Pastor Ron Shortt's Christian Blogs

Do All Religions Lead to God?

2012-02-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

There are countless hundreds of different religions in the world today. The statement that “all religions lead to God” is widely accepted by the world as being the absolute truth. Most skeptics use the fact that there are so many religions as evidence that God is unreachable or even non-existent.
Romans 1:19-21
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

This verse of scripture is the clarification from the Word of God as to why so many different religions exist in the world today. God has made it possible that each and every human on the face of the earth can know the truth about the existence of God and how to attain eternal life with Him.

A large percentage of people in the world have always tried to fashion their own concept of who God is and how God’s relationship exists with His creation. This is the foundation for the building of so many different and diverse religions in the world.

The world view is that God does not demand any form of righteousness or morality so people fashion a God that goes along with their idea of how they should live their life.

Because of the vanity in human nature it is difficult for people to accept that there is absolutely nothing you can do to earn you own salvation. People want to point to some good works they have accomplished in order to merit a place in heaven. They create ideology that sets up certain rules or laws that as long as they adhere to they will one day be with God in heaven.

There are some that go so far as to teach that “as man is God once was and as God is man can be.”
So many are not ready to accept that God is sovereign and omnipotent and they desire a relationship with some sort of mystical force rather than a personal and sovereign Ruler.

The fact that there exist in the world so many religions is not clear evidence opposing the existence of God or that the absolute truth about God is somehow very clouded. What has occurred is that humans have replaced God with many gods that are more to their own likening. This is a very perilous undertaking because trying to recreate God in our own image will lead to an eventual inevitable destruction of one’s eternal life.

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

So to address our original question, “Do all religions lead to God?” The answer is yes they do. The problem is that all but one leads to God’s Judgment, Christianity is the only religion that leads to God’s forgiveness and eternal life. It does not matter what religion you decide to adhere to everyone will one day meet God.

Hebrews 9:27
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

All religions do lead to God but only Christianity leads to God’s acceptance or justification. God’s true salvation only comes through faith and acceptance in Christ Jesus and His substitutionary atonement on the Cross of Calvary.

Eternity is a long time to spend regretting your decision to accept God for who He is and not what you want Him to be. Study your bible and know beyond any shadow of dough who God really is and how you can have a personal relationship with Him that will grow sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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What is British Israelism and is it biblical?"

2012-02-18T04:22:00.000-08:00

British Israelism, also known as Anglo-Israelism, is the belief that the "lost ten tribes" of Israel migrated to Europe and then to England and became the primary ancestors of the British people, and thereby, the United States. British Israelism was made popular by the Worldwide Church of God and Herbert Armstrong, but other groups have held the doctrine as well.

Is British Israelism true and biblical? In order to determine this, we need to examine the two primary claims: (1) The ten tribes were lost, and (2) the ten tribes migrated to England.

2 Kings 17:18 states that Israel was deported to Assyria in 722 B.C. After this time, mention of the ten northern tribes (Israel) is rare in Scripture. However, other Scriptures (and historical records) indicate that some of the people of the northern ten tribes remained in the land.

Second Chronicles 35:18 records Israel celebrating the Passover with Judah approximately 90 years after the Assyrian deportation. It is likely that many people of the northern ten tribes fled to Judah to escape the Assyrians, and even more fled to the safety of Judah after the Assyrians had ransacked Israel.

Second Chronicles 15:9 records people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon settling in Judah long before the Assyrian invasion. In the New Testament, the prophetess Anna is said to be from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36), one of the supposed ten lost tribes. So, yes, many people from the northern ten tribes were deported to Assyria, never to be mentioned again. At the same time, there is sufficient evidence in Scripture to prove that the ten tribes were not lost, but rather in fact rejoined with Judah in the south.

It is likely that when Judah was deported by the Babylonians, the people would have sought out the Israelites in Assyria (very near Babylon) and rejoined with them. In the returns to Israel recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah, the Scriptures nowhere limit the returnees as being entirely from the tribe of Judah.

(2) Is it possible that some of the deported Israelites immigrated to Europe, even England? Yes. It is likely? No. A journey from Assyrian to England would have been exceedingly difficult in ancient times, especially for a large number of people. Geographically-speaking, Afghan-Israelism and even Japanese-Israelism have a greater possibility of truth. Further, why would Assyria, or later Babylon, or later Persia allow the Israelites to migrate outside of their territories?

Further, if the Israelites had the ability to migrate, why would they travel to Europe / England instead of back to their ancestral homeland? So, while it is possible that some Israelites migrated to Europe / England, it is highly unlikely that this occurred to any significant degree.

The primary goal behind British Israelism is to claim that England and the United States have inherited the covenant promises God made to Israel. While England and the United States have been blessed by God in many ways, it is not because God's promises to Israel have been transferred to those two nations.

God's covenants with Israel always involved the specific land of Israel. Abraham's descendants would inherit the land. The blessings of God to Israel were always in connection with the specific land that was promised. These promises, therefore, cannot apply to England or the United States, as those two nations do not possess the promised land. Further, while a significant number of Americans have English heritage, there are far more American immigrants from other nations combined than from England.

British Israelism (and other forms of Israelism) should be rejected because it does not have a solid basis biblically or historically.

To Be Mistaken for Jesus

2012-01-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

To Be Mistaken for Jesus

One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother & said, "Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand." The mother said, "Oh? What is it?" The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hand. Is that true?" The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true, honey."

"But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?" Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the preacher had said was true. With a puzzled look on her face the little girl then asked, "If God is bigger than us & He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?" Is that not the point?

If we’re Christians, when people see us, Jesus ought to show through - in our homes, our offices, our community, & in every aspect of our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:18 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

We who are Christians are supposed to reflect Jesus. In other words, when people see us they should be able to see Jesus in us - in what we say & in what we do.

With each passing day we ought to be more & more transformed to be like Him. And again, that is to be evident in what we do & in what we say.

How would things be different if Jesus came & took your place? Would anything have been different this morning as you got ready to come to church? What if He took over your job at work? Teenager, what if He sat in your desk at school? Or what if He took my place in the pulpit?
Whether we realize it or not, that is exactly what He wants - to make Himself known to others through our lives.

As Christians, our goal should be to introduce Jesus to others - to make Jesus known. We should want everyone who doesn’t know Him now to come to love Him, to discover the hope, the joy, the power He can bring into their lives.

WE ARE TO LOOK LIKE JESUS

The only way people today that do not have Jesus residing in their hearts will ever be able to see Him in through us. Satan has overshadowed Jesus today with the frills of the world.
To look like Jesus is not a physical appearance, people think if they wear certain clothes or adornments it will make them look Christ like. We must strive to be like him. In Ephesians 5:1-2 that is exactly what the apostle Paul admonishes us to do.
Be imitators of Jesus? What a courageous challenge to accept! When people look at Jesus they see a Jesus that is generous with His time, His love, & His power. They see one who is genuine in His care & compassion, & in His commitment to the will of God, & to others.

What do people see when they look at us? Do they see us being generous in the same ways that Jesus was? Do they see us being genuine about our faith & our commitments?
People also looked at Jesus & saw Him to be incredibly receptive. He would welcome anyone who approached Him: the intelligent & the illiterate, the child-like & the childish, the prosperous & the impoverished, the dedicated & the desperate, the seeker & the sick.

He had such an open door to His heart that He is called, not a "teacher of sinners," or a "changer of sinners," but a "friend of sinners." What better friend could anyone ever find than Jesus? And what kind of friend do sinners find in us?

Do we look like Jesus? Do our lives, our hearts, our nature reflect His glory? Are we imitating Him? We must make Jesus known by looking like Him.

WE ARE TO SOUND LIKE JESUS

We also must endeavor to sound like Jesus. When people heard Jesus they were amazed.
Luke 4:36-37
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Jesus was the talk of the town." Anytime Jesus walked into the synagogue, the market, or into someone’s home… people talked. His comments, His teachings, His rebukes, His words of love had people talking
There were those who didn’t want to hear Jesus, the Pharisee trying to hold on to control of the lives of the people. Satan is making sure that there are those today that don’t want to hear or see anything about Jesus.

1 Peter 2:23
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
1 Corinthians 4:12-13
12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
So our task is to help make Jesus known by sounding like Him. Our vocabulary, our conversations, our prayers, our stories - must all echo His love, compassion & care. Our message must be a testimony of hope & change that encourages those who know us to want to know Jesus, too.
There has been research to determine if Patients fully sedated in the operating room are aware of what is said around them. In one study, anesthetized patients heard a taped voice during surgery say that after the surgery, when they’re being questioned by the doctor, they should signify having heard the message by tugging on their ears. Later, when they were interviewed, the patients tugged on their ears, although none of them seemed to know why they were doing so.
And like an anesthetized patient, people in this world who have not given their lives over to God are walking around with their God-created instincts, reflexes & morals impaired by the ‘spiritual drugs’ of our day.

But God has planted among such people voices to proclaim messages of spiritual recovery & healing. Who are these voices? We are. And they will only hear His words if we somehow begin to sound like Jesus. If they’re ever going to hear the love story of Jesus, they must hear it from us.

WE ARE TO ACT LIKE JESUS
Last of all, if we’re ever going to introduce people to Him, then we must also act like Jesus. In John 13, we see our Lord wrapping Himself in a towel, washing the feet of His disciples, demonstrating the heart & actions of a servant.

John 13:12-17
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

The person who trusts in Jesus will do what He is doing & even greater things – because Jesus goes to the Father for us to make it possible!

We’re called to act as He did - to give people God’s promises, teach them about God’s kingdom, serve people’s needs, love people with our hearts & hands.
We are to bring people into God’s presence - to help them find healing & to point them to God’s sacrifice on the cross, & to help them find salvation in Him.

There is an interesting story about a young boy living in Paris at the end of the World War II. He had been orphaned by the atrocities committed by the German forces. Now all alone, he was having to scrounge around the ruined city as best as he could to find food, clothes & shelter.

But nearly everyone was experiencing desperate times, & he found that people either ignored him or had nothing to give to him.

Years before, he had heard someone talk about God & Jesus. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought into his life, he had long since lost what meager faith he once had.

One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops & cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain. He was so absorbed by the smell & sights of the bakery that he didn’t realize an American soldier had come up & was watching him.

The boy hardly noticed it when the G.I. walked past him into the store. He did, however, notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, & pastries. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down & handed him the bag.
What an audacious idea - to have our actions so remind others of what Jesus is about & what Jesus would do.

But shouldn’t that be our goal?

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Fastest Thing On Earth And In Heaven.

2012-01-17T01:07:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

In the spring of 1924, Jack Sundine was a four-year-old kid, standing in a line with his father inside the White House, waiting to meet President Calvin Coolidge. As they neared him, Jack noticed that he said something to each visitor as they shook hands. Soon, the thrilling moment arrived. Jack put his small hand into the President’s. Then the President said words Jack will always remember: “Move along kid I’m very busy.”

Unlike four-year-old Jack’s very brief encounter with President Coolidge when we approach God’s throne of Grace He will not tell us to “He’s too busy.” There may be times that we feel like God is not listening to us but the beautiful truth is that He does hear our prayers and He does answer prayers.
The bible reminds us that anyone who calls out to God in truth will be heard by Him.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. —Psalm 145:18
David poses a very good point in Psalms 144:3 when he puts forth the question that is on the minds of people still today. How can God care about mere mortals?
Psalm 144:3
3-LORD, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?

I wish I could bring you some profound long kept deep secret that would answer that question for you. The fact of the matter is I don’t know why with all that our Heavenly Father has to do He has time to listen to me. I certainly am so thankful and grateful that He does have time for each and every one of us.

One of the most annoying sounds that can be heard is the busy signal on the telephone. In this modern twenty-first century because of the advancements of voice mail we don’t hear it as much as we used too but it still raises its ugly head every now and then.

When we open the communication to God we will never hear a busy signal as a matter of fact we won’t even get sent to voice mail. We won’t have to leave an e-mail and hope that God gets back to us. Our call to our Lord and Savior will be taken personally by Him and answered by Him, in His way and in His time.

I saw a marque on a church just recently that said “God answers all knee mail.” It is said of science that the fastest thing known to man is the speed of light I contend that the fastest thing on earth and in heaven is God’s answer to our prayers.

Someone once asked “how do I know when God answers my Prayer?” the answer to that is: when you say amen.

To That I say Amen.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Recognizing God’s Truth Apart from Satan’s Lies.

2012-01-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

We hear from men and women today that they are prophets and have a new word sent from God that only they process. The less a person knows about the Word of God (The Bible) the more they might believe that the could be a prophet sent to us today with a new message. The bible is very clear that it is the final Word of God.

The Old Testament is a beautiful story of the coming of the Messiah, the savior of the world and a history of the Children of Israel, God’s chosen people. The New Testament is an account of the coming of the Messiah, God using the selected few to bring the word to all, Jews and Gentiles a like and to establish His church on this earth.

Hebrews 1
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

The only way to hear what God has to say to us in through His Son and that is the word of God.
John 1

The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In this age of grace because we have a complete prophecy of God where there can be nothing added or taken away. Why then would God have need to send anyone with a new message? If they say they are prophets then beware for they could very well be false prophets.

Revelation 22:18
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.

Revelation 22:19
19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Matthew 7:21-23

True and False Disciples
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I am not saying that everyone that says they are a prophet is a false prophet. What we must do is to be grounded in the Word of God so that when we encounter someone that puts forth that claim we will be able to recognize the truth or falsehood of their message.

If the message being proclaimed is not in line with the Bible then we can be sure that is a false prophet. If the communication someone is bringing us is perfectly in line with The Word of God (The Bible) then we can trust that is from God and not some person.

There are those today that are proclaiming the truth from the Word of God, we call them Preachers, Pastors, Sunday School Teachers, Missionaries, Gospel Singers and any and all followers of Christ Jesus.

When Jesus ascended to Heaven He left us with a clear directive, and that is that we should be a witness for Him to the Ends of the Earth. We should proclaim the Truth of His Word to all so that they may know who Christ is and that He is the only way to the Father.

Acts 1:6-9
New International Version (NIV)
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

It is not for us to know when Christ will come back and establish His Kingdom on this earth yet people are drawn to those that claim they know the date when Christ will return like moths to a flame.

It would serve us better to follow His final directive, spend a great deal of time in Pray and Bible study instead of searching for some loop hole in the Bible that would allow us to live the life of the old man and not the new creature that has been washed in the Blood of Christ.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Counting the Days

2011-12-31T06:01:00.001-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Colossians 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

The older I get the more I find myself thinking of the hereafter. Why just this morning I walked into the kitchen and stood there for a few moments and ask myself “what am I here after?”

If we live to be 85 years old we have 31,025 days to complete our life’s mission. As we go into this New Year we have 365 days before we mark the next mile post of another year gone by. If we convert that to hours it becomes 8760 hours. People usually sleep 8 hours a day witch leaves us with 5,840 hours. Three meals a day at an hour a meal we have a balance of 4,745 hours this upcoming year. Most people spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 hours in the work a day world, whether that is at our place of employment or laboring around the house. Now we are down to a remainder of 1825 hours that is 5 hours a day.

How we spend that 5 hours every day can influence how someone spends eternity. If we come close to Christ Jesus in a strong prayer life and spend time in His holy Word we will discover that He has a mission for each and every one of us. That calling of God on our lives may vary from one to another but the primary commission is the same for all of us. It is to introduce the lost to the only way to get to heaven and eternity with our Heavenly Father.

A wise man once said that the best way to kill time is to work it to death. As we approach this new year of our Lord 2012 AD let us make our foremost goal to be a better disciple of Christ Jesus. Ask yourself some tough questions as you hear the final countdown tonight 10 seconds from the start of a new year.

How many people did I tell what Jesus did for me and what He can do for them as well? How many gospel tracts did I pass out this year? How many hours a day did I spend in Prayer and Bible study? Did I attend church services this past year to see what I could get out of the services or did I come to present myself as a living sacrifice to my Lord and Savior?

When the Holy Spirit shines His light on your life revealing the answer to these questions and you find that you are failing your Savior do not despair. Jesus forgave Peter when he denied Him three times and Christ will forgive you and make the path clear in front of you to change the shortcomings of the past year.

Our world would be a better place if every Christian would resolve to be a better disciple of Christ this upcoming year and beyond. My dear friend we have the greatest message the world could ever receive and we should not keep it to ourselves we should share it with the world.

As we number our days as we are directed to in Psalms 90:12 let us use them for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, be a witness for Him to the ends of the earth.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Finding God’s Intended Path for Our Lives

2011-12-21T04:58:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your path.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Some of us are like the preacher who was on a diet and prayed as he drove to work- "Now, Lord if it is your Will for me not to have any donuts this morning You make sure there are no parking places in front of the donut shop." And he later said, "I ate the donuts because there were two places right up front on only my 8th trip around the block." We need to make sure we don’t play the game of making God’s guidance fit what we want rather than seeing if what we want actually fits His plans.

King Asa, the third king of the nation of Judah, faced two major military crises during his 41 year reign. In both cases his forces were far inferior to his enemy. The first war Asa faced he consulted God and although his army was much smaller he won the battle and God’s plan was carried out. Because of their commitment to God He gave the Nation of Judah peace on all borders for the next 20 years.

The second crisis King Asa faced He did not consult God but relied on his own diplomatic skills. He allied himself with the leader of another country that God had plans to destroy. In this case the war was won but God’s plans were not carried out. God sent the prophet Hanani to tell King Asa that because he had not consulted God the rest of his rein would be marked with war.

God has a general will for our lives; I like to refer to it as God’s Proclaimed Will. It is His Holy Word that is there for all of human kind to understand who God is and what His will is for all of His Children. The key to understanding God’s Proclaimed will for our lives is a totally surrendered heart, sold out to the Lord and ready to go wherever He wants us to go and do whatever He wants us to do. Once we understand what He is revealing to us as his children we then must follow these precepts. We must come out from the world and be a living sacrifice to God. Accept the new heart He is offering us, turn our backs on the old life and the old self and be the new person God wills.

God also has a Specific Will for each and every one of His children. This Specific Will is not revealed in the Bible but is a special exclusive path that He wants each believer in Christ to walk upon. This Specific Will becomes clearer the more we are living His Proclaimed Will. There is an old Christian song that says “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” These words are so very true, in order to know the paths God wills us to follow we must turn our eyes away from the fame and fortune the world has to offer and turn them towards Jesus. Like Peter walking on the water when we turn away from Jesus we will most certainly begin to sink.

Sometimes we see our lives going in a certain direction and we develop blinders to anything other than our great plans. Then we assume that because we are trying to do God’s work our plan must be the right direction. We do this without consulting God for the right path, we want God to rubber stamp our plans after all we are doing His work. I remember the words from “Keep me in Your Will” written by Melissa Jo Elliot: “my mistakes at times disturb all the plans you’ve made, Lord keep me in your will so I don’t get in your way.” By focusing on what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do will cause us to get in His way and like King Asa we might have to live with the consequences of defeat the rest of our lives. This is instead of experiencing a live of victory God has planned for us.

God has a wonderful agenda that we can only see when we are looking at Him and not trying to look at the world at the same time. Whether his agenda is fulfilled or not depends on whether we trust him or solve our problem without consulting him and His Holy Word.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Is Your Name in the Book?

2011-12-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Revelation 20:15
15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

There are many famous lists that people strive to have their name attached to. One of the most famous is Dunn and Bradstreet, if you are listed there it says that you are very successful financially. There are numerous social registers throughout the world that are sought after by those who want to be accepted in their circle of friends. Heads of state and other public figures work diligently to get their names in the history books, some settle for a mention while other strive for an entire chapter.

One of the most startling revelations that I ever encountered was when I found out that I was lost and on my way to hell. One day a pastor that I had recently met showed me the Roman’s Road to Heaven. I was shocked to discover that I was a sinner (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10) and that there was a penalty (Romans 6:23) for that sin, death. Not the physical death that we all must go through but a spiritual death separated from God for eternity in an awful place called hell.

Pastor Dan said that was the bad news but he went on to bring some good news. He showed me in the Bible how God demonstrated His love for us in that even though we were sinners Christ died for our sins. (Romans 5:8) Then he brought me the most exciting news I had ever discovered. He showed me in the Bible that if I were to call on the name of the Lord I would no longer be lost but that I would be saved from the everlasting separation from God.(Romans 10:13)

2 Peter 3:10
10-But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

There will come the day when this earth will be burned along with every component on it. Then all of the financial or social list along with the history books will be of no significance. The only book that will matter will be the Lambs Book of Life. Is your name written down in the Book of Life? If it is not you will be turned away from God and all that is holy and be banished to the eternal fires with Satan and his followers.

Before I was saved I had never even heard about the Book of Life, I had no idea what the rapture was or that Christ Jesus was the only way to the Father. I was raised in a home that believed that to be with our Heavenly Father in the hereafter I would have to follow certain denominations rules and be a member of a certain church.

If Satan is deceiving you with that lie or one like it you can break free this very second by accepting the fact that we are saved by God’s Grace through faith and not by anything we might do or any church we might be a member of.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Don’t be fooled by another lie of Satan that you have plenty of time to take care of that or that you will be able to be saved after your time here on earth is done. When you will breathe your last breath here your eternal destiny will be sealed, your name will be in the Book or it will not. God has promised us forgiveness for our sins, Christ shed His precious blood to atone for our sins and if you call on the name of the Lord you will be saved. God has not promised us a tomorrow to surrender ourselves to Him.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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It’s Not My Fault

2011-12-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Genesis 3:12-13
12 The man said, "You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "How could you have done such a thing?"
She answered, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."

A Father goes into a bedroom when he hears loud screaming from his two sons, John 10 years old and Mike 8. He finds a plastic baseball bat on the floor and Mike crying. He asked John what happened to which he was told “Mike hit his head on the bat.” The father asked John “where was the bat when Mike hit his head on it?” To which Mike replied “it was in my hands.”

We learn the blame game at a very early age. It is not something new; it has been around since the beginning of time as we see in our text this morning. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the snake for a direct disobedience to God’s instruction that both of them were aware of.

Today we blame our actions on how we were raised. A young man told me not too long ago that he was an atheist because that was the way he was raised. Everything from how we sit at the dinner table to our spiritual downfalls can be blamed on our parents. The best years of your life begin when you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your parents, the ecosystem, or the government. You realize that God’s Word is the standard by which you should live you live and direct your children.

God did not build a security fence around the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or place guards there to keep Adam and Eve from partaking of the fruit of that tree. He told them not to eat of that fruit and if they did they would surly die. God still gives us instructions and warnings of what will come to pass if we disregard them. We find these in His Holy Word and just like our first ancestors in the Garden of Eden we are all aware of the guidelines and the consequences.

The bible is the most accessible book known to man. There is one in the drawer of the nightstand in every motel room you stay at. Ask any Christian for a copy and it will be yours. The internet is full of free copies of the bible in any language on the planet. Go to any church and look in the back wall of the pew in front of you or the rack under the chair ahead of you, there will be a bible.

There has only been one perfect person that ever put their feet down on God’s green earth, our Lord and Savior God in the flesh. The rest of us are imperfect beings and this includes your parents and my parents. We will all make mistakes in raising our children but we cannot dwell on those oversights that occurred when we were growing up. There comes a time in our lives that we must stop looking back for excuses for our sinful lives and accept God’s word as our guiding light.

Psalm 119:105 105-Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Are you Prepared for Heaven?

2011-12-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Job 23:12
12- I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

Psalm 119:148
148-My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.

There have been statements made that “I don’t worry about going to hell, I’ll be too busy shaking hands with all my friends.” In reality they will be busy with “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(Matthew 13:50) Hell is a place where “the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:48) and “they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever..” (Revelation 14:10-11)

I read about a court case no too long ago in which the American Atheist had filed lawsuit in Federal court claiming that the United States did not have any holidays for atheist. They went on to say that Christian, Muslims, Jews and most all religions have legal holidays. They wanted to force the country to name a holiday for Atheist.

The Judge threw the case out of court, in his written option he stated that there was already a holiday for atheist, it occurs every April 1st, April’s Fools Day. This story is most likely fiction but it makes a very good point that is that only a fool would want to go to hell.

Where the rubber meets the road it is more probable that even those that say they want to go to hell really don’t mean it. When the end of the day comes and they are trying to get to sleep thinking about what the hereafter is going to bring heaven lays heavy on their minds.

Now that we have determined that God’s glorious Heaven is the destination of choice for all but the most devout fools let’s look at how prepared we are for that eternal journey. Remembering that all thing physical will be of no consequence, all the worldly riches that we spent countless hours, days and years accumulating will be left behind with the expulsion of our last breath.

Matthew 6:20
20-But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

How much treasure have we stockpiled in heaven or have we been too busy with our fame and fortune here in this life. There are countless individuals that simply do not have time for Christ and His work. “I am so young; I’ll get busy for Jesus when I am a little older.” Then the pre-teen and teen years fade into the twenties and thirties. “I am so busy with my career, my family, trying to pay my mortgage and build a college fund; I’ll have more time to spend for Jesus when I retire. Then like a lighting flash in the night the twenties and thirties suddenly become the fifties and sixties and retirement is a new Winnebago, golf courses and winters spent in Florida trying to land that big Marlin you have always dreamed of.

My friends if you do not care about getting to know Christ Jesus on a personal level and surrendering your life to His will instead of your plans and dreams in this life what makes you think it will suddenly change in the hereafter. There is only one way to get to know Christ on a level that you can call Him friend and He replies in kind. That is through God’s Holy Word. How much time do you spend daily immersed in the truth of the Bible? Not just reading a few Psalms or some verses at random, but deep Bible study and prayer.

Here are a few facts and figures to chew on as I end this article. There are 168 hours in a week, if someone spends 30 minutes a day in bible study that is approximately 2% of your time. In comparison with eternity the time you are allotted here is such a micro-percentage part of the time with no end that it cannot be computed even by the greatest minds helped by the most complicated computers.

It only makes sense to me that I should be focusing on what I will be doing from the time I exit this life through eternity. The bible does not tell us exactly what we will be doing in Heaven but Heaven is all about Christ Jesus. The only thing we can do here is to get to know Him not only as our Savior but as our Lord and friend as well.

When I stand before my Savior I long to hear, “well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) not “depart from me I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)

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Feeding Satan’s Disunion Monster.

2011-12-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Matthew 12:25
25-Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Satan is at work every millisecond of every day doing his utmost to weaken the Body of Christ, God’s Church. His first attempt to hold himself higher than God resulted in his expulsion from God’s presence. The devil showed up on the scene again when God and Man was in perfect harmony in the Garden of Eden. He created a great gulf between God and His creation that required our Savior’s sacrifice on the Cross to bridge. Satan’s futile attempt to derail Christ on His mission to the Cross failed miserably but he has not stopped trying to disrupt the ministry of Christ Jesus and he will never do that until he is stopped by God in the final battle.

God never meant for there to be but one church, there were no denominations in God’s plan to establish His Church here on this earth. In the Book of Acts 2:44 it tells us “all the believers were together and had everything in common,” they all believed in one thing and that was Jesus died on the Cross for all men’s sin and whoever accepts Him will be saved. The second chapter of Acts goes on to say that they ate together and worshipped together and were glad of it. God blessed their efforts and many were saved every day.

Acts 2:46-47
46-Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47-praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

There are so many issues today that Satan is using to cause disunion in the Body of Christ. Every group or denomination has their own set of rules and regulations that must be followed in order to attain standing in the assembly. Some say everyone should use one specific version of the bible or another, some proclaim that you cannot lose your salvation while others say you can. There are debates on precise wording during baptism, what day the worships services should be held, should women be preachers or not and the list goes on and on.

All of these issues are clearly spelled out in God’s Holy Word but different people interpret the scripture in diverse manners. There are enormous efforts being put forward to make sure that the world knows where each one stands on these debates. That is precisely what Satan wants to see because the more time spent on trying to clear up these differences the less time there will be to pursue our real goal and that is to be witnesses to Christ and His gospel to the ends of the earth.

There are so many lost, hurting people out there without Christ in their lives that do not know Him as their Lord and Savior that we cannot afford to pleasure ourselves with proving our points to one another and neglecting our intended ministry. On any average day a Christian will come in contact with a large number of souls that are in need of being introduced to Christ Jesus.

Let us, as God’s children, focus our attention on reaching out to the lost of this world instead of falling prey to the shares and traps of Satan by feeding his disunion monster.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Heaven is Real, Hell is Hot

2011-12-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Luke 12:5
5-But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Hell is a word that is used in everyday conversion by millions of people in all walks of life. It is used sometimes as a question exclamation, as a descriptive adjective, or at time as the subject of a sentence.

The biggest majority of people using the word do not even believe it is a real place. An overwhelming percentage of people accept that Heaven is a real place but do not acknowledge that Hell actually exist.

Simply because the lion’s share of people deny its reality does not make it a fabricated domicile only prevailing in the minds of fiction writers. I was talking to a gentleman not too long ago that said he did not believe in organized religion, it still exists.

Good and evil are two opposite influences that occur simultaneously in time and space. We can deny either one of them; however, they are both real and constant. Evil occurs naturally not requiring much effort, good on the other hand is a work involving the best efforts of human kind.
Genesis 3:22a
22-And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.

We see from this verse in Genesis that God placed in Adam a clear knowledge of the difference between good and evil that has been passed down from generation to generation through all of the ages. Satan will fill our minds and hearts with evil thoughts without ceasing. We will never be strong enough to fight off these attacks on our own and that is why we must have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within our hearts to counter these strikes.

My friends Hell is a real place, the eternal fires spoke of by Christ are burning and will be ablaze for eternity. Do not let Satan fool you into thinking hell does not exist; he will lull you into a false sense of security. The devil will convince you that how you live in this life has nothing to do with any future life. The evil one and his followers will not tell you that Christ Jesus does not exist; they know Jesus is the King of Kings and The Lord of Lords.

James 2:19
19-You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

The greatest lie that the father of lies, Satan, will tell you is that you have plenty of time. Don’t worry about accepting Christ right now you are young and have a lot of living to do. Maybe when you are older and have experienced all that you fell you must go through will you think about serving Christ.

Listen to God, He is telling you the truth. Jesus is the only way to the Father, good deeds, church affiliation, or living a decent live will not get you into heaven. Our God has promised us forgiveness for our sins but He has not promised us tomorrow to come to Him and ask forgiveness.

There is no halfway house in the next life; there are only two options, Heaven or Hell. If you have trusted Christ and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, if you are washed in the blood of the Lamb and your name is written down in the Book of Life you are one your way to Heaven.
If on the other hand you are depending on something else for your salvation, not wanting to be a part of the ministry of Christ Jesus, a part of His royal family then you are on your way to hell.

There is a great gap between the two; there are no connecting devices that will allow a person once in hell to move to heaven. Once you have been cast into the Lake of Eternal Fire there is no coming back.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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H'orderves Of The Gospel

2011-11-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Timothy 3:16
16-All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

There are some folks that can’t get enough of the bible and it is a daily part of their lives. Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelations then starting over again becoming intimately familiar with each and every part of The Holy Word of God.

But sadly there are others that only read the bible on Sunday when the preacher says “turn to a particularly book in your bibles.” This day and age we use the overhead to show the scriptures from our messages and if someone does not take notes they may never read the scriptures apart from the few seconds they are visibly projected on the screens.

What would happen to my body if I only ate food one day a week and then only stopped by the h’orderve section of the buffet? Obviously I would become very weak, parts of my body would start to break down and death would become a very strong possibility.

What you are getting from your preacher during his Sunday morning message is h’orderves of the gospel at best. Little samples of the enormous diet of the Word of God you could be receiving by making the Bible a part of your daily spiritual diet instead of just some skimpy appetizers one day a week.

Just like your physical body will become weakened by only feeding it some finger food one time a week your spiritual life will become frail with only a slight taste of God’s Holy Word one day out of seven. The key word in 2 Corinthians 3:16 is “All,” it says all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness not some of it.

If you find yourself relying on the few scriptures you see on Sunday morning for your spiritual nourishment you are in danger of a spiritual breakdown. It is not a question of if the devil will soon be controlling your life it is when Satan will be sitting in your pilot seat.

When Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days without food and His body had become weak Satan tried to tempt our Savior. Jesus used only one tool to resist the evil one and that tool is still available to you today, the Word of God. Make no mistake if Satan came after Christ Jesus he will be soon be coming after you and if you are not armed with the “sword of the Spirit” which is the Word of God you will not be able to mount a counterattack against him.

Seven Days without God’s Word makes one weak.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Grace Is Not a Free Pass to Sin

2011-11-26T04:43:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

There is an expansive division between Christianity and virtually every other religion that has ever been acknowledged by mankind. It is the divine truth that our salvation has nothing to do with what we can achieve but what Christ Jesus did on the Hill of Calvary. Most all religions of the world have always taught that to get to God we must perform various virtuous efforts to earn His Approval.

The teachings of world religions with the exception of Christianity preach that we must do particular things and not do other established deeds in order to obtain God’s Affection and Forbearance. In the Christian world we do these things because of the love of Christ towards us and what our Savior has done for us.

It is inconceivable to imagine anyone who Loves Christ and has accepted Him, by faith, to be their Lord and Savior reverting back to the old life of sin that had us on a one way trip to the fires of Hell. Realizing what Jesus had to go through that day they beat Him with a Roman Whip called “The Cat of Nine Tails” and then nailed him to a cross and continuing in sin after we are saved would be tantamount on our part of saying “Lord we don’t care what you went through.”

Romans 6:11-15
11-In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12-Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13-Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
14-For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
15-What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!

The bible tell us that as humans we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) but for the ones that have been genuinely saved through faith, washed in the Blood of the Lamb and living as a new person we will despise sin and will not want to habitually live in some particular sin or sins on a daily basis. By using grace as a free pass to sin we are turning our backs on Christ Jesus, much like Judas did the night Jesus was arrested. When someone claims Christ as their savior and still has a yearning for his or her old life of daily sin there is rationalization to have some uncertainty as to their salvation.

2 Corinthians 13:5
5-Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
There is a misconception out there that if a person is saved they may live any way that pleases them but the crystal clear truth of it is that if someone is truly saved and been accepted into the royal family of God they will not want to live how they want to but how Christ wants them to live.

1 John 2:19
19-They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God’s Eyes Are Continually with Us.

2011-11-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

When Abraham and Sarah were unable to have a child Sarah sent her handmade to Abraham to conceive a child in her place. After the child was born Sarah began to mistreat Hagar, her handmaid. The young slave girl wanted to escape the ill-treatment of her mistress but she had no idea where she was going, she took her son Ishmael and fled into the wilderness. She suddenly realized that the desert was a forsaken and solitary place and that her and her baby boy would soon die of starvation.

One day as she stood by a spring an Angel of God spoke to her and assured her that God knew that she was in such dire straits and that His eyes were with her. This knowledge that God was watching over her most certainly gave her hope and great contentment. Her response to the messenger of the Lord is recorded in Genesis 16:13

Genesis 16:13
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

We can have this same assurance that God’s eyes are continually with us. We can have the faith and know beyond a shadow of any dough that nothing that happens to us takes God by surprise. Our God is omnipotent and He processes the power to resolve any dilemma we find ourselves in regardless of the severity of the situation. There will never be a time that we are not in the sight of God or forgotten by Him.

Psalm 33:18
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

If you find yourself today in some distressing condition, maybe an illness or ministering to someone that is in need of constant care. It might be that you are grief-stricken because of the resent loss of a loved one. You could possibly be going through a deep depression or discouraged by something in your life that is not what you had hoped for.

No matter what valley you may be walking in today you can go on with the assured knowledge and faith that God is always with you and will never leave or forsake you. Just like Hagar who was alone and hungry with a small baby in the wilderness so many years ago you can always know that God’s eyes are always watching over you.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Oratorical Speaking

2011-11-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Titus 2:1
1-You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

If we were going to explain oratorical speaking preachers the proper response would be that if a minister told you that the sky was green and the grass was blue that would be absurdity. If that same speaker that made that untrue statement said it while roaring like a lion, beating on the pulpit and moving from one end of the platform to the other like a gazelle that would be oratorical speaking.

This silver-tongued style of speaking does not make the false statement any less of a lie but people are often moved by the way speakers express themselves, even though we might have some reservation about the validity of the content of the message. We are warned by Christ Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew about these wolves that come in sheep’s clothing,”

Matthew 7:15
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

We must not be influenced by the teachings of someone even though they try to stand on years of preaching, just because they roar and pound their fist. Some speakers can come across as very sincere but they can be sincerely wrong. Paul tells us that the day will come when people are turned away from the truth by those that entertain them or speak messages that tickle their itching ears.

2 Timothy 4:3-4
3-For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4-They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

We must be very cautious and confirm for ourselves the truth of God’s word, even if it is taught by someone that we know and trust, no matter how eloquent or sincere their speech may seem. When we stand before our Savior we will be alone, the ones that swayed us to the false gospel will not be there to defend us. Satan will use anyone that will allow themselves to be used by him to make sure we do not know the truth about our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Do not be taken in or confused by someone just because they are eloquent in their speech. This message from Satan delivered by his silver-tongued servants is never a replacement of the simple truth of the gospel. When Ronald Regan was President he had many advisors that he trusted, but he had a motto that he followed daily and that was “trust but verify.”

If you want to be able to readily recognize the lies of Satan all you have to do is be very familiar with the True Word of God. If Bible study is not a daily activity of yours it would be to your eternal advantage to make it so.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God Has Many Children But No Grandchildren

2011-11-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Nahum 1:7-8
7-The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
8-but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

One of the greatest revivals that ever took place was the result of an eight word sermon. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown,(Jonah 3:4)” That was the somewhat reluctant message that Jonah had taken to the people of Nineveh. The outcome of this very brief sermon was that an entire pagan city turned to God. Nineveh had received the supreme blessing from God, His grace and the honor of knowing the one true God. God had discontinued His supreme judgment against the people of Nineveh.

Some one hundred years later the Prophet Nahum pronounces the fall of the same city that God had delivered after Jonah’s unenthusiastic sermon. This was the same city but a few generations later and they had forgotten the lesson from the history of their forefathers. The descendants of the people that had previously been delivered from God’s wrath returned back to the old ways of savagery, idol worship and haughtiness. Nineveh was eventually destroyed and there was not a single trace of it left remaining.

From the stories of these two Prophets we can derive a valuable lesson that is still applicable to us today. God’s blessings, His deliverance and His mercy are readily available to all who call on His name. However this does not pass down from one generation to another. Salvation is a personal matter that is between us and our Lord and Savior. Just because my father, grandfather and his fathers before him was saved that does not give me any special treatment before God. I must confess my own sins, turn away from those sins and ask God to forgive me and come into my life as my Lord and Savior.

This message is notably for young people but generally for everyone. In this day and age where attending church has become a matter of convenience the messages being delivered by thousands of pastors on Sunday and other days is being missed. Do not end up one day to suddenly discover that you are not numbered among God’s children when you mistakenly thought that you might be a grandchild. God has many children but not one single grandchild.

God has promised us forgiveness for our sins but He has not promised us tomorrow to do something about it. If you are reading this and realize that you are not one hundred percent sure that you are saved do not put this off. When you breathe your last breath your eternal existence is sealed. Will it be with God in heaven or will it be with Satan and his followers, the choice is yours.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

God Does Not Make Deals

2011-11-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Jeremiah 7:3
3-This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.

There was a very rich fellow on an airplane on day when one of the engines caught fire. Everyone on the plane was sure they were going to die. This wealthy gentlemen prayed out loud and said “God if you get me out of this alive I’ll give half of all I have.” The plane leveled off and landed safely at the airport.

There was a preacher on board that had heard the prayer of the rich man and he approached him and said “I heard what you said in your prayer, that was going to give half of everything you had to God and I know you want to start right now.

The rich man looked at the preacher and said “no sir I made a better deal right before we landed, I told God that if I ever got back on one of these things again He could have it all.”

The look of churches is changing as we go into this twenty-first century. There are some beautiful magnificent church buildings being built all over the world. In the days of the Prophet Jeremiah the newly restored Temple was the most beautiful place of worship in the world. The children of Israel marveled over the grandeur of the Temple that King Josiah had recently had rebuilt.

The people mistakenly believed that because they had this temple that God was going to protect them from the outside world. Jeremiah told the people that God was not influenced or affected by beautiful structures, or by the works they performed in the building. God was only concerned with the condition of the hearts of each and every one of the people.

He is not moved by some legalist good deeds done by people in His name without a surrendered heart. It was a mistake in those days for people to think that God was going to protect in their lives just because they carried out certain ritualistic acts. It is the same today, just as big of a mistake to believe that because we read the Bible, go to Church on Sunday, give of our tithes and offerings God will move in our lives in a great and mighty way.

We should do all of those things talked about in this article, but not because we want God to do something for us in return. We should do good works because we love Christ Jesus and we want to further His gospel message to the ends of the earth. God does not make deals with anyone, He expects us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1
1-Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

It is a sad thought but one day there will be those that stand before our Savior and say But I did all sorts of good works in Your name and they will be told by Christ Jesus as is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 7:23
23-Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Do not be one of those that have to say to Christ, “please search the book again; I’m sure my Name is written down.” Be sure today that you are secure in your salvation and your name is written down in The Lamb’s Book of Life.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Satan Will Try to Divide the Body of Christ.

2011-11-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

Matthew 12:25
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

I believe Satan will use any thing he can put his hands on to divide the body of Christ. There are many controversies out there within the Christian community.

One is the idea that you can or cannot lose your salvation. Whether you believe that you can lose your salvation or you believe that you cannot lose it that does not change the fact that you are either saved or you are lost. I am not going to get into a debate on whether or not you can or cannot lose your salvation. The point that I want to make here is that this is one of the weapons that Satan is using to divide the body of Christ. There have been churches split over this issue and I have heard some very heated debates occur when this topic is discussed.

Another issue of separation that Satan is using to divide the body of Christ is which version of the bible you use. Some say the KJV is the only true word of God and on the other side there are those that say there is no difference. Again I do not want to engage in a debate of which version you should use. This is just another way that Satan will make sure that God’s people do not speak with one accord. As long as he can keep us divided he is sure that he will conquer us.

No matter which version of the bible you choose to read there is one thing that is crystal clear to all of us as well as Satan himself. That is what Satan’s future holds in store for him. It is not a very pleasant future; he will be thrown into the fiery pits of hell along with all of his followers.

All of these debates that serve to divide us will not change Satan’s future nor will they change the fact that if your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life you will not enter in to God’s eternal Kingdom. The only thing they will do is to impede the work of Christ Jesus that He has left for us to do. The only reason we are left here one second after we are saved is to be witnesses for Christ to the ends of the earth.

It is my option that as Ministers of Christ we should focus more time on introducing people to Jesus and less time debating what bible we use or if we can or cannot lose our salvation. What kind of message are we sending to the one’s that do not yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior when we engage is debates that cut those down that do not agree totally with us on certain issues.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Warning Alerts

2011-11-10T03:39:00.000-08:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Timothy 1:18-19
18-Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
19-holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

Our automobiles have a warning alert that goes off when we leave our lights on or forget to take out the car keys. This sometimes can be an annoying sound but it serves to make sure that the next time we get in the car we will not find a dead battery.

That is the way God set up our conscience. When we do something that we know is a sin or when we might be tempted to commit a sin God’s Holy Spirit sends us a warning alert. Like the warning alert in our cars this might at times be annoying but it is meant to gently lead us to a repentant heart. As the scriptures tell us in 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins God will forgive them and purify us. This will help us not to suffer a shipwreck with regards to our faith as Paul had warned in his letter to Timothy.

1 John 1:9
9-If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:13 that although he was once a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man he received mercy.

1 Timothy 1:13
13-Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

As Paul had received mercy of the forgiveness of Christ Jesus and obtained a good conscience he was encouraging Timothy to do the same. He wanted the young preacher to continue to fight the battle well and hold on to his faith and a good conscience.

