Ray Ruppert's Blog, page 15

Praise from the Heart

“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart” (Ps 9:1). How can we praise the Lord with all our being?
Praise must come from the heart. Listen to what Psalm 9 verses 1 and 2 says,

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

In Western culture, the heart is the source of emotions. But that isn’t what it was for those who wrote the Bible. The heart was so much more. It represented all that a person is. It was the source of thought. Proverbs 23 verse 7 says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” The heart represented what a person is ethically, morally … essentially what a person is, good or bad.

So, if we want to praise the Lord with all our hearts, then that doesn’t mean we are just speaking words or singing worship songs. It means that all our inner being, who we are is directing praise to the Lord. It isn’t lip service it is what we do with every aspect of our lives. If we want to tell of his wonders and be joyful, it must come from our very soul, our heart.

Unfortunately, Jesus taught us that our hearts are no where near able to give him the praise he deserves. He said in Matthew 15 verse 19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

If you want to praise the Lord from your heart, then it must first be changed from the evil that is in it. The only way to do that is to confess how far from right we are in our hearts and ask Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us. If you want to know how to do that, then watch my pinned message on my profile page, "The Gospel" It will tell you how to be saved and have a new heart, a new you.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

What Are Humans?

 A lot of people say that we are just highly evolved animals and that we only operate on instincts though extremely complicated. The question of who we are is reflected in Psalm 8 verses 3 and 4.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

David was wondering about the same things when he compared us to everything else the Lord has created. But you must remember that David saw the universe as created by the Lord in six days. It was not a production of chance or evolution.

So he makes it clear in verse 5 that we are created by the Lord. He says, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

We are not the random chance of evolution or a product of a big bang. We are made. We are created and not only are we created but we are given glory and honor. There is no glory or honor in humanity if we are the product of chance.

Do you want to know just how much the Lord considers and values us? He knows that we are evil and wicked but he sent Jesus to rescue us from that evil because in spite of it, he loves us and wants to restore us to that glory and honor he intends for us.

But to get there we must repent of our sins and turn to Jesus for salvation. If you want to know how to repent, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel" It will tell you how to be saved.

May God Bless you!

“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4). Why does God care for us and what does it mean for us?

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

God's Sword

What does the Lord’s sword look like. It has different meanings depending on where you find it in the Bible. In today’s video it is found in Psalm 7 verses 12 and 13 which says,

“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.”

This isn’t the verse that Christians usually quote when they think about God’s sword. They are usually thinking about the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God found in Ephesians 6 verse 17. But the word of God is a double-edged sword as Hebrews 4 verse 12 tells us.

One side of the sword is to bring salvation to those who hear it and obey by expressing faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation. The other side of the sword is to bring judgment to those who ignore God’s word and reject Jesus Christ.

You have heard enough in this short video to know that you must repent or his sword will be joined by his other deadly weapons in judgment. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of God’s sword. If you want to know what it means to repent, then watch my video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you enough about God’s sword, his word to be saved.

May God Bless you! Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Holy God

Aholy God must punish sin, but "For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sinwho knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 
What does it mean for the Lord to be holy? Psalm 5:4-6 gives us a glimpse of what it means by telling us some things that our holy Lord won't tolerate.

4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. (ESV)

I have seen video after video posted that tries to tell me that the Lord will save everyone. It doesn't matter what they have done because the Lord's love is unconditional. That just flies in the face of what the Lord has revealed in these verse. When someone delights in wickedness and evil, they cannot dwell with the Lord. The Lord will not accept them until they turn from their evil. Our holy Lord has no association with wickedness.

Some people boast that they will get into heaven because they have lived a good life or maybe just enough above average to earn salvation. Other boasting is more subtle. They say they accepted Jesus as their Savior. They had the smarts or goodness in them to turn to Jesus. This is actually boasting because they are claiming a portion of the credit for salvation for themselves. Whatever part they claim is taking away from what the Lord does in salvation, which is really 100 percent. Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 clearly tell us that salvation is all the Lord's work so that we can't boast about contributing even 1 percent to our salvation. According to Psalm 5 verse 5, boasting is what evildoers do.

