Cactus Flower Ministry

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS- NO IMAGES OF GOD
Rev. Jason Hill

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” (Exodus 20:4-5)

We Think We Understand This One
At first glance, the second commandment appears to be almost a repetition of the first one. But it isn’t. Most of us probably read this commandment and immediately think about ancient people carving statues out of wood or stone and then bowing down before them.
And once again, we may conclude that this commandment doesn’t really have much to say to us today. After all, we don’t normally build golden calves in our living rooms.
We don’t carve statues of Baal and place them on our mantels. We don’t build stone images and kneel before them. So perhaps we read this commandment, nod our heads, and move on.
But is this true?
If the first commandment tells us that there are to be no other gods, why then, did God immediately give the second telling us not to make images?
Why repeat Himself?
The first commandment asks us, “Who will you worship?” The second asks, “How will you worship Him?”
This distinction gives us a lot to work with, especially because the children of Israel would violate this commandment almost immediately after God gave it to Moses.

What Does This Commandment Reveal About God?
The first thing that we can take away from this commandment is that God refuses to be reduced to something that we can create, control, or contain. Israel had just witnessed God speaking from Mount Sinai. They heard His voice, witnessed His power, and saw the mountain covered with smoke. Not to mention all the miraculous events which had taken place in Egypt preceding and at the beginning of their exodus. The children of Israel had fully experienced God’s presence.
But God deliberately gave them no physical image of Himself.
Why?
Because He cannot be reduced or contained within an object. He is not a statue, a painting, or a symbol. God is not an idea created by human imagination. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is not merely a power within the universe; He is the One who created it. He is God.
That means He must reveal Himself according to His own terms, rather than allowing mankind to recreate Him according to ours.

Is God Against Images?
The Bible does not teach that every physical representation is automatically sinful. God Himself commanded Israel to make certain things that were physical representations. The Ark of the Covenant had cherubim upon it. The Tabernacle contained images and representations of heavenly things. Later, Solomon’s Temple contained carved cherubim, palm trees, flowers, and other artistic representations.
So, the second commandment cannot simply mean: “Never make a picture or physical representation of anything.” This would contradict other instructions which God gave His people.
The issue for us to remember is not about simply making an image, it is about making an image for worship or using an image as a means of approaching and representing God.
Remember, God said “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”
The problem occurs when something created becomes an object through which we attempt to approach, represent, contain, or manipulate the Creator. This is idolatry.

The Golden Calf
As mentioned earlier, the clearest example of the second commandment appears almost simultaneously as God gave it. Israel had just heard the voice of God. Moses went up the mountain. And then Israel became impatient and went to Aaron.
“Come, make us gods that shall go before us.” (Exodus 32:1)
Aaron conceded to their demands and having collected the gold which they brought from Egypt, he fashioned a calf for the people to worship.
There is something significant about this scene. Upon completing the calf Aaron says,
“Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” (Exodus 32:5)
It’s easy to miss, but in essence, Israel was not necessarily saying “We don’t want YHWH anymore.” They were attempting to represent Him through an image they could see. They had taken the invisible God and tried to make Him visible on their own terms. Israel attempted to reduce the God who had delivered them from Egypt into something they could see, touch, and control.
This is the point. The first commandment says: “Don’t replace God.” the second says: “Don’t remake God.”

God Will Not Be Remade In Our Image
Humans are very good at creating, or I should say, re-creating God in our own image. We create a God who agrees with us. One who approves everything we approve. A God who never confronts our sin or asks us to sacrifice. We create a God who never tells us we are wrong and who exists primarily to make us happy.
We may never bow before a golden calf, but we are great at creating that calf in our own selves and then we bow down very low before it.
This second commandment confronts our desire to make God manageable for us individually. Yet there is not one piece of scripture that even suggests that God is this way. God is God. The perfectly righteous, consistently holy, and absolute truth, whether we agree, validate, approve, or not.

