Surrender

I read the following story about this driver in the Orange County Register :

There were only two cars at the end of the freeway exit ramp, but no one was moving. Clearly the first driver was too timid to blend into the flow of traffic. Opportunity after opportunity passed her by, and cars piled up on the ramp. Finally, the driver moved, spurred by an exasperated motorist at the end of the line, who yelled, “The sign says yield, not surrender!”

At different times in our lives each of us have related to that shook up driver. If you’ve been frightened about your future, and wanted to “surrender” to fear, then the words God spoke to the Israelites in Jeremiah 29:11-14 is for you as well.

Understand, God has plans for you and your family, plans to give you a hope and a future… If you call to me I will be found by you says The Lord and bring you back from captivity.

So “surrender” your life and future to Jesus not to fear and watch His plans unfold.

Rev Ran 🙂

In The Twinkling Of An Eye

I just saw a terrible car accident happen in front of me on Hwy 75 North just outside Lexington Ky – the driver in the center lane clipped the back end of a semi – went across the left lane hit the center medium and went over it into on coming traffic.

I changed lanes pulling into the far right lane – and as I looked in the review mirror I saw several cars hit on other side of freeway!

It brought fresh understanding to the phrase”In the twinkling of an eye” – it happened so fast there was no time for repentance or surrender – just a quick “Oh Lord !” And it was all over.

I was safe and several others were possibly standing in eternity. Friends, we are not promised tomorrow. And if today is the day you are called to eternity. Will you hear Jesus say, “Welcome good and faithful servant or “Depart from me I never knew you.”

Why don’t you take about 5 minutes of your busy day – bow your head and talk to Jesus.

It’s as simple as saying, “Jesus, I need you, please come into my life and be my Lord and savior. I surrender my life to you in Jesus name I pray
Amen.”

Rev Ran 🙂

Family

Sitting in O’Hare International Airport this evening I was watching a young family and I was reminded of an old saying. ” A family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family.” God established the family by bringing a man and a woman together in marriage. Then came children and grandchildren. That is His order.

The Bible tells us, however, that in the last days there will be an attack on the family. One of the signs of the end times will be a lack of respect for one’s parents. We read in 2 Timothy 3, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” (verses 1–2).

We have certainly lost sight of God’s commandment to “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12). Notice the commandment is to honor your father and mother—not honor your father and father, or your mother and mother, or your mother and her live-in lover or partner. America we are tampering with God’s order at our own peril.

Know this: Satan always hates what God loves. God loves the family. He established the marriage of a man and woman as a physical representation of His love for the church and the church’s love for Him. God effectively says, “You want to know how much I love my people? Look at the way that Christian man loves his wife. You want to know how much My people love Me? Look at the way that Christian woman loves her husband. This is my model. This is my example for all of you to observe.”

Therefore it should come as no surprise that the devil would try to undermine the family.

Rev Ran 🙂

There's No Magic Pill

We are bombarded every night on TV with commercials that promise the magic pill that will cause you to lose weight without changing your diet and with little or know exercise. It’s so ridiculous – are you kidding me ?

Or antiaging cream that causes you to look like a Victoria Secret model over night! We will just leave that one alone.

The antiaging ad that I’d like to see is a baby covered in cream saying, “Ah! I’ve used too much!”

This world has gone crazy! And aren’t you glad that you can never have enough of Gods grace! Or His keeping power in the midnight hour !

Listen – many people and there sales pitches make promises they cannot and will not keep – but there is several promises that you can bank your life on.

Jesus said -“I will never leave you or forsake you ” and “In my fathers house are many mansions – I go and prepare a place for you – but I will come again and take you with me – that where I am you may be also.”

That my friend is not a sales pitch …
It’s the gospel truth – one you can build your life upon!

Rev Ran 🙂

Who Is The Lord?

Thousands of years ago the Pharaoh of Egypt asked a question that is still being asked by many. It was: Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. (Exodus 5:2).

I think that by the time Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Pharaoh had a better understanding of who exactly God is. “Who is God?” is not an easy question to answer, because we are trying to grasp the infinite with the finite. Evangelist Oral Roberts said, “that if God were small enough for our minds, He wouldn’t be big enough for our needs.” I love that !

Until the day we see Him face to face there are things about God we are never going to completely understand. For instance, I believe that God is holy, but I don’t understand everything about His holiness. I also believe God is a triune being—He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But that is hard for us to grasp.

I do believe, there is a day coming when it will all make sense. However, at the same time, I also believe that with the help of the Holy Spirit, there are many things that we can and should know and grasp about God.

This New Year, knowing God and making Him known should be the New Years resolution of every Christian.

