No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

In this life, if you choose to follow God’s assignment and God’s call on your life, know that it won’t be easy. It will not be a bed of roses. The reality is, there will come times in your life, rather than whining about how bad things are, you have to develop the resolve to square your shoulders and look the devil square in the eye and tell him, “It’s going to take more than that.”

In the Scripture, Paul tells about all the things he went through. It is a litany of experiences from one extreme to the next. Out of the context of this crisis, he talks about how he went through it all to help us understand that our assignment in the earth realm has to be GREATER than our assault in the earth realm. The Apostle Paul had to face all sorts of threats and dangers. The detailed plots on his life, angry crowds, and storms at sea, shipwrecks, all the forces of hell seemed to have been intensifying their efforts to keep him from reaching Rome.  But after two weeks of hurricane storm at sea, he survived the storm; he made it through the shipwreck; he made it through the rain. He survived the snake attack unharmed, and then he turned around and healed a number of sick people on the island. What the devil intended for evil, God turned into good.Tell the Devil, “It’s going to take more than that!”

What makes us who we are is our resolve to tell the Devil that we are not rookies at this thing. That it’s going to take more that that to break us.That it’s going to take more than that to make us walk away. That it’s going to take more than that to uproot us. For we have been at this thing too long and we have seen God turn situations around and we believe in our Spirit that God is able to sustain us. Tell him that you have chosen to look to the hills from which comes your help. The Preservation of God. He preserved Noah and his family. He preserved Abraham when he went down to Egypt. He preserved the children of Israel in Egypt and in the wilderness. He preserved Jonah in the fish’s belly. He preserved Joseph in prison and made him prince in the palace of Egypt. He preserved Peter in prison and from death and He will preserve me. I tell you, “It’s going to take more than that!”

Can I testify for a moment. The devil tried to take me out and the crowd was watching and waiting happily to see me drop dead so they could get a kick out of it and throw themselves a devil’s party. But God kept me; He preserved me, and I’M STILL HERE. I refuse to die! I’m never going to quit! “It’s going to take more than that!”

What’s the point of all this?  Don’t be ignorant. Make no mistake about it; the Devil wants to deprive you of love and of life. He wants to destroy and do away with the very reason you were created. He wants to muffle and neutralize your glory unto God the Father. He wants to get you to neglect your purpose by allowing things and situations in your life to become distractions. He will speak lies and say you have no purpose here. He will begin to make you feel as if your life is useless, that everything you do is ineffective. I tell you, The Devil is a liar!  Even though he is powerful and he is out to kill our purpose, by trying everything in his power to get us to neglect and turn away from our purpose, “It’s going to take more than that!” “Greater is He that is in us, than He that is in the world.”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You have got to choose! The decision that God is calling for this day is of more importance than any other decision you will ever make. This decision is whether or not you will come to Christ and serve Him. It is a personal decision. It is so personal that no one can make it for you. It is a decision that must be made now! Why? Because you do not know what tomorrow holds (James 4:14). What is your life? “It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”

In Joshua Chapter 24, Joshua was faced with a great choice. That choice was related to who he would choose to follow in life…” If God is God, then this settles the matter. Joshua said, “For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We should be either infidels or faithful followers of God. The very nature of this issue leaves no room for a middle position. There are only two paths that we can take in life and Jesus defines them in Matthew 7:13-14. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Two roads, one is good, the other is evil. One leads to life, the other leads to death. One will bring the blessings of God upon your family. The other will bring the curse of God upon your life which can affect your whole family. You have got to make a choice…Now!

Don’t get caught up in the false gods in the world — the god of consumption and materialism, the god of militarism, the god of fame and celebrity, and the god of individualism.  Don’t pursue things, pursue God. Choose to live God’s way. Living God’s way is a life of confidence and less worry. Living God’s way is a way of liberty knowing that you are held in His hands regardless of what happens to you while living on this earth. Live God’s way and be motivated by His Way. Don’t live according to the way of the world because at best the world is meaningless in the entire context of true life. Serve God and not the world.

Throughout the Bible we find that God holds up choices to people – life or death, righteousness or sin, justice or deceit – and He does not force us to live the good life. It is a choice. It is your choice. But He continually encourages us to make the right choices.  You know, Jesus said that those who refused to come to Him did so because they were evil and knew that their evil would be exposed in His light. I tell you, what was true of Moses day is true of today. You have got to choose! What way will you live: Godly or Worldly?