When the good conscience that God has blessed you with sounds a warning alert we should heed the forewarning from the Holy Spirit and avoid the inevitable ship wreck of our spiritual lives.
Although that sound can be exasperating at times if we heed the warning we will stay in good fellowship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus and our walk with Him will become sweeter with every passing day.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Always in a Hurry

2011-11-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Philippians 3:12
12-Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me

We have been in Baltimore for several days now and I have been the driver carrying folks back and forth to the hospital and other places. There are several things that you must learn quickly when driving here in Baltimore in order not to get horns honked at you at every turn. One thing is that on any four-lane road people will park in the right lane and you never know when this will occur. Baltimore driving lesson number one, always drive in the left lane when you can. Another thing I have noticed about Baltimore drivers is that most of them seem to be in a tremendous hurry.

Sometimes we as Children of God want to hurry our spiritual growth. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our strive to gain spiritual maturity is a continual day to day process that will take place as long as we are in this life.

When I was a small child we would visit my Great Grandfather who had a fruit orchard. We were always warned by our Mother not to eat the green apples or they would make us sick. It was not that the apples were bad it was that God had not yet finished ripening them.

If sometimes you feel like your spiritual growth is not where you think it ought to be remember that God is not finished with you yet. This finishing process will not be complete in this present life only when our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus calls us home.

Our objective is to learn more about God each and every day, and to strive to become like Him with breath we breath. Then step by step, if the seas of your life are calm or a raging storm, He will gradually bring you to spiritual maturity.

When we get in a hurry in this life we will most always look for short-cuts, a quicker way to get to where we are going. In our journey to become like our Savior and someday go home to be with Him for eternity there are no short-cuts.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Being Warned to Prepare

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Thessalonians 5:6
6-So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.

Before the early twentieth century storm warnings were limited to how well people could read the skies. There was no Doppler radar or Satellites circling the planet to give us a clear picture of approaching weather systems. Today things are quite different, we know days ahead when a storm is on its way and we have sufficient time to prepare.

People who hear these warning believe that it is the truth and it’s evident by the way people behave. The shelves in the grocery stores grow empty in just a few short hours, hardware and building supply stores are overrun with people preparing their homes and businesses for the emanate approaching storm.

There is another upcoming storm that we have been warned about for many centuries now. It is on its way and it will affect every person in every country on every continent. It should affect our behavior just as an early hurricane, flood, tornado or tsunami warning do.

It is a sad matter of fact but there are only a few on the earth that are even aware of the warning of the storm spoken of in 2 Peter 3:10. Even sadder yet there are even fewer that believe it to be the truth. Peter adds a question to this verse of scripture, “what kind of people ought you to be?” Then in the next sentence he answers the question for us, “You ought to live holy and godly lives.”

2 Peter 3:10-11
10-But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11-Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

There is another event that is also told of in the bible that will occur and allow those who are prepared to miss the storm foretold in 2 Peter altogether. This blessed event is called the Rapture and it can be found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
13-Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
14-For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15-According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16-For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17-After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

My friends don’t be fooled by Satan’s lies that there are many ways to get to God. There is only one way to be prepared for the blessed day when Jesus will come in the clouds and call His children home. That way is to accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, surrender your lives to Him and turn your backs on the ways of the world. Our precious Lord and Savior Christ Jesus makes it very clear throughout the scriptures.

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

People love the pleasures of this live far beyond the great peace and joy found in Christ and that is why Jesus predicted how many would prepare after being warned.

Matthew 7:14
14-But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Measuring Growth

2011-10-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Ephesians 4:11-16
11-So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12
12-to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 1313until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14-Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15
14-Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16
16-From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Luke 2:52
52-And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

There is an old tradition where parents measure the height of their children on a wall in their home and leave the measurements there to gauge the growth of their children. Growth is a gradual process that occurs over time, there are small subtle changes that would be missed without some kind of growth chart. From the time a child enters in this life we record their weight and height.

It is crucial that we as children of God measure our spiritual growth on a daily basis. There are many gauges we can use to determine the extent of our growth in the Lord. Do we have a daily time of personal devotion where we study God’s word and go to Him in Prayer? Do we look forward to the time that we will spend with our brothers and sisters in Christ in fellowship at a church service? How many people do we witness to each day?

These are but just a few ways in which we can measure our spiritual growth. The question becomes do you feel closer to God today than you did yesterday? Is my walk with Christ Jesus becoming sweeter day by day or is it noticeably unchanged year by year?

Just as our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52), we as His children should never cease to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

God has called on us to no longer be infants but to grow spiritually into the mature body of Him who is the head, Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:14-15
14-Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
15-Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Our salvation is a great Miracle in life performed by our Lord and Savior. It is an instantaneous event that occurs when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Spiritual Growth on the other hand is daily process that should take place throughout our time in this life on earth.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

What Was That Sermon About?

2011-10-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Psalm 100:4
4-Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

A Sunday school teacher was preparing her kindergarten age class to go into the Sunday morning worship service. She said to the class “we must all be very quiet in the worship service, could anyone tell me why?” A very excited four year old little girl raised her hand and said “it’s because people are trying to get some sleep out there.”

For the most part people are paying attention to what the sermon is all about and taking in the message. There are also some that are there to catch up on the latest from their friends and couldn’t tell you what the preacher talked about.

If we except to receive the greatest blessing God has prepared for us in Sunday morning worship service we must be a part of the service ourselves. We must stand and sing from our hearts during the praise songs, we must silently pray as the pastor or someone else leads the congregation in prayer. If the pastor says something that touches our hearts don’t be afraid to let out a verbal response, an “amen” a “praise the Lord” or “that’s right preacher.”

God has a special message for each and every one of us at any worship service. If we except to receive that message we must empty our minds and hearts of the clutter of the world and open ourselves up spiritually to what God has for us.

We can only get as much out of a worship service as we put into it, we are all but one part of any service. Sometime people leave a church feeling empty, like they didn’t get much out of the service and blame the church or the pastor. You will get only as much as you give out of any worship service.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

The Importance of Daily Bible Study

2011-10-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Timothy 3:14-17,
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

There is a critical problem in a large majority of churches today around the world. There are too many “pew sitters” who come to church only when there is nothing else to do on Sunday. So many Christians are looking for entertainment or sensationalism over the truth of God’s Word. Sadly they let pride or laziness get in the way of becoming grounded in the Word.

This is not a problem that has just started it has been hurting God’s people for many centuries. In the book of Hosea God says that His people are being destroyed due to not knowing His word. That was revealed to The Children of Israel but still applied to us today.

Hosea 4:6
6-my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

If you were to ask someone that became a professional golfer or baseball player what their secret was they would tell you it was the result from three things, practice, practice and more practice. They most likely did this every day of their lives. The same applied to us as Ambassadors to Christ Jesus. When Jesus ascended to Heaven after His resurrection he left us all with a specific mission. His last words here in this world were that we were to carry his gospel to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:7-9
7-He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8
8-But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9-After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

There are too many that are “church Hopping” trying to find the perfect church. Saying “oh I felt the spirit more in that church than I did in the last church I went to.” The church you go to any time is simply a building, brick, mortar, lumber, nails and so on. God does not dwell in any building waiting for people to come and see Him, The Holy Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of his people. If someone does not have the spirit dwelling within their heart they will not feel the spirit in church or any other place they might find themselves.

If God is dwelling in your heart today then you will feel a natural desire to learn more about Him. No one will have to tell you that you should study the Bible on a daily basis. This is something that you will do daily to nourish your spiritual life just like you eat food every day to keep your physical body nourished.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Trying To Do God’s Job

2011-10-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Matthew 6:34
34-Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We spend an excessive amount of time over our lifetimes in worry. Winston Churchill once told a story of an old man who said on his deathbed that he had known a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened. Then when we find that we have nothing to worry about we worry about that as well. When we worry about worry we add to our already debilitating anxiety and increase the wrinkles on our faces that are happening fast enough on their own.

Worry does nothing to resolve any problem or burden we are going through. We are not here in this life long enough to waist any precious time on something that will not solve a thing.

When we worry we are mistakenly trying to do God’s Job. There are times that we might feel like we are on our own, and try to solve our problems without God’s help. God has promised us in His Holy Word that He will meet all of our needs, not just some of them.

Philippians 4:19
19-And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

We must all take responsibility for our own deeds and actions. However, God want us to trust and depend on His guiding hand. When problems first show themselves our first step should be to take it to the Lord in Prayer. It could be very well that our dark clouds have covered us because of our own misdeeds and God will require that we make some changes to resolve this issue.

No matter what we have done God will offer forgiveness for our sins and allow us to correct our course. Then God will gently reveal to us that we have done our part and that we should allow Him the time to Do His Part. Only God possesses the wisdom of the ages in order to handle all problems and burdens well. Worry will soon disappear from our lives when we start trusting fully in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus and stop trying to do God’s Job.

Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Frozen to Life?

2011-10-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

For many years men and women of science have researched the idea of human cryogenics, the preservation of a human body to be thawed out at a later date. The theory that supports this science is that someday there will be a cure for the incurable disease that ended your life. At this future time and place your body would be thawed out and the cure would extend your life.

It is the wish of many people to be able to live forever in a healthy body; however, cryogenics is not the best option. In the first place even if it worked and the scientist were able to bring you back to life your body would continue to deteriorate and you would eventually die. You would still be living in your old body with all the same flaws that was there before your were “Frozen to Life.” Would it not be much better to live forever in a new and eternal body that never dies?

There is a way to achieve the goal of eternal life in a new perfect body that never wears out. The catch to this is there is a way but only one way and that is through Christ Jesus.

When the last trumpet sounds and Jesus splits open the Eastern Sky all who have accepted Him in this life will receive a new body that will not be susceptible to disease and will last for time without end. Christ will transform our broken bodies into a glorious body that will be used to serve him for all time and eternity.

Think about a farmer planting a kernel of corn. The kernel lies in the ground and deteriorates for a time and is then transformed into a new body of corn. This is in theory what happens to us when our body goes back to the dust form where it came and our spirit goes back to God that gave it.

Philippians 3:21
21-Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
7-and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Why would we want to return back in our old, broken bodies somewhere in the future for a limited amount of time when we could have a glorious, imperishable body raised by the power of Almighty God that will last eternally?

1 Corinthians 15:35-43
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Daily In The Presence Of God

2011-10-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Hebrews 4:16
16-Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

In the spring of 1924, Jack Sundine was a four-year-old kid, standing in a line with his father inside the White House, waiting to meet President Calvin Coolidge. As they neared him, Jack noticed that he said something to each visitor as they shook hands. Soon, the thrilling moment arrived. Jack put his small hand into the President’s. Then the President said words Jack will always remember: “Move along.”

Unlike four-year-old Jack’s very brief encounter with President Coolidge when we approach God’s throne of Grace He will not tell us to “move along” He wants to hear from us. He also desires that we remain in His presence so much so that He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the temples of our hearts.

If we want to live daily in the presence of God and led by the Holy Spirit we must have a firm commitment to turn our backs on the world and focus all of our attention on God’s work and His plan for our lives. Our dreams and plans for worldly riches and success have to take a back seat to God’s perfect will for our lives.

Sometimes folks try to live in both worlds, giving to God whatever time and resources they have left over. This is the person that Jesus referred to in Revelations as a “Luke-Warm” Christian. This is someone who in not fully committed to God, who wants to ride the fence. The idea is to partially live for God and the rest of the time on the devils side or riding the fence. By staying on the fence they can jump over to God’s side when they think someone is watching and needs to be impressed into thinking that they are a great Christian.

On the face this might seem like a good plan but there are a couple of flaws in it. First of all by riding the fence you might think that at least you are partially obeying The Lord. Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Let us back this fence riding train up a bit. If we are supposed to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our minds this means that there is no such thing as partial obedience, it is no obedience. If that is the case then the Devil owns not only the ones on his side but the fence riders as well.

Anyone that has raised children has a good idea from practical experience what partial obedience really is. You tell your children to go clean their room; they come back three minutes later and announce they have completed the task. You walk in their room to find that they have stuffed everything that was on the floor in the closet, that’s partial obedience.

Our Lord and Savior has given us a command to be obedient to Him, he is looking for our total surrender; that is total obedience.

Down through the ages there has always been a choice that still remains today, Caesar or Christ. Our options are simple; do we choose the world of fame, with all of its worldly pleasure or do we want to navigate the sweet river of peace that is ours by complete surrender to our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. It is a decision that will become paramount when we are down to counting our last breaths on this earth.

Total obedience is the only obedience God recognizes, partial obedience is disobedience.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Non- Existent Loopholes

2011-10-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Mark 7:9-13
9-And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!
10-For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
11-But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—
12-then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.
13-Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.

The actor and comedian W.C. Fields was a lifelong confessed agnostic. He was very outspoken as being opposed to anything that had to do with religion in general and once said that the bible “was a pack of wild lies.” You can imagine the surprise to his friend Thomas Mitchell when he came into his hospital room a few days before his death and found Mr. Fields reading the Bible. When Mr. Mitchell ask the dying actor why he was reading the bible since he thought it was all lies Fields said he was looking for loop-holes.

A loophole is an ambiguity in any network which may be used to circumvent or even avoid the implied or explicitly stated wording of the network.There was bad news in store for Fields or anyone else that believes that they can circumvent the Bible. There are no loop-holes in the Bible; it contains the very straight forward truth as the Word of God.

Hebrews 6:18
18-God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

There have been many people down through the ages that like W.C. Fields and many even today that are looking for these “Non-Existent” Bible Loopholes. This is done most often to support a lifestyle that is contrary to God’s Holy Word. Loopholes are very alluring and are searched for when we want to make an excuse for not obeying a commandment of Jesus

In our text today the Religious Leaders of the time when Jesus was living among us thought they had found a loophole in Moses’ Law about honoring your Father and Mother. Instead of helping their parents with financial or material support they allotted all their worldly goods to God in order not to have to give to their parents. Jesus told them that they abrogated the Word of God by their traditions. Verse 13-“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

This made it look like they were being obedient to God but Jesus let them know in no uncertain terms that what they were doing did not escape His notice. Apparently there were more of these incidences where they tried to circumvent the law because Jesus said “and you do many more things like that.”

When we go in search of one of these “Non- Existent Loopholes” in the Bible to give the appearance that we are being obedient to God all we are doing is making an excuse for not following what the Bible says is truth.

Even if we think we have found an excuse for not obeying The Lord, just like the Pharisee could not get it by Jesus we will not escape the notice of our Savior. He will still call it disobedience.

There are no loopholes in the Bible and looking for them is a waste of our valuable time that could be spent serving God. The Bible is our “Road-map” or today we might call it our “GPS” to lead us down the narrow path to the straight gate that leads to eternal life spent with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

In the Bible we will find the perfect, pure truth of God. We must open, read and study it and it must be written on the pages of our hearts.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

First Remove The Plank From Your Own Eye.

2011-10-16T02:25:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Matthew 7:1-5
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

On February 1, 1960 history was made at a lunch counter in the Woolworth five and dime store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Four young African American College students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College sat down at the lunch counter and politely ask for service. It was refused them because of the segregation laws in place in the South at that time.

Franklin McCain was one of the four young men who help to reshape the history of the South and of the United States that cold February Day. They came to be known as the “Greensboro Four.” The weather outside was not the only cold felt there that day; the reception that these four young men met with was much colder.

Franklin shared with the world what he remembered about the exchange of words that passed between the four brave young African-American men and the workers at the lunch counter, the store manager and the law enforcement officials that arrived at the store. McCain also tells of a very valuable lesson that he learned that day.

To say that they were getting the cold shoulder that day would be a gross understatement. Naturally the four young college students were cautious of everyone there that day. There was an elderly white lady seated a few stools down from from Franklin and his friends that was eyeing them with what McCain thought was a suspicious look. Franklin recounts thinking that she was not having good thought about what was going on there that day.

When she finished her coffee and donut she very calmly walked up between Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil, placing a hand on each of their shoulders she made this statement; “Boys, I am so proud of you. I only regret that you didn't do this 10 years ago.”

Franklin later said that he learned that day that he should never stereotype anyone, that we should always take the time to talk to that person, get to know them and what is in their heart. He also said that he is always open to those who speak differently, who look differently and who come from different places.

We could take a lesson from Mr. McCain and from the writings of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth. There were a number of followers of Christ Jesus that were judging folks from the outward appearance instead of what was in their heart.
Paul told them that we will no longer judge someone from a worldly point of view; that is from what we see on the outside.

2 Corinthians 5:16 16- So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.
Let us always look closely at the heart of people instead of the outside appearance. We are all made in the creation of God and we all can become a new person in and through Christ.

Matthew 7:5
5-You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

The Infallible, Perfect Word of God

2011-10-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Timothy 3:16
16-All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Revelation 22:18-19
18-I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19
19-And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

The Bible is the Word straight from God; He spoke through men that were in tune with Him. The scriptures are in fact God breathed and God speaking directly to His children. Every time you read any part of the Bible God has a special message just for you.

God’s Holy Word from the Book of Genesis all the way to Revelations has a message of great urgency for every man, woman and child. That is since the fall in the Garden of Eden we are all sinners in need of a Savior. The only way we can be saved is through believing in Christ Jesus, by His grace and mercy, through our faith.

Satan wants to change God’s Word so that that special message God has for us never reaches our hearts. He will trick us into reading something that is simply not there or adding to some part of God’s Word.

To be assured that this does not happen to us we must use Bible context when we are studying a part of scripture. The message God has for us is not in just one verse taken out of context but by studying other parts of the Bible regarding the same issue. There is also cultural and historical context to be considered.

The use of Bible commentaries in our personal Bible study can be a positive step in the right direction. On the other had it can, through Satan, lead us in an entirely wrong direction. We must always keep in mind that any commentary is simply a series of explanations or interpretations. The authenticity of any commentary is only as reliable as the author. If you have any question about a particular author of a commentary consult your Pastor.

There are those that will try to convince us that the Bible does not stand on its own, that it needs some other book or books to complete it. This is a lie from the father of all lies, Satan. Jesus made it crystal clear who was the Father of lies.

John 8:44
44-You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

I would encourage all of us to read the scripture from Revelation about adding to or taking away from the word of God. This is not the only scripture that tells the truth about the Bible being the infallible, perfect Word of God. That most crucial truth can be found throughout the Bible.

The Bible has the power to change lives, to create in someone a new heart. Let us not fall into Satan’s subtle snares and traps that lead us into trying to make the scriptures fit into our own ideas. Let us study and obey God’s word and allow His Holy Spirit the freedom to change us into the person that God wants is to be.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8-For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
9-not by works, so that no one can boast.

John 14:15
15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

John 15:14
14-You are my friends if you do what I command.

You will never be saved by only obeying the Word of God, but you cannot be saved and not obey the Word of God.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Help in our Time of Need

2011-10-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Hebrews 4:15-16
15-For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
16-Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Matthew 11:28-30
28- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29-Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30-For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Karl Barth was lecturing to a group of students at Princeton. One student asked the German theologian "Sir, don’t you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only in Christianity?" Barth’s answer stunned the crowd.

With a modest thunder he answered, "No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed himself in his Son."

We all have gone through, are going through or will someday go through times of loneliness. When we lose someone in our lives that we loved very much the pain and grief sometimes feels greater than we can stand up to.

When we go through an illness we feel a form of loneliness. Even though we may be surrounded by loved ones that show kindness to us we must endure the emptiness of suffering alone.

People search for someone that will truly understand and help to carry our burdens. It is an endless task to search among mere humans. We must be in tune with the call of Christ Jesus who tells us to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Being the Son of God He knows all things including the trails and tribulation you are going through because He has walked the same weary path.

Any one of us that has spent any time alone realizes the importance of companionship with friends and loved ones. As much as human companionship means our walk with our Lord and Savior is sweeter and longer lasting. God has promised us that He will never leave or forsake us. This bond of friendship cannot be torn apart even by the most catastrophic situations.

Psalm 27:10
10-Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Isaiah 43:2
2-When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

We are not promised a path of life without burdens and tribulations. Our walk through life will cause us to pass through water and fire. The promise of God is that although we may pass through water and fire we will not drown or burn when our Savior walks with us.

Place you lives in God with true faith in Christ Jesus and you will hear Him say.
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is waiting for you today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

To Insure Promptness

2011-10-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Corinthians 9:6-11
6-Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

The word tip is an abbreviation for the words “To Insure Promptness” and is timeless custom in almost every country in the world. We leave a tip most often according to the quality of the service. There are many Christians that treat their giving to God as some kind of tip for the service God has bestowed on us.

I saw a Church Marquee not long ago with the words “Give God What is Right, Not What is Left.” There are too many of God’s people that say, “I just don’t have enough money to pay tithes, I can barely pay my bills.” We should take an example from the “Widows Offering” story in the New Testament.

Mark 12:41-44
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

We can also learn a great deal about giving to God from the story in 1 Kings about the widow and her son who were about to eat their last meal and sit down to die. The Prophet Elijah asks her to give of all she had to God.

1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

The one theme in both of these beautiful Bible stories is that God is not looking for just a “tip” on Sunday Morning; He is looking for our total surrender to Him. The Bible tells us that God owns all the animals in the world and He says “the world is mine and everything that is in it.”

Psalm 50:10-12
10-For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11-I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.
12-If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Everything we are or ever will be, everything we have or ever will have is because God allowed it to happen. God not only gives us the material wealth we enjoy but He also gave us the greatest gift of all, His Son Christ Jesus that gives us our salvation. God who created the Heavens and earth; who owns the earth and everything that is in it does not need our “tip” on Sunday morning. He want us surrendered to Him mind, body and soul!

Paul made this very clear when he commended the Christians at Macedonia about their selfless generosity in Giving to God. The Macedonians were living in extreme poverty and they gave “beyond their ability.” I direct your attention to Verse 5 in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, where it tells us that “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord.” When we do this, give ourselves first to the Lord, what we give God will no longer be just a part of our budget that we pay when we can it will be our entire lives.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5
1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

The Widow with Elijah gave her last meal to one of God’s Prophets, her flower jar and container of oil never ran dry. If we will give of ourselves like this woman did our flower jars and containers of oil will never be empty as well.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is waiting for you today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Never Stop Growing in the Knowledge Of Christ.