Rev Ran 🙂

A Speaking And Loving God

I read about a couple who went to Africa to visit the great Victoria Falls –
The African name translates into “smoke that thunders.” That clearly described the scene. The water fall is located in the center of a broad, flat plain.

The Zambesi River drops almost one hundred yards straight down into a mile long gorge that is only thirty yards from edge to edge.

The couple went and sat by the falls for more then half an hour. The noise was so deafening they could not hear anything but the roar of the water.

Later, in the quietness of there hotel room the husband apologized for singing Amazing Grace at the top of his lungs the entire time they sat by the falls. His wife smiled and said, “Honey, I never heard a word.”

Friends, is there any noise in your life that is keeping you from hearing Gods
voice ? He is a speaking and loving God and there are times you will need to retreat to a quiet place and tune your ear to heaven so you can hear Him speak to you about “His Amazing Grace.”

Rev Ran 🙂

Bland, Flavorless Lives

They say art imitates life. Recently a comic strip caught my attention. A little boy asked his mother, “would you give me a dollar if I’ll be a good boy?” She replied, “Son, why don’t you be good for nothing like your dad.”!

Ouch …. You know, there are a lot of Christians who are exactly that. They are good for nothing. Jesus said they’re like salt that’s lost its savor. They are cast out, good for nothing but “to be trodden under foot of men.”

Why did Jesus use the metaphor “salt” to describe those who would be His followers?

In Jesus society, pure salt was often more valuable than gold. As a matter of fact, salt was a rare delicacy and often a medium of exchange. We get our word salary from salt. It literally means “salt-money,” hence the expression, “That man is worth his salt.”

Salt was valuable because of what it did. Salt causes flavor to come alive. And at the same time it preserves the meat it is rubbed into. In the book of Job, we read this question, “Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” (Job 6:6).

Most people are simply living bland, flavorless lives. That’s the reason so many are striving to find some kind of a “high.” There’s no excitement, no thrill. Their lives are tasteless. It’s “the bland leading the bland.”

Christians must be different! Because we have the Spirit of God living and flowing through us – We should give flavor and zest to life. That’s the reason the Bible says in Colossians 4:6a, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.”

Rev Ran 🙂

Any Distance From The Lord?

The following is a list of questions I ask myself (all based on the scripture) if I am sensing any distance from the Lord when I pray. It is amazing how often when my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling that one of these will show me what is in the way.

1. Am I Clean before the Lord?

Isaiah 59:1f – “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” I John 1:8f – “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

2. Am I in Communion with others?

Matthew 5:23f -“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 6:14f – “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

3. Am I Confident in God’s Word?

Luke 11:9-13 – “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

4. Am I Committed to God’s Will? 1 John 5:14f – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

5. Am I Centered in the Holy Spirit? Romans 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

6. Am I Concerned for God’s Glory? John 14:13f – “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me.

Rev Ran 🙂

Count The Blessings

I know many people who view their life like a glass that is half-empty. They are never satisfied – always have to have the latest toys. Always complaining about what they don’t have. They say “I can’t believe this happened to me!”

Friends -There is nothing wrong with ambition, nothing wrong with wanting to improve one’s lot in life, and nothing wrong with seeking after more, but not at the detriment of counting the blessings of God in your life and being thankful. It is easy to take for granted being able to breathe until we meet someone with a lung disease. It is easy to take for granted our family until we learn of someone whose child was killed in a drive-by shooting or in a movie theatre.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Can you do this? Can you count the blessings you do have rather than the blessings you don’t? Can you take stock and inventory your life at how blessed you really are? If you can, then your life will be a wonderful experience!

Rev Ran 🙂

The Simple Message

After 25 years of evangelistic ministry, I still believe there is explosive power in the simple message of the gospel. Paul says, “It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes . . .” (Romans 1:16, NLT).

The word power that Paul used in this verse originates from the Greek word dunamis. It is the same word Jesus used in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power [dunamis] when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” The English words dynamic, dynamo, and dynamite also have been translated from this word dunamis. Paul was saying the very message of the gospel is the dynamite and dynamic of God.

We often underestimate the raw “old school” power of the gospel in reaching even the most hardened heart. We think we need to add to it, dress it up, make it ultra-contemporary, gloss it over, or even complicate it. But there is distinct power in the simple message of the life, words, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Never underestimate its appeal. Never be ashamed of its simplicity. Never add to it or take away from it. Just proclaim it, and then stand back and watch what God will do.

Rev Ran 🙂

Give Me One Hundred Men

The great English preacher John Wesley once said, “Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I do not care if they be clergymen or laymen. Such men alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.” I don’t know if Wesley ever found such men. But I know that Jesus did.

