PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, DAILY DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: FAMILIES NEED STRONG WOMEN TO GUIDE THEM

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS:  THE VALUE OF WOMEN

Pastor John Collins, evangelist and head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries, has been leading a revival of faith across the United States for many years.  His speaks of faith and hope, preaching the Gospel in such a way that it is easy to hear the Word of God. 

Pastor John Collins posts devotionals on a regular basis on his Facebook page.  Each post is a snapshot of what he preaches during his revival series.  He talks about topics that are not politically correct and places them in a biblical light.  Pastor John Collins says clearly he is not politically correct, he is biblically correct.

Women through the centuries have struggled to validate their place in the world.  Pastor John Collins recognizes that Jesus and God value women.  Women are strong and courageous.  They have never been taken for granted by God.  Strong faith is what women need to face the world today, that faith in Jesus and in God will guide them.

“A woman’s role does not have to be one thing or another but it should always be a role of strength and dignity with love and compassion at its core.”~ Pastor John Collins

Pastor John Collins writes:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.” John 20:16-18

Mary Magdalene believed in Jesus, sought Him out, anointed Him with oil, wept on His feet and wiped those feet with her hair. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, learned from Him and was a disciple of His. Mary was the one that Jesus chose to see first after He was resurrected. Mary was brave and humble when she went to Him in that house of the Pharisee as she cared not what others thought of her, nor spoke of her but cared only to go to Jesus and kiss His feet and seek His forgiveness and His acceptance and Jesus not only gave that forgiveness, accepted her love for Him but spoke that she would be remembered for her actions and He demonstrated her value when He chose to go to Mary first and to give her the honor of knowing He was alive and to relate that information along with her witness of Him to his brethren.

It took courage to follow Jesus during His ministry and it took faith to know Him as the Son of God. Mary had that courage and had great faith in her Lord. There were dark centuries that followed the beginnings of the Christian faith. There have been centuries of oppression of not only the uneducated but of women as well. Women have come a long way from the days of the dark ages, of the days of education denial (for many parts of the world, anyway), and from the denial of equality of the genders. Women push forward in their search for that equality and for the opportunities to make their mark in this world but I want to remind women that their mark has been made and has never been taken for granted by God. God values women and Jesus demonstrated the love that He had for Mary by going to her first, by teaching her and standing up for her. Women should never forget that their value begins in the home, for they are the caretakers, the bringers of life and the mothers of our children. Do not underestimate the value of those things as being a mother allows you to teach your children how to get to heaven, how to live boldly and with faith in this dark world and being a wife allows you to help your husband be a part of a family that relies on God. A woman’s role does not have to be one thing or another but it should always be a role of strength and dignity with love and compassion at its core. That is the love of God within you and God has provided women with the complex ability to keep a family together and to guide it in love and faith with trust and truth at its center.

There always seems to be an agenda on the table and as progress ticks away and women continue to fight for what they believe to be most important to them I can only hope that they remember to value what has always belonged to them from the beginning. Family is everything and while equal pay may seem to be the biggest priority to some this world seems to be allowing the family to fail. Industrial success will never replace the failures of our homes and women need to find the courage, like Mary, to believe in our Savior and to brave the opinions of others to declare their loyalty to Him as they live up to the great responsibilities that have been entrusted to them. It is not easy to choose faith over finances, faith over popularity, faith over apparent success or faith over personal gain but in the end heaven is waiting and families need strong women to guide them.

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

LOVE THAT CROSS PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

Pastor John Collins has many recordings, videos, sermons, and broadcasts that can be downloaded, viewed or heard.  Several are embedded in this post as backlinks and are available to you. 

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: SEX SELLS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: We live in a sexual world

Pastor John Collins, evangelist and head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries, continues to spread the Word of God and revival of hope and faith across the globe.  Daily posts by Pastor John Collins give a snapshot into the content of his sermons, interviews, recordings, and videos.

Pastor John Collins has been promoting revival of faith and hope for many years.  In a revival tour across the country, Pastor John Collins has consistently spread a message of hope, to bring people back to God.  The United States society has turned its back on God, more so in the last decades than ever before.  God wants everyone back with Him, those who will choose so.  People need to hear the Word of God without it being watered down and made to fit; Pastor John Collins preaches it like it is.

Lately, there has been news broadcast after news broadcast about sexual harassment and #Metoo movement.  Pastor John Collins addresses this hot topic in this post from a biblically correct, not politically correct point of view. 

Pastor John Collins writes:

“For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16 (NKJV).