What Does This Commandment Reveal About My Heart?
The second commandment reveals that we desperately want a God we can clearly see. We prefer things which are understandable, measurable and most of all controllable. Faith, however, requires something different. Faith requires trusting the One we cannot physically see.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
There is something within humanity that continually wants to turn faith into sight. We want evidence that fits comfortably into our hands. We want a God who can be placed in a box, carried when convenient, displayed when useful, summoned when needed, and put away when He becomes inconvenient.
But the true God will never fit inside our hands.
Idols give us the illusion of control. But an idol cannot actually do anything. Idols remain silent, are powerless, and cannot contradict us. Whereas the invisible God can and does command us, confront us, tell us to wait, tell us to surrender, tell us “Trust Me.”
Perhaps that is why we prefer idols. We don’t merely want something to worship. We want something that will not challenge us.

We Can Make Idols Without Carving Anything
We do not require a specific figurine, or image, or some work of art to create an idol. In fact, we can even utilize our own religious understanding of God and our traditions to do that very well. We can make idols of religious denominational affiliations, political ideology and even a particular preacher.
If we use Scripture strictly to defend what we already believe rather than allowing God’s Word to correct us, our very worldview can become an idol.
Even our understanding of Jesus Christ can be made into an idol.
If we create a Jesus who does not look like the Jesus revealed in Scripture. One who never judges, calls us to repentance, or speaks about holiness. If we create a Jesus who exists only to affirm us, we have landed in a very dangerous form of idol worship. This Jesus is the one we created, not the One who created us.

How Does This Commandment Point Me to Christ?
God forbids the making of an image of Him and then…God makes Himself known to us.
Jesus Christ is not a human invention attempting to represent God. He is God revealing Himself to humanity.
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
We did not make Him, God sent Him. We did not create His likeness; He came to us. We did not manufacture an image and call it God; He came in the flesh.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15)
The word ‘image’ here should not be understood in the same sense as the carved images forbidden by the Second Commandment. Paul isn’t describing Jesus as a created object representing God. He is declaring that Jesus perfectly reveals the invisible God because He shares the divine nature.
Think about this for a moment. The God who commanded: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” later gives humanity the perfect revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ.
But Jesus is not merely an image of God in the sense of representation. He is the perfect revelation of God because He shares the very nature of God. Jesus makes the invisible God visible and known.
“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (John 1:18)

Final Thoughts
The first commandment taught us that there is only one God and that He alone deserves our worship. The second teaches us that we do not get to redesign Him.
God will not be reduced to an object. He will not be contained inside an image or reshaped according to our preferences. He is not a God of our imagination but the God who revealed Himself through Jesus Christ.
The greatest danger of idolatry may not be that we stop believing in God but that we wind up believing in a version of God that we have created.
So perhaps the question the second commandment leaves us with is not simply: “What idols have I made?” but “Have I allowed God to tell me who He is?”
There is a significant difference between worshiping the God we have imagined and surrendering ourselves to the God who has revealed Himself.
Once again, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross. The God we could never fully see came where we could see Him. The God we could never reach came down to us. The God we could never save ourselves from came to save us. And the God whom mankind continually tries to remake in its own image came into this world to remake us into His image.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…” (Romans 8:29)

As we conclude today's message, I hope and pray that the Lord touches your heart and life with His love and revelations. May the Lord bless and keep you today and every day as you journey through life with Him.

If you have not been saved or are unsure if you have been “Born Again” please follow this link: Salvation

As always, I invite you to share your walk, discoveries, and testimonies with me. If you have a question that you would like scriptural answers to; Email me at [email protected]

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS- NO GOD BUT GOD
Rev. Jason Hill

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

We Think This One Is Easy
Of all the Ten Commandments, this one may seem the simplest. Most Christians read it and immediately think, “Well, I’ve never worshiped other gods.” “I’ve never prayed to Zeus or bowed before Buddha.” “I’ve never sacrificed to a pagan idol.”
So, we move on. But are we moving on too quickly?
If the first commandment only prohibited worshiping pagan gods, why would God place it before murder, adultery, theft, and lying? Why begin here?
Because this commandment is not merely about which God you worship. It is about who sits upon the throne of your heart. Everything else begins there.