Jesus called these men to be His disciples. In the Book of Acts, they were described as “these who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

If there was ever a time in history when the world needed to be turned upside down or, should I say, right side up, the time is now. But if it is going to happen, then it will need to be through committed believers like the ones John Wesley was looking for: people who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God. No fair-weather followers need apply. God is looking for disciples.

Rev Ran 🙂

Healing

I have been asked many times. “Do I need to go to a special healing service or have someone lay hands on me and pray for me in order to be healed?

No, you do not have to go to any special place or have anyone lay hands on you for you to be healed. Jesus healed many with a touch. But he also healed many and wasn’t physically present to lay hands upon them.

Friends, It is Christ who heals, and Christ is everywhere present at the same time. It is not important whether you are first in the prayer line at a healing crusade or last in line.

It doesn’t matter whether you are sitting at church, driving your car, or resting at home. To receive healing, the important thing is to make contact with your Healer, Jesus Christ, who is everywhere. Healing comes when you have faith for healing and when you reach out to God with that faith. You can believe God and receive healing right where you are.

At the same time – it may increase your faith to have others agree with you in prayer. And the laying on of hands is a point of contact to believe God to increase your faith. Where two or three are gathered in Jesus name Jesus is in the midst of them.

Rev Ran 🙂

See Jesus And Find Rest

Tonight I was reading about the WWII concentration camp survivor Corrie ten Boom. She said, “Look within and be depressed. Look without and be distressed. Look at Jesus and be at rest.”

These words take on tremendous significance when you realize “Looking without,” she had reason to be distressed. She lived in a concentration camp. She saw her sister and father die. Death was all around her. Looking within, she felt depressed as she said – “she saw the darkness of her own heart.” But seeing the example of her godly sister Betsy, who saw the bright side of everything and was always trusting God, she concluded, “Look at Jesus and be at rest.”

If you and I can take that amazing advice and apply it to our lives we too will be able to “see Jesus and find rest. ”

You might be thinking ; No way if you only knew what I have been through and what people have done to me you would understand why I can’t find rest.

Friends, As we walk with God, people will let us down. People will disappoint us. Circumstances will be hard. Our faith will be tested and stretched. The enemy will hassle us. This is when we need to remember why we started to walk with God in the first place. It was because of Jesus. So keep your eyes fixed on Him. That will keep you moving forward, because the only way we will make it as Christians is by keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ.

Rev Ran 🙂

Jesus Lives To Intercede For Us

During the Korean War, enemy forces were advancing on a military unit known as the Baker Company. This unit was cut off from the rest of the regiment, and for several hours, no word was heard, even after repeated attempts to communicate with them.

Finally, headquarters picked up a faint signal. “Baker Company, do you read me?” “This is Baker Company.”
“Baker Company, what is your situation?”

“The enemy is to the east of us. The enemy is to the west of us. The enemy is to the north of us, and the enemy is to the south of us…and we are not going to let them escape this time!”

That is the kind of attitude we ought to have as believers. But sometimes, we feel like we are in the same dilemma as the Baker Company: the enemy is to the north of us, the south of us, the east of us, and the west of us. Everywhere we look, we see the devil’s handy work in our culture, society, our families even our churches. We can feel isolated and all alone.

It can be overwhelming. We may think, “What’s the use?”

But let me encourage you – Jesus lives to intercede for us,(see Heb 7:5) and he is praying “FOR YOU” right now. Friend, he hasn’t left you. He is calling you by name. We must have faith and say, “We can move forward. God can work through our lives.”

Rev Ran 🙂

Jesus Knows

Have you ever made a bad decision or acted impulsively. Have you ever looked at your life and said, “What was I thinking.” Or possibly you have said, “No one really knows or understands me.”

Well, Jesus knows, and he understands. He also knows your shortcomings and failures and they come as no surprise to God? God knows everything about you. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He is the God of the second chance.

Jesus gave Peter a second chance. The disciples were sitting in the Upper Room when Jesus turned to Simon Peter and said something that must have shocked this man to the core: “ ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you…’ ” (see Luke 22:31)

Can you imagine if He said that to you? Your heart is filled with a love for Jesus. You can’t think of anyone you love more. And suddenly, Jesus turns to you and says, “Satan has been asking for you.”

But I love the next verse. Jesus said to Peter, “ ‘But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail’ ” (Luke 22:32). Think of that. Jesus was praying for Peter, just as He is praying for you.

Rev Ran 🙂

Where Will You Turn When?

Watching the news tonight and hearing all the crazy things going on around the world. It really brings one question to the forefront.

Where will you turn in a time of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Will it be your favorite Web site? People magazine? The morning newspaper? The evening news? Because you will need something to give you strength and direction in your time of need, and that will come from the Word of God.

Things go in and out of style, but the Word of God never goes out of style. It never goes out of date, unlike this morning’s newspaper. The Word of God always will be relevant.