2011-10-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Peter 3:18
18-But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

When we first got saved it was through our faith in God and by His wondrous Grace. Just like someone that does know their sick will not seek a medical doctor we will not seek our Savior until we realize and accept that we are sinners in need of salvation. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, repented of our sins, turned away from those sins and trusted in Christ Jesus we received the greatest gift that can be given, Eternal Life.

Because of God’s infinite mercy and His amazing grace we are promised an eternal home in Heaven where we will serve our precious Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus for a time with no end.

We cannot stop there and rest on that one deed of spiritual submission. Salvation must be followed by a continuous growth in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That is why Peter tells us to always be adding to our faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance and Godliness.

2 Peter 1:5
5-For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6-and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

In order to continue to grow in the knowledge of our Savior it requires a daily, organized regiment of Prayer and the study of God’s Word. If we fail to do this we will be blown around by every wind of doctrine of man. Many believers in Christ try to blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs such as astrology, reincarnation and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects. There are many Christians that have reported that they have experienced some form of supernatural phenomena, such as getting in touch with the dead or ghosts.

These new age beliefs are traps and snares of Satan that we can easily become ensnared in without a daily diet of the bread and water of God’s Holy Word along with a strong Prayer life.

We are certainly not saved by any good works that we may do but by the precious blood of Christ Jesus and what he did for us on the Hill of Calvary.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8-For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9
9-not by works, so that no one can boast.

We are saved, however, to do good works. The act of salvation is not an end but a glorious beginning in service to Christ Jesus. We are to be His disciples carrying the good news of His gospel to the ends of the earth.

Ephesians 2:10
10-For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

James 2:15-18
15-Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
16-If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17
17-In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18-But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is waiting for you today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Satan’s Camouflage

2011-10-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

2 Corinthians 11:3
13-But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

On a cold crisp clear morning somewhere in the English countryside in 1943 an English farmer woke up to see that there was a column of Sherman Tanks parked on one of his fields. His prize bull had also noticed this and was setting up for an attack on one of the tanks. The farmer knew that the bull running head on into that tank was the end of the bull. The angry bull collided with the tank at full speed and then only a loud hiss of air escaping and a few seconds later nothing but a pile of Army Green sheeting.

The farmer and his bull had stumbled upon one the greatest deceptions in the history of war. The allies had created a phantom army built out of rubber tanks, jeeps, trucks and other military vehicles to divert attention away from the real Army preparing to invade the French Coastline in the spring of 1944.

Satan is without a doubt the grand master when it comes to deception and camouflage. Jesus called him a liar and the father of them. Satan camouflaged himself as a serpent when he subtlety lied to Eve and then used Eve as a tool to convince Adam to follow along with What God had told them not to do. This began the fall of human kind that we still deal with today.

Satan still uses this same deception today getting people to place reliance on their good works in order to attain salvation. He will trick you into believing that you will spend eternity with Our Father in Heaven as long as you are a member of a certain church and follow their guidelines. Satan will try to trick you into believing that it is baptism that washes away all of your sins. Satan has even convinced billions of people that he does not even exist. He has caused some to believe that hell is not the awful “Lake of fire” that it is.

My friends don’t be taken in by these timeless lies by “the father of lies.” There is only one way that you may be saved from an eternity separated from Our Lord and Savior in an awful place called hell. Jesus is the only way, the only truth and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

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

Acts 4:11-12
11-Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
12-Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Don’t allow Satan to deceive you into being fooled by the lies he has used down through the centuries. Study God’s Holy Word where you will find the map for the “narrow road” and “small gate” that leads to eternal life. My prayer is that if you are reading this today that you will become one of the “few that find it”

Matthew 7:14
14-But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The only protection we have against the cunning deception of Satan is God’s Holy Word. It is the “Sword of the Spirit” to be used in our battle with the forces of Satan and his evil army.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is waiting for you today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The fountain of Youth

2011-10-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Psalm 103:5-6
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles? The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed

The Fountain of Youth has been sought by many people down through the annals of the history of the world. Prominent explorers such as Ponce de Leon, Alexander the Great and many more have devoted years of their lives in the pursuit of this elusive body of water.

During the golden years of Mark Twain he wrote that "life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18." Other writers and poets have lodged complaints about growing old. The Greek poet Homer called old age “loathsome” and William Shakespeare referred to it as the “Hideous Winter.” It is not hard to understand with all the bad press about growing old that people have hoped and there have been so many rumors about some soon to be discovered magic waters or some anti-aging Drug.

The people of the United States spend mega billions of dollars on drugs and other products that promise to reverse the balding process, get rid of unwanted wrinkles and renew the glory of the youth that has slipped away from us.

There is no scientific proof that any commercially available product will stop or reverse aging. There is one promise that we can hold on to as the truth and it is found in God’s Holy Word.

Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

The Prophet Isaiah illustrated the independence and stamina that can be ours by using the Eagle. This great majestic bird is held high in the sky by a source outside of itself. When we place our hope and faith in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus we are carried by His power and strength and not by ours. The psalmist records in our text today (ps. 103:5) that the Lord provides our every need so our “youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

The sum of all the millions of all the anti-ageing products the world has to offer will only drain our bank accounts. God’s anti-ageing power is real and something that is available to us all if we only take advantage of it.

It’s been my experience that growing old is not a cruse but a great and wonderful blessing when you are advancing in years, walking with and growing closer to God.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is waiting for you today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Where’s Jesus?

2011-10-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Revelation 3:20
20-Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

There is a series of children’s picture books that began in the 1980’s and is still around today called “Where’s Waldo?” In this there are pictures of Waldo in large groups of people, at the supermarket, on the beach, and many other large gatherings of people. The object is to find Waldo hidden in plain sight among the scores of other people.

Praise God that Jesus is much easier to find that finding Waldo. From our text today we see that He is not hiding at all He is standing at the door of our hearts and waiting for us to open the door and let Him in. There are many folks that go to church hoping to find Jesus there; the only way Jesus will be at Church is in the hearts of those that have already let Him in.

There is a story of a homeless child living on the street of a large city. His cloths were ragged and torn; his appearance was un-kept from sleeping in back alleys. He tried to go to a large church in the heart of the city and was told that he was not dressed well enough to come in. He prayed to Jesus and said they would not let me in the church. Jesus answered the boy’s prayer and said “don’t feel bad I have been trying to get into that church for years and can’t get in”.

No doubt we have all heard someone say “I just didn’t feel the spirit when I attended this church or that church.” The only way you will feel the Holy Spirit of God in church or any other place for that matter is if you have opened the door of your heart and let Him in. Jesus does not want to meet you only in passing at one time or another; He wants to be the hub of your existence, what you build your entire being on. He wants to have a personal relationship with you and enjoy a sweet walk together with you in every aspect of your life.

If you have not surrendered your live to Christ Jesus and He is not living in your heart today this idea that He can reside within your heart and soul and be your comforter may seem like something wondrous. Letting Jesus into your heart may be somewhat disturbing however, there are some things in your heart that Jesus will want to deal with. He will clean out the untidiness in your heart until the depths of your being is as crystal clear as an unclouded day. You will feel a peace that cannot be described with mere mortal words as you experience the soothing contentment of the power of the Son of God with you every step you take.

Jesus is not hard to find any second of your life, He is patiently waiting at the door post of your heart. If you have not yet done so, open the door and let Him in today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Secret Service Dog

2011-10-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Luke 9:26 26-Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

There was a young boy that was leading his dog on a leash down the street one day. This animal was very skinny and looking extremely underfed, he was a small dog about 15 pounds. A man asks the boy what kind of dog is that, to this the young boy replied “he’s a police dog.” The surprised man said the dog did not look much like a police dog and the young boy said “oh, he’s in the secret service.”

There are a lot of Secret Service Christians out there today, those that want so badly to fit in with the world around them that they are ashamed to tell the world that they are a follower of Christ Jesus.

We have done things in our life that we are ashamed of, things that we would not like the world to find out. We are ashamed of things we have done and maybe some things we have not done.

We live in the greatest country in this world and we are certainly blessed to live here in the United States of America. Sometimes I am ashamed of this country. I am ashamed of the fact that this nation which declares "In God We Trust" won't allow their children to pray in public schools. I am ashamed that we are not allowed to display the scene of the birth of our savior on any public property. Of all the things we could be ashamed of we should never be ashamed of Christ or His gospel.

Romans 1:16-17
16-For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

If someone is ashamed of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus that shows that they don’t love Him. If a person is ashamed to speak to their friends and loved ones about the wonderful gospel; how Jesus gave His life and shed His precious blood to atone for our sins then not only do they not love Jesus they also don’t love the people that are not witnessing to.

How could someone who has the spirit of God indwelling in their heart; saved from the torments of eternal separation from God in the flames of Hell; how could that person be ashamed of the one that delivered them from the everlasting furry of Satan.

I will close this with this quote from J.C. Ryle (1816-1900).

“Whatever others around you think, don’t you ever be ashamed of being a Christian. Let them laugh, mock, jest, and scoff, if they will. They will not scoff in the hour of death and in the Day of Judgment. Hoist your flag; show your colors; nail them to the mast. You may certainly be ashamed of drinking, gambling, lying, swearing, idleness, pride, and failing to go to church on the Lord’s Day. But of reading the Bible, praying, and belonging to Christ, you have no cause to be ashamed at all. Let those laugh that will. A good soldier is never ashamed of the colors of his nation’s flag, and his uniform. Be careful that you are never ashamed of your Master.”

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Value God Places On Us

2011-10-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

John 3:16
16-For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

If a person had many automobiles and loaned someone one of them this would viewed as a generous act. On the other hand if a person were to loan their only means of transportation to someone this would be an act of real sacrifice.

We hear it said that “I can’t let you have that; it’s the only one I have.” God did not have multiple Sons; He gave “his one and only Son” because of His unconditional lover for the world.

In the world of commercial advertising we see signs everywhere about discounted prices, “if you come to our store you will pay the lowest price.” People asses value on its cost and most of the time we value items not on how much they cost but how little we have to pay for them. This way of thinking extends to many aspects of people’s lives, folks don’t want to pay much for God’s love, it is something that it just expected or taken for granted.

When some people read the Word of God where the Lord says “if you love me, keep my commandments” they find it somewhat difficult to follow this teaching. It seems like they are waiting for God’s love to “go on sale” before they can fully conform to God’s commandments.

John 14:15
15- “If you love me, keep my commands.

We sometimes know what God expects of us but are not willing to obey His word completely; we are waiting for a discount, a lower price sale. When we look for a way to pay less, to partially obey what God expects of us we lessen the value of our love towards God. How completely we obey Christ Jesus and His teaching is a clear indicator of how much we value God’s love to us.

God did not wait until we went on sale He paid the full price, His one and only son. God did this because He knew our full value; He knew we were worth what He paid for our salvation. In order to live the full life Jesus has prepared for us we must pay the full price, we must obey completely.

The words in our text today, John 3:16, is a powerful statement, it clearly shows that God considered our lives to be so valuable that He gave His only Son. That is how much God loves you, the value God sees in your life.

The questions before us today are;
What does God mean to you? How much value do you place on God’s love? How much do you love God?

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Is This A Sign?

2011-10-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1-And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2-For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3-I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.
4-My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
5-so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

There was a man once that was very timid and had a hard time talking to people. He was saved and knew that he should be witnessing to people but every time he tried he would freeze up. He prayed to God that He would give him a sign if he was supposed to share the gospel with someone. There came a day he found himself on a city bus sitting next to a very large cowboy type person. This giant of a man began to weep uncontrollably and said I’m so lost I know I am going to hell and I need someone to show me the way. The timid little man looked up to heaven and said “God, is this a sigh?”

Being a witness for Christ is simply to introduce people to the unseen Jesus. Asking a person to believe in someone that they can’t see is sometimes difficult for people to grasp. As Christians we should share our faithful belief in Jesus. We should also testify to what Christ Jesus has done in our lives, the peace and joy we now know because we believe in the unseen Jesus.

We are not called to debate the gospel only to share it. When you are called to be a witness in a court of law you are not there to be the judge, lawyer or jury you are only there to be a witness. It is the same for Christian witnessing, in the gospel of 1 John Jesus is said to be our advocate, our lawyer. He is also our judge and jury so we should do the witnessing and leave the rest to God.

1 John 2:1
1-My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

In most Wal-Mart stores when you ask someone where an item is located they will walk with you to find what you are looking for. This act of courtesy will help us see what leading someone to Christ is about. In the Gospel of John we see the Phrase “come and see” occurring two times. When two of the followers of John the Baptist ask Jesus where He was staying Jesus replied as recorded in John 1:39.

John 1:39
39-“Come,” he replied, “and you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him.

The second time was when Andrew found Jesus, the scriptures tell us the first thing he done was to tell his brother Simon and bring him to Jesus.

John 1:41-42
41-The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
42-And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

There will be times that we only have a few minutes to share the gospel with someone, in which case we only plant the seed. There will also be times that we are called on to walk with this person we are introducing to Jesus for a time. Showing this sincere interest and sharing prayer with them will show without verbal means “come and see, I will walk with you to meet Jesus.”

A Christian showing kindness to others will lead more people to Christ than the most on fire sermon in the world.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God’s Warning to Complainers

2011-09-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Psalm 106:24-25
24-Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
25-They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.

Every one of us complains about something or someone at times, however we are blinded by Satan as to what complaining is all about. We sometimes complain about the sins of those around us while we accept our own grumbling as we are just having a bad day.

God gives us a stern warning about complaining and clearly lets us know that it is a sin. The best example of this is the Children of Israel; God led them out of bondage, provided food and water and was leading them to the long Promised Land filled with milk and honey. This should have been an eleven day trip but turned into a forty year walk about in the wilderness.

The reason that God set them adrift for so many years is clearly pointed out in the scriptures like out text today, Psalms 106:24-25. There are thee sins that kept the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years and not allowed to ever see the Promised Land.

The first of these sins are “they despised the pleasant land;” God was leading them to a wonderful land where they would be a great nation and they wanted to go back to Egypt. Have we ever complained about our living conditions? Do we see what we have in life as a blessing for God or do we want for more?

The second of these sins that kept them wandering until they died was that “they did not believe his promise.” When we complain we are saying to God that we do not believe His promise that He will supply our every need.

The third of these sins is from verse “25-They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.”

This cost the Children of Israel their part in the Promised Land, there will be a cost connected to our complaining as well. God may very well be leading us to a “promised Land” here in this life but because of our murmuring keep us adrift and apart from the blessing He has in store for us.

No matter what causes any discontent in our lives complaining has always been and will always be unbelief towards God’s Promise that He will supply our every need. Dissatisfaction will occur when we take our eyes off of what we have and focus on what we want.

There will always be tribulation in our lives, our choices are to spend our time complaining, taking our eyes off of our Lord and Savior or remember all the blessings God have bestowed on us. If we chose to focus on the blessings not only will we will live a more victorious life but we will be a clear witness and positive Christian example to the world around us.

Ephesians 4:29
29-Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

If Satan has you in his trap of grumbling ask God to give you the strength to overcome this temptation. Why should we settle for what we think we need when God is ready to bless us with His very best?

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Who’s Teaching Our Children?

2011-09-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Samuel 1:28
28-So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

Hannah had tried for many years to have children but God had shut up her womb. She was married to Elkanah who loved her very much. Hannah endured provocation from her rival Peninnah who was Elkanah’s second wife year after year. Hannah prayed one day while at the temple and ask God for a son, she promised God that if He would give her this son she would give him to the Lord for his lifetime.

The Prophet Eli told her to go home and the Lord would give her the son she had prayed for. God did as always deliver on His promise and Hannah gave birth to a son and named him Samuel. Hannah also kept her promise to God and as soon as he was weaned she turned Samuel over to Eli to be brought up in the Temple in the service of God.

This is a great Old Testament story about Samuel being brought up and taught in the temple of God by a prophet of God. As we enjoy the blessings that come from hearing this story we have to wonder; “Who’s Teaching Our Children?”

How many hours a day are our children spending receiving messages from the electronic mass media? Television, video games, internet, just to name a few, have a greater influence on the lives of our children than we may realize.

How much input do our children get from school and world teachings that are contrary to the Word of God? We know that prayers are not allowed in school, the theory of evolution is taught form primary grades, the Ten Commandments and nativity scenes are not allowed. We can be fairly sure that our kids are not being fed by the Word of God in any public school today.

As children grow older peer pressure becomes increasingly stronger, to be a part if the “in crowd.” Have we taught them in such a manner that they have a strong solid spiritual Christian foundation by which to make the right decisions?

If you start adding up the hours in a day that you have to instruct you children in the Word of God you start with 24 hours in a day. First there’s some 8-9 hours that they are asleep, which leaves 15 to 16 hours. There’re at school some 7 hours which leaves some 8 hours. 4 hours on electronic mass media and 2 to 3 hours with meal and travel times leaves you with about 1 or 2 hours a day for devotional time and Bible study.

Raise your hand if you spend any part of these 1-2 hours a day you have with your children teaching them the Ways of God. If you could not raise your hand then raise your heart up to Christ Jesus and ask Him for the guidance to begin this right now. When the Rapture occurs it will be in the twinkling of an eye and there will be no time to fix this. You won’t have time to say, “Wait Lord I have to let tell my children about you.”

As Christian parents you could be the only chance that your children will have to know Christ Jesus and accept Him as their Savior. Please do not fall into Satan’s trap that tells you that a Loving God would never send my children to Hell. The only way to be sure that we or our children are ready when Jesus splits the eastern sky and the final trumpet sounds is to accept Him in this life time.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Success Of A Church

2011-09-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
12-May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13
13-May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

There are many people that are living with the misunderstanding that how many people show up a worship service is the gauge by which the success of a church is measured. The number of souls sitting in the pews on Sunday morning is not the standard by which any church is gauged. It matter not if there are 2 or 2000 in attendance, numbers are not the way God looks at the success of a church He looks at the hearts of the ones that are in attendance.

From our text today the Apostle Paul in writing to the church he had planted in Thessalonica gave us the standard God uses to determine the success of any church. He points out two attributes that are required by God for a church to be successful, Love for each other and everyone else, and a heart that is holy and just in the presence of God when the Savior comes.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
12-May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13
13-May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Nowhere in the scriptures will you find that numbers define the success of a church, this is something that man uses to try to add to the word of God. I believe that God has spoken to that act in a crystal clear way.

Revelation 22:18-19
18-I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.
19-And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

If you are a member of a church that has only a few in attendance and you are becoming discouraged you can rest assured God is not discouraged. God does grieve because of a lack of love in a church and hearts that are not surrendered and devoted to Him. No matter if we find ourselves in a congregation of 6 or 6000 our focus should be on our individual love for our fellow man and striving to live our lives so that we might be good reflector for the Light of the World, Christ Jesus, to shine before all of this earth.

The world is trying to live their lives according to the 10 commandments and other laws of God. We will never be able to live according to the law, there is only been one that has done that, Christ. He said he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law, that mean He knew we could not live the law so He lived the law in our place and shed His precious blood to atone for our sins.

We should keep in our minds what Jesus said to those who were testing Him and ask, “what is the greatest commandment?”

Matthew 22:37-40
37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38-This is the first and greatest commandment.
39-And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40-All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

If we compare what Jesus said in this verse of scripture and what Paul said is our text today we will see both were saying the same thing. Love and serve God with a blameless and holy heart and love your fellow man.

We as Christians would live a more victorious live in Christ if all of the empty alters in all the churches around the world would be filled at every service.

This Sunday instead of counting people at the church service count your blessings, then ask God to “strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” Then if you harbor any bad feeling against anyone go to that brother or sister and make amends and knell down to the alter at the next church service, praise God for becoming a lamp for your feet and a light for your path.

Psalm 119:105
105-Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Where is Paradise or Heaven Today?

2011-09-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

We read in God’s Holy Word of the existence of Heaven or Paradise, and that access to it is only possible through Christ Jesus. There is no information in the Bible that gives us a geographical location of Heaven or Paradise.

The one thing that we can be sure of is that Heaven is the place God is. This place of the Presence of God that is in question is called “the third heaven” and “Paradise” as recorded by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, here Paul describes someone that was “caught up” to Heaven and was unable to tell what he had seen.

2 Corinthians 12:1-4
1-I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
2-I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
3-And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—
4-was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell

The phrase “caught up” is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in describing the Rapture where all believers will be caught up to be with the Lord and be with Him forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:17
17-After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

These passages have led some to believe that Heaven or Paradise is out beyond the atmosphere of earth out among the stars. This cannot be true because the bible tells us that God is spirit and he could not exist in a location that far beyond His children. In Greek myology their multiple gods were supposed to have spent the majority of their existence is some faraway place.

The one true God is not like that because we are taught in the scriptures that we should “come near to God and He will come near to you” and that we should “draw near” to Him. (James 4:8 & Hebrews 10:22)

James 4:8
8-Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hebrews 10:22
22-let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

The “Heaven” or “Paradise” spoken of in the bible where saints and angels are could be thought of as a place of geography, God’s angles and saints do exist in space and time. However, when God Himself is spoken of as being in “heaven” He exists on a completely different plane from where we are today, not a different location geographically.

Our God who is in Heaven is at all times near to His children which the Bible teaches us from the beginning to the end. In the New Testament Heaven is talked of in great volume. Even with the large amount of text in God’s Holy Word of Heaven any detail of the location is not there. It is possible that God has not revealed to us the location of Heaven so that we will keep our focus on the God of Heaven instead of spending our time concentrating on the location of Heaven.

It is far more significant that we are aware of the “why” instead of the “Where” when it comes to Heaven. The New Testament teaches us what the purpose of Heaven is instead of dwelling on what it’s like or where it might be located. We know that Hell exist for those that do not accept Christ Jesus in this life and is a place of separation from God and retribution for all time and eternity.