There is one major revelation that all Christians really need to grab a hold of and that is this: This life is for just a very short period of time compared to the eternal time frame that is operating in Heaven. Heaven is for eternity – our earthly life is not! The time we will spend in Heaven, and then eventually the New Heaven and New Earth, will be for the rest of our eternal lives – forever and ever. This earthly life is not even a blink of an eye compared to the eternal time frame that is operating in heaven. So ask you sure you want to call all of your own shots and do what you want to do in this life – all for earthly wealth that will completely perish and pass away the second you die and cross over to Hell? Or do you want to go with God’s perfect will for your life, accomplish the missions and goals that He wants you to accomplish for Him in this life, and then receive your full and final just rewards that will last forever once you enter into Heaven? Don’t wait until it’s too late. Heed the signs and Heaven will be your home. Ignore the signs and you are headed for a tragic ending.

You may not like this message, but you need to know where you are going when you leave this world more than anything else in this world or the one to come. Jesus makes it clear that man must choose which gate he goes through and what kind of life he lives. If you make this decision, then you also decide where you spend your eternity. I ask, or you a fool or are you wise? The Bible tells us that many will find their way onto the broad road than onto the narrow way. That is a sad thing! But, what’s really sad about the whole thing is that God continue to give us many chances throughout our lives to change roads. However, we ignore these opportunities and plunge headlong toward Hell with reckless abandon and without visible concern for our souls! Please do not let this happen in your life. You have the opportunity to change today, take advantage of it and come to Jesus for salvation! What are you holding on to today that is keeping you away from the Lord? Let me tell you, whatever it is, it isn’t worth the price you will have to pay to keep it! Throw it down and cast yourself on Jesus for salvation!

If the Lord is speaking to you about your soul and your salvation, heed His voice and come to Him right now! “Imagine a driver traveling down a highway passing sign after sign telling him that the bridge over the river ahead was out. Imagine that same driver plunging to his death in the river because he ignored all the signs. You say, “No one would do something so foolish!” Oh No? Isn’t that just what you are doing? You are speeding down the road of life toward your death and the bridge is out. Yet you ignore sign after sign telling you to stop and change roads. Don’t plunge into Hell! Come to Jesus and be saved. Come today. Come now!” It’s later than it’s ever been!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Jesus said that you cannot serve both God and the things of man {Luke 16:13). Let us dissect this verse, allowing the chips to fall where they may, and the conviction of God to fall where it will. The picture of the double-minded person. Jesus taught us that no one can serve two masters. In fact, Jesus went so far as to say it is a “love-hate” proposition. In His words, “You can’t play both sides of the fence.” This has been true all through God’s Word. Elijah asked, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?” Joshua proclaimed, “Choose you today!” One translation says, “You can’t have it both ways.” James 4:4 (NLT) speaks about double mindedness in terms of adultery, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?”  MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

At some point you have to make up your mind. If you keep going back and forth you are doomed to the erratic existence of the double minded! If you don’t make up your mind you will be plagued by doubt and fear. If you don’t make up your mind you will be tossed like a cork on a wave. If you don’t make up your mind God will never trust you! Did you catch that? Were worried about trusting God, but God doesn’t know if He can trust us with the most precious of truths! Why would He put his treasure (his people) into our hands if we won’t commit? Why would He ever trust us with anything?

Listen, we don’t have the option of picking and choosing when our walk is with God. We don’t have the option of serving God today and not serving Him tomorrow. The Word says, “Choose ye this day, whom you will serve.” Just as the Lord issued a call through Joshua, all those centuries ago, for His people to make up their minds as to whom they would serve, so He issues the same call to His people on this day. Hear the call God is giving to you. Oh, I feel like preaching. It’s Time To Make Up Your Mind! And, it is! If you are reading this article, God has granted you another opportunity today to decide who will have your worship, your love and your obedience: God Almighty, or you and all the things that want to capture your minds.

