Searching For The Lost
         
Like most people in the world, I was amazed as I watched the search and rescue efforts for the missing people in the Texas flood saga. Hundreds of people, boats, rafts, helicopters, ATV & UTV type equipment, tanks, wreckers, bulldozers, backhoes and other equipment were all rushed to the scene of this tragedy to help find any survivors. The efforts were valiant and heroic as many people were rescued and bodies recovered.
The number of missing people at one time was over 100. Then suddenly without much fanfare from the media 97 people were “found” and the number of missing people was only 3. In my opinion, the media gave massive coverage on the flood and the tragedy and destruction but said very little about the people who were missing but now were found to be alive. There should have been tremendous public attention and rejoicing for these people who were missing and assumed dead now being found alive.
In Luke 19:10 we find the reason that Jesus came to Earth. It reads, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”  Jesus gave up the throne room of Heaven to come to Earth to pay the price for our salvation and redemption. He came and has never stopped seeking those who are lost. To Him, a lost soul that is heading to Hell is His major priority to see them saved and rescued from an eternity of torment. He never gives up seeking lost people and demonstrating His love toward them in order to turn them from the broad road to Hell to the narrow path to Heaven.
And what happens when one of these lost people is found and rescued from destruction? The Bible tells us in Luke 15:17 – “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” All of Heaven rejoices when one lost person gets saved. God, the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, all of the Angels, all of the saved people already in Heaven rejoice when one person gets saved.
To seek for someone who is in peril of losing their life is a noble thing of valor. But to seek people who are in danger of losing their soul for all eternity is a higher calling. If the person is rescued from danger here on Earth they still have to be rescued from a damned eternity in Hell. We should be putting as much time, money, effort, and resources into seeking lost souls as we do lost people. In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs  

The Trinities
 
          Everyone with just a little bit of knowledge about Christianity has heard of the Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit make up this blessed trio. People may have also heard of the Unholy Trinity – Satan, The Devil, and his demons. This group is the total opposite of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity comes to give life and it more abundantly. The Unholy trinity does everything that it can do to undo all the good things that the Holy Trinity does. The Unholy trinity comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
          You may not have heard about this next trinity but you have been a part of it since birth. It is called the Selfish Trinity and it consists of Me, Myself, and I. When you are born you are born with a sinful, selfish nature. No one has to teach a baby how to be selfish. It is an ingrained part of human nature.
 While on vacation I watched our 11-month-old granddaughter do some selfish things. She is so sweet and a good-natured baby but when she wants what she wants when she wants it, she will let you know if she doesn’t get her way. She will give you some stern looks, fuss at you in baby jabber, and even pitch a fit including throwing things if she doesn’t get her way. She can’t help it. She, like all of us, was born with the selfish trinity inside of us.
          What is bad is to see teenagers, young adults, middle aged adults, and even senior adults demonstrating the characteristics of the selfish trinity. I have seen grown people sulk, cause a scene, curse, have a temper tantrum, and demonstrate all of the actions of my 11-month-old granddaughter. Why? Because the selfish trinity has controlled them so long that they think that the world revolves around them and when they don’t get their way they pitch a fit.
          There is only one way to break the power of the selfish trinity. Unless you become a sanctified Christian and die to yourself, you will spend your whole life allowing this selfish trinity to control and even in some cases destroy your life. It is not enough to ask Jesus to save you and forgive you of your sins. That is step one. But the Bible says that we must die to ourselves and the selfish trinity that lives inside of us. Once we die to ourselves then the power of the Holy Trinity comes to live in our heart in the form of the Holy Spirit.
Once you die to yourself and surrender control to the Holy Spirit then it can live in you and love through you in ways you never even knew existed.  It is no longer about me, myself, and I. It is now about God 1st and others next and them myself. The old acronym JOY says it best- Jesus Others Yourself. You have a new vision and focus that your selfishness wouldn’t even let you know existed before.
So be set free from yourself and allow God to live, rule, and reign in your life and you will find a peace that passes all understanding.
In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs 

Come Boldly But Not Brashly.
 
          Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” This verse indicates that because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross, the barrier between God and us that broke our fellowship, has been removed. We Come to God boldly not based on anything that we have ever done but totally on the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ paving the way.
          In ancient times if a King was sitting on his throne and someone appeared in the courtyard wanting to approach the king, they could only do so if he held his royal scepter toward them. If someone attempted to see the king without him holding out his scepter, then the penalty was death – on the spot.
          When Jesus died on the Cross His sacrificial death tore down the wall of petition in the temple and now thus anyone can approach the throne room of God through prayer. God is holding out His royal scepter to us welcoming us to approach Him and receive mercy and grace when we need it the most.
          But just because He invites us to come boldly, that does not mean that we can come brashly. First of all, you cannot approach God as a sinner because the sin has created a barrier between you and a Holy God. You must first approach God and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Then He invites you to come and approach Him as His child – not as the dirty, rotten sinner that you were.
          Additionally, when we come boldly to Him, we must be willing to seek Him and obey what He commands us to do. We can’t just approach Him like He is a magic genie who will grant our every wish. Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Many people like the idea of God giving them the desires of their heart but we must take delight in God and His will and way. When you delight yourself in Him the desires of your heart will change to line up with His will and way for your life.
          We also cannot approach God brashly because of who He is. He is God almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth. He controls the number of breaths that you breathe and every second that you live. He is worthy of ALL honor, praise and reverence. To come into His presence brashly thinking that you are doing a favor by taking time to talk to Him is an insult to His Holiness. We are invited to come into His presence in Holiness and reverence before we can invite Him to come into our presence and grant our requests.
          A great way to come boldly into His presence is to come boldly into His presence with praise, worship, and adoration before you ever ask Him anything. Instead of just pouring out your wish list of things that you want Him to do, what not start off by asking Him what HE would have you do? WOW. That changes the perspective of our prayer life.
          Take up God’s invitation to approach him boldly but don’t do it brashly. You will be surprised how much better your prayer life is with this approach.
​In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs 

A Great Teacher Helps You Learn
 
          While on our family vacation our daughter in love Meg’s dad Michael came to the beach with us and brought two of his paddleboards. Michael grew up in a beach town and paddle boarding and surfing have been a strong part of his whole life. He wanted to teach our family to paddleboard. Everyone was eager to learn except me. I am awaiting total shoulder replacement, so I decided to sit this one out.
          Everyone took a turn learning about the board and how to get up on it and steer it through the waves. Everyone pretty much fell off in grand fashion when first trying to learn. Michael was so patient and so encouraging with each member of the family that attempted to learn. His gentle and calm instructions kept everyone interested and determined to learn. In the end all of the family students got up on the boards and were able to ride them. He made this experience a blessing to our family.
          I thought about how we as more experienced Christians could learn a lesson when trying to show new, untrained Christians how to maneuver through the waves of Christianity. Michael could have gotten out there and showed off his tremendous skills, but he chose to show how rather than to show off. He also was gentle and encouraging rather than critical and harsh when someone fell off or made a mistake.
          When a person first accepts Christ, they don’t know the right way yet. We must be patient and gentle with them like the babes in Christ that they are. They are going to do what babies do – make a mess and cry when they are corrected. So they need us, the more mature Christians, to show them the way with patience, gentleness, and kindness. Many a new Christian has been run off because of harshness and impatience from older Christians who chose to correct in a way that wasn’t loving.
          I saw all of our family members fall off the board in sometimes awkward positions. But each one got back up and tried again. Why? A big part of it was because Michael's gentle words of encouragement made them not feel like a failure but just that it was a part of the learning process.  In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs

            I had someone ask me about the Christian concept of come as you are. I told the person that -YES Jesus and the church want you to come as you are. Once you have come and have learned the things about Christ and salvation, you should not want to STAY as you are. Christ loves you too much to allow you to stay as you are. Jesus died a cruel death to pay the price for our sins. He did that so that we didn’t have to stay a dirty rotten sinner.

Jesus sacrificed His life so that we can experience new life with the Holy Spirit living inside of us to make us what the Bible calls a “New Creation”. To come to Christ as you are and then stay the way that you are is evidence that you really haven’t allowed Christ to change you. You are still living with the sinful nature and the evidence of that nature in the sins that you continually commit.

Some people try to hide behind the come as you are idea to justify their sin. They say things like, “You said come as you are and this is the way that I am”. We welcome you as you are but we want to help you become what God intended to be – A Child of His that can have fellowship with Him. Sin breaks that fellowship and if you can continue on in that sin after you have learned the knowledge of the truth, then the Bible says that you are lost and that the Spirit of God doesn’t live inside of you.

To keep on living as you are without accepting the salvation that Jesus offers is to live in disobedience and willful rebellion to the perfect will of God. The idea is for you to come as you are but don’t stay that way. You don’t have to (And really cannot) clean up and get everything together to come to Christ and His church. But you can come as you are – no matter how filthy, rotten sinner that you are and Jesus can wash your sins clean with His blood and you will now be called a Child of God.

​Once Jesus saves you and you are no longer as you were, you now have the wonderful opportunity to become more than you ever imagined that you could become. So come as you are, let Jesus change you into what you can become with Him molding and shaping you. 

​ In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs