lord), then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:21 w/ commentary).

So what are we saying? We are saying that there is no victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil by approaching these enemies of our soul by what we do. As an example, fasting is Biblical, something we should do, and it will result in a blessing, but it will not give us victory over sin. The sixth chapter of Romans tells us that we are dead to sin and to not let it reign in our mortal bodies. This is our position in Christ- we are dead to the sin nature, but how do we walk this out in our lives. Just as the Israelites should have looked to the Lord for what He the was requiring of them, we must look to Christ and Calvary for the victory we seek. When we place our faith in Christ and Him crucified, the Holy Spirit will work mightily in our lives. The Holy Spirit works totally within the parameters of the finished work of Christ. He does not work outside of this as Romans Chapter 8:2 tells us.

The Lord has delivered us from our fallen nature having paid the price owed for our sin debt at the Cross. We have been saved (delivered) by Grace, and we are now to walk before Him in the same way – by faith. This is something that the Israelites should have realized having seen that it took the Lord’s mighty power to accomplish their deliverance from Eygpt. They could not walk out their lives in obedience to the Lord in their own strength. We too, have been delivered from our fallen nature by His mighty hand. We must come to the place where we realize it’s by faith from first to last. We must realize our total dependence on the Lord.  

“For I through the Law am dead to the Law, that I might live unto God (by faith, never by Law). I am crucified with Christ (the foundation of all victory): nevertheless I live (have new life); yet not I (not by my own strength and ability), but Christ lives in me (by virtue of me dying with Him on the Cross and being raised with newness of life Romans 6): and the life which I now live in the flesh ( my daily walk before the Lord) I live by the faith of the Son of God (the Cross is ever the object of my faith), Who loved me, and gave Himself for me (which is the only way I could be saved)” (Galatians 2:19,20 ESB commentary and mine).

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

The Dual Work Of The Spirit

Originally Published in  2022

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“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you in all Truth…” (John 16:13)

The church was born on the day of Pentecost after the Lord’s sacrificial death on the Cross and His Resurrection. On that day the Holy Spirit came for the first time to indwell all believers. The Holy Spirit could not come like this prior to the cross because the sin debt had not been paid. But now, the Holy Spirit could come and live in all believers. When we come to Christ by faith; the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. This is a spiritual baptism. The following verses tell us what happens spiritually when we come by faith to Christ:

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

The Holy Spirit helps us to walk in this “Newness of Life” when we place our faith in Christ and Him crucified. Again, spiritually we died with Him, we’re buried with Him, and were raised from the dead like Him. As the Apostle Paul was fond of saying we are “in Christ.” The Holy Spirit’s work in us is predicated on us placing our faith in Christ and Him Crucified daily. The following verse makes this abundantly clear:

“For the Law of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of Life (Newness of Life) in Christ Jesus (Jesus made it possible by His sacrificial death at Calvary) has made me free ( victory over sin) from the Law of Sin and Death (a powerful law that can only be overcome by faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit)”  (Romans 8:2).

This is the way the Holy Spirit works in our lives to bring us victory over sin. It is the only way the Holy Spirit works. If we try to go some other way which always means by way of works; we will fail. So, the initial way the Holy Spirit works in our lives is in the area of sanctification to make us more Christ-like.

The other way the Holy Spirit works is by the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Christ is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit. This baptism is for power, and for service. The only requirement to receive it is to be born again. We receive this baptism by faith. Jesus thought it so necessary for service that he told His disciples the following regarding it:

“And, (Jesus) being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit), which He said you have heard of me. John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ….You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:4,5,8).

And the Holy Spirit did come upon them on the Day of Pentecost as the following verse tells us:

“And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4)

As has been mentioned, the Holy Spirit could not come and abide in believers until the sin debt was paid at the Cross. But now, the Holy Spirit comes to live in the believer to give us victory in our daily walk with the Lord, and He comes to give us power for service that we might carry out the Great Commission.

We truly have a complete salvation all due to the Lord’s love for us that caused Him to leave His home in glory and die on a cruel cross to pay the sin debt for mankind. A price we could not pay ourselves. When we come in repentance and faith in Jesus and what He accomplished at Calvary we are born again, or born spiritually. We now walk out this life by faith in Christ and Him Crucified by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, we have power to live a holy life and we have power for service, We couldn’t ask for any more than that. The Lord’s love shines through all he has done for us. How can we not share the great love He has for us with others as Jesus commanded us to do in the Great Commission?

