Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

What makes Christianity different from all other religions or worldviews? It’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ. People will claim that “All religions lead to God” or “there are many paths to God” but is this true? If all religions lead to the same God, then why do all religions contradict each other? Christianity is the only “religion” where God became a man, died for our sins, and rose from the dead defeating sin and death. No other religion offers you grace and mercy from your sin. No other religion has a Savior who rose from the dead

As the Apostle Peter says “ We have a Living Hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3) As the Proverb says When Hope is lost then it makes our heart sick, however we have a living and eternal hope because Jesus rose from the grave. That’s why the resurrection is central to Christianity.

No other religion gives you a relationship with God. Because of the finished work on the cross, Jesus tore the veil. We can now be in the presence of God by the Holy Spirit, because we are declared righteous through Christ. Other religions are trying to rely on their works to get Gods approval or get them to Heaven. But its by faith alone in Christ and His works that were completed, not our own

When you understand the living hope we have through Jesus Christ, it is the Tree of Life. But when you don’t have Jesus in your life, if your not Born Again, it makes your heart sick, because you are still dead in your sins. You are still at war with your Creator. But the Living Hope of Christ will give you a new heart and eternal life , Amen!

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)

Anxiety and depression are probably two of the biggest enemies that are destroying the human race today. What makes these enemies so difficult to combat is they are internal and invisible enemies. No matter who you are, you have probably dealt with a battle of depression or anxiety. The human mind is a battle field, and this is where Satan looks to attack people.

The KJV version says “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop” , the heaviness of anxiety and depression can be overwhelming. With the world living in turmoil today , these enemies can easily make their way into our minds and hearts, and almost crush us. Don’t think that Satan isn’t using these times right now to accomplish his agenda

When we see the evilness in this world, its all part of Satans agenda to destroy the human race. By peoples sinful nature they are actually doing Satans work, destroying, stealing, and killing (John 10:10) This is what Jesus said Satan came to do, and hes doing it right before our eyes. See there is a spiritual war for your soul, Jesus wants to save it but Satan wants to destroy it. Which side of the battle do you fall on? Are you a soldier of Christ or another victim of Satan?

The scripture says then “A good word makes it glad” God has given us promises of his victory and defeat over Satan and the world. Jesus has given us promises of eternal life and a New Kingdom because of his victory at the cross. These are words to meditate on and not the issues of this world

Jesus said “I have told you these things so you would have peace, In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart or be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) Meditate on these words! Rebuke Anxiety , Rebuke Depression, Rebuke Racism, Rebuke Violence, Rebuke Immorality in Jesus Name Amen!

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. Proverbs 12:1

How many of us love being told we are wrong? Of course none of us do, the evidence is on social media. If you disagree with someone, most likely they will come back with insults or block you. Why do we hate correction? This is part of our wicked human nature, we are prideful and arrogant. The problem is if we don’t like reproof or correction, how can we expect to continually learn anything?

Now the next part of the equation is the source of truth. As the old saying goes “Garbage in , garbage out” If our source of truth is false, then all were going to learn is false information. When we are willing and ready to learn, we need to find reputable and trusted teachers.

God has supplied some of our needs for learning. He has preserved his Word the Bible. If you compare todays translations with the manuscripts from thousands of years ago its still 99.9% the same. God has sent his Son the living Word of God Jesus Christ. He taught us and demonstrated to us the revelations of God. And of course God sent the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher, advocate, counselor, and guide

A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. Proverbs 12:2

God loves those who are willing to humble themselves and be disciplined. The part of the gospel that most people leave out is repentance. You cant be saved unless you turn away from your sin. This is why we need a savior in the first place. When people fail to recognize their sin , there is no repentance.

Are you correctable? Are you teachable? Are you willing to examine your life and compare it against the Holiness of God? You soon realize you need a Savior, you need Jesus Christ as your Lord Amen!