Joshua’s command to the people was three-fold {Joshua 24:1-28} they were commanded to “fear” God; clean up their lives by putting away their other gods; and they were to serve the Lord. This would put them in a position to put God back in the forefront of their lives. This is a command that we need to take heed of today! We need to 1.) Fear the Lord – That is, we need to reverence and honor Him for Who He is. He deserves to be respected and loved by those He has redeemed! 2.) We need to – put away our other gods! All those things in our lives that come ahead of the Lord need to be put away forever! 3.) We need to – serve the Lord with sincerity. We are His possessions and should live as such, {1 Cor. 6:19-20.) The implication for us is that God does not want His people to live lives of hypocrisy! He wants us to be what we claim to be! Joshua challenged the people to choose who they would serve and to get about it! The same choice stands before us today! It’s about time we get off the fence and make up our mind who’s team we are on. We cannot have both God and the world! We cannot have Him and all our distractions. Either He is in first place, or we have a different god! You have been confronted by a challenge.

Joshua set the example and laid down the gauntlet for us by stating his clear intention to serve God. We need some Joshua’s in our day! We need some men and women who will settle it in their hearts that Jesus Christ and His Word and Will, are going to come before everything else in life! We need some who will set the example for others. We have too many who, by their lives, give justification for slackness in life. We need some who have a backbone of steel and who would rather die than let something come ahead of God in their lives. (Ill. Daniel – Dan. 1:8-19; the 3 Hebrews – Dan. 3:1-30; Daniel – Dan. 6:1-28; Ruth – Ruth 1:16-17.)

Don’t you know that, of all spiritual states, lukewarmness is most abhorrent to God, and grieving to the Holy Spirit. ‘[Revelation 3:15-16]. Thus has God declared his utter detestation of this state. You do not need to settle for a lukewarm lifestyle. Repent and trust in the Word of God who’s grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live godly and righteous lives. Full time- not sometime. Full time- not half time. Full time – not part time. Full time, because God is full time to us. He loves us full time. He cares for us full time. He provides for us full time. He does this even when we don’t. He made a plan for us that would give us full time help. He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for us so we would be saved full time from the gates of Hell. He gave us full time help when He empowered us with the Holy Ghost that came to comfort and empower. He gave us full time help when He said when you fall down I will help you get back up again. So why would we want to be anything but full time?

One of the most frightening group of verses in the Bible is found in Rev 3:14-19, when Christ is talking to the Church of Laodicea. He is addressing the people of a city known for its wealth. But despite its financial prosperity, it was spiritually impoverished. He says to the people “You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. You don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” What’s frightening about this statement is that a lot of people in this world who call themselves Christians are lukewarm. They fall into the category of sometime or part time Christian. Yes you might go to church on Sundays, make an appearance, but the real question is have you given yourself completely to God? If the Lord be God, then serve Him. If He isn’t, then go ahead and serve whatever has your heart. But whatever you do and choose, stop trying to have the best of both worlds! Choose whom this day you will serve!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Thanks for the love!  We’ve all got some haters among us. We all have had enemies or so-called friends who have stabbed us in the back.  These are called “Haters.” I too am not immune to haters, drama seekers or the occasional bully! Every now and then I get hated on.  And what is most aggravating and annoying is the fact that you can mind your own business and still get hated on.  Even though you are not in their business and you don’t concern yourself with what they are doing, it seems like they are always in your business and always concerning themselves with what you are doing? And you ask yourself why are they hating on you? Instead of wondering why they are hating on you, as a wise friend once told me, “Let your haters be your motivators.”

What I have come to understand is that the difference is that it is just something about you that they just can’t quite put their finger on. 1 Peter Chapter 2 call it “Peculiar.”  Which also means “Set Apart,” or Different from the rest.” We have a special, unique calling from God to do good works. So I say, rejoice in the Lord when you are being hated on. Why? Because haters never hate on somebody that is not doing anything.  You’ve heard that saying before. Haters only hate on folks that are doing something.  If David would have never defeated the giant then the women would not have had anything to sing about and Saul would not have started hating.  But because David was doing something then David was attacked. It was in the text that David had slayed the giant Goliath and it was a time of celebration in which the nation of Israel had overcome the Philistines.  But just as everyone else was celebrating over the victory, the Bible declares that King Saul starts hating because he felt threatened because of the response from the women who sing, saying that Saul killed his thousands and David killed his ten thousands.  I bet they didn’t hate on you as long as you were working at McDonalds, but the minute they heard that you were enrolling in college they started hating.  They had no problem as long as you rode the bicycle, but when they found out you had a Benz, they started hating.  They were okay that you were their co-worker, but when they found out that you were their new supervisor, they started hating. Hater’s you got to love them!