The Great Commission

“…All power is given Me in Heaven and in Earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (preach to) all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18,19).

The Promise of Jesus

“…..And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, Amen” (Matthew 28:20).

See the page on this website on receiving The Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Link below:

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/6774

See the page on this website on Victorious Christian Living by the power of the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ and Him Crucified. Link below:

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/211

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 Creators.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2022

The Sermon on the Plain

“But woe unto you who are rich, for you have received your consultation” (Luke 6:24).

The Lord spoke these four woes after a teaching on the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Plain as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The first woe speaks of those who have been blessed materially and believe they have need of nothing. Their confidence comes in the things they have acquired. Their riches have lifted up their hearts to a place where they don’t believe in God. They are in a very dangerous place. The Lord says “woe” unto them.

“Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger” (Luke 6:25a).

These are those who feel that they have all they need in this life and have no room for God. Material things will not satisfy. The Lord has placed within mankind a deep longing desire for Him. He has “set eternity in our hearts.” For those that choose not to answer the clarion call of God to their hearts, nothing else will give them satisfaction. As Augustine said “You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”

“Woe unto you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25b).

We can realize our need for the Lord today, or we can reap what we sow in the future. Those that resist the calling of the Lord are going to pay the ultimate price in the future, which is the loss of their soul and an eternity in Hell. Woe to them the Lord says. These woes are a warning to all those that go this way.

Woe unto you, when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

It will cost you to follow the Lord. Many do not come to the Lord for that very reason. They are comfortable in their lives and do not wish to face the opposition that they would face coming to the Lord. It has been said that the Lord has to bring many of us to a place of great need, or dire circumstances, before we will admit our need for Him. If the Lord has done that for us, and we have come to know the Lord, we now see clearly and are so grateful for His Mercy and Grace in our lives. For those that turn away walk in darkness, the result will be the following and it represents most of the world down through the centuries :

“…. For he who walks in darkness knows not where he goes” (John 12:35b).

With the last woe, the Lord was also pointing to the false prophets that led His people astray in the Old Testament. False teachers, false prophets, and false ways have always been a problem. It is a problem in the church today. There are false ways proclaimed from many pulpits today. We can guard against this by making Christ and Him crucified the object of our faith allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. As the Word says, the Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth and bring us the victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. If it isn’t faith in Christ and Him crucified, it’s a false way. Some are teaching that we are saved by faith in Calvary, but we must now go beyond the Cross – going on to other things. The truth is, if we go beyond the Cross, we lose our way.

The “Way” is by faith in Christ’s great sacrifice on the Cross both for Salvation and for Sanctification, and it is by faith from first to last. In other words, how we came in is how we stay in. The bottom line is “woe” unto them who let things of this world keep them from going God’s way. We are lost until we acknowledge our fallen state and reach out to the One Who loved us and proved that love by coming and dying on a cruel Cross to pay the sin debt owed to God. He offers Eternal life to all those who will harken to His Voice and come His Way. We’ll close with the first Beatitude which shows the way into the Kingdom.

“Blessed are the poor in Spirit (conscious of moral poverty): for there’s is the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:3 with ESB commentary).

The link below is to the A,B,C’s of Salvation page at tqministries.com

https://tqministries.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5448&action=edit

The Link below is to the Sinner’s Prayer page on tqministries.com

https://tqministries.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1752&action=edit

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

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 Creators, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

Willful Blindness

“But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them who are lost” (2 Corinthians 4:3).

Have you ever tried to share the Gospel with someone and seen their eyes glass over and they become distracted by the things around them. They seem totally uncomfortable with hearing the Gospel that would have resulted in their soul being saved. Saved from an eternity outside of the presence of the Lord. Saved from an eternity in Hell. Unfortunately, this happens all to often. But, why?

Satan is the God of this world and has deceived most of those who have been born into this world since the Fall in the Garden. The Lord showed our first parents how they might have fellowship with Him. The way was by offering up the sacrifice prescribed by the Lord, pointing to the future coming of the “Lamb of God” who would take away “the sin of the world.” Abel obeyed and offered the right sacrifice. Cain did not, and offered up the works of his hands.

From the time of Adam and Eve, Satan has been pedaling his lies, and most down through the years have bought into them. The Gospel is hid from the lost because they have gone the way of Cain. They have lived their lives without acknowledging their need for God. Their eyes glass over because they do not believe in God and therefore have no desire to listen to the only way that they might be saved from the deception of Satan and enter into the Glorious Kingdom of God. They walk, order their behavior, according to the course of this world which is in the realm of the evil one.

