Eveything was Created For Jesus

Col 1:16  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. NIV

This little verse of Scripture is quite direct in what it says. The preceding verses make it clear this is referring to Jesus. Therefore Jesus created everything that was ever created, both physical things and spiritual things.

Furthermore this verse declares that all things were created by Him and for Him.

That could be quite a blow to my ego. Weren't some things created for me?

Well, if in one sense something was created for me it would in a greater sense be to fulfill a purpose that Jesus has for me. After all, both I and the "something" were created by Him and for Him.

Jesus is the Creator and He knows exactly why He made everything in creation. When we give thought to what we do with our possessions we ought to first acknowledge that both we and what we call our possessions actually belong totally to Christ.

When we have the correct perspective of Who owns everything we can turn to Scripture to learn from it what Jesus wants us to do with whatever we have temporary stewardship of.

While He was here in the flesh, Jesus taught that when the master and owner returns He is going to take actions based on what His servants did with what belongs to Him.

It seems to me that a good first step toward properly using what belongs to Jesus is to acknowledge and remember at all times that everything belongs to Him.

Who is this Jesus who created everything for Himself? He is the One who is Creator, Savior, and Lord.

Shouldn't we seek to know Him better? Let's do that.

Can Ads Be A Good Thing?

Yes, I believe that ads can be a good thing. Some ads may be annoying, and get in the way of what we want to read in a magazine or watch during a show on television or at the start of a DVD. But an ad in and of itself is information that should be of interest to at least some people.

For example, if we need to buy groceries, ads in the form or commercials or flyers can let us know what is on sale this week. Ads can actually help us save money.

Of course some ads simply seek to convince us to buy things that we don't need or can't afford. In those situations we need to be cautious and refrain from overspending.

Then there are the ads that can even help us get things for free. Maybe it is a buy 1 get 1 free offer that is promoted. Or sometimes it is a gift card sent to us in the mail for $5 or $10 toward anything in the store, without even a restriction of having to spend a certain amount of money. That piece of mail and the gift card are a form of advertising to get us to come to the store where they hope we will spend some of our own money in addition to what we get with the free gift card.

Some companies now even pay people to look at their ads. They know people can change channels on TV and flip over pages in a magazine to avoid ads, so they offer to pay them a modest amount to view and perhaps rate their advertisements.

Now there is even a company that plans to share its advertising profits with the people who help them get enough members to warrant advertisers to pay to advertise on their website.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google are websites where advertisers spend many millions of dollars because they know their ads will be seen by millions of people. A new company, called Wazzub, is offering to share it's advertising profits with anyone who joins during their pre-launch and helps them get at least 3 other people to join for free.

I joined Wazzub and I am encouraging others to join to see if we can get a share of the advertising profits after they launch on April 9 of this year. Hopefully it will  be an interesting enough site so that people will use it and more people will keep joining in the coming months and years.

Only those of us who join during this pre-launch period will be included in the profit sharing, so I hope many will join before April 9 whether they join from my link or from one belonging to somebody else.

If nothing comes of the Wazzub effort to share their advertising profits, that's OK. They are not asking anybody for any money for membership. So it seems to me to be worth it to give this a try. If you'd like to give see for yourself, you can join Wazzub for free by clicking here.

Doing Something Useful With His Own Hands

Eph 4:28  He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
      New International Version (NIV)    Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

   Even though I depend on ventilators all night and a good part of the day, have only partial use of my arms and no practical use of my legs, I still like to try to earn some money to  pay the bills and give to those in need.

   That is why you will find an Amazon Kindle(TM) page on this blog. Once in a while somebody who comes across this blog might check out that page and order something which would earn me a small commission. A little here and a little there can add up.

   I also have been a catalog salesman, since that suited my physical abilities. I could leave catalogs on people's doorsteps in the good weather and people could call me on the phone if they wanted to order something.

  There are those who want millionaires to simply hand over thousands and tens of thousands of dollars to people who don't have as much as they wish they had. I don't usually hear about what the recipients of that money offer to do in in return for the generous "gifts" they demand from the rich folks.

  The passage quoted above says that people who can work at something should work at something. Even though I'm limited in what I can do, I try to find something I can do, even when catalog sales diminish due to the economy and other changing circumstances.

  In this blog from time to time I may share some of the ways I try to earn a bit of extra money. But I will try to only share ideas that will only help people make money, even if just a modest amount, and not risk losing money.