If you are in a similar situation of haters, remember that people do not define who you are, you do! “Let your haters be your motivators.”  When you come across haters in your life, let that motivate you to press on and do what you’ve set out to do. The problem with haters is that they see your glory, but they don’t know your story.

Remember, the battle is not yours. You must understand that whenever the haters attack you they are not fighting against you, but they are really fighting against God.  And I know that there have been a lot of people that have tried to fight against God and lost.  Goliath tried to fight against Him and he lost his head.  Pharaoh tried to fight against Him and drowned in the Red Sea.  Herod tried to fight against Him and the worms got him.  It is not your job to take care of the haters. That’s God’s job.  Your job is to stick with the mission.  If He took care of Goliath and He took care of Pharaoh, then I just believe that He will take care of your haters. Stop fusing and fighting with that other brother that is hating on you.  Stop going toe to toe with them.  Save your energy for the work. Never argue, confront, or struggle with haters.  When you engage the hater, you give them the power to control and manipulate you.  Wisdom is too high for a fool. Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you yourself will be just like them. As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

No matter what the hater does or says remember and practice The Golden Rule, treat them the way you want to be treated, despite how they treat you or what they say about you.  It can be difficult, especially when what they are saying is not the entire truth.  But take the high road, and know that they will continue to drown in their own negativity and jealousy and people will begin to see them for who they actually are. What goes around comes around, you will reap what you sow; Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  {Matthew 5:10-12}

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”  What an amazing, astounding, and unexpected statement from the lips of Christ.  Haters, got to love them!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

For some time now, the Holy Spirit has been saying to me, “No more pity parties!”  We are not victims.  It’s time out for feeling sorry for ourselves. Is God saying this because He has lost His compassion?  No.  God is saying “no more pity parties” because He has already released us from every trap.  We are agonizing over matters that God has already resolved. Stop It!

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God made an important promise.  He told us that we could never be backed into a corner.  In every temptation and challenge, He has already given us a way out.  That means that whatever we are facing right now, we have a righteous way out.  We are not waiting for a way out – we have the way out.   Why should we ever feel depressed or overwhelmed when God has already given us the way out? Choose Gratitude. It’s so much more empowering than feeling sorry for yourself. Chew on that one for a while!

Our problem is that we think that the world revolves around us. Well, I got some news for you. The world does not revolve around you. You are not the center of the world; you are a part of it. There are people out there who think the world revolves around them; that everything somehow ends up being about them.  They drive us nuts. Yet there are times we drive ourselves nut thinking the same thing, even if with less vanity.  We take things too personally; we don’t think about the other person, just our own part in whatever the situation, thinking it’s either all our fault, or that it has something to do with us, even when we end up finding it has nothing to do with us. Let’s call a spade a spade…. Selfishness…..that’s what having a pity party is all about…. and if you didn’t know, let me just tell you that  “Selfishness,” is the enemy of God. The enemy of God’s sovereignty and His mercy.

Listen, Jesus serves as an example of someone who if anyone could have warranted having a pity party for himself. He faced what no one will ever have to face. What no one else could bare to face….

and yet Christ went to the cross not deserving it, but taking the weight of our sin upon Himself as He was about to die an agonizing death upon the cross for which He did not deserve, but He took our place of guilt in order to remove our sins. He did not sing a song of pity words of”.. Troubles…I’ve got more than anyone.” He did not whine or complain or pout about the cross. He did not ask for…… or throw his own pity party!

The conclusion of the matter and our response is clear: We need to recognize we all are capable of self pity. We need to let adversity lead us to God and not lead us to whining, complaining , quitting or having pity parties. If you sense that you are slipping into self pity… take rest in knowing that God will lift you up if the weight of pity begins to bring you down., but  only if you  let Him. Stop wasting your time complaining. Stop throwing your pity party.  Just praise the Lord.

May the God of truth enable us to carefully and rightly dissect His precious Word, allowing God’s Word to say what it says, remembering that God says what He means and means what He says.  May we be those who tremble at His Word (Isaiah 66:1-2).  

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

I Can’t Take It Anymore!  Have you ever heard anybody say that? Have you ever said that yourself? “I’ve had enough! I can’t do this anymore.” Every day is a grind.  Every day is another battle.  Every day brings more struggles. Every day brings more stress. And just when you think all the problems are gone, then a new one pops up out of nowhere.  Talk about battles!  Talk about struggles!  Just when you feel good about yourself and your spiritual life, then Satan attacks and it seems like you can’t win for loosing.  It seems as though, “If it ain’t One Thing, It’s another!”