We live in a sexual world, ruled by lusts and desires. Sex sells. Temptation and allure makes for good entertainment as is evident by all of the campaign ads for products, the dramas on television and all of the reality TV shows that are so popular. Men and women both want to feel sexy and good about themselves. There is upset in Hollywood about the good old boys club of perverts and perpetrators. There is conversations taking place about women being seen as objects for the pleasure of the powerful and those that have status and are beautiful themselves. The elite like to act bad and turn a blind eye but it is not only the elite that behave in this way, it is mankind because mankind was built with reproduction in mind and one of the keys to furthering the population is desire. 

Let us be very honest about desire. Men lust and women lust. Both men and women want to create sexual desire in those that they desire themselves as well as those that they don’t because to create awareness of your desire in others is to claim power for yourself. Women want to be wanted but they don’t want to be seen as prey nor be treated as meat. Men want to be wanted and some wouldn’t mind being treated as prey as it is empowering to have others want you. Men and women that find themselves on the less fortunate scales of beauty and yet desire to be desired will often use other means to obtain that control such as money, power and position. It is a fine line that people walk in dealing with lust, self-esteem, self-confidence and expression of self that is often displayed through one’s looks and clothing. Revealing clothes, short skirts, tight pants, fancy suits and hair done just right with make-up in place and attitudes honed to achieve the desired effect on others. Women want men to want them and women to envy them and men want women to want them and men to envy them. Let’s be honest about the sexual nature of our society and if anything is to change it must begin within.

When does a man or woman’s desire to look good and feel sexy become a stumbling block for another? When does a man’s desire for all of the benefits that he sees come with his physical appearance, status and financial means become a threat? There is a line that should never be crossed between men and women, especially in the workplace but the lines have been blurred for a very long time now and it is the responsibility of the individual to choose to walk a line that is upright and without ulterior motives. We should not be hunting one another and we should not be using our looks, dress, money or positions to further our own desires. We should be aware of our effect on one another and most of all we should be aware of what motivates us to get dressed up and look as we do when we walk out that door in the morning. It is not necessary for women to dress in potato sacks with plain faces and their hair in a bun as it is not necessary for men to become pot-bellied slobs in ill-fitting suits but it should be necessary for men and women to dress without sexual provocation and to limit their allure in the workplace. 

Desire is natural and should be good. Sex is natural and should be good. Our relaxed sexual atmosphere has created a relaxed viewpoint on what is proper and what is profane. We cannot have our cake and eat it too. You cannot dress in a manner that you know creates desire in others and expect to have others ignore you. We must all take responsibility for our own choices and we must all recognize that it is not just men who are the problem and it is not just the women who are the problem. Our bodies were meant to be shared with our spouses, for pleasure and for reproduction. We are not meant to be free in our sexual encounters because they are supposed to mean something and it is meant to be special and sanctified. Be willing to look at what moves you to desire, what prompts your self-worth and how you value your sexual beliefs and behavior and be willing to compare that with the outlook of our Creator and see if they line up.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.  For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 (NKJV).

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

Links to other sermons, broadcasts, recordings, and writings by Pastor John Collins, Love That Cross Ministries, can be viewed by clicking on the backlinks embedded in this blog.

Pastor John Collins: God resists the proud

Reprinted with permission from the original authors: 

Pastor John Collins, Wyoming evangelist: God resists the proud

Pride and humility.  We are a proud people here in the United States.  We have so much that we have accomplished, the rest of the world sometimes looks at us in disgust because we give the appearance of not being satisfied.  It’s never enough and we draw attention to ourselves where ever we go.  Celebrities are recognized and lifted up as examples for us to live by.  Through all of the media, it’s “look what I can do”.  God resists the proud. Pride will not get any soul into heaven.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

Our faith as Christians today doesn’t measure up to the faith of Abraham, of Noah, of Moses, of David.  These men were humble to begin with and knew the value and spirit of humility before God.  Our pride gets in the way.  How would God choose from among us today?  We often don’t have the strength of faith to worship Him, let alone look beyond what our human hands and minds create and put before God.  Our offerings of ourselves lack humility.  We need to let go of pride and ego, let go of the pride that we have accomplished something and let God and Jesus Christ work in our lives. 

Evangelist Pastor John Collins began a revival of awakening in Wyoming. 

That awakening stirs the spirit of those who hear him.  From a pulpit or behind the microphone of a recording studio, his words are Biblically correct. Being Biblically correct in a very politically correct world is difficult for most of the strongest of Christians today.  Pastor Collins does it well and puts pride and humility into this perspective:

“Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.’” Luke 9:46-48

Who is worthy to be lifted up? How does God choose those that He would separate and use for His purposes? He chose Abraham and Abraham was considered a friend of God’s. He chose David and David was a man after God’s own heart. He sent His Son who died for us all.  Even those who walked with Jesus thought of themselves and the impact that they would have on this world. This is so wonderful to know that the human instinct to desire to rise above and be great was felt in those men who walked with Christ. This allows us to recognize this in ourselves and work to overcome that ego. They were corrected and they learned what true humility is. They witnessed their Lord humble Himself to the Cross. Yet there are so many that want to be great in the name of the Lord. They call attention to themselves and think highly of themselves. But, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Believe me when I tell you that God knows what He is doing and He knows our hearts.

Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Wyoming Revival continues on: God has no use for pride.

God does not want servants that think highly of themselves and their eligibility. God wants people to serve Him that are humble of heart. When we choose to walk with Jesus it should be with a pure heart and a true devotion to obedience to the Lord. We should never seek our own acclaim. We should not care what others think of us. We should be concerned only with whether we are an asset to the kingdom of God or a burden. If we have selfish ambition in our heart and a desire to stand out and be important, we are seeking status in this life and we are then unworthy to be a true servant of the Lord.

We must be careful when we desire to leave a name for ourselves, to want to be recognized for our importance or to be valued among men. A truly worthy person that will serve God well is a person that has no ambition in his heart. This person thinks of salvation when he looks upon the souls of this world. This person has sadness in his heart because of the condition of the human race. This person worries of the state of others’ faith in their lives. This person considers opportunities to share the gospel and help others come to Jesus. This person wants to see others go to heaven and lives his life as an example. This person will sacrifice and find ways to be a light in a world of dark. This person will please God.

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” James 2:5

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:3-6

Learning to be humble takes a commitment to become obedient to God.  In order to become obedient to God, we need to learn to draw near to Him in prayer and through the words in the Holy Bible.  God wants each of us to have the opportunity to come to know Him, so that we all can go home to Him one day.  That is the reason He sent His Son Jesus Christ, for our salvation through His sacrifice on the Cross.  Jesus humbly accepted the punishment of our sins, died publicly in humility and obedience.  God won’t ask us to do anything that He won’t equip us to handle.  We can become obedient and humble ourselves before God, just as His Son did.  God wants us to come to know Him and His love, to help us with our lives and be part of our lives here in this world.  Pride and ego turns us from God.  To be meek, to be poor in spirit means to be humble; we need to learn the humility of Christ. Bring back God in our lives, come humbly to the foot of the Cross.

“God is never secondary in my life, He is always Primary”- Pastor John Collins, Evangelist.

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, LOVE THAT CROSS: Their strength is your strength!

Pastor John Collins, Love That Cross Ministries, who is recognized as an influential pastor in America, is reaching out in his passion for truth and salvation in this post from his Facebook pages.  He gives us a no nonsense and to the point call to examine our hearts, as Christians,  and how we approach the political correctness that we face in sitting on the fence with our faith and how we view evil in today's world.  He calls it like it is.  We need to get to know our God, up close and personal.

Pastor John Collins of Love that Cross Ministries posts devotionals on his Facebook pages.  These short, touch the core of your soul mini sermons make you evaluate your life, your faith, your salvation.

Pastor John is identified as one of 15 influential pastors in America today.  It is easy to see how as you read through his posts. His words come from the heart.  He is biblically correct. This blog chooses a post from previous archives, but these posts are just as appropriate now as they were when they were created.  Love That Cross Ministries was launched in 2015 as a means for revival and salvation.  Pastor John brings a fire of life to evangelism and salvation.

This daily devotional from Pastor John Collins' Facebook page is a recent post.  As in all his others, his style of preaching, even through written works, will reach into your heart and allow you to look at yourself objectively.  We all struggle in this world, and our perseverance and reliance upon God and Jesus is what helps us get through those struggles.  It hasn't changed since Paul wrote the scripture noted below. The goal of our life here on earth is to get back home, to heaven.  It's our trust as Christians in God and His Son that will give us strength to get through this life. Enjoy Pastor John's devotional. 

 PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: Their strength is your strength.

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 

Sometimes life just beats you up and sometimes your faith is tested more than you think that you can bear. It is important to begin and maintain that relationship with Jesus so that you can be sure that all of your struggles in life will produce the results that you seek. You should be seeking first and always to obey the Lord and get to heaven and your entire life should produce godly fruit that is evident of your conviction.

When you are not striving to do the will of God and you are living your life doing your own will and pursuing your own desires then you can be sure that any pitfalls that you fall into are not about testing your faith but are about providing opportunities for you to begin to pursue your faith. If you are a person who devotes each day to becoming more Christ-like then you can be sure that all of your struggles are not in vain but are a product of your learning to trust in God and also learning what is approved of by God while strengthening your character and preparing you for heaven. Only the pure and the approved get to go to heaven and just believing in Jesus does not mean you will be welcomed into Paradise. Remember that even the demons believe.