What Does This Commandment Reveal About God?
The Lord begins by saying, “You shall have not other gods before Me.”
At first glance, it sounds like God is demanding exclusive worship. He is. But there is something even deeper here. God is revealing that He alone is worthy of absolute devotion because He alone is God.
He does not argue for His position nor campaign for our vote. He does not compare Himself to rival deities. He simply declares His authority.
This is because God does not become God by our acknowledgment. He is God where anyone believes Him or not.
Now, is God saying that other gods exist? This has been a question that has puzzled readers for centuries. If there is only one God, why does He say, “You shall have no other gods before Me”?
Did the ancient Hebrews believe many gods existed?
To Israel, although they knew that there was only One, they lived among nations and cultures which worshipped countless false gods. Egypt, Canaan, and Babylon, all had many deities to worship. To these people, those false gods were real.
Whatever the ancient Israelites believed about the existence of other spiritual beings, the First Commandment left no ambiguity about who Israel was to worship, trust, and serve: YHWH alone.
“The Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” (Deuteronomy 4:35)
The first commandment is not acknowledging that other gods truly exist. It is acknowledging that people continually invent gods to replace the true One.
The ancient Hebrews understood that idols had no life in themselves. As Psalm 115 says, “they have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear. They are the work of human hands, powerless to save those who trust them.”
The issue was never God’s competition but man’s wandering heart.
This brings us to this scriptural truth. Covenant Relationship.
God has delivered Israel. God has claimed Israel. Israel is now His people. Therefore, Israel cannot maintain competing loyalties.
The issue isn’t philosophical monotheism, (How many gods exist) but covenantal loyalty (Whom will you serve?). This fits perfectly with the rest of Scripture as we see Joshua saying, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” (Joshua 24:15).
Elijah asks: “How long will you falter between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21). And Jesus tells us in the Gospels: “No one can serve two masters…” (Matthew 6:24)
The issue keeps returning, “Who gets your allegiance?”

There Is Another Meaning
The Hebrew wording carries and interesting nuance. The text looks like this: לֹא לֹא יִהְיֶה־לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל־פָּנָי and transliterated approximately it is Lo yihyeh-lekha elohim acherim al-panai.
A very literal rendering of the commandment reads, “There shall not be for you other gods before My face.”
The expression "before My face" can carry the sense of being in God's presence or alongside Him. God is not merely telling Israel not to replace Him. He is telling them that nothing may stand alongside Him as an object of worship, allegiance, or trust. There is no room for a second throne beside His throne.
Nothing ever escapes His sight, and nothing is ever hidden from His face. This is both wonderful and terrifying. Wonderful because God is always near. Terrifying because He sees every rival that occupies our hearts.

What Does This Commandment Reveal About My Heart?
Here is where this commandment suddenly becomes uncomfortable for us. Because the human heart is a factory of idols. We rarely carve them out of wood or stone anymore, but we do still make them.
Ambition, money, success, politics, relationships, entertainment, comfort, security, and even ministry. These and more can and often have become idols to us.
Anything that receives the affection, trust, dependence, or devotion that rightfully belongs to God has become another god. The idol is not defined by what it is so much as it is defined by where it sits.
But why do we seek these other gods?
The answer goes back to Eden. The serpent never convinced Eve to stop believing in God. He convinced her that she would be happier if she became her own authority. This is the same promise offered by every false god.
Control, comfort, pleasure, power, and freedom without submission. These are the lies told by false gods and humanity has never stopped reaching for these lies. Ultimately, sin is an attempt to replace God’s will with our own. Every idol whispers quietly, “You don’t really need God.”
Every act of disobedience quietly says, “I know a better way.”
Whenever we insist upon our own wisdom instead of His, or when we cling to our own plans instead of surrendering to His. Whenever we trust our own understanding more than His Word, we are placing ourselves upon His throne.
This commandment exposes every one of us and informs us that the greatest rival to God is often not another religion. It is self.

How Does This Commandment Point Me to Christ?
Everything changes when we come to Jesus. The New Testament does not merely teach us about God. It reveals God in human flesh.
Jesus declared, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
He accepted worship, forgave sins, and exercised authority over creation. And even claimed the divine name:
“Before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
The first commandment instructs us to worship God alone. The New Testament calls us to worship Jesus. These two truths only fit together because Jesus is not merely a prophet, teacher, or moral example.
He is God the Son.
The first commandment finds its fulfillment in Christ because in Him we behold the very God who first spoke from Sinai.
Now there is one final idol that must fall. It is the one we see in the mirror every morning.
Self.
The first commandment is not simply prohibition, but it is also an invitation. An invitation to step down from the throne we were never meant to occupy. Only one King belongs there.
And unlike every false god mankind has ever invented, this King laid aside His glory, took upon Himself the form of a servant, died for His enemies, and rose again in victory.
Every other god demands everything and gives nothing. The true God gave everything so that we might have life.