Well, back in the disco music time, a songwriter wrote, “Enough is enough!” Donna Summer had decided that she couldn’t go on no more. She had been in a relationship that she finally saw was going nowhere. She saw that it was time for her to move on and do better. She saw that it was time to stop putting up with all the heartache and pain; all the sorrow and wrongdoing; all the misdirection and misinformation; it was time to put her foot down and let it be known that she had had enough. “No More! Enough is enough!”

My friend, just like Donna Summer, there should come a time in our lives that we should see the Devil for who he really is. We should see that his only purpose is to steal, kill, destroy, and to convince us to go against God’s will. Even Jesus was tired of the Devil messing with Him, and He decided to put a stop to all of Satan madness and He told him, “No More… Enough is enough… Get thee behind Me Satan!”  Aren’t you tired of being tired? Aren’t you tired of the Devil messing with you?  Aren’t you tired of him stealing your joy, peace, and happiness? Aren’t you tired of him taking things from you? If so, then tell the devil, “No More! Enough is enough!” Let him know that you’re not going to take it anymore! Tell him to get out, there’s nothing left to talk about!  GET OUT and don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you!  Look him square in the eyes and simple shout, “NO MORE!  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” and proceed to put him out! To Hell with the Devil!

You know the Bible is full of men and women who display the full range of emotions that we ourselves experience, who struggle with the big questions of life. Elijah was a person just like us who reached a point where he sat down in total, abject despair and said, “No More… Enough is enough! It’s the last straw… I can’t take any more!” If you have had enough.  If you are tired and worn out from the things you have had to deal with in the last few months or year. Then let the Devil know that the buck stops here, today! Stand your ground. Don’t give up. Hit him with everything you’ve got and he will always flee from you. Remember, Satan doesn’t have any power over you; the only thing he has is ability, and that is the ability to deceive. There are a lot of people that consider Satan to be an all-powerful being, when, in fact, he’s not! He lost whatever power he had as an anointed cherub of God when he was cast out of Heaven and fell to Earth (Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12-14) He is not equal to God in any way, and he never was! We have to realize that all he is is a disenfranchised spirit that is seeking those that he might deceive. 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Note that he isn’t a roaring lion, he just acts like one! It’s important for us to realize that God is the one that has the real dynamic power, not Satan.

Listen, only you can prevent the Devil from making his permanent abode in your heart. Our struggle is against forces of evil. And yes, it is a struggle! You’ve got to put forth effort. You’ve got to try hard. Revelation 2:25 tells us to hold fast till Jesus come. That requires effort: to hold fast. You’ve got to do that. Make no mistake about it, the Devil will extract all the good he can from you and when he finally does leave, he’ll leave you in as bad a shape as he possibly can. You’ve got to ditch him by evicting him. You have the right of emanate domain over the devil. Use it!

Jesus served papers on the Devil, and He drove the him away with the sharp two edged sword called Scripture. Jesus used the pages of Scripture to add authority to this eviction. {Matthew 4:10, 11 says, Then the Devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him}.  You can ditch the Devil the same way. Pack your mind with Scripture. The pages of the Bible are powerful. {Hebrews 4:12, For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword.}  So crowd him out with the Bible. Give the Devil a cold shoulder and invite Jesus in. The Devil can shoot all the arrows he wants at you but when you are inside God’s armor you are fully protected. Do it now, before the Devil attacks. Drive him out- Cut him out- Pray him out- Force him out- Crowd him out- Squeeze him out- Block him out. You can do that. We are not going to let the Devil run us from where we need to be! We have to make up our mind that we will be stead fast and unmovable always abiding in His Word!

Ditch him today and every day. “No More… Enough is enough!”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

If you live this life of yours like you are going to live this life forever… then you are playing the fool! If you are duped into thinking that there must be another way to Heaven (even amidst the knowledge of Jesus’ words that He is the “Only Way”)… then you are playing the fool! If you come and go service after service, time after time, all the while God extends His saving grace unto you, and you keep resisting His offer of salvation… then you are playing the fool! If you are deceived into thinking you have all of your life to get right with the Lord… then you are playing the fool! And if you think you can have all the pleasure now and think about eternity later… then you are playing the fool!