What will our holy Lord do to evil people? He will destroy them because he abhors all kinds of evil including lying and murder. That's the bad news. But the good news is that instead of punishing everyone because we are all evil, he punished the only one who has never done wrong, Jesus Christ. When we turn to Jesus to be saved from the Lord's wrath, our sins and their punishment is attributed to Jesus. In exchange, Jesus's perfectly pure life is attributed to us. If you want to know more about this, watch my video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to turn to Jesus for salvation from the Lord's wrath.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Sinful Anger

A lot of Christians have some wrong ideas about anger. Psalm 4 verse 4 is used to justify their anger. It reads, "Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent." They look at those first two words and believe this gives them the right to be angry. They reaffirm this right by quoting Ephesians 4 verse 26, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." It sounds almost like the same message as the Psalm. They use the first word, "be" as a command to actually get angry at times.

So what wrong about this conclusion? The first problem is that they ignore or minimize the idea that they aren't sinning when they become angry. Both of these verses explain that any permission to anger can only be when it isn't a result of sin. So now I come to James 1 verse 20 which says, "For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

You see, they think that any anger is OK as long as they don't do something in anger and that they resolve their anger by the time they go to bed. They totally ignore the fact that 99.99 percent of anger is because of their own sin. It isn't righteous anger. They aren't angry that Lord's holiness has been called into question or that people are acting in defiant rebellion against the Lord. They point to Jesus cleansing the temple and think that their anger is of the same category as Jesus's.

There are so many prohibitions against anger in the Bible that it would take a book to talk about them all. You see, our anger comes out of our heart just like Jesus said about many sins. Anger is a result of an impure heart and that can only be cleaned up by agreeing with the Lord about sinful anger and surrendering to Jesus Christ in repentance and salvation.

If you want to get rid of your sinful anger, watch my video on Youtube,"The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to turn to Jesus for salvation.


May God Bless you!






Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Sleep Peacefully

Do you have trouble sleeping? Does everything int the world, wars, disaster, diseases, and even people keep you awake at night? Maybe it's your own behavior that keeps you awake. What do you do? Listen to what David said about his sleep in the midst of all the troubles surrounding him.

David wrote in Psalm 3 verses 5 through 6, "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."

Like this picture, David simply lay down to sleep and had a good night's sleep because the Lord took care of him. He wasn't afraid of the demons, the warring countries or even the people in his own country that opposed him and wanted to get rid of him. His trust was in the Lord.

Isaiah put it this way in chapter 26 verse 3, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." You see, when we focus our mind on the problems instead of the problem solver, we will be anxious and unable to sleep. Even if we don't have enemies, we can be anxious about just the daily cares of life. What to eat, what to wear, do people like me, am I good enough, am I ugly.

If you want to have the peace of mind that gives you a good night sleep, then you must trust the Lord. You must have your mind focused on him. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will never know that peace because you will not have peace with the Lord. If you want that, watch my video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to turn to Jesus for salvation and rest well in his peace.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

God Is our Shield

Where do you turn when it feels like everything is going against you? You might turn to comfort food, drugs, people, parties, or other forms of distraction or even religion. But this is not where the Lord wants you to turn. In Psalm 3 David tells us where he turned and why. In verses 3 and 4 he tells us, "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill."

Before you get all excited about the Lord being a shield about us to protect us and keep us safe, you must understand that this promise isn't for everyone. It is only a promise for those who have put their trust in the Lord through Jesus Christ. If you have surrendered to Jesus that he is your shield. You will be his servant and he takes care of his servants.

When you walk with the Lord daily, he will bring glory or goodness into your life. When those troubles and trial come, he will bring you through them so that you can hold your head high. You won't be ashamed of what is happening to you because you will know that even the bad stuff that is happening is to shape you into his image and bring glory to Jesus.

But if you think this is automatic then remember that David cried aloud to the Lord. He prayed and kept in communion with the Lord. Then the Lord answered. But this isn't a magic formula. If you know Jesus, then you will also accept that persecution and problems are part of this life. But he brings us through them all.