Perseverance is a challenge for everyone. It is not easy to feel burdened and tormented in life and it is not easy to deal with all that may happen that produces loss and hurt and scars. The beauty of submitting to the will of God and in obeying the Lord and in calling upon Jesus is that you know that when your faith is genuine, their strength is your strength and their hope for you is complete and they won’t let go. God really does want you to make it home to Him and Jesus really did die for you so that you could go there.

Life is difficult and times are tough and it is nothing new. Give your life to Jesus and commit to being loyal and obedient in your faith and know that no matter what you go through in this journey He will be there for you. Trust that you do have what it takes to persevere and it is worth it to try and try and try. Hold on to the hope that the Lord has given because He does love you.

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 

                                  LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN, BELIEVE THAT

Click on the photo above to view a recorded sermon by PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, LOVE THAT CROSS MINISTRIES

Holy Bible excerpts are from New King James Version Bible. 



 

some photos from Google images

copied by permission from Facebook, John Collins (Pastor John Collins ) 

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, LOVE THAT CROSS MINISTRIES: Do you hate?

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, LOVE THAT CROSS MINISTRIES: Do you hate?

 

Pastor John Collins, Love That Cross Ministries, who is recognized as an influential pastor in America, is reaching out in his passion for truth and salvation in this post from his Facebook pages.  He gives us a no nonsense and to the point call to examine our hearts, as Christians,  and how we approach the political correctness that we face in sitting on the fence with our faith and how we view evil in today's world.  He calls it like it is.  We need to get to know our God, up close and personal.

Pastor John Collins of Love that Cross Ministries posts devotionals on his Facebook pages.  These short, touch the core of your soul mini sermons make you evaluate your life, your faith, your salvation.

Pastor John is identified as one of 15 influential pastors in America today.  It is easy to see how as you read through his posts. His words come from the heart.  He is biblically correct. This blog chooses a post from previous archives, but these posts are just as appropriate now as they were when they were created.  Love That Cross Ministries was launched in 2015 as a means for revival and salvation.  Pastor John brings a fire of life to evangelism and salvation.

 Pastor John recently posted this daily devotional on his Facebook page.  There has been a lot of violence, kidnappings, killings in the news these past few days.  This is not the work of God, it is the work of evil and man's will.  The more hate is generated, from leaders to neighborhoods, the more the spirit of Satan grows and spreads.  Hate is that poison, and violence is the child of it.

“The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” Psalm 11:5

What is wrong with people? The shootings, the killings, the attacks, the intent to harm and the general hatred of our brothers and sisters here on earth has brought us face to face with the spirit of Cain. Why don’t people care? Why are children harmed and families destroyed? Goodness, why have we systematically removed God from our lives? People, don’t you see or care that the spirit of Satan is alive and well and growing?

We hate each other, we hate ourselves, we hate our lives and we hate the rules. We hate listening, we hate obedience and we hate being wrong. We hate and whether any of you want to admit it or not, there is a judgmental and hateful attitude that fills this world up and violence is its child. People are rude, nasty, dismissive and cruel. People are selfish, ugly on the inside and malicious.

There is a day coming that will bring shock and that will scare people into listening to the truth and desiring the will of God. There will also be those who will always choose evil and will always thrive on the pain of another. It is imperative that you choose which way you want to live your life because small things turn into big things and before you know it your heart is full of hate. An argument that is unresolved turns to a grudge that becomes spite and hateful words can turn into a raised fist or a bullet shot from a gun.

Every little piece of you makes up the whole picture and you cannot be a person that carries anger, bitterness, frustration and rage around in your heart and not act out in ways that are vicious and mean. You cannot be a smack talking parent who berates their child and insults casually those who despise without raising a hateful human who turns out to be filled with malice. Hate trickles down and poisons the children that it touches. Hate spreads out and poisons the communities that it touches. Our world is infected and there is just not enough people willing to stand up and tell the truth; that this world has chosen evil over good and the only way to right this wrong is to return to God and the Lord Jesus Christ so that we can be healed. There are many that are not able to claim salvation but the saddest thing is when salvation is so close and people just won’t grab on to the holy hands that are held out to them.

People need to be willing to let go of hate, let go of hurt and to stop the violence, to stop the vicious cycle of destroying one another in any way possible. People need to begin to think of their eternal destinations and not their earthly battles and daily struggles that are keeping them imprisoned by the spirit of evil. People need to stop the hate day by day, hour by hour if needed and to choose to turn to Christ and be healed.

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And so this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:10-12.

  LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN, BELIEVE THAT

Click on the photo above to view a recorded sermon by PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, LOVE THAT CROSS MINISTRIES

Holy Bible excerpts are from New King James Version bible. 

some photos from Google images

copied by permission from Facebook, John Collins (Pastor John Collins )