Matthew 8:12-13
12-But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13-“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Heaven’s purpose is for being close to our Lord and Savior and eternal peace and joy. More importantly Heaven’s purpose is so that we can worship and sing praises to our Creator around His throne for all of Eternity. We all look forward to seeing our loved ones in Heaven. For me I will have to push Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma out of the way because the one that I want to see first is the one that shed His precious blood on the Cross of Calvary so that I might know eternal life. What makes Heaven for me is that Christ Jesus is going to be there.

As children of God we would be better advised to focus our lives on the only reason we were left here one second after our salvation. That reason is so that we will be witnesses for Jesus to the “ends of the earth”

I’ll close this with the last words of Christ Jesus before He ascended back to heaven.

Acts 1:8-9
8-But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9-After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

Holier Than Thou

2011-09-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Luke 18:10-14
10-“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11
11-The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12
12-I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13-“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14-“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

In order for Christians to be efficacious in our ministry to reach those around us that do not know Christ as their savior we must first be open and honest when it comes to our own sinfulness. We have a tendency to go to church with a somewhat pious outlook so that those around us will not know what we are struggling with. We all have issues in our walk with our Savior that we battle every day, Satan is always there to try to keep us off balanced. Even Paul has his thorn in the flesh that Satan tormented him with throughout his ministry.

2 Corinthians 12:7
7-or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

I am not suggesting that we should make public all of our deepest darkest thoughts and secrets. We should be honest with ourselves; David expressed this kind of conscientious in psalms 51.

Psalm 51:2 & 13
2-Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
13-Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

There are many good Christians out there that have dedicated their lives to the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ. These not only chart their course according to the precepts of Jesus but give innumerable hours and funds to the spreading of God’s Word. For all of those that have unselfishly given their hearts and souls to Christ Jesus they are faced with one of Satan’s most pernicious traps which is to bank on our good deeds to prove our faithfulness.

Consequently, when someone begins to depend on all the “good things I have done” in order to display what a good Christian they are it will lead to looking down on someone that has not done as much. To protect ourselves from this “holier than thou” attitude we must realize just what the correct role of good works is. We are created by God to do good works, this is our God given purpose in life and it does not make us good or righteous only sinners saved by God’s grace that have carried our calling.

Ephesians 2:10
10-For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When we begin to admit to ourselves our own sins and propensity towards evil we will not be prone to display a “holier than thou” attitude in church or anywhere else. Then and only then will we be an effective tool in the hands of our Creator to introduce people to Christ Jesus and be good reflectors for His light to shine before this dark and dying world.

Let us always humbly come before the Throne of God seeking His grace and mercy.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Why Should We Remember When God Forgets?

2011-09-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Isaiah 44:22
22-I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Hebrews 8:12
12-For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Our memories are something that we carry with us sometimes for the rest of our lives. They allow us to remember the wonderful times we have spent with our family, friend, loved ones and our children. Memories can be such a blessing to fill our hearts and soul with comforting joy. As a Christian we can look back on our service to Christ Jesus and look forward to the day we hear “well done my good and faithful servant.”

Matthew 25:21
21- “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Memories can also be an affliction causing us much needless pain and suffering when we hold on to our past sins and wrong doings. Sometimes we spend day after day wishing we could take back things that we have done.
We see from our text today that God will sweep away our sins like a cloud or like the morning mist; and not only that but He say I will remember them no more.

I read a story once about an elderly woman in the 19th century that had walked to a shallow part of a river to be able to get across. When she got there the river was very high and the current was running fast and strong. As she stood there contemplating how she would get across the running river two men walked up. Together they picked her up and carried her across the river and on the other side safely put her down. As they continued their walk one of the men complained continually how carrying that woman had hurt his back and his arms were so very sore. His friend that was walking with him patiently listened to the moaning for about a half an hour. He then explained to his friend why he was going through such pain and he was not. He told the man simply that when we crossed the river I sat the woman down and you have continued to carry her.

There are times that something is so important God will repeat Himself to make sure that we understand for our own good. One example is in the Gospel of John 14:15 and 15:14, if we truly love Jesus we will keep his commandments.

John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

The place where God repeats something for clarification that I want to point out today is our text, Hebrews 8:12 God says your sins are forgiven and I will remember them no more. Again in Hebrews 10:17 He once agin reminds us the same thing in case we are not sure when we read the first one.

Hebrews 10:17
17-Then he adds, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

The question before us today is this. Have you gone to Christ, surrendered yourself to Him and asked Him to forgive your sins, promised to turn away for those sins and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. If you have done this rest assured He will faithfully keep His promise to blot out all of your sins and He will remember them no more.

If you are carrying the burden of your past sins and God has forgiven you remember this: “Why Should We Remember When God Forgets.” Let God relieve you of any unnecessary cumbersome load you may be carrying by holding on to past sins and wrongdoings.

1 John 1:5-10
5-This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
6-If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
7-But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8-If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9-If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10-If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Be Ready to Listen When God Speaks

2011-09-19T06:32:00.001-07:00

By Ron Shortt

1 Samuel 3:10
10-The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

We are all familiar with the story in 1 Samuel about the first time God spoke to Samuel. At first he thought it was Eli speaking to him so he went to the bedside of Eli and said here I am you spoke to me. It was the third time Samuel came to him before Eli realized it was God tiring to speak to Samue, he told the young Samuel to go back to bed and this time say “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

In order to listen to anyone speak to us we must first be ready to listen. If we are in a conversation with one of our friends we will not hear what they have to say if we are talking or our minds are somewhere else. It is the same with listening to what God has to say we must have a quiet time that we are focused on what God has to say. The best tool that God has given us to start a conversation with Him is prayer, think of it as picking up the phone and calling one of your friends. In this day and age most of us prefer to use e-mail, I saw a sign on a church marquee just recently that said “God answers all Knee Mail.”

If you want truly want to hear God when He speaks to you it will require a consistent regular daily time of prayer and bible study. It also means that we must have a heart dedicated to understanding the Word of God.

Psalm 40:8
8-I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

We must have a deep desire to do His will; God will honor the heart that is completely surrendered to Him. If on the other hand we are tenaciously holding on to our own plans and agendas we will most likely receive a very unclear message that is not from God.

We must be willing to give God an allotted amount of time each and every day that we prayerfully read and study the Bible. It is through His Holy Word that God speaks to us and if the bible is not the guiding light by which we navigate our course we will find ourselves on a path that is headed in an opposite direction from God.

When we have made prayerful Bible study a strong part of our everyday lives we will discover a live that is complete and productive in God will. There is no sweeter place to be in this life that in the Will of God.

God will speak to us when we take the time and are prepared to listen.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Practice What You Preach

2011-09-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 23:3
3-So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

A Father tells his children that smoking cigarettes are bad for your health all the while he smokes 2 pack a day. A mother admonishes her young daughter on the dangers of drinking alcoholic beverages as she leaves for her first date and then goes to the fridge and opens a beer for herself. We see Parents encouraging their children to go to church on Sunday while they stay home and watch ball games on television. These are just a few examples of not practicing what you preach but it happens every day around the world.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees who were supposed to, “sit in the seat of Moses”, had a somewhat related problem. They were the ones that the responsibility of expounding the Mosaic Law so that the Children of Israel would understand the importance of walking in the ways of God and have a special close relationship with God was handed down to.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
12-And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13-and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Jesus had a very trenchant evaluation of both of these groups; He pointed out the Hypocrisy of these supposable leaders. The people were spiritually bankrupt and the Savior placed the responsibility for this directly upon these two groups of people. Their personal interpretation of the law and how they lived became more important that God’s Law. The parts of the law that they did follow was done for their personal glory and not for the glory of God. Jesus exposed them in a great and mighty way which is recorded in the 23rd chapter of Matthew. This is quite a long verse of scripture but it would do us well to read it even if we have read it before.

Matthew 23:1-4
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Matthew 23:13-33
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

We, as Christians, are to be a reflector of the Light of Jesus that shines out to the world in order that those that do not know Jesus will be able to see Him. The first sermon that a lot of people will ever hear is the one that comes from your example, the way you live your life. I ask you today Christian; “what is the gospel according to you?”

If we choose to use foul language, lose our tempers, have a drink with the crowd, tell off colored jokes, attend church only when is convenient to us; I could go on and on with this list but I think you get the idea, how are we honoring Christ Jesus?

I have heard people say they do not go to church because there are so many hypocrites there and they might be right to a point. Let us work hard to dispel this notion that the world has of Christians; let us pattern, by our words and actions, how it is to follow Christ Jesus.

The most powerful sermon that can ever be preached is our example.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

God’s Word Is Not Hidden From You

2011-09-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt
2 Peter 1:20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

There are those that believe that there is some hidden code that God inserted in the bible. The consensus among these new age “prophets” is that God put a hidden messages in His Holy Word knowing someday the computer would be invented to dissect these codes. This supposable code stems from a book written by Grant Jeffery entitled “The Mysterious Bible Codes” and has led to a computer software program that can help you find these codes. There is a verse of scripture in Deuteronomy that comes to my mind when I read about some hidden code from God;

Deuteronomy 30:11 11-For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

There was a group of people that ran this program on books like "Moby Dick" and found "miraculous" coincidences in them too. The inspiration of the Bible and the message God has for you in His Word is most certainly not found in hidden codes, the inspiration is plain to see, not hidden.

There are also those that claim to have found hidden meanings in their own interpretation of the Bible. These wolfs in sheep’s clothing will use a verse out of context to lead people into heretical doctrine. An example of this is a verse in 1 Corinthians 15 that says “what will those do that are baptized for the dead.” Some say that this means that we should be baptized for those that have gone on in order that they may be saved and spend eternity in heaven with God. This is saying that baptism alone is what will save you. I am sure that there is no Christian out there that does not believe that we are saved by grace through faith and not because of any good works we might do, baptism or any other work.

1 Corinthians 15:29
29-Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

When you study and get to know Paul’s three missionary journeys you will see that the Corinthians were being led into pagan believes of baptismal for the dead and did not believe in the resurrection. Paul was trying to teach them that Christ was raised from the dead and someday the angle will sound the final trumpet call and we who are in Christ Jesus will be called up to be with Him for eternity. Paul was saying; if you don’t believe in the resurrection then why are you being baptized for the dead?

The bible will interpret itself; God does not need humans to do that for Him.

The apostle Peter wrote, “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.” In order for us to find the true and accurate interpretation of any bible verse we must always consider the context of the verse we are looking at with the other scripture. By following this plan God will reveal His true message He has for us.

2 Peter 1:20 20-Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

The message God has for you and me is crystal clear there is no hidden messages that you need to look for. You have no need of a book to tell you how to find this “supposable code” you only need to pray and ask God to show you the truth. If you go to Amazon.com and type in “The Mysterious Bible Code by Grant R. Jeffery” you will see the motive behind this code, selling books.

“Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning” we do not need a book written by man to receive the special message God has for us. By going to the Lord in prayer His Holy Spirit will help us to learn His ways and the paths He would have us to follow.

Isaiah 8:19-20 19-When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20-Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

As far as the question; “is there a hidden code in the Bible” we should be asking another question; “why does it matter?” What is more important is what we decide to do with the clear, revealed message that God has for us in His Holy Word.

Our enemy Satan would like to see Christians and non-Christians alike totally miss the special message God has for us in Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 5-Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6-in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

When we allow ourselves to be caught up in useless endeavors with no biblical truth we will miss the real message God has for us and play right into the hands of our enemy Satan.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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On our Knees We Learn to Stand

2011-09-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Daniel 6:10
10-Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel 6:16
16-So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel.

We do not often hear about someone jailed for praying in public in the US, but it does occasionally happen. Julian Raven was arrested in Elmira, New York for publicly praying. In 2007 there was a city wide festival at a park in Elmira where Julian and some of his friends got down on their knees to pray for the city. The charge was disturbing the peace and no one was ever sentenced to any jail time but the fact that a person could be arrested for praying in public makes us wonder how long before it extends into our churches or our private homes.

Our text today tell a story of an 85 year old man that was arrested for praying in his home except this man was sentenced to death. This was the most famous prayer of the Prophet Daniel but it was not the only time he was seen in prayer, as our text points out Daniel prayed three times a day. In The ninth chapter we see Daniel reading in the scroll of Jeremiah (Jer. 25:8-11) that the captivity of his people would last 70 years, the people were 67 years into the exile and Daniel was eager for it to end.

Daniel 9:2-3
2-In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
3-So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

We should all follow the example of Daniel, have certain times set aside each day that we get down on our knees and give thanks to God our creator and sustainer for all that He does for us. In Daniel 9:5-6 Daniel’s prayers give us a model to follow when we go to God on our knees in prayer. We are to acknowledge that God is “great and awesome” and we are but sinners saved by His mercy and grace.

Daniel 9:4-6
4-I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5
5-We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6
6-We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

If we ever expect to stand tall in order to reflect the Light of Christ Jesus to the world around us we must have a regular daily prayer life. Prayer is the greatest and strongest tool provided to us by our Heavenly Father. It is through prayer that we are able to come before His Throne with our petitions of confession and thanksgiving.

The best way to learn to stand is on our knees.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God’s Power is not in the Numbers

2011-09-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

John 6:66
66-From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

When someone ask another brother or sister in Christ, “how was your church service today?” The very next question is most often “How many people were there.” The measure of success of any church is gauged by how many people come out to the services. I have never heard anyone brag and say “when I first came to preach at my church there were 200 people now we have 20.”

When God seen that the world had evil in their hearts and decided to destroy His creation He did not chose a large number to save, He chose eight people. It would have been impossible for anyone to ask Noah, “How many people did you have on the Ark?”

Having large crowds show up for any church service seems to have become the primary focus of many churches. Many people look at how effective the Pastor is according to how many people there were in attendance for the worship service. This dangerous trend has driven many a good Shepard of Christ to seek and implement creative ways to increase the numbers. There are many local churches today that are putting strategies in motion to increase numbers without considering what the spiritual impact will be on the church today and into the future. I have a very good friend that has been a Deacon of a church here in Chester, Va. For many years; I have heard him say many times, “if you bring em in with a hot dog, when the hot dog’s gone they’ll be gone.”

Jesus taught and preached to large crowds on many occasions, He went to the home of Simon and Andrew and healed Simon’s mother-in-law of her fever and “The whole town gathered at the door.” There was a time that 5000 people came out to hear the Master speak. There are many stories in the Bible about Christ Jesus preaching to large crowds.

Mark 1:29-33
29-As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
30-Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her.
31-So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32-That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
33- The whole town gathered at the door.

There was point in time that the crowds no longer followed Jesus as we see in our text today. “66-From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” There is nowhere in the bible that tells us that Jesus tried to increase the crowds or that He complained and moaned about not as many people coming out to hear Him preach. Jesus cared about each and every one of us as well as the mass crowds that came to hear the Word from the Word Himself. It never did bother Him that the numbers were decreasing, a pattern that would throw most today into the panic mode. Jesus continued to minister to the ones that the Father sent Him.

We live in a world today where “the more the merrier” where higher numbers of people setting in the pews is the measure of success of the church that reflects on the Pastor. There were many times that the Apostle Paul preached to large crowds but there also were times he preached to only a small number of people in the jail cell that he was confined to. Paul never did stop following the will of God for his life.

2 Timothy 4:7
7-I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

The size of the congregation is not the pertinent factor, what is of most importance is the question, “is God’s word being preached here today or is the preacher trying to tickle the ears so that the numbers will increase?”

If you are preaching at a church that has great numbers or only has a handful in attendance the message God gives you should be the same. Its substance should be as full and the delivery should be as passionate for 2 people as for 2000. Preacher, the small church you are called to Shepard is not just a stepping stone to a larger church with bigger crowds. Preach, teach, love as Jesus did when the numbers are high or when they are low. God will send the ones to any service that needs to be there.

This is not to say that a small church is better than a large church or that there is something wrong with a large church. The target we should be shooting for in any church is a spiritual matter not just how much money comes in the collection plate.

Matthew 18:20
20-For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Abundant Life

2011-09-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Matthew 11:29
10- Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Anxiety and its offspring Depression have always been prominent in the lives of so many and sadly that still remains true today. There are very few that have not experienced the deep dark valley when your life seem to be falling apart, when tribulations emerge only to seem unending and unsolvable. You just lost your job, a loved one or a close friend has just passed away, there are more bills that there is money to pay them, the list goes on and on like the long sleepless nights that accompany this affliction.

If we allow ourselves to dwell or focus on the past we can see many failures, Satan will be more than happy to help you remember all the mistakes you may have made over the years. We have all made errors in judgment throughout our lives, sometimes these may have been deliberate but oftentimes unintentional. We look back on the grief and heartache that our indiscretions may have caused others or even ourselves. When this hindsight occurs we are robbing ourselves of the joy that Christ intends for us today and into the future.

John 10:10
10-The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Anxiety and Depression will appear when we try to carry a load way too heavy for us to support, in our text today Jesus gives us the answer, “take my yoke, and you will find rest for your souls”. We as Christians know that all we have to do is carry it to the Lord in prayer and He will either carry our burdens or carry us. It’s like the “footprints in the Sand” poster there were only one set of footprints it was asked “why Lord did you forsake me, I only see one set of footprints”, the Lord answers “yes my child the one set of footprints were mine because I was caring you”. Many times people take their burdens to the Lord and then still try to solve the issue themselves.

There are two main problems with this scenario; first there is a strong possibility that is trying to work things out after you have turned it over to the Lord you will get in His way. When this happens there will be a delay in the resolution you seek, not because God is delaying but because you are causing unnecessary roadblocks that God must remove before He can set His plan in motion.

The second problem that will arise when you try assist the Savior is you are saying to Him, “Lord I know you can solve all problems but mine are just too much for you to handle so I’ll just have to give you a hand”. Peter reminds us in his writings that we should cast all of our anxieties upon the Lord not just a few of them and then try to solve the rest on our own.

1 Peter 5:7
7-Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

There is also the “what if” problem, what if this happens or what if that happens. If you allow yourself to be snared in Satan’s “what if” trap you will lose the peace and joy that is yours through Christ Jesus.

The Bible makes it very clear that although God spoke to His children through the prophets in the past, today He speaks to us through His Holy Word. Every time you open the Bible God has a special message for you. You may have read a certain passage of scripture many times before but each time you read it He could have a new message for you.

Hebrews 1:1-2
1-In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2-but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

John 1:1
1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

When you go to God and ask Him to take your burdens He will do just that. In order to receive the answer you need to lighten the load you carry, get back to the full life He has promised you and live a victorious life of peace and joy you must spend time in his word. Spend time each and every day speaking to God, then immerse yourself in His Word and the answer will be revealed to you. On the other hand if you do not have a daily time of prayer and bible study you will be left to your own flimsy attempts to remove the burdens that weight you down. This can sometimes cause a person to panic and then lose hope thereby causing a state of depression. There is a big difference in worldly and Godly hope; worldly hope is “I hope I can find some peace someday” Godly hope is a solid promise we have from our precious Lord and Savior that He will carry our burdens and we will have a full life of victory with the peace and joy we so rightly deserve. Jesus is the hope of the world.

1 Timothy 1:1
1-Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

When you feel like you are lacking or missing something in your life go to Jesus, giving thanks for who He is and all that He has done for you; He wants to see your cup overflow. You will never have the full abundant life Jesus wants you to have unless you are spending time with Him each day and walking obediently with Him in an intimate and loving fellowship.

Jesus is the Abundant Life.

Philippians 4:6-7
6-Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7-And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Jesus’ Continuing Ministry

2011-09-09T05:32:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shortt

Romans 8:34
34- Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

I am sure we have all seen others stand up in church and bear their testimony, most likely most all of us have done that at times. When this happens we hear of the great thankfulness for what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary. We listen as people say how grateful they are that Jesus died for their sins and shed his perfect blood so that we can know eternal life with Him.

You very seldom hear anything of His continuing ministry of intercession on our behalves to the Father. We are told in God’s Holy Word that we have an advocate with the father, Christ Jesus. This means that Christ Jesus is the only way to the Father, we can never be fooled by the devil and believe that there are others that we must go through to get to Jesus.

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

1 John 2:1
1-My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

In the same way Jesus prayed for Peter during a great trail with the devil in his lifetime, so today Jesus intercedes for us to the Father. This most essential ministry of our Savior will continue as long as His children are on this earth in need of Him and His comfort and blessings.

Luke 22:31-32
31-32 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

If we were to hear Christ praying for us in the next room we would fear no enemy that came our way. Just because He is not in the same house with us He is always there to intercede on our behalf to the Father.

If you ever find yourself going through a great trial, maybe Satan is attacking you from every flank on your battlefield. Maybe you are walking through some deep dark valley and have lost all hope of ever getting back to the mountain top. When this happens, not if this happens, because tribulation will come your way at times, all you have to do is tell Jesus about it and ask for His help. When you do go to Christ Jesus you will see results so extraordinary it will astound you. This will happen only through our Savior’s intercession for us.

All the power Satan wants you to believe he processes he is far outmatched by the Continuing Intercessory Ministry of Christ Jesus.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Strange Walk of the Pigeon

2011-09-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Daniel 6:10
10- Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

I’m sure that we all have had the experience of feeding the pigeons in a park at one time or another. When the pigeon walks they do a strange thing and that is they will take a step or two and then stop before taking the next step. The reason for this curious behavior is that they cannot see when they are walking so in order to get a bearing on where they are and where they are going they must stop between every step or two.

As we continue in our walk with God we may find they we have a similar difficulty as the pigeon. It may be hard for us to see where we are going when we become busy with the Lord’s work and we may need to stop between steps to regain our focus on just where the Lord is leading us.

We do not have to go to the Lord in prayer before every daily decision. We should, however, have a system of times that we stop and spend quiet time with our Lord and Savior in order for us to more clearly discern what God’s perfect will is for our lives.

From our text today we see that Daniel had a regular time each day that he stopped and prayed, this was critical to his walk with God. Because of these times that he stopped his close walk with God was clear to him and those around him.