Final Thoughts
As we continue through the Ten Commandments, remember where God began. He did not ask for cleaner hands at first. He first asked for an undivided heart. Everything else in the Law flows from that one truth.
If God truly reigns in the highest place of our hearts, obedience becomes more than duty, it becomes worship.
So, to review the three questions we always ask in this series, What does this reveal about God? That He alone is worthy of worship. What does this commandment reveal about my heart? That I am constantly tempted to give His place to something else; even to myself. And how does it point me to Jesus Christ? Because the One who stood on Mount Sinai and declared, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” is the same Lord who came into the world to redeem us, revealing the glory of the Father and proving Himself worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Matthew 4:10)

As we conclude today's message, I hope and pray that the Lord touches your heart and life with His love and revelations. May the Lord bless and keep you today and every day as you journey through life with Him.

If you have not been saved or are unsure if you have been “Born Again” please follow this link: Salvation

As always, I invite you to share your walk, discoveries, and testimonies with me. If you have a question that you would like scriptural answers to; Email me at [email protected]

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS- MORE THAN RULES
Discovering the Heart Behind God’s Law
Rev. Jason Hill
We Think We Already Know Them
Ask almost anyone if they know the Ten Commandments and they will likely answer, “Of course.” Even those with little knowledge of the Bible can usually name at least a few of them. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not commit adultery.
Most people think of the Ten Commandments as God’s list of rules; a divine checklist of things we should or should not do. If we obey enough of them, we imagine ourselves to be reasonably good people. But is that what God intended?
Did the Lord merely wish to regulate human behavior?
Or was He revealing something much deeper?
Throughout history, mankind has had a remarkable ability to reduce God’s holy commands into the smallest possible obligations. We search for loopholes instead of holiness. We ask, “What is the least I must do?” when God is asking, “Who are you becoming?”
The difference is enormous.
God did not provide the commandments merely to restrain our behavior. He gave them to reveal His own holy character, expose the true condition of the human heart, and ultimately lead sinners to the Savior.

More Than Stone Tablets
When God spoke from Mount Sinai, His voice shook the mountain.
Exodus 20 describes a powerful scene. Thunder roared. Lightning flashed. Smoke covered the mountain. And the earth trembled beneath the feet of Israel.
Why?
Because a perfectly holy God was revealing His perfect character.
The commandments were physically carved into the stone of the mountain by the very finger of God. They are not an arbitrary collection of rules, but a reflection of who He is.
Every commandment reveals something about God Himself. We are forbidden to lie because God is truth. He forbids us to murder because He is the Author of life. We must not commit adultery because God is faithful. We are told not to covet because God alone is sufficient. Before the commandments reveal our failures, they first reveal God’s perfection.
This brings me to another powerful point to consider. God redeemed Israel from bo***ge before He provided the Law. This illustrates for us something that we should remember about God’s salvation. Obedience was never the means of Israel’s redemption. It was the grateful response of a people whom God had already redeemed.

The Great Misunderstanding
One of the greatest mistakes that we make is believing that obedience consists merely of avoiding certain actions. “I’ve never murdered anyone.”, “I’ve never robbed a bank.”, “I’ve never cheated on my spouse.”
Therefore…
“I must be doing pretty well.”
However, Scripture never measures righteousness by outward behavior. God has always looked beyond actions and into motives. He peers deep within our hearts to see what truly guides what we are or are not doing.
When the Lord chose David as king, He reminded Samuel:
“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
God had already declared where His attention was fixed long before Christ ever took on human flesh.

