Hello everyone! The verse of the week is Hebrews 4:13 which states, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

Just 2 quick points...

1. Nothing is hidden from God's sight. Simply put, God is looking directly at you all the time. He sees and knows everything that you are doing. God knows about every "secret" thing in your life. He knows about every "secret" that is in your past. He even knows about every "secret" thing in your heart! He knows everything!

Typically, a sinful person attempts to hide some of his behavior from other people. That is why the Bible talks about people sinning in "darkness." John 3:19 states, "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." People sin in the "dark" because they do not want others to know what they are doing! The problem is God is looking directly at them! He sees everything!

Proverbs 5:21 states, "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD..."

2. We will all give an account to God. Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." One day your 2 feet are going to be standing before the Eternal Creator. Then, you are going to give an account of everything you did on the earth. Just consider the following verses...

Ecclesiastes 12:14, "God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."

Matthew 12:36, "For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment."

Matthew 4:22, "There is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light."

The fact that we will one day give an account to God for all of our actions is a terrifying thought. (Especially if you consider all of His laws!) This is a major problem for a lot of people! Hiding things from people or from God is not the solution.

The best advice I can give you is to obey Isaiah 55:6-7... "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon!

You desperately need to receive a pardon! Thank God that because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ a pardon is available! I pray that you will take full advantage of the love, grace, and mercy of God today. Get your pardon. Otherwise, you are in a lot of trouble.

How to Become Righteous.

Hello everyone! The verse of the week is one of my favorites. Romans 10:4 states, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

Just a few quick points . . .

1. A person does not become "righteous" by keeping the law. On a recent episode of "Family Feud" one of the questions was "What does a person have to do in order to be a Christian?" The number 1 answer from the survey of 100 people was "Be a good person." Contrary to popular belief that is NOT the right answer. Just consider the following verses . . .

Romans 3:20, "No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law..."

Galatians 2:21, "... If righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain..."

Galatians 3:11, "Clearly no one is made righteous before God by the law... "

It is very very very important to understand that a person does not become righteous in God's sight by keeping the law. That sounds like the way to try to make it to heaven, but in reality it is the wrong way. Proverbs 14:12 states, "There is a way that seems right to a man but the end of of that path is destruction."

2. A person who believes in Christ is righteous. In the Old Testament a man named Job asked a very important question, "How can a man be righteous before God?" (Job 9:2). Job asked this question because he realized that he was not righteous before God. He was a better person that all of his friends (Job 1:8), but in God's sight he was not righteous. He knew he was a sinner. He also knew he was going to be in trouble of the Day of Judgment (Job 9:28-35).

The good news is that we possess the answer to Job's question. A person becomes righteous in God's sight when he simply believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is all a person has to do. I think it will be helpful for everyone to simply read the verse of the week again . . . "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

I hope this simple little verse helps you see the truth! Salvation is not he result of human effort. Salvation is the result of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is not based on human effort, good works, or being active in a church. It is a free gift that is given to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (I hope that's you!).

Have a wonderful week! And thank God for His goodness. As always feel free to leave a comment or sent an email to benhuff49@yahoo.com with any questions/comments!

Isaiah 55:6-7

Hello everyone! The verse of the week is Isaiah 55:6-7 which states, "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Just 3 quick points . . .

1. A person needs to seek the Lord while there is time. Isaiah is urging his audience to seek the Lord while He may be found. The harsh reality of life is that death is coming. The harsher reality is that no one knows when death is coming. (James 4:14 states, "What is your life? It is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.") The harshest reality is that after a person dies there is no "second chance" to seek the Lord and find mercy. Thus, it is urgent to seek the Lord and call upon Him (for mercy and forgiveness) while He may be found. I hope you have already done this!

2. A person needs to forsake his sinful ways. Isaiah is proclaiming a simple message. A man must forsake his sinful ways and his unrighteous thoughts if he wants to receive a pardon. Jonah 2:8 states, "Those who cling to worthless idols forsake their own mercy." Obviously this does not refer to just "little statues." A person who clings to anything that is sinful will not receive a pardon. A person who remains in rebellion against the Creator will not find mercy. 1 Peter 2:25 states, "For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." I hope that is your story too!

3. God will have mercy on such a person. This is good news! If a person will seek the Lord, call upon Him, and forsake His sinful ways, God will be merciful to such a person and give him a pardon! God will abundantly pardon!

- It does not matter what types of sin a person has committed.
- It does not matter how many times a person has sinned.
- It does not matter how many years a person has lived in sin.

If the person will seek the Lord he will find mercy! That is good news. I really hope you have taken advantage of the God's grace! I also hope you will encourage others to do the same.

True Love . . .

Hello everyone! Sorry the blog is two days late this week . . . The verse of the week is 1 John 3:16 which states, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Just 2 quick points...

1. Love is defined by the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know what love is? The answer is simple. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ. He laid down His life for us. That is love. Based on this definition (which is the only good definition of love) I think there is a lot less love in the world than most people think. Why is this important? Just consider...

1 John 3:10, "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of god nor is he who does not love his brother."

1 John 3:14, "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother remains in death."

1 John 4:8, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Clearly, one of the distinguishing marks of a born again believer is that he loves others. Thus, it is vitally important for people to understand what love really looks like (by looking at Jesus) in order for people to rightly discern if they really love others.

Hint: It is easy to say you love everyone! Your actions tell the real truth (see 1 John 3:17-19)


2. We ought to love lay down our lives for one another. It is real easy to look at the cross and be thankful. We should do that. However, it is also important to look at the cross and understand that we are suppose to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are suppose to offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2)
We are suppose to carry our own crosses. (Luke 9:23)
We are suppose to deny ourselves. (Luke 9:23)
We are suppose to lay down our lives for each other. (1 John 3:16)
We are suppose to love our neighbor as much as ourselves (Matthew 22:39)

The big question is . . . How are YOU doing? ... Lets all try to do better!