“In whom the God of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of them which believe not (a willful blindness), lest the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ (the Message of the Cross), Who is the Image of God (Who alone is the Image of God), should shine in unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4 & ESB commentary).

Fortunately there are those of us who, when the Gospel was presented, received it with great joy. We realized our total lost state and the lie we have been believing before hearing and believing the Truth of the Gospel. Having been saved, and receiving the Mercy of God in our own lives, we are to go forth presenting the greatest news ever to a lost and dying world. The Holy Spirit is drawing and convicting those in the path of the Gospel. It is up to those we come across to make a decision regarding it.

Choosing to come the Lord’s Way is the best decision anyone can make. The Lord’s way is by repentance and faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. It is the only way! We are to preach this Gospel to all those we come across praying that they might believe and escape the trap of the Devil. If they do not seem willing to recieve the “Good News” at the time, we pray that we may have planted a seed that will result in them coming to the Lord in the future.

The light shines out of darkness calling out to whosoever will harken to the clarion call. Our faith In Christ and Him crucified brings us out of darkness into the light. He paid the price for our sin at the Cross and offers Salvation to all those who come by faith in His finished work. We pray that this Gospel will bring forth much fruit as we share it with a lost and dying world. As the following verse tells us; the light of the Gospel has shined in our hearts and we are forever grateful for the Lord’s Mercy and Grace in our lives.

“For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Prayer Changes Things

The Lord wants us to come to Him with all our needs. Prayer requests can be left on the comments page of this website.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

The End of the Age

“…And what shall be the sign your (Christ’s) coming, and the end of the world (age)” (Matthew 24:4b).

The Lord gave a teaching on the end times and His Second Coming to His Disciples just before His crucifixion. We can find it in the 24th chapter of Matthew. He introduces this subject by warning His followers at that time, and all of us presently, against being deceived.

“And Jesus answered them and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in My Name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:4,5).

Deception will be at its height just before the Lord returns, but considering His stern warning, and seeing the evidence of strong deception in the church today; we would be wise to guard against it in  our own lives. The only way to unsure that we are not deceived by false doctrine, or false ways to Salvation and Sanctification, is to know the Word of God and to anchor our faith in Christ and the Cross.

“And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).

Evil will increase, and has increased, since the Fall in the Garden. As the world turns its back on the Lord, as we head into the time of God’s judgment on this world, wars will be more frequent and more common all around the world. We see the increase in wars today. Jesus is telling those that are here just before His coming to not be “troubled” because He told us this would be the case. 

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there will be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7,8).

We can see these signs increasing even in our times today, but they will be at their height as the world, facing judgment, heads in to the Great Tribulation. Believers in the Lord will have been taken out in the Rapture. It will be the time of the Lord’s dealing with Israel to bring them back to faith in Him.

“Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for My Name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).

The Lord is here speaking of what will happen with Israel as the Antichrist comes against them and attempts to kill every last Jew, and will succeed in killing many. It also let’s those who are not part of Israel, and who have missed the Rapture, and have come to faith in the Lord during these end times judgments, know that they may suffer a Martyr’s death.

“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:10).

It will cost anyone that comes to faith in the Lord during this time. They will be hated by the world. This speaks of what will happen in Israel with even family members turning against those who have come to faith in Christ. It will also let those who are not of Israel, but are believers somewhere in the world, understand that what they are experiencing is just what the Lord had prophesied.

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24:11,12).

The Lord is warning about deception again. As we approach the end times we can see deception increasing, even today. But at the time of the Great Tribulation, just before the Lord’s return deception will be at its height. The Antichrist and the false prophet will deceive the world and lead them into God’s final judgment on this rebellious world. It will be a time of great deception and many will fall for the lie to their eternal doom.

So, as we approach the end of this age we see deception, wars and rumors of wars, hatred, and persecution increasing. We are very close to the end of this age. The Lord in these verses is warning us just how it will be just before His coming. Again, for those of us that know Him, we are not shaken by what’s happening in our world. The Lord has told us that these things would increase until He comes and judges this world for its rebellion against Him.

