PASTOR JOHN COLLINS THOUGHT OF THE DAY: TOUGH LOVE

 Pastor John Collins writes:

“Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!” Jeremiah 20:14 (NKJV).

Who has not felt despair pulling on their world that seems to outweigh any hope that may exist? This life is full of ugly truths and disappointing days that will rip your heart out if you let it. There are valleys and shadows of a darkness that is uncompromising. People who find themselves at low points may turn to substances, whether prescription or illegal or over the counter in order to dull their pain and put off the agony of reality. It is at these low times when you feel as though you have nothing to hang on to, nothing to live for and nothing to pull you out of the darkness that faith is most important. For some, it is these dark spaces that create faith and for others it is the place that creates the doubt that challenges one’s faith. Sometimes it is hard to hold on to what you cannot see.

The human spirit is amazingly resilient. We are tougher than we realize. The truth is that there will come a time or many times in a person’s life that will leave you low and wanting to curse not only the world but your place in it. We are created with a great capacity to feel great emotions both high and low and we are capable of great compassion for each other and need to find the ability to have compassion for ourselves, not in any superficial or selfish way but in a way that allows us to let God into our hearts in order to be healed by Him. We need to choose to not allow pain to overwhelm us when we will be confronted with pain every day, whether or not that pain is our own personally or collectively. You see, when there is hurt in this world we need to make an even greater effort to love more. The more that we can genuinely love, beginning with loving God, who in turn allows us to love ourselves, not selfishly but with compassion and the ability to forgive ourselves so that we don’t go on punishing ourselves for past mistakes, bad choices or tragedies that we internalize and take on guilt for and that allows us to be able to love others with sincerity and truth. We have to be able to see the big picture as well as the little picture at the same time. Not only do we need to realize that God does have a plan and that He has not forgotten us nor forsaken us but know your life matters, what you do and who you love matters and that love needs to allow for forgiveness, acceptance and hope to shine through the darkness.

If you have not experienced pain of the soul that sucks the breath right out of you then you have not lived. If you have not stood back and felt awe for the world we live in then you have not awakened to the truth of God. The entire human experience will bring both despair and joy beyond imagination and knowing both allows you to be a better person and a person of compassion and truth. God is good and will not leave you alone. Do not grow bitter for having known the darkness because without it you could not appreciate the light.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!’” Lamentations 3:22-24 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, DAILY THOUGHTS: LOOK INSIDE

Pastor John Collins: Your own light

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV).

There are many Christians who feel compelled to go out into the world and bring the salvation of Jesus to the ‘lost’. There are many ‘Christians’ who sit in silent judgement with condemnation in their hearts for those who are not Christian. There are many churches who preach that their church is the only way to heaven. There are many who need to stop and look in the mirror before they condemn those that have yet to come to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

There are a bunch of self-righteous people in this world and many of them call themselves Christians. The first thing that a true Christian needs to be able to do is to look within themselves and see all of the ugly that they are carrying around and to look to the King of Kings so that they can clean it up and become followers of Jesus.

Just because someone is not a Christian today does not mean that they will not seek salvation prior to their death. Don’t go rushing off to another country in order to save those of another religion because you think that you are meant to do so. Make sure that your own salvation is sure and make sure that your own life is lit up as a beacon to those you encounter before you go thinking that you hold the key to another’s salvation. God is more than capable of bringing the truth into a person’s life so that they can make the choice of whether to believe in His Son or not. God is more than willing to offer salvation and healing to this world and will provide revelation to His people in His own time.

There have been too many churches and too many people that have abused the calling of Jesus in order to condemn others, in order to control others and in order to gain power and prestige. Keep things simple in your life and be committed to getting right with God yourself and living a life that shines for Jesus and don’t allow your heart to be filled with condemnation for others nor filled with your own superiority and imagined righteousness.

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44 (NKJV).

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PASTOR JOHN COLLINS DAILY THOUGHT: FEAR LIES

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: "God's got this!"