Jesus Opens the Law
From the time when God wrote down His Law, to the time of Jesus’ arrival, the religious establishment had managed to reduce God’s Law to visible behavior. Traditions and misunderstandings became the focus and there were those who utilized the Law to enhance their own power, standing, or wealth. Over the centuries people could no longer distinguish between God’s commands and man’s additions. This had transformed the Law into something too lenient but at the same time overly taxing.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
Jesus began His “Sermon on the Mount” by pointing out certain misunderstandings regarding the Law. “You have heard that it was said… But I say to you…”
While many believe that Jesus made God’s commandments harder, He did not. He was not correcting Moses, but the people’s misunderstanding of what Moses had written. He restored the Law to the condition of the heart which is where God was looking all along.
Murder begins long before blood is shed. Adultery begins long before two people meet in secret. And false worship begins long before an idol is carved. The commandments reach deeper than our hands. They reach into our desires, motives, priorities, and affections.
Jesus revealed to us that the Law is like looking into a mirror which never lies. Every blemish, wrinkle, and scar is revealed. Nothing is hidden.
The Law was never intended to convince us how righteous we are. It reveals how desperately we need God’s mercy.
“… I would not have known sin except through the law…” (Romans 7:7)
“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24)

Looking Ahead
In the coming messages we will examine each commandment individually. Some will challenge ideas we’ve held for years. Others may uncover sins we never realized were there. You may discover that commandments you though you had faithfully kept actually reach into areas of life you never imagined.
This is not meant to condemn but to draw us closer to Christ. For every commandment ultimately points us toward the One Person who fulfilled them all perfectly. Jesus Christ did not merely teach the Law. He embodied it.
Where we have failed, He succeeded. Where we have fallen short, He remained sinless. Where the Law exposes our guilt, Christ offers forgiveness.
The Ten Commandments are not ten ladders by which sinful people climb into heaven. They are ten brilliant rays of God’s holiness shining into the darkest corners of the human heart.
They reveal not only what God requires, but who God is.
As we study them together, do not be content to admire the words carved on tablets of stone. Ask God to carve them upon your heart. For when His commandments move from stone to the soul, obedience ceases to be a burden and becomes an act of love.
For many, the greatest tragedy would not be that they violate one of God’s commandments but that they never allow them to break their pride and lead them to Christ.
“I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…” (Hebrews 8:10)
As we examine each commandment, we will ask three simple questions. What does this commandment reveal about God? What does it reveal about my own heart? And how does it point me to Jesus Christ? If we answer those three questions honestly, the Ten Commandments will become far more than ancient words carved into stone. They will become living truth written upon our hearts.

As we conclude today's message, I hope and pray that the Lord touches your heart and life with His love and revelations. May the Lord bless and keep you today and every day as you journey through life with Him.

If you have not been saved or are unsure if you have been “Born Again” please follow this link: Salvation

As always, I invite you to share your walk, discoveries, and testimonies with me. If you have a question that you would like scriptural answers to; Email me at [email protected]

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS- MORE THAN RULES
Discovering the Heart Behind God’s Law
Rev. Jason Hill
We Think We Already Know Them
Ask almost anyone if they know the Ten Commandments and they will likely answer, “Of course.” Even those with little knowledge of the Bible can usually name at least a few of them. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not commit adultery.
Most people think of the Ten Commandments as God’s list of rules; a divine checklist of things we should or should not do. If we obey enough of them, we imagine ourselves to be reasonably good people. But is that what God intended?
Did the Lord merely wish to regulate human behavior?
Or was He revealing something much deeper?

THE DANGEROUS DELUSIONS OF THE HUMAN HEART
The Lies We Love to Believe

Rev. Jason Hill

One of Satan’s greatest strategies which often brings his victories, is not that he convinces people that God doesn’t exist, but in convincing people to believe certain lies that feel like truth.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan did not force Eve to rebel. He simply caused her to question God’s Word and believe that disobedience would bring something better. That same deception has echoed through every generation since.
The enemy rarely tempts us with obvious evil. Instead, he disguises deception as wisdom, freedom, success, religion, or security. The Bible exposes these lies because God desires to rescue us from them.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Today we are going to examine some of the most dangerous delusions of the human heart.