If you do not know the Lord, now is the time to make timings right with Him. He suffered the Cross that we might be forgiven and be saved from the judgment that is coming. All must repent of their sins and come by faith in His atoning sacrifice at Calvary to be saved from what is coming on this world. You will find the Sinner’s Prayer on this website. Pray the prayer, and believe what you prayed, and you shall be saved. Saved from what lies ahead, and saved for eternity. We’ll close with The Lord’s description of His Glorious Second Coming in the following verses from Matthew 24:

“For as lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall it be with the coming of the Son of Man…..and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:27,30b).

Prayer Changes Things

The Lord wants us to come to Him with all our needs. Prayer requests can be left on the comments page of this website.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on Eternal Life, whereto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1Timothy 6:12).

Is there physical healing in the taking of the Lord’s Supper? The short answer is, no. There is no physical healing in the taking of the Lord’s Supper (Communion), and here is no Salvation in Water Baptism. They are ordinances of the church and have no power to save, or to bring healing. There are those in the church today who teach that there is physical healing in the taking of Communion. They are in error.

“And He took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it unto them, saying, This is My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).

The Lord instituted Communion just before His crucifixion at the Passover meal He shared with the Apostles. This was the last Passover that God would acknowledge because it symbolized, or was a type of, the true Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord in instituting this ordinance by saying, Do this in remembrance of Me, was showing them, and us, that it represented what He would suffer some hours from this time. He was pointing to the coming New Covenant that would be made possible by His sacrificial death on Calvary.

We certainly must be circumspect in the taking of the Lord’s Supper making sure we examine ourselves, in that we have our faith properly placed in Christ and Him crucified. If we look to the Lord’s Supper for healing, we are, in effect, moving our faith from what the Lord accomplished at Calvary to an ordinance of the church. In our introductory verse the Apostle Paul is instructing Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith.” Our faith must rest in Christ and Him crucified. We dare not move it to anything else. We must fight to keep our faith in that which saved us and that which keeps us.

The Lord does heal today and we should believe that and seek Him for all our needs in this life, but we must understand that all God’s blessing come through, and because of, Calvary and we receive these blessings by faith alone in Christ’s great work there. We are saved by faith, we are kept by faith, and we receive all blessings by faith. We must fight to keep our faith in the One Who loved us and died on a cruel Cross that we might be forgiven and come into all the blessings of the Lord.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus (all made possible by Calvary)” (Philippians 4:19 commentary mine).

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025

But There’s Something Missing

“Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5).

A certain man had a very nice looking antique car in his driveway. He spent hours washing and waxing the car and taking care of every detail of care for this automobile. People passing by would compliment him on his car every day. It looked so good, but there was one problem. The car did not have a working engine. It could not serve the purpose it was designed for. It could not take the man anywhere.

This is what religion is like. Religion is man trying to approach God by what he does. Man has no power within himself to live a life pleasing to God. Man is dead in his trespasses and sins and has no power to lift himself out of his fallen condition.

The power man needs is found only in the Holy Spirit. He is our power source – the engine that gives power to live a life pleasing to the Lord. So how do we appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, first we must acknowledge our hopeless state and realize our need for a Savior. We then must repent of our sins and admit that we have been going the the wrong way, that is, that we have been living our lives without God.

The Lord has provided a solution to our problem in sending His Son to pay the price for our sins and offered “Newness of Life” to whosoever comes to Him in faith believing in His work at Calvary. Once we have done that we are born of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.

The power that gives us victory comes to us as we place our faith daily in Christ and the Cross. This must be done daily. Christ and Him crucified must be the object of our faith. Otherwise we will live a life of defeat. We have no power within ourselves to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Victory comes only by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The man in our introductory story knew that the car had no power and could not take him anywhere, but he continued to do what he was doing. Those who knew the true condition of the car tried to convince him that his efforts would not result in the car being used as it was intended to be used without replacing the engine, but he did not address take.

There are some today in the church that believe that they can work on their lives to bring victory even though they know that they have no victory. They continue on in their false hope that their efforts will bring about a change that is pleasing to God. They have failure after failure as they walk out this life but refuse to go God’s way. There’s no engine there and they know it. Jesus made it clear that we have no power within ourselves but must abide in Him to bring forth fruit and to live in victory. The Lord makes it crystal clear in the following verses from the Gospel of John:

“Abide in Me (Jesus), and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me (by faith in Christ and Him crucified). I am the vine (Him alone), you are the branches (must be totally dependent on Him): he who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit (no other way): for without me (faith in anything else) you can do nothing” (John 15:4,5).

Prayer Changes Things

The Lord wants us to come to Him with all our needs. Prayer requests can be left on the comments page of this website.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

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

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2025