Fear is a liar.  Those are lyrics in a song by Zach Williams, and those words ring true.  Fear is of Satan and it is fear that drives so much of the bad things that are happening in our world today.  Fear is what keeps us from being the good neighbor that Jesus Christ taught us to be, it keeps us from reaching across cultural barriers, gender barriers, racial barriers, and poverty barriers of the homeless and ostracized. “Fear not” is in the Bible 365 times.  God’s promises teach us to be strong and confident; the saying is “God’s got this”, if we let Him.  God sent us His Peace, Jesus Christ, to help us get through the storms, the failures, the pain, the hurt of this world. It is that Peace that is the biggest promise of all, hope in the salvation given through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.  Our faith in Jesus and God is the salvation of our soul.  Where we spend eternity after this life depends on that faith.

Pastor John Collins (January, 2018) ~ “We must move forward in this life with confidence and faith and not fear, but we must also move forward with humility and not pride and a true desire to please God because it matters and where your soul ends up depends upon it.”

Pastor John Collins is an evangelist and head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries and Pastor John Collins Ministries.  Pastor John Collins is driven to redeem the Gospel and bring the news of salvation and hope offered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Pastor John Collins has been spreading revival for more than ten years, reaching into our hearts and souls and telling us what we need to hear.  Pastor John Collins’ style of preaching is similar to that of Billy Graham, telling the Word of God in a manner that is easy to understand and hear.  Like David Wilkerson, Pastor John Collins is humble and approachable to answer questions and guide us closer to God, Jesus, and the Cross.

Pastor John Collins writes:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:17 (NKJV).

Fear is where bad thoughts and bad decisions lie. Fear can make you be suspicious of your loved ones, fear can make you act crazy and overbearing towards your children, fear can make you act territorial on your job and fear can costs you relationships that you cherish. Fear can make you hit the bottle, buy a bag or slam the needle. Fear can keep you from living your life peacefully. Fear can keep you inside your home, fear can keep your from opening up to others and fear can ruin your life. God does not want us to live in fear whether we are aware of it or not. God does not want us to be weak because of fear nor give in to what we do not believe in because of fear, whether it is fear of not getting along and being accepted, fear of getting hurt or fear of losing something or someone. God wants us to be strong and confident in the face of fear because we know that His promises are true.

There have been many self-help books and seminars on fear and on the power of positive thinking. Many people have grasped the concept of positive thinking and have chosen to devote themselves to changing the way that they think in order to have better outcomes on their situations in life. There are 2 options when it comes to positive thinking: you can stand in your personal power to think yourself into a positive outcome of whatever place you find yourself or you can stand in godliness and trust in the Lord to help you find solutions to your problems and grace to accept your failures along with wisdom to grow in your faith which allows your soul the maturing that God is hopeful that you will claim while you live here on earth. God is aware of all of your joys, problems, fears and complications in your life. God wants you to stand strong in your faith with loyalty to Him and with a heart for Him. God wants you to learn to trust Him and to know that without Him you are nothing, without Jesus you are nothing. That is the truth of this world. Positive thinking comes from knowing you are loved and in return you are obedient to the will of God. Positive thinking that leads to heaven comes from knowing that you are meant to live your life with the knowledge that it gets messy and how you deal with all of it is the test and it is your greatest opportunity to show your love and faith in God.

Positive thinking is good when it is based on faith in God. But positive thinking that is based on what you can create and claim for yourself is arrogant and selfish and without true knowledge. We must move forward in this life with confidence and faith and not fear, but we must also move forward with humility and not pride and a true desire to please God because it matters and where your soul ends up depends upon it.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Hebrews 12:2-3 (NKJV).

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Pastor John Collins can be heard live weekly at during the 1000 a.m. hour, Mountain time, on Heaven’s Country with Marty Smith.  Other recordings, media, blogs, radio programs and more can be viewed or heard through the links found within this post.  Pastor John Collins can be reached personally through his email at jc65777@yahoo.com to help you through spiritual difficulties, prayer, and wants to help you find or strengthen your faith in God and Jesus Christ.