That is why I urge you to get a good foundation in the Bible because it is only a matter of time until hardship will strike you. Affliction will strike. Tragedy will strike. It happens in every life. There are no exceptions. But if you have a foundation in the Word of God, you will be ready for it when it comes. Don’t wait until then to try and catch up. Get that foundation now.

Rev Ran 🙂

Are We Living In The Last Days?

The Lunar Eclipse, the coverage on Christian television and all the latest books, and articles have prompted many people via Face Book or texts to ask me, “Randy, do you think this is the last generation – are we living in the last days?

Of course they are referring to the last days before “The Rapture of The Church” when Jesus returns to take His Bride the church to our new home in heaven.

It seems that some are asking out of fear, others out of excitement, some out of curiosity and still others out of a genuine love for Jesus.

My answer is, “I don’t know – The fact is NO man knows the day or the hour only God the father who is in charge of all things. Jesus told his disciples not to concern themselves with those things – but to simply be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the utter most parts of the world.”

Likewise we shouldn’t be trying to put a time clock on God based on speculation and theory.

But I do know this: It’s your last days and mine.” The issue is not, “Do we live in the last generation?” The issue is, “Will you and I live for Jesus Christ in the one generation we have and do business for Him until He comes?”

So it dosnt matter if the moon is White, Red, Black or Green – let’s not get side tracked.

Instead – Let’s live for Jesus every day – and do what we can – while we can.

Rev Ran 🙂

Jesus Has Been There

Do you know that sometimes the best thing you can do for a hurting person is to just be there?

When I first started in the ministry 25 years ago, I had a sermon for everyone. But since then, I have slept a couple of times, and met with many people who have experienced a tragedy or loss, and I have realized they don’t always need a sermon.

Often,what they need is just a friend. They don’t need someone to say, “I know what you are going through,” or “Maybe this is the reason.” They need someone to just love them, pray for them, and cry with them because of the great sense of loss they are experiencing.

Jesus experienced loneliness and doubt. He experienced anguish. Or I like to call them, “Earth Moments.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked Peter, James, and John just to be there with Him. Then, in perhaps the loneliest moment of His life, He cried out from the cross, “ ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matthew 27:46).

It is believed by many (myself included) that at that moment, God poured all the sin of humanity on His sinless Son. That’s a very important doctrinal point, “sin came on Jesus, he did not become sin.” As the Heavenly Father, who is holy, turned His face, Jesus was separated momentarily from Him. In that moment, Jesus experienced loneliness like we never have known.

So the next time you are feeling down, the next time you are feeling misunderstood, the next time it seems like your friends have forsaken you, know this: Jesus has been there. He knows what it is like. And He will never leave you or forsake you.

Rev Ran 🙂

Pay It Forward

Have you ever heard the phrase “Pay It Forward.” Dr David Jeremiah told the following story:

“A grieving Canadian widower was dining alone in a restaurant for the first time since burying his wife of 43 years. Seated nearby was a young couple who reminded him of the love he and his wife had shared. He quietly gave the restaurant money to cover the couple’s meal and wrote them a note on a napkin. He thanked them for the memories they evoked, related a bit of his own situation, and wished them well in their lives.”

I really like that – He could have enjoyed the memories alone. He could have stopped by their table and greeted them. But he went a step further — he took money from his pocket to bless a couple of strangers with a meal and encourage them in their lives. Opportunities to be a blessing to others are fleeting and should be grasped. Wishing someone well is one thing; taking steps to ensure they are blessed is another — especially when they have a need that we can meet. We have been blessed to be a blessing to others (1 Peter 3:9).

Have a great day!

Rev Ran 🙂

We Need Another Revival

Last night, the 22 yr old son of a Hollywood producer went on a mass killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara. When it was all said and done 7 people (including the shooter) were dead and 11 were injured. Witness say he pulled up in a black BMW – he seemed to have all that life had to offer. Of course we don’t know all the in’s and outs of this young mans life. But Jesus does – and he loves him. He is the only answer to our lives.

Knowing that truth it should cause everyone of us to pray earnestly for REVIVAL !

From 1857 to 1859 a revival swept New York City that became part of what is called the Third Great Awakening. Jeremiah Lanphier, a forty-eight-year-old businessman, began a prayer meeting on Fulton Street. Not many people attended the prayer meeting at first. But then the stock market crashed. Soon hundreds of New Yorkers were gathering for prayer. Within months, six thousand people were gathering at noon for prayer throughout New York City. It is reported that fifty thousand New Yorkers came to faith and an estimated one million people came to the Lord during this time.

The prophet Habakkuk understood the need for a revival in his day when he prayed, “O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).

That needs to be our prayer, too; we need another revival.

Rev Ran 🙂