We desperately need times that we stop, empty our hearts and minds and allow the Lord to reveal to us if we are still going in the direction He desires or maybe He is trying to lead us down another path. If you find yourself overwhelmed and losing some of your Christian joy you may need time to stop for a time of regeneration from Christ Jesus.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Self-Interested Prayer Life

2011-09-07T02:42:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

James 4:3
3-When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

There was a pastor who had a parrot. All the parrot would say was, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.” The pastor tried to teach him to say other things but to no avail. He learned that one of his deacons had a parrot. The deacon’s parrot would only say, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” So the pastor decided to invite the deacon and his parrot over to his house. When the deacon arrived they put the parrots into the same cage to see what would happen. The deacon’s parrot said, “Let’s kiss, let’s kiss.” The pastor’s parrot said, “Thank you, Lord. My prayers have been answered.”

There are many people that view God as some sort of genie in a bottle that stands ready to grant their every wish and command.

Take for an example the parent of a child at a ball game prays to let their child’s team win the game or someone who slept in a few minutes too long and is running late for work prays that they will get there on time.

Folks that are engrossed in their own self-interest hold an extremely superficial outlook of who God is and His plan of redemption for His children. They believe that God is there to serve them and their wants and desires, to quench the fires of their pain and suffering and to assure them a life as pleasurable as they desire. These people know God only as the world sees Him and not as the bible revels to us who God really is.

In our text today James point out to us we will not receive from God if we pray with the wrong motives or for our own pleasure. He goes on to tell us in verse 4 that if we choose to be a friend to the world that we will become an enemy of God.

James 4:4
4- You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

We should take a long serious look at our own pray life. If we find that our prayers are most often offered for our advantage, wellbeing or gratification it is past time to readjust the way we pray.

Our time of prayer is not a time to ask God for something for ourselves but a time to ask God what we can do for Him.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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False Prophecies

2011-09-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 24:3
3-As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

I’m sure that we all remember the Y2K scare; the so called experts predicted all sorts of computer failures at the end of the twenty century. We all got up the morning of January 1 2000 to find that our computers were still there.

Here just recently Harold Camping set a date for the Rapture again one more time, this time Mr. Camping said it would be May 21st 2011. That day came and went just like any other day, people were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage.

I am certainly not trying to pick on Mr. Camping there have been literally thousands of false prophecies about the second coming of Christ Jesus beginning in the first century AD. This happens even though we are told so very clearly in God’s Holy Word that no one knows the day or hour of the return of our Lord and Savior.

Matthew 24:36
36-“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

We are given a crystal clear directive from Christ Jesus as to how to prepare for His second coming. We are told that we should “watch” and “be ready”.
The question is how do we know we are ready for His coming. True repentance and total surrender to Christ would be a good first step, then a sincere striving to reflect His light to the world around us.

Matthew 24:42
42-“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Matthew 24:44
44-So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

We are told that His return will happen in the “twinkling of and eye”, this will be some fraction of a millisecond. We will not have time to say “wait Lord let me put down this glass of whiskey” or “please Lord just give me a few more minutes, I need to witness to someone”.

1 Corinthians 15:5
5- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

The apostle Peter tells us that His coming will be like a “thief” and that we should be living holy and Godly lives. There is no way that we can live this kind of life on our own, we must accept Christ Jesus into our heart as our Lord and Savior.

2 Peter 3:10-11
10-But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11-Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

We should set our focus on living for God while we wait for the blessed hope of the appearance of Christ Jesus the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Titus 2:13
13-while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Live each day like tomorrow’s the day Jesus will return and you will then be ready no matter when the day comes.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Conforming our Lives to Christ

2011-09-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

There are many people that live in the prison of domestic violence, who are physically and mentality abused by their spouses, parents, other family members or even their own children. This pattern starts with the abuser being subjected to abuse during the years they were growing up. It is no surprise that this continues generation after generation.

Circumstances that occur in our lives that are beyond our control can intensely shape how we behave. We, however, do not have to become a hostage of our former state of affairs. We can restructure how we think and how we act by controlling our circle of friends, the books we read, the music we listen to and the movies or TV we watch. There have been many people with a horribly unpleasant past that have been able to become very well-thought-of reputable men and women.

As Children of God it is essential that we move in directions that correctly reflect our relationship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. We must make every effort to move away from the patterns that shaped our live under our old master, Satan. There is no way anyone will be able to see Christ Jesus except through His Children, we are to be a good reflector to shine His light out to the lost of the world. It is of the utmost importance that we keep our reflector clear of the influence of the world.

This is something we cannot do simply by making the correct choices; we must have the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working within us. Paul tells us from our text today (2 Corinthians 3:18) that we will be transformed by contemplating (meditating and studying) on the glory of the Lord.

What Paul is telling us is that we must make Jesus our only focus in life, as the old hymn tells us “turn your eyes upon Jesus and the things of the world will grow strangely dim.” We must die from this worldly life in order to be born again into a life of surrender in service to our most precious Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

It is of no importance what happened in your past life, when you give your life to God He will forgive and forget all of your past sins and reshape you into the person He wants you to be.

In order to remold yourself into a life of victory, you must yield to Christ today.

Contact Info:
Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Spiritual Strength and Gator Aid

2011-09-02T06:52:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Mark 4:35-40
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

During WWII there was a training camp in southern Florida where new GIs would be put through rigorous training before going overseas; during the training they were given “Gator Aid”. There was an obstacle course that had a small shallow pond at the end; the new recruits were to swing over the pond using a rope. In the intense southern heat some of the men started letting go of the rope halfway across the pond. Then one day one of the officers at the center made the pond a home for a large alligator (Gator Aid) and after that the men had no problem making to the other side of the pond.

In our text today Jesus instructed His disciples to cross over another body of water and placed an obstacle in their way much like the alligator in our story. This storm came up and without realizing it their survival was due to the fact that Jesus was on board their boat. Jesus counseled them on their lack of faith.

Likewise, our behavior as Christians must sometimes be shaped by the "encouragement" of the danger of unfavorable circumstances. Without God's loving correction and faithful discipline we would never develop spiritual strength and endurance. If the Lord didn't permit threatening conditions to come into our lives, we'd soon succumb to feelings of self-sufficiency and overconfidence.

We will face obstacles and storms in our daily walk. The one thing we will have in common with the disciples that day is that we too can have Jesus in our boat and He will clam our storms as well.

If you are hoping to go through life without pressure, without criticism, without temptations, without bad news, without tragedy, then you are living on Fantasy Island.

No matter what was going to happen, Jesus’ message to the disciples was that they were going to the other side. In Jesus we have assurance that we are going to the other side. We are saved for all eternity.

The next time you feel the pain of a distressing situation, remember the words of David

Psalms 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

In order to gain a strong testimony there must be a test

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Our Past, A Learning Experience

2011-08-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Philippians 3:13
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Two friends are talking, one realizes the other is very down-hearted, “you look so depressed, what seems to be the problem?” asks the concerned friend. The reply came, “I’m thinking about my future”. “Why should thinking about your future get you so down?” the friend asked. The dispirited response came “because I’m thinking about my past.”

We all have certain regrets about the things that have happened in our past. It is a solid fact of life that we cannot change what has already happened but we can use it as a learning experience and with the guiding hand of our Lord and Savior we can use what we learn from our past mistakes to have a brighter and more victorious future.

Dr Warren W. Wiersbe said “the past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you down. We must learn for the past but not live in the past.” Satan will always try to remind you of your past, when he does this always remind him of his future. Yours is a future of eternal life with the Light of the World, Christ Jesus; his is not so bright.

Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee of the strictest living; he had a strong belief in his orthodox Hebrew life and had an intense hatred of Christians. He was at the stoning of Stephen even though he may not have been involved he most likely encouraged those that did the stoning.

Acts 8:1
And Saul approved of their killing him.

Saul persecuted the followers and believers of Jesus until one day on a road to Damascus where he met Jesus and his past was left behind in a brilliant devine light that struck him blind but then allowed him to see the true light of the world, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. In the writing of Paul we see where he uses his past and his new found faith and trust in God to drastically change his future.

Acts 22:4
I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

We will never be able to change our past but we can learn from it. We can take all of our past mistakes and our sins, lay them at the foot of the Cross of Calvary and know a future that we cannot even comprehend beforehand.

Defeat is always temporary when we trust our future to God.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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To Do Good Works

2011-08-29T09:23:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

There are many people that wrongfully believe that we get to heaven by the good works we do. The story is told of the man that tried to gain access to heaven on all of the good things that he had done. He was told that in order to get in on your works there was point system and you would need one hundred points. He said “I attended church faithfully for over 60 years, always supported my church with my tithes and offerings and was a member of the same church for my whole life.” He was told by the keeper of Heaven’s Gate that this would give him a total of 1 point.

The man was bewildered and said then this next one will bring me the points needed. He went on to tell them “I was married to the same woman for 62 years and never once cheated on her not even in my mind.” The reply came that this counts as another 1 point only 98 to go!

By this time the man had become somewhat concerned and said that this last good works of his life should do it. “I started a homeless shelter along with a cafeteria and supported it with my own money for 41 years” the man confidently told the gate keeper. He was then informed that this one was worth a point and a half, only 96 and a half point left to go. With this the man shouted out with a loud voice “with that system the only way I’ll get in is by the Grace of God!! To this we say what, AMEN AMEN!!

Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

So what about good works where do they fit in the life of a Christian? The apostle Paul teaches us from our text today that “we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. In other words doing good works is not a conduit that carries us to an Eternal Life with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus it is a fruit of the spirit.

All the good works we want to do will be counted for naught if we are not surrendered to Jesus with a true heart salvation. When we are down to our last few breaths in this life our bad works and our good works will be tossed over like bilge from a ship and the only thing that will matter is, “have we accepted Christ through faith and His marvelous Grace?”

This is the most critical and important issue you will ever have to deal with in this life. Everything else, your retirement fund, your children’s college fund, health insurance coverage pales in comparison with the question of your salvation.

There are many people that become confused with the difference in doing good works for salvation and doing good works because of salvation, the difference will determine where you spend eternity.

The only safe ground we can walk on in this life is God’s free Grace, but let us never forget that although it is free it did come with a price. The ultimate price was paid for our salvation and Jesus paid that price. We are saved to do good works not saved by good works.

I know I said this several times in this article but it is of critical importance, the difference between eternity in heaven or hell is knowing the difference between a works salvation and salvation by grace.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Hurricane Concerns

2011-08-27T07:24:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Philippians 4:9b
And the God of peace will be with you.

As Hurricane Irene starts up the east coast we are all keeping a close eye on the minute by minute updates of the storms movement. Some of us may be in the track of the hurricane and others may be out of reach of the storm but have loved ones or personal property in the wake of this great storm. We are all concerned with what Irene is going to do next or which way God is going to send it.

We have great storms that occur in our lives every day. The winds from these storms start to kick up when some tragedy befalls us or someone close to us, a loved one or a special friend. These howling winds can also appear in our lives when we hear about disaster or misfortune happening to people from TV, radio or other media.

Whenever these storms start to invade our minds we start to look at the “what ifs”. We begin to align our thinking on the potential negative end result. Our fear and worry starts to creep into our thinking and the Faith we have in God begins to waver as we pray and await the outcome in God’s plan.

It is part of human nature that we would fear a storm, if the storm be a Hurricane pounding the east coast or a figurative storm caused by a valley we or someone close to us must walk through. Jesus was literally in the boat with the disciples when the “furious storm” came upon them and still they were afraid that they were going to drown. Our Lord and Savior not only calmed the waters but He used this as a lesson for the disciples in the boat and for us today as well. He teaches us from this awesome illustration that He is the one and only true Powerful God, He loves and cares for each one of us and that He will never leave or forsake us.

Matthew 8:23-27 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

There will be times that we or our loved ones will be going through a storm that Jesus will calm the storm. He sometimes will not calm the storm but we can be assured by this truth of His gospel and that is He will be in the boat with us. No matter if He calms the storm or rides with us during the storm we can rest assured that He loves us and cares for us and will always carry us through whatever dark valley or storm we must go through.

In order for us to fully appreciate the value of the lifejacket we must first feel the pressure the storm brings upon us.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4c hrist.net
804-691-2851

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Preach it Again Preacher

2011-08-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

A young preacher was at a church hoping to be the new pastor, his sermon was strong in the gospel and he preached with passion and fire. The members loved him and ask him to be their new pastor. Much to their surprise he preached the same sermon over again the first Sunday he was the new pastor. The congregation took this is stride until the following sunday when he preached the same sermon one more time. When week three and four passed and they heard the same sermon again and again the pastor search committee was asked to speak to him about hearing the same sermon for five straight weeks. The new pastor told them “when you all start living this sermon I’ll move on to the next one”.

When Jesus was preaching, his messages had a familiar recurrent thesis. Our precious Lord and Savior wanted to be assured that all was fully aware of what was expected of them to be called the Children of God. He was preaching a message that was not at all in line with the religious leaders of that day. His sincere messages were filled with the crystal clear ring of such things as forgiveness of our sins and forgiveness for our fellow man. He introduced a new concept that was entirely foreign to the Doctors of Theology of that time period which was salvation through faith by grace, unconditional mercy without a works salvation.

Fast forward to the twenty-first century and we find that we are still in need of that same message this day and age. When we truly repent of our sins, turn away from those sins and “turn our eyes upon Jesus” we will begin to experience the life of total victory that Christ Jesus means for us to live. This will bring blessings to our lives that are beyond human comprehension and thusly we will be a blessing to others. Our lives will be a good, clean and clear reflector for the Light of the World, Christ Jesus.

The only way this world can ever see Jesus is through His children. There are no pictures of Christ and no one will ever see Him in His celestial body until he comes again in all His glory as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Until that time it is up to us as his modern disciples to make sure the world can see Jesus.

The most sincere and on fire sermon has not accomplished its mission until all that hear it are living it.
Preach it again preacher.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Fallen Chair

2011-08-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

1 Samuel 4:17-18
17-The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
18-When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led[a] Israel forty years.

There is a story told about a lady that was visiting another sister in the church at her home one beautiful day. The phone rang and she said “I’ll let it go to voice mail, it’s my daughter and the only time she calls is when she needs something”.

There is a sad fact of life and that is that some people treat God just like they treat their parents and that is call only when they need something. How do you think God feels when the only time we go to His throne through pray is when we are asking Him for something?

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation and we start to blame God, “why hasn’t He heard my prayers”? or maybe “why hasn’t He done something about it”?

This same thing happened to the children of Israel, they went to God only when they thought they could not handle the problems on their own. Then when they were defeated by their enemies, when the enemy captured the Ark of the Covenant they wondered why God did not care about their situation.

They had departed from God and His ways. They were using the house of God for their own pleasure instead of a meeting place with their Creator. They had not called on God for some time and now when they needed Him He chose not to intervene when they lost this great battle. He of coarse did late intervene and the Ark of the Covenant was returned to the Children of Israel.

Let’s not find ourselves in this predicament, by only visiting God when we need or want something. Let us go to Him in pray every day of our lives. Let us praise him and thank Him for all that we have in Life. All that we have or ever will have, all that we are or ever will be is because of Him. There’s a line in the old gospel song “Calvary’s the Reason Why” that says “Sometimes I just want to thank you without asking you for a thing”

Let us go to God in prayers of thanksgiving and praise not just when we want something from Him.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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To Be a Comforter to Others

2011-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

We read news reports every day about young people who have been arrested for dealing drugs. We watch in horror on the TV news as we see some young person get gunned down in a drive by shooting. These reports have something in common and that is there is a parent, a sibling or close family and friends that are devastated and grieving for them.

Most of us in our lifetime have someone close to us that has lost a family member, a child, a mate, brother or sister, or a close friend. These folk are also grieving and need the comfort and peace that can come from only one source and that is God. These hurting souls need the reassurance that this dark valley that they are walking in is not because God is displeased with them. They need the calm assurance that God weeps with them and that He is always there and will never leave them or forsake them.

The apostle Paul went through beatings, once they stoned him and left him for dead. He suffered imprisonment on several occasions; people shunned him for teaching the gospel of Christ and finally killed for his faith and continued witness for our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Most likely none of us will ever go through a fraction of the suffering and grief that He went through. None the less there are people out there going through devastating periods in their lives, suffering and grieving for the loss of someone close to them or a friend or family member that is lost and in need of the saving hand of Christ.

If you have ever gone through some grief or tribulation and God has brought you through the deep dark valley you were in you know the feeling of the sweet peace and comfort that comes only from God.

God did not bring this comfort to you only to make you comfortable, He means for you to be used by Him to be a comfort to others that are going through what you have already been through.

Paul could have had the pity party of all times but he chose to continue to praise God and carry the gospel of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth. He then counseled us on what we should do for others with the comfort we received from God. He tells us “That we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Allow yourself to be used of God as a comforter to others that are going through what God has already brought you through.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Leave your Boat

2011-08-23T02:22:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 4:21-22
Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Fishing is something that a lot of like to do. As a matter of fact I have a fishing trip planned for this morning; I look forward to the relaxation of spending some time out on the water. For Jesus’ future disciples fishing was not some relaxing day away from work it was their work, it is how they made their living.

We have careers that necessitate a larger portion of our time and concentration. What Jesus wants to do is intervene into the status quo of our everyday business. He is calling us to become a part of His business.

When Jesus called out His disciples He did not change their profession, they were still to be fishermen but now they were going to fish for people.

Matthew 4:19
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

The way of the world and how we are programmed in our society is that we should make something of our lives and then follow Jesus. That is not God’s Way, He calls on us to “leave our boat” and follow Him and He will make something of our lives.

Like He changed what the disciples would be fishing for He readjusts our precedence to allow us to feel the needs of those around us. We do a welcome song at Lighthouse called “Use me Lord” and in the song there is a line that say “Lord help me to feel their needs”. Christ Jesus also resets our sights so that we see more clearly the eternal in stead of the temporal.

God most certainly does not want you to abandon your life time careers, but when you leave your boat and follow Jesus you will see your career in a way that you have never seen it before. The location of your fishing expedition is not important, what is paramount is what you are fishing for. He not only called out the first 12 disciples to be fishers of people, that calling still holds true for all of us as His disciples today.

If you have not reached that point in your life that you have left your boat and followed Jesus, this would be a good day to realign your priorities of life.

Leave your boat and follow Jesus.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Forgiveness, The Last Stronghold

2011-08-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 6:15
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Several years after the war between the states Robert E Lee visited a family at a plantation in Kentucky. The only real damage to the property was an old tree in the front yard that had been all but completely destroyed by Union artillery fire. The lady of the house bitterly complained to General Lee about the loss of the tree and the wise old warrior gave her some sound advice. He advised her to cut the remains of the tree down, he said to her “It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.”

Forgiveness goes against human nature, it is painfully challenging and even after we say we have forgiven someone the hurt will remain in our memories for years to come.

Our text today is crystal clear about what is expected of a person when that person asks God to forgive their sins and come into their lives as their Lord and Savior. It is not for us to measure or judge the spiritualty of another person. The evidence that God’s Holy Spirit lives within someone can, among other fruit of the spirit, be measured by how they forgive other people. The spirit of forgiveness is possibility the last stronghold from our fleshly nature that we let go of. Even after we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior and know true forgiveness from God we as Christians still hold on to some bitterness and anger for the wrongs we think have been done to us. We feel that someone that wronged us should be held accountable for how they hurt us or someone we love.

At that point we should ask ourselves; are we using Christ Jesus as an example of how to live our lives and if so how are we doing? We are told in God’s Holy Word to “realize how much God has forgiven us and forgive those that we think have done wrong against us.”

Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

We should realize how much God has forgiven us and forgive those that we think have done wrong against us. The bible tells us that as God’s children we should “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

As we search our hearts today let the Light of the Holy Spirit shine and reveal any malice, anger or forgiveness towards another that may be in our hearts. Let us remember how much God has forgiven us of and forgive those who have wronged us. Let us also remember that God has not only blotted out our transgressions but He has forgotten them as well.

The only time that we may stop forgiving others is when God stops forgiving us.

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Thankful Hearts

2011-08-19T04:43:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Psalm 106:24-25Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.

There are many people that complain as a way of life and no matter how much the Lord blesses them with it just does not seem to be enough to suite them. The Children of Israel became a nation of complainers from the time that God led them out of the bondage in Egypt.
They complained to Moses that they had no water, God gave them water. They grumbled that they had no food, God gave them manna and quail to eat. They then proceeded to complain that all they had to eat was manna and quail. God blessed them in ways that were beyond human comprehension. He was fulfilling a Promise He had made to make a great Nation of them, He promised them a Land filled with milk and honey. With all that God was doing for them, had done for them and was going to continue to bless them they scorned and despised His blessings. To speak against or to complain about the blessings of God is to speak against God Himself. For this reason God sent them on a 40 year circle in the wilderness instead of the 11 day journey they could have made to the Promised Land.

The story is told about a summer camp. When the morning service had come to a close there were many people coming forward to accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The invitational hymn that touched their hearts was “Where He leads me I will follow”. At the conclusion of the service they all went to the dining hall for lunch. The meal that was served was some leftovers from the previous evening’s meal and they all started complaining and griping about the food. One of the counselors came forward in the dining area and said “ I don’t think you should be singing where He leads me I will follow if you are not willing to say what He feeds me I will swallow.”

As evidenced by the 40 years the Children of Israel spent in the wilderness when the journey could have been less than two weeks God does not take our complaining lightly. When we complain about what the Lord has done for us we are saying to Him you cannot provide for my every need like You promised in your Holy Word. We are in essence calling God a liar.

The old hymn that says “count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done” is very true indeed. When we realize just how much God has done for us and begin to thank Him for it instead of griping that He has not done enough He will then bless us with thankful hearts.

If we spent half as much time praying as we do complaining there would soon be nothing to complain about.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Keeping The Lions Away

2011-08-18T04:57:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

I read a story once of a man that was standing on a busy street corner in a large city cracking open peanuts and spreading them on the street. Someone stopped and asked why he was going to all the trouble of cracking hundreds of peanuts and throwing them on the street. He informed the passer by that he was doing it to keep the lions away, “there’s no lions running loose in the city” he was told. He then replied “it works pretty well doesn’t it”.

When we spend our time in worry we are doing the same thing, wasting an excessive amount of our time on difficulties and troubles that do not even exist. This is not to say that we do not face real quandaries and uncertainty each and every day of our lives. There are times, however, that we invent dilemmas and focus on tribulation and predicament that may never occur.