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, DAILY THOUGHTS: CEASELESS PRAYER

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS, EVANGELIST:  Pray without ceasing

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 Paul’s letter in 1 Thessalonians 5 says to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” ( 1 Thessalonians 5: 16) NKJV. Pastor John Collins preaches that God wants to hear our prayers.  Some doctrines teach that there needs to be a person to intervene for your prayer; this is not so.  God sent Jesus Christ to be our intercession for prayer.  When we pray, we are to pray in Jesus’ name, as the old hymn says “what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” 

God wants that personal relationship with us, He wants to hear our prayers ~ Pastor John Collins, 2018.

What a wonderful thing to be able to talk to our Father about anything and everything, from thanks to pain to worries about family, God is our loving Father who wants to hear from us.  Yes, God knows exactly what we need and He knows what is going on for us, but as our Father, He wants that personal relationship with us.  How do we do as Paul instructs to pray without ceasing?  We couldn’t work, we couldn’t attend to our physical responsibilities, and we physically cannot stay on our knees unceasingly.  The Hebrew word for without ceasing means “constantly recurring”.  Instead of trying to pray without ceasing, God wants us to tune in frequently.  As Pastor John Collins has preached, prayer should be the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before you fall asleep.  If you happen to fall asleep while praying, it’s ok, when you wake up, you will remember you were praying, finish that prayer, God understands and will hear us. Prayer and conversation with God should be a priority in our lives.

“We have a God that wants to hear from us, wants that relationship with us and He is seeking those who would worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Let your life be grounded in prayer, built upon prayer and fueled with prayer. Always be willing to prioritize your time and know that prayer should be at the top of the list.” Pastor John Collins, April 2018.

Pastor John Collins is an American evangelist and head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries and John Collins Ministries, Inc.  Pastor John Collins travels throughout the United States to bring revival of faith and hope back to churches and congregations around the country.  Communities are looking for hope and change, and Pastor John Collins is a voice of hope among the craziness in society today.  Pastor Collins posts devotionals on his Facebook page to help to explain where our faith should be, redeem the Gospel, and talks about difficult issues that many pastors won’t.  Pastor John Collins is determined to redeem the Gospel and bring God and Jesus back into our lives.

Pastor John Collins writes:

“In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple,And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.” Psalm 18:6 (NKJV).

We are told to pray without ceasing, to give our burdens to the Lord and to seek Him in all that we do. Too often people get busy in their lives, they have things to do, jobs to go to, children to raise, families to see to and trying to carve out some personal time to enjoy social activities all while trying to maintain a strong relationship with God. Sometimes prayers are whittled down to the bare necessities or even cast aside until a day of trouble and calamity. Prayer is personal and essential to your walk of faith. Prayer is your journal of love, hurt and worry written on your heart and trusted with the One who is trustworthy. Prayer is your place that you can admit all that you hide from the world, where you can be more honest than you ever dare to be out loud. Prayer is the place you are safe.

We should be taking the time to pray in thanks to our Creator and be willing to voice that praise out loud to all. We should be casting our cares upon Him and sharing our fears and worries while trusting that all things work for the good of them who love the Lord. We should be seeking wisdom and righteousness in all we do, coming prepared to every situation, having been founded in prayer. We should be connecting with God continuously so that His strength is what we carry with us through the days. We should never put off our prayer, ignore our need for prayer nor should we allow our prayers to become rote. We have a God that wants to hear from us, wants that relationship with us and He is seeking those who would worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Let your life be grounded in prayer, built upon prayer and fueled with prayer. Always be willing to prioritize your time and know that prayer should be at the top of the list.

“I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:7-8 (NKJV).

LOVE THAT CROSS PASTOR JOHN COLLINS

God loves us, we are His children.  Like any good parent, He wants to know what is going on in our lives first hand from our own hearts and minds.  Prayer is our way to talk to God. 

Pastor John Collins is a dynamic and charismatic preacher with humility and a love for God and Jesus that sets an example for everyone.  Pastor John Collins is a featured speaker on Heaven’s Country Radio, www.heavenscountry.com, on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. Mountain with Marty Smith.  Other content of Pastor John  Collins can be accessed by clicking on links through this blog post, including interviews, radio programs, sermons, and YouTube recordings.  Pastor John Collins is determined to bring God back to church, family, and society through redeeming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Pastor John Collins walks the walk and talks the talk.

In all things, pray.  Believe that.