This country
needs HOPE. Where did our hope go?
The epidemic of violence,
continuing issues of racism,
younger and younger people becoming addicted to drugs,
domestic violence,
fear,
child
kidnappings…..all of this is drowning the United States in a wave of hopelessness. That hopelessness is coming from the deliberate
choice of the society
of the United States in general turning
its back on God
and His Son Jesus.
Those who are Christians
and were once addicts and
alcoholics who have turned their lives around will flat out attest to the HOPE
that can be found in giving it all up to Jesus.
Jesus IS Hope. His death on the
Cross gave us the Hope for eternal
life, and He gave us Hope to be able to endure the day to day pain and
struggle that we deal with here that is life as a human being. Evangelist Pastor John Collins has
based the ministry Love
That Cross on Hope.
Evangelist Pastor John Collins
began Love That Cross
Ministries with a focus on revival. It began in Wyoming and spread
across the country. Revival
of faith, revival of Christianity,
not
religion, but the revival of
the HOPE
that comes from acknowledging Jesus as a
savior of mankind, ALL
of us, is the central purpose of Love That
Cross Ministry and Revival. Without Jesus, there is no Hope. The sorrow, the sadness,
the pain, the anger, the violence that
comes with living in the
world today seems unbearable.
Pastor John preaches that it IS
possible to have HOPE. That hope is
submitting all to the love that is Jesus and God.
Who took our hope away? To some degree, we have willingly
given it away through political correctness, fear, trends of society. We as Christians
allowed men to “interject their will upon the people and Christianity has
suffered. Religion
will get you nowhere
if you are complying with the traditions of men while ignoring the commandments
of God, “says Pastor
John. Knowing Jesus, allowing Him into your heart, having faith in Him
to help carry us through a day has been twisted into canned sermons and
litanies, false
doctrines meant to sell a product rather than to save souls, or even
lukewarm “God loves everyone, so be happy” attitudes: all meant to keep people sitting in a pew on
a Sunday, but not meant to stir the heart or the soul into repentance. Pastor John
Collins calls a spade a spade. Faith is
meant to save
souls, to guide
lives toward righteousness
and to keep hope alive.
Faith is meant to
carry you through the
tough times and to help you get to heaven. Churches
continue with their traditions
and doctrines
that man has implemented;
people continue attending them because they are comforted by the familiar. That comfort is not providing a growing
population in heaven.
It is time to step
out of that comfort zone and wake up.
People have got to wake up and see that Christianity is broken
and needs truth and healing. People need to turn away
from the glitter and the traditions that have them going through the motions of worship only to leave
them without the tools to apply the gospel
to their lives in any real
way. When was the last time you could recall
details about a sermon
given on a Sunday all the way through
a week until the next
service, or even a month or more after it was
spoken? THOSE sermons are the ones that
have touched a
heart, sparked
a soul, moved
someone to think about and reconsider
what they are doing in their lives.
THOSE sermons make us, all sinners, wonder about whether we
really are heading
to heaven
by saying we are Christian, or
if we have work to
do. Looking at the society in which
we live, it’s a pretty good indication that we all have work
to do. Not enough people know that there
is a God
or that Jesus even exists,
not to mention those of us who profess to be Christian
on Sunday but walk
past the woman on the sidewalk
on Tuesday who simply needs a meal or help off
of the street
into safety. There is a lot of work to be done. Pastor John
calls it as it is: we HAVE turned from
God as a nation and slapped Him away from our homes, families, children, our
hearts. The time is NOW, and God WILL help us REVIVE our faith, IF we turn to
Him and His Son Jesus.
God
is waiting and willing to help us come to learn
the truth and to embrace
that truth. People
must be willing to want that honest
relationship that genuine
faith provides. We can’t continue to
lie to ourselves that we can wait for another day. We are NOT
guaranteed tomorrow. Only God knows
just how long we have to work
on our souls and our redemption. We CAN’T wait. It will be too late when we die, get there,
and then go “Oops” because we didn’t do anything to help ourselves, even though
help was available. We no longer believe that God
is paying attention nor do we believe whole-heartedly that He will intervene in
our lives directly. Oh, we say we do, but it is obvious in our lack of
obedience that we do not fear any real repercussions
from God. We do
NOT respect or revere God. We do
not fear Him.
Jesus
does offer salvation to us for free. Yet, He Himself has demanded that we
repent, sin no more, and that we obey God’s
commandments. He also said for us to fear Him who is able to destroy both
body and soul in hell. Do we take Him seriously
and adjust our behavior accordingly or are we just banking on that price being
paid and going about our lives with evil hearts and evil minds acting in evil
ways and speaking evil words? Think about the
standard that is set by
Jesus. Think about the requirements of our faith. We cannot just say that
we believe. We must believe so strongly
that we are moved to change our ways. Remember the young man who was
obedient to the law and yet was told by Jesus to sell all and give to the poor
and follow when he asked what must he do to have eternal life? We cannot do
some. We must do all. If you are not doing all that the Lord has commanded you
cannot be assured of claiming the salvation He offers.
Begin again by coming to truly fear
God. Renew your faith by refocusing your priorities in life. Claim your
salvation by a belief that is so strong you know that nothing else in your life
matters in comparison. That is saving faith. Know that no matter what amount of
faith and obedience
you have today, you can always and should always seek more. That is the faith that will give us HOPE.
“God is never secondary in my life, He is always Primary”-
Pastor John Collins.