For a chronic worrier it is easy to carry our burden to the Lord the hardest part is when we try to leave them with Him. There are many explanations as to why a person would live in unnecessary fear or worry but whatever the reason there is hope.

The teachings of the Apostle Paul from Philippians 4:6 is not some kind of magic formula. It is a tried and true genuineness of the gospel of Christ Jesus and one of His wonderful promises.

Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Paul writes in verse 12 that “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” It is an ongoing process that takes time walking a path in which we try and sometimes fail but through perseverance we continue to trust in Gods faithfulness, His grace and mercy. I praise God for His patients with me when I sometimes unnecessarily crack open peanuts and spread them around to keep the lions away.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

When we spend our time in worry and fear we are shouldering a burden that God wants to carry for us.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Leave It at the Alter

2011-08-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Every time you visit a web site on the internet there is always a small fragment from the site left on your computer’s hard drive. It’s called browsing history, temporary internet files or cookie files and over time it can build up until the unused part of your drive becomes smaller than the used section. The result of this can be a much slower and less efficient computer. There are many programs to keep the Hard Drive cleared off, I use one called “Windows Clean-up” and there is a place on the control panel in windows that can keep it fairly cleared off. Without clearing off the drive periodically, over time the computer would become more and more crowded until it finally crashes.

Our lives are like the computer in some ways; we load more and more responsibilities, work and commitment on ourselves and never cast them off. We try to resolve every burden and issue that comes our way until the buildup becomes so immense that we feel like we are going to crash.
Some of the signals that our “hard drive” may be getting so filled that a crash may be imminent are not being able to sleep, becoming exasperated or annoyed at the least little thing and becoming distressed or uneasy. If we may be experiencing some of these symptoms it may be time for some clearing off.

The Lord will never put more in us than we can take but sometimes we pile burdens and responsibilities on ourselves unnecessarily and it may be time to clear off some of these activities.

As the Psalmist reminds us from our text today we can cast our burdens on the Lord and He will sustain us. The problem arises when we cast our burdens on the Lord and then try to help Him resolve the issues that have besieged us.
We are told in the scriptures to “cast all our anxiety” on the Lord not some of it and try to resolve the rest ourselves.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

We are told to allow the Lord to carry our burdens but sometimes we are like the fellow carrying a 50 pound sack of potatoes went a man in a pickup truck offered him a ride to town. After a while the driver of the truck noticed the man still had the sack of potatoes on his back, he said “you could put the sack in the floor of the truck” to which the fellow replied “you gave me a ride I couldn’t expect you to carry the heavy sack of potatoes too”.

When we ask Christ Jesus to sustain us, as He will, then we try to carry some of the burdens ourselves we are just like the man in our story.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

If your wagon is bogging down then throw off some unnecessary baggage. Bring your cares, burdens and anxiety to the Lord and allow Him to sustain you, “leave it at the altar”.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The World’s Best Seller

2011-08-15T07:55:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records the Bible is the world’s bestselling book. Between the early parts of the nineteenth century and the later part of the twentieth century there were over 2 billion copies printed. From the late 1970’s going into the twenty-first century that number has gone past 120 million. The best conservative estimates are that today there are over 275,000 new bibles published every year around the world.

How can the popularity of this book from antiquity remain strong throughout all of these many years? The answer is as crystal clear as the message inside this wonderful collection of books which is the infallible, indisputable Word of the one and only true God.

It is the Word of God given to us in a language that all can comprehend and understand. It introduces us to the one that created the universe, all of heaven and earth. It also leads us down the only path in which we can enjoy the peace and excitement of a close walk and personal relationship with our creator. It allows us to know and be able to follow the Will of God and to understand His plan for this world and His children.

It gives us an unambiguous meticulous awareness of the perplexed human nature and allows to know why we act and react the way we do.

We can learn more about the nature of human being from the prophets of the bible, the life of Jesus during His earthly ministry and from the accounts of ones whose lives were touched by Christ than from any other books that has ever been written.

The social sciences of the world, sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc. are a collection of theories and opinions of intelligent people that have done extensive studies into human nature. There are many different theories about why people behave the way they do, some agree partially with others and some disagree totally.

Only the bible can cut right to the heart of the problem and that is the human heart.

Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

The bible not only lets us know that the problem is our sinful heart but tells us how that through Christ Jesus we can be given a new heart, a new live that is free from the chains of Satan and one that allows us to live with the victory that God intends for us.

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

If you are not living today with that “full” that Christ Jesus talks about in John 10:10, that is the full victory in Jesus then it might be wise to turn to this book, the Holy Bible that is today and has always been the World’s Best Seller.

The Bible affords us the unique opportunity to perceive ourselves as we are looked upon in God’s sight.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Re-Start

2011-08-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Psalm 32:10
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.

For people that use a computer they know the frustration that comes when your computer starts to do strange things and you have no idea how to get it back on track. Every computer expert will tell you that a re-start will fix most problems with a computer.

There are times that Satan will upset our lives and it will seem like there is no way to get back to our walk with Christ. We can benefit from a re-start just like our computers.

Sometimes we start to slip in our time of bible study or daily devotion. Days go by and we realize that our prayer life is not as complete as it should be. We see things in the world around us that looks like fun so we join in only to later find out later that these worldly distractions are more destructive that fun.

That’s when we need to commit to a re-start, to recommit ourselves to Christ Jesus with all of our live, heart and soul. It is never too late to get back on course with God.

There is a first step to reconnect with God, to get back on the straight and narrow that leads to eternal bliss. We must first confess our sin to God and then repent of that sin; that means we must turn away from the sin and “turn our eyes upon Jesus”. It is clearly spelled out in many places in the bible just like here in Psalms 32:5.

Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

What will happen when the re-start is complete?

Psalm 32:10-11 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

God will always provide the means necessary for a Re-Start in our walk with Him

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Greatest Blessing of All

2011-08-12T08:57:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Psalm 19:1-6 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

There is not a blessing with a greater magnitude than knowing and having a personal relationship with God. Likewise there is no disaster with more grave consequences than that of not having a close and sweet walk with our precious Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. It is a sad matter of fact that there are many people that live their entire lives here on this earth with no knowledge of God and not an inkling of a relationship with Him. Consequently when they leave this life they will live for eternity apart from God in an awful place called hell.

In his divine mercy God bestows His blessings on both the righteous and the unrighteous during this lifetime. Because of this most gracious act the majority of people on earth do not have the faintest idea what it is going to be like separated from God for all of eternity.

Matthew 5:45
That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The warnings are there for all to see, in God’s Holy Word. In the days of the past there were homes out there with no bible in them at all so it could be said “I had no access to these warnings”. This day and age every home has at least one or more home computers and any bible is just a click away for the searching, as a matter of fact any smart phone has access to the bible. The warnings are crystal clear and available to all who desire to heed them.

Matthew 8:12
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Luke 13:28
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

Our text today from Psalms 19 clearly speaks to the fact that in God’s creation there is a declaration, proclamation and knowledge of his great power and love. Romans 1:18-20 tells us that through His creation God’s truth will be known by all and that we are without excuse.

Romans 1:18-20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

God also reveals his truth through the human conscience. There are many places throughout the world that do not adhere to God’s Word but prohibit such Godless acts as murder, rape and thief.

Romans 2:14-15
(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)

It is without debate that everyone has some form of access to God’s Holy Word. In the beauty and truth of the scriptures lie all the answers we will ever need to live a life of “Victory in Jesus”.

The door of salvation is open to all who seek Him. God wants everyone to be saved and have knowledge of Him and a relationship with Him. There is only one way there and the way is Jesus. Good works will not get you there; membership in any certain church will not get you there or trying to maintain righteousness except through Christ. Jesus is the only way, His the way the truth and the life. It boils down to an old saying “know Jesus Know Life; no Jesus no life” If you are not sure that you are sure that you have a close walk and intimate relationship with God today seek Him with a sincere heart and He will meet you on the path.

1 Timothy 2:3-5
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Eating the World’s Largest Pizza

2011-08-11T05:37:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The largest pizza ever made was at the Norwood Pick 'n Pay Supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the Guinness Book of world Records the pizza was 122.7 feet in diameter and was made using 1102.31 pounds of flour, 1763.7 pounds of cheese and 1984.16 pounds of tomato puree.

That being said, try to imagine a pizza that large and then try to picture yourself eating the whole pizza. It would most certainty be a major undertaking. It would simply overwhelm us but it could be done. We would need to focus on small bite-size pieces instead of the entire giant pizza.

There are many undertaking in life that become more manageable when we take them in small bite size pieces. If you are building a house and look at that empty lot it is hard to picture the finished product. We have to divide the project into smaller task and complete them one at a time and then the house will soon become a reality. Maybe you have been ask to direct a church project and the mission seems like more that you can handle. First put it in God’s hands and then take it one step at a time until you see the project to completion.

The same thing can be said about our prayer life. When we make general, across-the-board request of God we sometimes find that nothing happens. If we will break our request down into small “bite-size” petitions we will start to see positive answers to our prayers.

We should make our request of God very specific and ask for things that we strongly believe are in God’s will. As we see our Lord and Savior providing answers to these smaller needs we will be able to make grander requisitions with a larger degree of faith.

If you have found yourself carrying extensive, universal petitions to God lately with no results it might be time to change your tactics. Try asking for something less grand and more particular and really believe that He will answer your prayer. If you have been asking God to get rid of all the drugs in the world it might be more effective to ask that the local drug dealers in your community be stopped. Then ask God how you can be used by Him to bring about this world shaping event.

If you have never made a prayer list this would be a good time to start. Include small bite size request and then keep the list going and record the times that God answers your prayers.

You must make particular request to God if you expect Him to bring you particular answers.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Savior please do not put the decision to surrender your life to God off another day. We are promised forgiveness for our sins but we are not promised a tomorrow to do something about it. When Jesus splits the eastern sky or we breathe our last breath here in this life it will be eternally too late, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, open that door and let Him into your life today.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

Return to Souls For Christ Web Site

The Carpenter Has Moved In

2011-08-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I lived on a farm for many years in West Virginia. There was a house there that had been built in 1860. The structure of the house was in serious decline, the house sat on sandstone boulders that were giving way with each passing year. The dream of restoring this old structure to its original glory soon became a nightmare.

If you have ever been faced with the nightmares of a “fixer-upper” you can have some idea of what God has done for us through His Son Christ Jesus. Ephesian 2:1 tell us in no uncertain words what the condition of our lives were without Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

No matter how hopeless the condition of the lives of those without Christ seems to be that can never stop the Love of God.

The refurbishment and renewal that God preforms in our lives when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior gives us a new life, not just a restructure of the old one.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Our bodies are temples of God, purchased by God. He paid the price on the Cross and gives it to us as a free gift.

Ephesians 2:5-9
Made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Just like a “fixer-upper” that has been restored beyond its previous glory, the new lives we have been given should point people to Christ Jesus full of mercy, grace and love.

Colossians 3:1-17
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The verses above tell us we are raised with Christ and give us some instruction on how we should present our lives to the world around us.

Jesus paid the price on Calvary for our new temple, construction is not completed but the Carpenter has moved in.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God's Answer To Prayers Often Comes In A Whisper

2011-08-09T06:42:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Daniel 9:21
While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

Daniel is a good example for us to follow as far as a strong prayer life. Daniel prayed three times a day even though there was a law passed that anyone who prays to any god or human being except to the king would be thrown into the lions’ den.

Daniel 6:10
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

This did not deter Daniel and it got him thrown in the lion’s den but God was there with him through the night and protected him from the hungry lions.

In our text today Daniel was reading Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile of the Israelites would last only 70 years. He was praying that God would not delay the end of their captivity. While he was praying God sent the Angel Gabriel with the answer to Daniel’s prayer.

Daniel 9:21
While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

In other words God answered his pray ever before he had finished the prayer. In another part of the Book of Daniel we read where God delayed the answer for three weeks

Daniel 10:12-13
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

We can learn valuable lessons from Daniel about how and when God answers prayer. There are times the answer comes quick and is crystal clear and other times it seems like God does not hear us and we do not get an answer. There are other times that God might send an answer and we simply do not hear it because of how far we have drifted from God.

A young man had lost his job and went to an old preacher to complain that God was not hearing his prayers. The old preacher spoke something to the young man that was so soft that it could not be heard. The young man moved a little closer to the aged pastor but still could not distinguish what he was saying. He was finally leaning on the preachers chair with his head almost touching the pastor’s head when he heard the old preacher say ever so softly “sometimes God whispers so that we have to get closer to Him to hear the answer”.

The next time there is a feeling in your life that God is not answering your prayers makes sure you are close enough to Him to hear the answer when He whispers it to you. So many times prayer is a last resort, we try everything we know and when our efforts do not solve the dilemma we are faced with we go to God in prayer.

Let us follow the example of Daniel and pray regularly every day of our lives. Turn your back on the ways of the world and turn your eyes on Jesus and as the old hymn says’ the things of the world will grow strangely dim” and then we will be close enough to God to hear everything He has to say to us.

Surrender, in depth bible study, and a strong prayer life is the simple plan that will keep you in tuned with God’s Word and in it you will find all the answers you will ever need.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorronshortt@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Fishers of Men or Keepers of the Aquarium

2011-08-08T09:34:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Luke 7:36
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

The very last thing Jesus said before leaving heaven was that we should be witness for Him throughout the earth.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

We are to be fishers of men. The only reason we are left here one second after we are saved is to lead others to Christ Jesus. So many Christians get the idea that they should only be around other Christians and not associate with those who have not yet accepted Christ as their savior.

Some want to spend their Christian ministry in service to the church, music director, deacon, Sunday school teacher, usher. These are vital jobs that must be done however these jobs are classified as “keepers of the aquarium not fishers of men”. We all should use the talent God gave us in His service to support our local church but never forget we are still called by our Lord and Savior to be witnesses for Him. The greatest thing any Christian can do for anyone is to introduce them to Christ Jesus.

We come into this world with nothing and we will go out with nothing however there are a few things that we will carry with us to God’s eternal Kingdom and one of those are the souls we led to Christ. Paul explains that in the verses below. He first asks the question “what is our hope and joy that we will glory in the presence of our Lord?” He answers that question in verse 20, “You are indeed our glory and joy”. Who are the “you” in that passage of scripture, the ones we helped find Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Sometimes all we do is plant a seed then someone else comes along and waters it. Don’t ever get the idea that because you tell someone about Jesus that you are going to lead them to Christ on the spot. There will be times that you only witness to them and another comes along and waters and yet another harvests the seed. Each one is vital and important to Christ each one will receive the Crown of Joy mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 2:19.

1 Corinthians 3:6
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

It was said of Jesus that He was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” Luke 7:34. As Christian we are called to live our lives that people can see Jesus in us. We must ask ourselves “are we following the “great Commission” and being fishers of men or are we only being keepers of the aquarium?

At Lighthouse we do a praise song called Use Me Lord I would like to include a portion of that song here today.

“Use me Lord to show compassion. Use me Lord to feel their need. Let me be a light to show the way to the only true provision Let me plant the seed oh Lord use me.”

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Here’s Your Sign

2011-08-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

1 Peter 1:17
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

I read about a judge who gave people in his court for DUI two choices. The first choice was they had to walk outside the courtroom an hour a day for 30 days with a sign on their back that read “I have been convicted of DUI”. The second choice was to enroll in an alcohol treatment program, needless to say most took the second choice because they were concerned about what people would think if they seen them carrying a sign that informed everyone they had been convicted as a drunk driver.

How many Christians do you think would be willing to walk around outside a church with a sign on their back that read “I am a Christian but I don’t study my bible”. How about a sign that let all know “I am a Christian but I gossip, I tell all I know about people”.

Most certainly no one would relish the thought of carrying a sign that informed the world of our short comings as a Christian. The reason for that is that we are concerned about what people think about us, how people might judge us.

When we fail in our bible study, when we allow our prayer life to weaken, when we just can’t wait to get on the phone and tell the latest gossip we are carrying a sign on our heart for God to see. The concern about being judged by other people sometimes overrides the importance of being judged by Our Lord and Savior that “judges each person’s work impartially”. (1 Peter 1:17)

We should be concerned that we live our lives so that we might be a good reflector for God’s light to shine on the world around us. What is more important however is that we live our lives in a manner that would be pleasing to our Lord and Savior.

This life is but a vapor that will soon disappear, there is a life to come that will never end. What people think of us in this short time we are here is of course important but what is of greater concern is that one day we hear the words “well done my good and faithful servant”.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God’s Proclaimed Will

2011-08-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Romans 12:2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Every one that knows and loves God wants to be in His will. There have been countless songs written about being or staying in God’s will. Linda and I do a song that request from the Lord to “keep me in your will so I don’t get in your way.” God has specific paths He wants us to be on, his perfect will for our lives. In order to know what “his good, pleasing and perfect will” is for our lives we must be living in His “proclaimed will”.

In our text this morning God reveals to us how to know what His perfect will is for our lives. The first part of His will is for each of us to follow His written will or His “proclaimed will”; in this verse it is to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice and not to conform to the ways of the world but to be transformed by a renewal or rebirth through Christ Jesus.

There are many more verses in the bible that tell us of what God wants us to do, the path He wants us to follow which is His proclaimed will for our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

There will be times we are on the mountain tops and times we must walk through a dark valley but no matter where we find ourselves God’s will is for us to give thanks to Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:3
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

These two verses (1 Thess. 4:3 and Eph. 5:18) tells us of some of Satan’s tools to be avoided and to allow ourselves to be led by God’s Holy Spirit. Ephesian 5:19 tells us how to communicate with one another.

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

These are but just a few places in the bible that God’s reveal His will for our lives. As we surrender to these bible passages and allow our lives to be directed by “God’s Proclaimed Will” it will be made clearer to us just what His “good, pleasing and perfect will” is for our lives. We must first follow what we know from His Holy Word as His will.

Love the Lord and surrender your heart, soul, spirit and life to Him and He will light up the path that will take you to His prefect will.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Understand The Truth To Recognize The False

2011-08-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

2 Timothy 3:14
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,

Government officials that are assigned to spot counterfeit money make an in-depth study of the real bills to be able to discern which ones are the counterfeit. By quickly recognizing the real money they are more able to spot the false currency.

We as Christians can learn from this method of teaching. It is important to research false religions and understand their unorthodox heretical doctrine. The most effective way to make sure we can discern this false teaching is be very familiar with the truth, the Word of God. We will then be able to quickly spot errors in gospel teaching and avoid getting caught in their snares and traps.

Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

There will be many separated from God for eternity because they do not realize that they are being led astray.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

This bible verse is very familiar to most Christians, I hear people quoting it from time to time. It is a solid principle by which the teachings of Jesus are built upon, we are saved by grace through faith not by any good works we might do. If a person is not well grounded in this concept they could be led astray by the legalist out there who want to make salvation something that is accomplished by the works of man.

John 1:1 & 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

When someone is not sure of the deity of Christ, that Jesus was God in the flesh, they will fall into the same error that the Pharisees experienced. These teachers of the law were upset because they claimed Jesus was committing blasphemy by claiming to be able to forgive sin, they said only God could do this and Jesus was claiming to be God. In fact the truth of the scriptures is that Jesus was God in the flesh. Not understanding this most vital doctrine will make a person susceptible to the false teachers out there that will deny the deity of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Mark 2:6-11 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? “Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Like the Government officials that study the real bills to be able to recognize the counterfeit or false money, we as Christians should study and be very familiar with the truth of God’s Word to be able to discern the false teachings and not fall into Satan’s many traps and snares.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Don’t Get in God’s Way

2011-08-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

James 1:2-3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Psalm 121:1-6
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.

These two bible verses tell us a bible truth that we tend to forget in times of great trials or when we hit some obstacle Satan has placed in our path. The first part of this truth is that God will test our faith at times by allowing Satan to place before us certain temptations. He will always provide the way out of any temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

The second part of this bible truth is that God will always carry us through any tribulation we are asked to go through. God who created heaven and earth and who is always in control is where our help comes from. We may fail to find a salutation and our friends may let us down but God will never allow our “feet to slip”.

“He who keeps you will not slumber”. It is difficult for us to realize and comprehend that with the billions of people in the world God could keep track of each and every aspect of each individual life or even care enough to number the hairs on our head. Psalms 121:1-6 along with many other beautiful bible promises of God tell us that He does care and He will never fail to sustain and keep us.

The root meaning of our word “keep” from Greek is to protect. How many times in our life have we asked someone to “keep” our children for a while? When we ask that we don’t say please protect my children but we wouldn’t leave the most beautiful gifts from God with someone we didn’t think would protect them and provide for their needs. “The LORD is your keeper” from Psalms 121:6 means that as our keeper He will always protect us and provide for our needs.

You may be going through some burden or trial today and you may be looking for the way out or the salutation to this rough patch in the road. Go to God, your keeper, cast your burdens on Him and trust with full assurance that He will protect you and provide a way out of any situation. When you take your burden to God leave it with Him.

If you try to help God find the answer to your present dilemma you may only get in His way.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Nothing Takes the Place of God

2011-08-03T03:59:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

During the first encounter at the Battle of Aphek the Philistines slew 4,000 Israelite soldiers. At that point the Children of Israel thought that it was because God had forsaken them. They called for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into battle and the second encounter after the ark arrived in camp they lost 30,000 men and the ark itself was captured by the enemy.

They mistakenly thought that God had moved from them and they tried to bring God closer by bringing the Ark, where God had met with the people in the past, closer to them. The Israelites believed that since the Philistines had stolen what represented God that they had lost God. In fact they had not lost God they had lost God’s blessings because of how far they had departed from His Law.

Sooner or later we all learn what the Israelites discovered in that battle against the Philistines. Having the paraphernalia of God and having God are not the same. We today do not have the Ark to rely on but there is still certain paraphernalia that modern people try to rely on. This could be a crucifix, a picture of Jesus, or a family Bible occupying a visible place in the home but hardly ever read. Others place their faith in past spiritual success, on a family connection to a certain church, regular church attendance, or even the daily reading of the Bible. These things are not and never will be a replacement for a loving personal relationship with God.