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30

Charles Spurgeon has a classic book called “The Soul Winner” which talks about evangelizing to unsaved people. I highly recommend this book to any Christian, why? Because I don’t think the modern day Church spends anytime on training or talking about evangelizing to unsaved people. The Proverb here tells us “They that win souls is wise” why? Because you are doing The Lords work, you are planting the seed, plowing the fields, for Gods harvest

Jesus said “ Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) This is known in theology as the “Great Commission” this was the marching orders Christ gave to the Church before he ascended back to Heaven. But how many Christians are doing this at all? How many people have you told the gospel message to? How many awkward conversations did you have with your family members or co workers about Christ?

Today if a celebrity even mentions they might be a Christian or believe in God, were supposed to be impressed and jump for joy. This is totally weak, most of these “celebrities” are pawning the name of Christ to sell merchandise. However none of them are preaching the cross, none of them are preaching repentance, none of them are concerned about winning souls, they are concerned with themselves

Are you concerned about winning souls? Or are you too ashamed of Christ to mention his name at work? Are you to embarrassed to tell your family that Jesus is your Master? Jesus said “Whoever confesses me before others I will confess to my Father, and whoever denies me before others I will deny before my Father” (Matthew 10:32-33)

Go and win souls, go and make disciples of Christ! As Jesus said “He will give you the words to speak” (Luke 12:11) Keep it simple, preach the gospel, make connections with people in Jesus Name Amen!

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

One of our greatest enemies can be Pride. Pride can make us ignore truth, pride can make us separate from others, pride can lead to our own destruction. There is one thing to be proud of yourself, its another thing to be full of pride. Many people are too proud to admit they are wrong, many people are too proud to help others, many people are too proud to admit they need a Savior

This is why when your full of pride, then comes shame. Because when we believe we can save ourselves we have already failed. Many people fail to see their flaws because they are full of too much pride. The Bible says “To Humble ourselves before The Lord and He will lift us up “ (James 4:10) You see the process of repentance comes with humility. When your too full of pride, you often are too blind to see your own sin

With the lowly or humble comes Wisdom. Often times in life, we set ourselves up for a great fall until we realize that we are wrong. God sometimes allows us to fall so we can humble ourselves and learn a lesson. Often when your too full of Pride, you don’t listen to anyone. You believe you have all the answers, and this is a grave mistake. Humility comes wisdom, ask God for wisdom and he will give it to you (James 1:5)

Jesus said “Unless we humble or change ourselves like a child, we will never see the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3) God doesn’t want puffed up prideful arrogant people. Gods wants humble and teachable children. Be like that child in the classroom that asks a million questions, others roll their eyes at them, but they want to learn, they aren’t afraid to be taught something new

Many of us don’t grow in our relationship with Christ, because we are to full of pride. We believe we know it all, we have all the answers, we know the beginning and the end. Its total foolishness to believe this, humble yourself before God and obtain wisdom in Jesus name Amen!

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Proverbs 10:12

Hatred, we see a lot of it today. In the streets, on social media, maybe even in your own home. What does hatred accomplish? Why cant we allow people to have their own opinions and thoughts? Its human nature we want everyone to think like us, to act like us, to look like us, but this is not reality. The reason we have a hatred problem is because we have a sin problem. If we would follow the words of Christ to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and to even “Love your enemy” (Matthew 5:44) Then we wouldn’t have all these hatred problems, however the root of hatred comes within ourselves

Its our human fallen nature to want to hate, if you don’t believe try loving your enemy. Its difficult! Love is not always easy but its always right. You might say “How can we love these people”? Well Jesus could have said the same thing for us! How can we die for us wicked sinners, because He loved us. And if Christ can love us, why cant we love others?

Love covers all sins, this was demonstrated at the cross. The reason Jesus layed down his life for you , was simply because of love. Christ wasn’t obligated to die for you, he could have sent us all to Hell , and it would have been justified. But because of Love, Christ died for your sins and gave us eternal life.

So now knowing this, knowing that God had mercy on you because he loved you, you are now expected to love others also. Even the ones who don’t agree with you, even the ones who hate God. Yes this is difficult, but its not impossible because of what Christ has done for us! Amen!