The Delusion of Sin- “Sin will make my life better.”
This was the very first lie.
Satan convinced Eve that God was withholding something good from her. Every temptation since then has carried the same promise: This will satisfy you. This will make you happier. This will complete your life.
Yet sin has never delivered what it promises. It offers excitement but leaves emptiness. It offers pleasure but ultimately ends in pain. It offers freedom but produces slavery.
Jesus alone offers abundant life.
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

The Delusion of False Security
Satan will have you focused on things that have no ability to save whatsoever. We see in Matthew chapter 3 that the religious leaders trusted their ancestry because they were descendants of Abraham. Others trust church membership and attendance. Some trust baptism, while others hold to the claim that they are “good people.”
Empty religious traditions including prayer are likewise utilized a lot, but Jesus warned against people who believed that repeating religious words would somehow impress God. Prayer is not magic. God is not moved by endless repetition but by sincere faith.
Family heritage and religious traditions cannot save a soul.
Christianity has never been about performing rituals but about knowing the living God. Religion without relationship leaves the heart unchanged. Every person must personally repent and place his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

The Delusion of Self-Confidence
Peter sincerely believed that he would never deny Jesus. In fact, his adamant stance on the subject was met with rebuke from Jesus who told him that, not only would Peter deny knowing Him, but that he would do it three times before the rooster crowed on that very night.
Sure enough, within hours of that conversation, Peter denied Jesus three separate times.
Peter’s failure reminds us that sincerity is not the same as strength. Whenever we believe we are incapable of falling, we are already standing on dangerous ground.
The Christian life is lived only through dependence upon Christ, not self-confidence.

The Delusion of Earthly Gain
In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12, we see that a rich fool believed his future was secure because his barns were full. He was a fool because for all that he did to protect his future, he ended up dying that very night.
Money is useful but not eternal. It can purchase comfort but never peace. It can buy medicine but never immortality. It can purchase a house but never a home in Heaven.
Speaking of houses, Jesus described two men who built houses for themselves. From the outside they looked very much the same. There was a difference however. That difference was beneath the surface, in their foundations. One foundation was rock and the other was sand. When the storms came the foundations were revealed as one house remained strong and sturdy while the other collapsed.
Many build successful careers, comfortable homes, respected reputations, and financial security while neglecting the conditions of their souls. Our security has never rested in possessions. Everything rests in the Lord. Everything built apart from Christ is temporary.

The Delusion of False Gods
The creation and worship of idols is a popular activity among humans. God specifically warned against such things, yet it still occurred frequently. Paul reminded the Athenians that God cannot be represented by idols made with human hands in Acts 17.
Although carved idols are not nearly as present today as they were in the past, we still have them and many mistakenly spend their time worshiping them foolishly. Today our idols are more sophisticated but still just as worthless.
Success, popularity, entertainment, politics, pleasure, even ourselves have become idols to us. Anything which occupies the throne reserved for God becomes an idol.
Only the true and living God consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is worthy of our praise and worship.

The Delusion of “Later”
Governor Felix trembled as Paul preached about righteousness and coming judgment. Yet instead of responding, he said,
“Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” (Acts 24:25)
Scripture does not record if that convenient time ever arrived, but one thing is for sure. We do not know and we cannot guarantee that there will ever be a tomorrow.
“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a v***r that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)
Life is fragile. Health, families, nations change. In the blink of an eye our circumstances can change, and life could be snuffed out in a second. Satan loves to encourage us to say tomorrow, but our greatest mistake would be to assume that tomorrow belongs to us. It does not. Tomorrow belongs to God and He prefers that we decide today.
Every day delayed is another day closer to eternity.

The Truth That Sets Us Free
Every lie Satan tells finds its answer in Jesus Christ. Where sin promises life but brings death, Christ gives eternal life. Where religion fails, Christ saves. Where self-confidence collapses, Christ becomes our strength. Where earthly foundations crumble, Christ remains our Rock. Where riches disappear, His inheritance is eternal. And where idols deceive, He alone is the true and living God.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
It is not about whether we believe in something but whether we believe the truth. The lies of this world are attractive because they appeal to our flesh. The truth of Christ sometimes confronts us before it comforts us. But only His truth can forgive sin, transform the heart, and prepare us for eternity.
Do not trust the lies you wish were true. Trust the Savior who Is the Truth.
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6)

As we conclude today's message, I hope and pray that the Lord touches your heart and life with His love and revelations. May the Lord bless and keep you today and every day as you journey through life with Him.

If you have not been saved or are unsure if you have been “Born Again” please follow this link: Salvation

As always, I invite you to share your walk, discoveries, and testimonies with me. If you have a question that you would like scriptural answers to; Email me at [email protected]