If you get the feeling that you are far away from God always remember that it is not God that has moved away from you it is you that have moved away from God. His wonderful promises from His Holy Word is that if we will draw close to Him He will draw close to us. The verses we used as our text today also tell another thing we must do as we move closer to Him. We must do it with a “sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22

There is no “Pure Water” that is found outside Christ Jesus. He is the water of life; He told the Samaritan woman at the well that whosoever drinks of the water He offers will never thirst. There is only on one way to heaven and that is through Christ Jesus. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today accept the “Living Water” He offers. This is not the kind of decision you want to postpone because there is coming a day that this offer will no longer be available.

John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them”.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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What Was For Dinner Last Week?

2011-08-02T03:38:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Psalm 119:33
Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.

Psalm 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.

For those of you that know Linda you know what a great cook she is. She always fixes great meals and by looking at me you can tell that I am well feed. For the life of me I can’t remember what we had for dinner two days ago let alone last week, last month or last year. Does that mean that what she fixed for our meals was not important? Absolutely not, what I do know is what she has been serving is nourishing me physically so that I can continue my work for the Lord.

Do you remember what the preacher preached about last Sunday, last month or last year? Most likely not but does that mean that what he preached about was not important, most certainly not. Hearing God’s word is spiritual nourishment just like the meals we eat are physical nourishment.

God’s word nourishes us spiritually and it comes in many forms. It may be a Sunday school lesson, a Sunday morning sermon, a great gospel group or bible study guides. We need to continue to feed our souls every day, not that we will always remember all the details of the message but to allow ourselves to grow stronger as a Child of God.

The well-nourished spirit and soul is evidenced by a well-read Bible.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Right Side of the Door

2011-08-01T04:36:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

1 Corinthians 2:9 What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him—

Every so often I visit the fishing pier on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This a great place to be most especially very early in the morning, right before day break. As you stand and watch the eastern sky there is a red glow and then the sun starts to show over the horizon and then a brilliant light as the sun fully appears. As I watch that beautiful show that God has provided I think of another time when the eastern sky will be lit up.

Matthew 24:27
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I think of a small child peering through a toy store window at Christmas and thinking “oh how wonderful if I could only get in there and play with all of those toys.” But alas they are on the wrong side of the Door.

While we are here in this life that is where we are, the wrong side of the door, but that is not the way it will always be. The wonderful, beautiful promises of God in His Holy Word tell us that one day Jesus will come for His children and they will be with Him for eternity.

God will make a way for us to be on the right side of the door. We will be with our Lord and Savior for eternity not because of anything we might do, nor any good works or righteousness we might think we have. There is no way we can earn or even deserve the right to be in Heaven with our Savior. It is all because of what He did on the “Old Rugged Cross” so many years ago.
The bible tells us in James 2:10 that if you keep the whole law and fail in one point you are guilty of all.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

There is no way any human could ever hope to keep even a minuscule part of one section of the Law let alone the whole law except one point. Because God knew this He became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Christ Jesus to live the law for us and shed His perfect blood to atone for our sins.

Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The day we enter Heaven we will understand what is talked about in this beautiful bible verse in 1 Corinthians 2:9. No human mind on this side of the door can come close to conceiving what God has in store for the one that loves Him.

One day Jesus will open the door and call His children in and we who have accepted Him for who He is and as our Lord and Savior will for eternity be on the “Right Side Of The Door”.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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The Un-Do Button

2011-07-31T03:26:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Luke 22:61-62 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

There’s a button on a computer, it is usually in the upper left hand corner of most programs and is a curved arrow to the left. This wonderful computer command is called the un-do button; it allows you to go back to the place you were before you made the mistake. Wouldn’t it be great if there was one of those in real life; some way to reverse or restore something in our lives that has been broken by sin?

Peter had boasted that if everyone denied Christ he never would then when it mattered the most he denied Jesus three times just like the Savior said it would happen. In Luke 21:61-62 we read that Jesus simply looked at Peter and he “wept bitterly”. The bible does not say but I suspect that the tears Peter shed that night were tears of shame and repentance. Peter was most likely looking for the “un-do” button and the Lord did not abandon Peter to live out his live in misery and shame.
During the time Christ spent on the earth after His resurrection He restored Peter to a life of service to His Lord and Savior.

John 21:15-17
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

There is also an un-do button for us today to be restored by Christ Jesus when we have fallen into some trap of Satan.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

There will be times that we all in our weak flesh fall into one of Satan’s shares. God will not leave us in our misery; He will forgive our sins if we approach the throne with a repentant heart. Sin that is committed habitually, that is day after day with no intent to turn from that sin is not indicative of a repentant heart. God will forgive sin that we are ready and willing to repent and turn away from it.

So Many people today want to confess their sins but are unwilling to turn away from these sins. Consequently there are many Christian today living a life of shame and guilt rather than the live of victory that God intends for us to live.

If you are not living this life of victory today and you feel some remorse or quilt in your life because of some sin that plagues you daily there is an “Un-Do” button ready for you to use. Repent today, turn away from whatever sin have befallen you and the Lord will restore you just like He restored Peter.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Trust, But Verify.

2011-07-30T07:50:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Acts 17:11
11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

When Ronald Reagan was President of the United States he had a saying that he always went by, “Trust but verify.” He gave everyone he dealt with in his political life the benefit of the doubt that they were telling him the truth. He always said that because the security of the nation was at stake he would always verify everything that he was told.

In our text today the Berean Jews followed this same pattern, when Paul would preach a sermon they would search the scriptures to verify that what Paul was saying was the truth. Acts 17:11 says that they did this daily that meant that they did this every time they heard a message.

This day and age we hear sermons and bible teachings not only in church on Sundays and Wednesdays but through the media, TV, Radio and computers. We need to follow the example of the Bereans and President Reagan to trust but verify. We love and trust our pastors, they work hard to study the word and bring us the truth of God’s Word. The bible tells us that we should be “thoroughly equipped” in our work for God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

There are those out there that do “pervert the gospel” and teach “a different gospel”. In order for us to be sure that we do not fall into the traps of these false teachers we should study the word for ourselves daily.

Matthew 7:15
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Christ called them wolfs in sheep’s clothing. We can never recognize false teachings unless we know for ourselves the truth from God’s Holy Word. Trust but Verify.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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House Cleaning is a Daily Undertaking

2011-07-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Ephesians 4:26
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

Housekeeping chores are not always the most fun things that we can think of to do. It would be nice if we could clean our house and it would remain that way permanently but housekeeping is a daily undertaking. When we clean the house the dust comes back thin layer by thin layer and the disorder that eventually befalls our abodes builds up one fragment at a time.

Sin in our lives is somewhat like the disorder and dust that fills our house; when we say a prayer of confession the sin returns daily. One thought of self-pity or self-indulgence and our attitudes can go from bad to worse. Every day we will make bad decisions that result in unpleasant repercussions.

Colossians 3:8
8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

The Apostle Paul counseled the Colossian church with advice that applies to us today that we should rid ourselves of anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language. In Ephesians 4:26 He tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger.

When Christ Jesus went to the Cross and died to justify our sins and was resurrected to claimed the victory over sin and death for us it did away with the requirements for daily sacrifices found in the Mosaic Law. Even so, true daily confession and repentance remains necessary and vital in order to experience a victorious live as a Christian. Keeping these sins Paul speaks of such as anger, rage and malice out of our lives is not something we can do with one prayer we must have a daily communion with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Just like a school teacher cleans his or her white board every day with a strong cleaning solvent we need to keep the whiteboards of our hearts and souls clean with daily prayers of confession.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Only God Can Change Your Heart

2011-07-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 23:26
New International Version (NIV)
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
I recently read a story about a man who wanted to sell his car; he placed a for-sale sign on the auto and parked it in his front yard. Several people stopped to take a look at the car but all of them did not want to buy it because of the high mileage, it had 250,000 miles. A friend suggested that he turn back the odometer to make it look like it had fewer miles. The following day the friend noticed the car was gone and asked the man how much he sold the car for. He said “why should I sell the car now, it only has 70,000 miles on it.”

Just like this man with the old car there are so many people in the world that try to fool those around them and senseless believe they are fooling God but are only fooling themselfs by changing their visible outward appearance. Our outside behavior can only be altered by an internal change. The only real solution to this dilemma is a radical heart transplant.

The car in our story still has all the problems associated with a high mileage automobile, weak compression, slipping transmission and stress issues with the frame. Making the car appear to have less mileage had not changed any those issues. People make the same error by trying to please God by their good works without trusting Christ Jesus. The Pharisees lived a life that showed them to be outwardly clean; they had the rest of the world fooled. They did not fool Jesus who called them “Blind Pharisees” and let them know that the only way to clean the cup outside was to clean it on the inside.

Matthew 23:25-26
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

All the good works we want to do will not please God, only when we surrender our life; heart, body and soul, to Jesus. Only Jesus can give us the Heart Transplant we so desperately need. He can remove a hard stony heart and replace it with a soft gentle one dedicated to God’s plans and agenda not ours.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

God does not need our abilities He is only seeking our availability.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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Every End is a New Beginning

2011-07-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

2 Timothy 1:10
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

The way we trust our Savior and our faith in Him will most certainly affect the way we live our daily lives. God want us to live a life of victory filled with excitement and joy. John records the wish of Christ Jesus in his gospel.

John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The apostle Paul reaffirms this in his letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 6:17
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

God always has a plan for our lives and that plan includes when we will go home to be with Him.
Hebrews 9:27
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

Sometimes when one of our loved ones has reached that point in God’s plan it will seem like to us that it is an end. We know that because of what Jesus done for us on the Cross of Calvary and when the stone was rolled away that death is not an end but a new beautiful beginning. For our dear departed loved one they are with God where they will spend eternity and that one day we will be there as well.

We are joyful that our dear departed is saved and will be in heaven with God, but for us left behind here in this life we might begin to think that our lives is over as well. This will be a time of human weakness for us and Satan will most certainly use this weakness against us. He will try to keep you from casting this burden on God and make you try to bear it alone. He will very subtly try make you fell a deep feeling of guilt when know you must let your loved one go on to be with the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
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. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

As God had a plan for Jeremiah to prosper his life and give him a future He has a plan for us as well. God’s plan for our live that included our loved one that has gone on to be with the Lord may have come to an end but it is a new beginning for a new plan that God has in store for us. God will revel this new beginning to us if we put our faith and trust in Him and cast our burdens at the foot of the Cross.

In Christ Jesus every end is a new beginning.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God Will Light Our Paths

2011-07-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Genesis 42:36
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

There are many people who think that they could handle anything that comes their way if the Lord would revel to them what the outcome of any situation would be. In Romans 8:28 God make a wonderful promise to us:

Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We know and believe this promise for our Savior that everything works for good in our lives but we think if we only knew ahead of time what the good was going to be. That however is not God’s way He does not always show us the end of the path when everything is going to work out for the good. What He does do is ask us to trust Him that He knows what is best for us and He will never leave us or forsake us.

Hebrews 13: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Years before Jacob made the statement in our text today he had lost his beloved son Joseph. The promise Land of Canaan was in the middle of a very long famine, his son Simeon was being held in Egypt and they wanted his youngest son Benjamin in order to let Simeon go. The loss of one of our children is a burden that would be hard to bear and Jacob had lost two of his and about to lose a third one. In deep despair over this trial and tribulation that had befallen his live he made the statement “Everything is against me!”

At the end of the path it was very apparent that God had a plan for Jacob and his family that would turn out for the good. They were able to move to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan and Jacob not only got his two sons back but was reunited with his son Joseph. He had two sons so in addition to the good that came to his life from this Jacob also discovered he had two additional grandchildren. God made his offspring into a great nation.

It’s like driving a car at night. Our headlights never shine all the way to our destination; they only illuminate about 150 feet ahead of us. But that does not stop us from moving ahead, we trust our headlights. All we really need is sufficient light to keep moving forward. God’s Word is a light to our paths:

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Like the headlights on our cars that only shine a few feet ahead of us at a time God’s Light does not show us the good at the end of the path. He does show us the path, light the path for us and promise that all things will work out for good in our lives.

If there is a situation in your life that you cannot see how it could possibly work out for good hold on to that truth from Romans 8:28 “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” You can be assured that God is working for you and He has a plan that will bring you an ultimate good.

If we turn off the headlight on our cars and try to drive most likely we will end up in some ditch. The same applies to God’s Light, it will keep us out of the ditches of depression, despair, anger and resentment.

God’s Hand is in everything that happens in our life so we can confidently leave everything in God’s Hands. When we walk with God’s light to light our path we will never stumble.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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All You Ever Do Is Complain

2011-07-23T03:41:00.001-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Numbers 11:1
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

There’s an story told about a young man many years ago who’s life dream from his very early childhood was to join a monastery. When he became old enough to travel alone he set on his quest to find a monastery. After many months of traveling through the mountains he found a very secluded monastery. He went in and talked to the Monsignor who informed him that in order to join he must take a vow of silence; he would only be allowed to speak two words a year.

The first year came and went and he was called in to the main office where the Monsignor told him to speak his two words, he said “food Bad”. The second year was like the first, he was called in to speak his two words and they were “bed hard”. The third year when the young man came in to speak his two words he said “I quit”. The monsignor told said “I am not surprised; all you ever do is complain.”

The children of Israel displayed a constant complaining attitude even though God supplied their every need. Their griping and complaining caused them to spend 40 years wandering around in a wilderness which would have been an 11 day journey. God provided food for them every day but they complained about the manna;

Numbers 11:5-65 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

So many today dwell on the negative rather than the positive aspects of life. We may not realize it but every time we complain we are directing it to God, like He will not supply our every need like He has promised. God does test our faith by allowing trials and tribulation to befall us to help us to mature and grow in our spiritual walk.

James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The next time we are tempted to complain about something let us be called to remembrance the words in Numbers 11. “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused”

To so many folks complaining has become a way of life.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
904-691-2851

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Rekindle My Flame

2011-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Matthew 22:36-38
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

In the 2nd Chapter of Revelations we see Christ warning the Ephesian Church about the danger of a Luke warm Christian Life.

Revelations 2:2-5
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

These believers had lost their zeal, their fire, and were a prime example of a Luke warm or a cooled down faith. They were still working for the Lord but as a matter of habit not with a sincere heart.

This admonition from Christ to the Ephesians was not only meant for that church but for every church thereafter. There as many today in countless churches whose faith has cooled down from where it was when they first got saved. Jesus is talking to the bewildered and unconcerned believers who are doing His work for all the wrong reasons. It is not our meaningless and hollow service He wants, it is us He wants, our heart, mind body and soul.
When a person starts to give a higher priority to things of the world the importance of your work for God will start to diminish and your heart will start to cool down. Satan has very cleverly adjusted the understanding of the word “Idol”. The Devil would not want you to know the truth and that is anything that diverts your attention away from The Lord’s work is an “Idol”. One of the “gods” or “Idols” of this age is sports.

There are many people that can name all the teams of the NFL and the NBA but very few can name all the books of the bible. There are many that go to a sporting event, jump and shout but put them in church and they sit there like a bump on a log.

Jesus said in the text above that they had forsaken the “love they had at first”. This is your salvation, remember how you felt the moment you were saved. If the fire that raged in your heart then has gone down to smoldering ashes then you are guilty of forsaking your first love. When this happens to one member of the body of Christ it will spread more quickly than the fastest growing cancer. Before it is realized the heart and soul of the entire church is cooled down. He has given us the solution to this problem and it is simply repentance.

When Jesus said: “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” This is not someone losing their salvation, since that would be impossible. What He is telling us is that He will remove the effectiveness of the church in the world around it, an ineffective church is no more that the elements that make the building, bricks, mortar, boards and nails.

To be able to return to a fervent and impassioned service for our Lord and Savior sometimes might be a long road but it always starts with the first step and that step is repentance. We must put Jesus back where he belongs in our lives and that is in the number one position in our heart, souls and our lives. Daily, regular bible study and prayer along with a quiet time spent with Christ Jesus is the only path by which we can return to that intense burning fire we knew as our first love.

God want to have a personal and intimate relationship with every one of His children. The questions we should be asking ourselves today is this:

Are we as excited about Jesus as we were at the moment of our salvation?

Are we as close to Jesus as we were when we first got saved?

If the answer to both of these questions is not a resounding yes then you should be down on your knees, at the alter at the next worship service asking God to forgive you and rekindle that flame that burnt so fervently at the beginning.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt pastorron@souls4christ.net 804-691-2851

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Undeserving Love

2011-07-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

1 John 4:19
19 We love because he first loved us.

There is a lot about God that is hard for us to understand and His love for us has to be at the top of the list. Prideful feelings can cause us to not be able to realize just how unrestricted His love is. Pride is a popular tool for Satan that we all fall prey to at times. This trap of pride that we are all caught by at times will fool us into thinking that we have to earn God’s Love.

Pride will lead to fear that will convince us that He does not love us because we don’t deserve that love. We know that our motives are not always genuine and at any time we could be found out by others. Then when we start to meditate on God’s Love for us we believe it is dependent only on our good works.

God does not love us because we did something to deserve that love, He loves us even though we are sinners and don’t deserve His unfailing Love.

1 John 4:10
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

He loved us so much that He became flesh and dwelt among us. In doing so He was despised, rejected and took the shame and reproach of the Cross and died to justify our sins. We could never live the law so He did so for us, He fulfilled the Law. Because of what Jesus did we can be sure that we are always loved by God even though we don’t deserve it.

This beautiful truth of the Gospel will provide us protection from the traps and snares of Satan, such as pride and fear.

If you want to find the Love of God you only have to find Jesus and accept Him for who He is and what he done for us; surrender your live, soul and spirit to Him.

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-692-2851

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Just One More Soul

2011-07-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Luke 15:10
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

There are so many Christians today that believe that their witness to one person at a time is not important. We find the truth in God’s Word and it is to the contrary.

There are many accounts in the New Testament of Jesus witnessing to one person. It is true that He preached to very large crowds many times but He was intensely aware of the importance of “just one more soul”.

John chapter 3 tells us one such soul, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus in the night. John chapter 4 recounts His visit with the woman at the well that resulted in an entire village coming to know Christ Jesus.

I will never forget the first person I lead to Christ. It was on a construction project; I had sat down for lunch next to a pile of plywood and was reading my bible. A young man came up and ask me if he could lay down on that pile of plywood to take a nap, then ask me if I was reading the bible. I told him I was and then ask him if I could talk to him about Christ Jesus, he said he would love to hear about Jesus and the gospel and then a few minutes later he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.

There have been many more since then but the joy that come from that has never diminished.

Linda and I do a song called “Just One More Soul”. “Cause if just one more soul were to walk down the aisle it will be worth every struggle it will be worth every mile. A lifetime of labor is still worth it all if it rescues just one more Soul”.

Satan will try to tell you that one soul here and there is not important, that is because he is afraid that the one soul that you might lead to Christ might get on fire and lead more and more souls to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

When Mr. Kimble, a Sunday school teacher, came to the boot shop where D. L. Moody was working and first told him of the Love of Christ and the gospel he had no idea of the great and mighty way God would use Brother Moody in the furtherance of the gospel.

There are also times that you plant a seed and someone else might harvest that plant. Some might get discouraged when they witness to someone and they don’t accept Christ that moment. Keep in mind that God always has a plan and you are a part of that plan. The result is still the same, one more lost soul being saved form an eternity in hell.

When Satan knocks on your door and tells you there is no need to witness to that one person that God has laid on your heart to talk to, read the verse from our text to day. “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The greatest celebration known to man is the saving of one soul, because the celebration does not stop here on earth, “rejoicing in the presence of the angles”.

“Angels are gathered, they’re surrounding the throne
They’ll start rejoicing for just one more soul.”

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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God is Still in Control

2011-07-18T05:08:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Ron Shortt

Ephesians 1:11
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

There are those that sometimes have doubts as to whether or not God is really in control.
People see natural and manmade disasters such as great storms, children being murdered, bombings or many other types of catastrophes and begin to question if God is really powerful enough to control these events.

Some trouble or tribulation comes into someone’s life that is overwhelming and seems to leave a condition of hopelessness. A brick wall that we just can’t seem to scale or find a way around.

James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When these things make themselves evident people will start to wonder if God’s power is really limitless of if there are thing are out of His control.

There are many good Christian people that are concerned that although they know and believe that nothing takes God by surprise and that He is really in control of the universe and all that is in it they have so many questions about why God let’s these bad things happen to good people.

There will come a day for all of God’s children that all of our questions will be answered but as long as we are in this life we will never fully understand the ways of God, they are above our way of thinking.

Isaiah 55:9
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Even though we will never fully understand the ways and will of God we are assured through His holy Word that He is in full power and control.

Psalm 103:19
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

There are three words that are used to describe God, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.
Omnipotent (om•nip•o•tent)
Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful. One having unlimited power or authority
Omnipresent (om•ni•pres•ent)
Present everywhere simultaneously.
Omniscient (om•nis•cient)
Having total knowledge; knowing everything

When we take a look at these words and their meanings what stands out with all clarity is the fact that these word were meant to describe God and only God. There is no one or any power on this earth that possess all of the attributes in the definitions of these words. Only God has unlimited power, can be all places simultaneously, and possesses all the knowledge of the ages.

When we really start to meditate on all of this truth of God it is such an extraordinary event that God whose is all powerful, can be everywhere at one time and has all the knowledge of the ages adopted us as His Children and made us part of His eternal Kingdom.

When we finally get our minds rapped around this truth, when we accept this as a part of our lives there will be a peace that completely engulfs our souls that beforehand we could not even imagine.

There are two different kinds of people, one that know all of this and believes it but only have head knowledge. Then there are those that know and believe this beautiful truth of the Word of God and it affects the way they live and interact with the world, that already knows the peace that goes beyond all human understanding.

Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When you get to the point in your life that you know and accept that you will never understand the ways and will of God, that nothing ever takes Him by surprise and that He is Still in Control the stress, worry and fear of this life will strangely fade away.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

Contact Info:
Pastor Ron Shortt
pastorron@souls4christ.net
804-691-2851

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