OK, that's all I have time to write today. I need to go read what my wife posted on her blog today.

What Should I Pray For?

Col 1:9  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

The above passage was written by Paul to the Christians in Colosse. I find it interesting that when he tells them that he prays for them, he doesn't say he's praying for their health or financial situation. This passage clearly shows that what mattered most to him concerning the members of that church was their spiritual condition.

I see here that he wasn't just concerned that they be happy, or satisfied with their situation. He wanted them to be filled with knowledge. Not just any knowledge. He wanted them to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God.

He didn't even stop at knowledge, because that could simply mean knowing facts about the will of of God, or what God wanted. Paul also wanted them to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Without the latter they would be unable to make proper use of the knowledge.

It seems to me that the substance of this verse would be good for Christians to pray for one another. I ought to also pray it for myself, and if you're a Christian I would suggest that you pray along those lines for yourself.

Where will the knowledge of God's will and the understanding and wisdom come from? Well, reading and studying the Bible on a consistent basis should be the norm for believers. Then getting good teaching from pastors and teachers who believe the Bible is the word of God should also be included in our lives. Of course without the Holy Spirit helping us we won't get much of anything from time spend reading the Bible since the Spirit of God inspired the writing of it.

I want to know God's will and understand what He wants me to do with what I come to understand. That seems like a pretty worthwhile thing to pray about on at least a daily basis.

Please pray for me. I'll seek to do the same for you. I believe that what God wants for us far exceeds what we want for ourselves. Let's pray in this way and see what God does.

What Matters?

Different things matter to different people.

This blog is now going to be about what matters to me. Of course that may sometimes include writing about what matters to other people, because what other people are interested in does matter to me.

Yesterday my wife talked me through the process of getting the Kindle(TM) program onto my computer so I can download books to read.

Reading good books matters to me, so now I'll be able to do that right on my computer.

I also like to earn money so I can pay the bills. That matters to me. So, since I'm an Amazon Associate, I can put a Kindle(TM) page on this blog. I'll try to do that today.

OK, I've got a few things to do right now, so I'll get back to this blog a little later. If you find any of it interesting, please pray for me that I be consistent in keeping up with it.

Have a great day.

Money Itself is Not the Root of All Evil

(1Ti 6:10)  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NIV)


Money by itself is not evil or even the root of evil. In fact the Bible says much about working diligently and providing for the needs of your family and those who can't manage without help.


I do what I can to earn money to pay our bills, give to our church, and take my wife out on a date from time to time.


Today I opened an online store called John and Deb's Store. I'm hoping that if you can afford to do so you will shop at our store. Maybe you could also tell others about it so they might shop there as well.


Please don't spend money you can't afford to spend. In fact, if you are in need to extra money to meet your needs I would suggest you open an online store as well.


If you sign up as an Amazon Associate you can open an online store for free. That's right. No cost to you to start an online business.


If you open a store and share news about it with your friends and relatives maybe you'll earn a little extra money to help you with your bills.


To visit John and Deb's Store just click here or on the name of our store.


Money is not evil or the root of evil. When properly used money can assist us in providing for our families and helping others in need.

Jesus Really Came and He's Really Coming Back

  16  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  17  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.  18  Therefore comfort one another with these words.
           (New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved. (New American Standard)

Jesus really came. He spent a few years teaching and setting an example to a dozen very unimpressive men who abandoned Him when the soldiers came to arrest him.

Nobody tried to stop his execution. Only one of his disciples was at His execution.

Jesus died, just as He said He would.

But He didn't stay dead. He rose from the dead with a resurrection body that can never die again. And He showed  himself to the eleven remaining disciples as  well as to hundreds of others.

Forty days later He ascended  into heaven. From there He sent the Holy Spirit to fill those who believed in Him. That enabled them to go out and tell others about the One who died for their sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

Those believers also told people that Jesus is coming back.

He really is. When He does some people will be glad to see Him. That's why we, like the Thessalonians, are comforted by those words.

Some people, however, will despair when Jesus returns.They can't and shouldn't feel comforted regarding the return of Jesus.

You can choose now to have Jesus as your  Lord and Savior. If you do, you'll rejoice when He returns.

Or you can reject and neglect Jesus now. If that is true of you now and you don't change that before He returns, you will  eternally regret that Jesus really meant it when He said He would come back..

Jesus has always done what He said He was going to do. And He always will.

Jesus really came. He's really coming back. Nobody knows the exact moment. You better be ready.