I’ve always been fascinated in taking an old antique piece and restoring it. When you restore something, you typically take a piece of furniture that was at some time new, now old, and making it look new again.

When we were born, we start out as this new little human, dependent on others for living. As we get older, we may try and restore our bodies, to produce a better version of us, maybe by eating right, losing weight, working out more, etc.

But, with Jesus, we’re talking about a total life transformation, not restoration.

Jesus takes your broken bodies, broken spirits and turns you into a brand new creature. All the sin, anger, depression, we once carried, can be gone overnight.

Why wouldn’t everyone want this? Because they’re in bondage. Satan has their minds, their thought life and their souls held captive. He has convinced them that God can’t help, that they can be their own God, and have control of their own life.

Don’t fall for it. Ask Jesus into your life. Allow Him to fill your life with peace and fulfillment.

Repent and restore your eternity to Jesus today.

Psalms 78:7 - “Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deed but would keep his commands.”

I’m a part of a team at my church called, “Evangalism Explosion.” Our goal is to tell others about Jesus and to share the gospel.

There’s still a misconception in the church, It appears that most people in the congregation think that it’s the sole job of the pastor to evangelize in the community. But, in reality, it’s not. It’s anyone who is a Christian. You are commanded to be a part of the great commission.

That doesn’t mean you have to be an ordained minister, have completed seminary, or been on a mission trip. It means that you can tell others about Jesus right where you are.

You can tell others in your neighborhood the good news of salvation. You can tell the person sitting next to you on the plane.

There is no limit to where or when we can evangelize.

One of the questions we typically ask is, “if you were to die today and found yourself standing before God, and He asked you, “Why should I let you into heaven?”, what do you think you would say?”

I’ve heard more people say, “well, I haven’t killed anyone and I try to do good things for people.”

Friends, that’s a sad place to be. The only ticket into Heaven is forgiveness from God; repentance to the One who died in your place.

Accept the free pass today. Give your life to Him. You’ll never be good enough to get there.

John 14:6 - “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

There’s no hope without trust. Trusting in Jesus alone in your life will give you an eternity of hope to look forward to.

You wouldn’t hope you would pass a test without studying, trusting in your knowledge of the curriculum you studied, would you?

My hope in eternity lies in Jesus. I know without a shadow of doubt that if I were to die today that I would be with Jesus in Heaven. I’m trusting in His promises to me as His child.

I can’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t have hope. It’s so sad to hear of someone committing suicide. How did they get to the point of hopelessness?

Reach out to the troubled teenager. Call the widow who just lost her husband. Spend time with friends who don’t know Jesus and tell them your story of this love and endless hope He has for His children.

Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Pride is a sin. Most of you reading this, know this to be true.

It’s so easy to get caught up in pride, your accomplishments. In our culture today, it’s natural to expect recognition for a job well done.

But, what does this convey to God? He’s probably thinking, “well if they can do it all on their own, what are they going to need me for?”

God has so many promises to those who love and obey Him. He loves blessing us in our attempts in being fruitful.

Don’t let pride get in the way of His promises.

Purposely recognize that God is in everything we accomplish.

I’ve done it. I’ve relied on my own ambition and pursuit and left God out. This only left me empty, tirelessly trying to find a better way on my own.

Pursue God daily and I can testify that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Don’t allow pride to steal the joy of knowing a loving God.

Proverbs 11:2 - “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

As Christians, we are called to serve others and serve God. What does this look like? We serve God by obeying His commands and maintaining a relationship with Him.

We give to others our time, our resources, which is good. This type of giving comes out of love.

Oh, you can give to charity groups but not be happy about it. There’s no love required out of that type of giving.

But, personally, I’ve found some wonderful blessings in serving others. This became so much more apparent after my first mission trip. There’s something special when you’re helping others in need; when you’re being the hands and feet of Jesus.

The people of Peru are very special to me. I’ve observed that even if it’s the smallest gift given to them, they light up like we just gave them $100 bill.

There’s no way you can even try to love without giving, even if it’s a smile to someone hurting, or a hug to a crying child.

What about you? When’s the last time you gave someone your time? Reach out today to someone in your life. Be a loving giver as Jesus is and commands us to be.

John 13:34 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

God requires us to follow His ways. He instills in us the ideas and energy to serve others.

Don’t just give your life over to Him and sit and wait for something to happen.

I’ve found when we’re intentional in our faith that life gets better.

When others try to persuade you to do things that are ungodly, take a stand and let them know that it’s not right.

Gossip has always been an annoying sin for me to control. It’s not that I go around finding people to gossip with. It’s kind of like a bug getting caught in a spider’s web. It looks inviting, harmless, but then all of a sudden you find yourself stuck and can’t pull out of the web.

Love each other, support your sister or brother in Christ. Be that God'ly friend that others feel safe with.

Hold your ground. Be the change.

Ephesians 6:11 - “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

I’ve talked about identity before. It’s who we are. My identity lies in Christ Jesus.

No, I’m not a saint, nor will I ever be on this earth. My hopes and dreams lie in my creator. I try to stay grounded, unchangeable.

It’s hard to do, especially when circumstances arise that throw you off balance.

Our world and environment is ever changing, minute by minute. But, as a Christian, does our identity look the same today as it was a year ago?

Or, does our personality change because we lost our job, or our kid came home with a bad report card, or someone cut you off in traffic?

Hebrews 13:8 - “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Stay unlovable. When the storms of life come, take hold of God’s life preserver.

Show others that your confidence is not in the circumstances, but in the God you serve.

It’s not easy, but if you’re living a life pleasing to God, reading His word and having daily conversations with Him, you will be immoveable from the tide appearing on the horizon.

To all of us who have passed the age of 50, you’ll sympathize with me in that your body changes with age. Things you used to eat in your 20’s and 30’s, will now give you different responses to your body.

Although I’ve surpassed 50 a few years ago, I still find myself in a pickle when I eat something I shouldn’t.

Yesterday I took just a tiny bite of something and immediately felt the results. Let’s just say I was asking God to remove the pains I was feeling.

This got me to thinking about sin. Don’t we sometimes think, “I’ll just try this once,” or “this is no big deal if I just take a tiny bite….” When in reality, sin is sin. There are no big sins or little sins.

Sin is an act of disobedience or conduct that is against God.

I ask for forgiveness every day, for yesterday’s sins and the sins I’ll commit today.

Acknowledgement of sin is key. If God truly knows your heart and knows that you’re trying to avoid sin, then He is always ready to forgive.

God is merciful and loves us very much. But, He hates sin and must punish sin.

This is where Jesus comes in. Hey, Jesus already paid the penalty for all of our sins.

Thank Him for this and strive to be more like Him.

1 John 1:8 - “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”