Listen, life is filled with choices each and every day. Choices produce consequences, and actions produce reactions. Saul life stands as a warning to us that we cannot rebel against God and get away with it. Your choices and actions will catch up with you—maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow. But sooner or later, the Bible says, “Your sin will find you out unless you repent.”

I don’t think any of us can comprehend the great conflict right now that exists in the Spirit realm. Nor do we realize how determined Satan is to destroy us. In Ephesians 5:15 Paul tells us, to walk circumspectly. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” He warns the Church to wake up from their dead state. The goal of Proverbs is to impart wisdom…To know wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:1-3.) One way to learn about something is to consider its opposite… Want to understand what is wisdom? Then know what folly is! Want to be wise? Then don’t be a fool!

Peter warned, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the Devil as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). BEWARE! The devil is out to steal your soul, and he will use any deceit in his arsenal. (2 Cor 2:11) So be warned and be on guard every single day, and if you should fall for one of his devices, repent and turn back to the Lord. Remember the greatest sin is not falling for the devices of the Devil, but the reluctance to turn from it and back to God.

If you’re tired of living your life being hoodwinked, bamboozled, ran amuck, led astray, tricked and trapped, and/or tied of people leading you down a wrong path, do like Paul did and take the scales off your eyes so you can see! Once you start seeing you become a better person than you were before. Things that you use to say, you don’t say anymore. Things you used to think about, you don’t think about anymore. Things that tripped you up, you walk around them, you step over them, and you go under them now. I hear Jesus saying, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy: I come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

Look, it is a fact that we are all going to slip up in life. We are all going to make mistakes. We are all going to sin. But you don’t want to look back on your life one day and think I threw my life away by the stupid choices I made. The question is, can you learn from your mistakes? Can you say, “That was such a bitter experience, such a hard pill to swallow, I pray that I will never do that again?” If so, you have learned something. Something good will have come out of something bad. But if you go back and do the same thing again and again, then you are falling backward, and ultimately, you are going to play the fool again. Don’t do it! You can’t trifle with God.

Jesus asked this question in Mark 8:36, 37: “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” It is an awful thing to fall into the hands of a sovereign and angry God, who shall consign men to Hell. The rich man woke up, but it was too late. Lots of people are awakened out of their lethargy, but it is too late. He awoke, but it was too late. He came face to face with the inevitable fact that God was taking charge now. “Thou Fool, this night I am going to require thy soul . . .”

Suppose God should say to you, “You have played the fool, and today thy soul shall be required of thee.” What would you do? Where would you spend Eternity? That is the question: Who are you today? Are you a Fool or are you Wise?

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

It’s a darn shame that some of us have to hit rock bottom before God can get our attention. But it is only when the bottom falls out that we finally look up and cry out to God in desperation. Years ago I heard it said this way: “You’ll never know if Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. When Jesus is all you have, then you will know that Jesus is all you need.”  Man do I know that all too well. I have hit rock bottom several times throughout my lifetime, and I am sure many of you have too. Those times when sorrow seems to overpower, or self-pity has you in its clutches. Those times when you feel the most helpless to benefit those you love, or yourself. Those periods when you sense that trying to rectify your circumstances is pointless, and you lose all hope. You understand the feeling. We all have moments when we have that devastating desire to throw in the towel and give up. That feeling that being happy is impossible, and accepting that life is too difficult seems like the solution. After striving and vowing in your own strength… then failing… after piously telling others how to act …then failing…after judging others… then failing. Times when it seem like everything goes wrong and the bottom falls out of life. I tell you, Hitting rock bottom is hard! And when you’re at the bottom, life is not quiet and peaceful, serene and orderly; life is crowded and dark, scary and disordered. 

We expect life to have a few bumps, but not constant roller-coaster rides full of pain, misery and bruises, one after another, after another and another. Suffering and sorrow are a part of life, but knowing this, however, do not make it any easier to cope with when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith. If you are suffering to the point of despair, let these words of encouragement help you hang on to your faith. The good news is in the Scripture. God says, “I have observed the misery of my people… I have heard their cry… I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them” (Exodus 3. 7-8).

God’s word is full of examples of men and women who hit rock bottom: David, Elijah, Manasseh, Jonah, Judas, The Rich Young Ruler, Tax Collectors and Sinners, the Sinful Woman, the Prodigal Son, Job, Peter and Paul just to name a few. Elijah’s rock bottom was different from Jonah’s, which was different from the Prodigal’s Son, which was different than Paul’s. You know, when I was in a pit, I thought that if I could just get my act together I would be okay and just snap out of it and be healed. That process took over 3 years and the whole time I was too stubborn to surrender it all to God, but the moment I let go, life became so much more joyful and finally I saw the worth in living life again. In those times when your joy or abilities are stripped away and you realize that all you have left is Jesus, you’ll discover, as I have, that Jesus is all you need. When I was so far down that all I could do was look up, I always found that God was there with me. Perhaps this is the only answer I have to offer to the perplexing question of God’s presence in the tragedies of our lives. Scriptures affirm that God will always compassionately respond. But we want miracles. We want answers. We want all those things which seldom seem to come our way. Until we step back; until the emotions have been rescued from anxiety; until confusion has been transformed into calm; only then will we realize, even at the bottom of our barrel, God was, and God is, always there.

When God finally got a hold of my heart and opened my eyes I saw the situation in a whole new way and realized that although it was a hard few years, He had still protected me and I came out stronger, knowing the purpose and mission in ministry He had for me. {When a person hits rock bottom, and they reach the lowest point in their lives, they are awakened to the reality that their lives must change}. God brought beauty from ashes. And the amazing thing about God is that His power is never ending and has no limits. He will go through everything with us, so if you take a leap of faith and turn the moments of weakness into moments of total surrender, God will use you to do awesome things to further His kingdom! So rather than being discouraged, be encouraged, remembering the promise of God, that He will work all things together for good for those who love Him.

Today, if you’ve hit rock bottom, call out to God. If you have not come to Jesus, let today be your rock bottom. If you are weary, tired, discouraged, need a fresh start, if you know your life is going nowhere, if you want your sins forgiven, if you want to know God, drop what you are doing and surrender to the Lord. Don’t delay, don’t put it off, and don’t make any excuses. Drop everything and do it now!  Do it right now!  You do not have to be like the Manasseh or the Prodigal Son; you do not have to go that low before you open your eyes to Christ. You can be like Paul or the Philippians Jailer, have a crisis of conscience, and give your life to Christ today.

I want you to know that my journey contains glimpses into the most real places of my heart as it intersects with God, others, and the world around me. My paths have often taken unexpected twists and turns. As I walk those paths, I deeply long too share in such a way that will strengthen and encourage those who travel with me. Hope you’ll join me on the journey. I invite your comments and love it when you recommend www.wssnews.com to your friends.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Don’t fall for Satan lies! Satan says, bow to me, turn to the ways of the world, submit to temptation, and I’ll give you whatever you want in this life. The devil is a bold faced LIAR. You bow down to the devil, and no matter what he promised you, even if he could give it to you, it’s a loose, loose situation. He is in the business of deceit and deception, and don’t give a care about you. It is your soul he is after and if he can get you to buy into his lies, your soul he will have and you both will end up in Hell!

So no matter what sweet deal the devil offers you, rebuke him in the name of Jesus…Yell at him like you yell at your kids, (just keeping it real) Get away from me! Get out of here! But know at the same time that even after you done all the yelling, the devil will keep coming. He’ll keep trying. That’s what the devil does. He thinks that maybe, just for a moment, you’ll forget who you are; forgot you belong to Jesus, and fall into his trap. He’ll put you on the slippery slope with little temptations, he’ll play on your pride and your ego, and eventually, when all else fails, just like with Jesus, he’ll offer you the world. But he’s a LIAR, and he won’t follow through and you will have sold you soul for nothing. Jesus remembered who He was and in each of His temptations He quoted from Scripture, and it STOPPED the devil cold. He knew that there was nothing of value the devil could give Him. It was all a trap that led to nowhere.

Anytime the devil hurls something at you, rebuke him in Jesus name. And let me remind you, the devil’s not your friend, he’s not your confidant, he’s your enemy!  Don’t play ball with the devil!  Seek to understand him. If you know what your enemy is like, and what he is apt to do, you can develop a battle plan to defeat him. We as Christians are at war with Satan, but we will never be victorious until we understand the enemy and learn to depend upon our Savior. If we are going to overcome we must adopt a spiritual warfare worldview and put on the whole armor of God, so that we will have the tools necessary to defeat our enemy.

You should understand this fact –. The devil wants to take you out- Period! He wants to murder your purity, he wants to kill your happiness, he wants to destroy your spiritual life, and he wants nothing more than your death. If you are a Christian, your death takes your influence out of this world. If you are not a Christian, your death delivers you into the Devil’s hands. He will tell any lie, and make up any accusation, in order to kill you. Make no mistake about it!

You better hear me now! Once you have heard the truth, you had better respond to it. When you’ve heard God’s message of love spoken to you, respond to it. When you’ve heard the Holy Spirit moving you to change something in your life or to do something for Him, respond to it. Do what He says. Because when you hear the Spirit speaking to you and you ignore it, the Bible tells us that you’re worse off than if you’d never been shown the light. You have no excuse anymore because you know the truth. You know what it takes to get to Heaven. You know what God wants you to do. The mercy of God will extend to great lengths, but God is a gentleman and He won’t keep on pushing you when you keep on ignoring Him. Listen for the voice of God and obey Him when He speaks.

You have been confronted with the truth. And it’s up to you to decide what you’re going to do with it. Are you going to respond to it? Or are you going to ignore it? It’s totally up to you. It’s your choice. But I plead with you to respond to it. Because when you stand before God on that final day and you say, “But I didn’t do anything,” His response will be, “I know, that’s just it; you didn’t do anything…Away from me, you evildoers!”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

1st Warning.…. Jesus went into the Church and threw out the money-changers, overturned tables, and cast out those who had used the temple of God in vain for their own betterment and gain. Jesus went to set the Church in order. “My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

2nd Warning……On the appointed day after His death, burial, and resurrection Jesus ascended into the Heavens and sat at the right hand of the Father in glory. But before Jesus relaxed Himself, He called for an old Apostle exiled on Mt. Patmos. Jesus called for John, the Revelator. Jesus told John to come on up, and bring a pad and pen because he needed to write letters to the “Seven Churches.”

Final Warning.…… “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

“The Church of today is filled with whimpering, jealous, defeated Christians.  They are worldly, selfish and cold because they are in bondage under the power of the Devil’s emphasis on their flesh, and the Church won’t preach against it.  Instead of the call of the Church, people hear and give in to the call of the people.  Instead of love for the Father, it is lust of the flesh.  Instead of fishing for men, they are fishing for materialism.”  God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Church,God is looking for a Church without spot or wrinkle.”  He’s looking for someone to have a committed Spirit. He needs people that are willing to be the Salt of the Earth, to change the world, not to be changed by the world. Bottom-line: God needs people who will, “Keep the main thing the main thing,” and the main thing is Jesus. Don’t you know that you will have to appear before the judgment seat of God and give an account of yourself?  On that day, I wonder, how many will be able to say that, “The life I’ve lived, will speak for me?”

We have been warned. We have been given notice.  Even though we don’t know and will never know the exact time, day or hour Jesus teaches us that the signs of what God is about to do will be clear. He methodically lists those signs in Luke 21:8.  We could almost keep a checklist: Wars – ?…Rumors of Wars – ?…Famine – ?… Disaster – ? Earthquakes – ?… Pestilences -? …Conflict in Families – ?… Increasing Wickedness – ?… Fearful Events and Great Signs in Heaven arising – ?… Believers arrested and Hated – ?…False Teachings – ?… matter of fact goes ahead and put a “Double- ?” on that last one.”  You know the people of Nineveh were warned to repent. We’ve been warned too. We’ve got to be ready in that hour, in that moment. The Church must be ready. You as an individual must be ready. It pays to heed Warnings, because Warnings comes before Destruction!

Perhaps I need to remind you about Moses and the burning bush; Israelites 40 years in the desert; Samson capture by the Philistines; David when he lost his kingdom; Jonah when swallowed by the whale; King Herod, the Jewish leaders, and the nation of Israel, Pilate, Rome, and all who rejected Jesus, rejected the truth of God, and thereby condemn themselves to an early grave; Paul on the road to Damascus after being blinded by His glory; The thief on the cross had to be sentence to crucifixion before he would listen. Where will you have to be before you will listen? Will God have to allow some tragedy in your life so you will listen? Jesus said in Rev. 3:20 “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 him, and he with Me.”

Throughout the Bible God has always given mankind a chance to repent. He would send a warning through one of His messengers. God is still sending warnings. “He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.”