If you haven't surrendered your life to Jesus, you can call on the Lord all day long and he won't answer until you call on him in repentance of your sinful life and ask for salvation through Jesus. If you want to do that, watchmy video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to turn to Jesus for salvation and he will then be a shield around you.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Feeling Lost

What do you do when you think you can't be saved?

Listen to David when he was being told the same thing in Psalm 3 verses 1 and 2. "O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God." ESV

Who on earth would ever tell another person that they can't be saved? Only someone who doesn't know the Lord themselves and the devil who wants to destroy that person's hope for salvation in Jesus Christ. We may certainly warn people who are engaging in sinful behavior that if they don't repent in this life time, they won't be saved but that isn't the same as telling someone they can't be saved, ever.
There have been many people who have lived ungodly lives and at the last moment repented and turned to Jesus for salvation. Look at the thief on the cross. Luke 23 verse 42 and 43 summarize his interaction with Jesus. And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

There is always hope for a person while still alive to turn to Jesus for salvation. Look at that thief for a minute. He didn't have time to do good works to earn his way into heaven. He simply asked Jesus. But note that his attitude had changed when he contemplated his own sin. This was the Lord working in him. It wasn't him doing any work to earn salvation.

But here is the warning to anyone who thinks they can knowingly live an ungodly life and depend on a last minute confession for salvation. That just smacks of hypocrisy all the way to the end. It isn't true repentance. The Lord know if you are just trying to play the game or if you are sincere when you turn to Jesus for salvation.

If you know that you must turn to Jesus for salvation but keep putting it off because you want to do things your way, there is no guarantee you will have the time to repent. So do it now before it is too late. Watchmy video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to turn to Jesus for salvation and know you are truly saved.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Do You Want to Be Blessed?

Everyone wants to be blessed, right? But what does that mean. I've been posting about Psalm 2 and how people rage against the Lord and how he laughs at them because they can't fight against him. Then he tells us about his Son, Jesus and how he will come and rule over all things. Then the Psalm ends with this in verse 10 through 12.

"Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." ESV

The message of the Bible is clear. If you want to be blessed, you must take refuge in Jesus Christ. He is the Son and he is the Lord. If you want to be wise, then you must serve the Lord Jesus with fear and rejoice with trembling. What a strange mixture of emotions, fear and rejoicing. This awesome fear is not dread but a keen understanding of who he is and who we are not.

We rejoice when we kiss or submit and yield our lives to Jesus because he has died for our sins. If we don't turn to worship and submit to Jesus, we will have to face his anger and we will perish. But Jesus has paid the price so that will not face his wrath in the judgment. That is what it means to be blessed.

If you haven't submitted to Jesus you won't be blessed until you do. Watchmy video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and will then be able to have a right fear and rejoice in his presence when he returns.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert

Who is the Begotten Son?

I've been going through Psalm 2 and now we get to the controversial part where the Lord calls someone his Son.

This is recorded in Psalm 2 verses 7 through 9.

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” ESV

Why the controversy? Because the Lord, that is Yahweh, is saying that he has begotten a Son with a capital s. The translators of the Bible are saying that this Son is therefore deity. The Son is also God. But people say, how can he be God if he is created. But the psalm doesn't say he is created, but he is begotten. But the nay sayers say that the word for begotten is used hundreds of times and almost every one of them indicates a couple having a baby. Well that is true.

But John 1 verses 1 and 2 is very clear that even in the beginning, the Son existed. It says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." Then in verse 14 it says, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father." So the Word that John is talking about is the same Son found in Psalm 2. The Son or the Word is Jesus. The only conclusion about Jesus being begotten of the Father is that this is a description of his relationship with the Father, not a biological or creation event.

John continues in verse 18, "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." That relationship of being in the Father's bosom is an expression of the closest relationship two people can have. It is like that of a babe who lays his head on his mother's chest with complete love and comfort.

Jesus came the first time to bear sins. But back to Psalm 2, we find that this Son is going to rule the world and he will crush all the rebellion that is expressed in the first few verses. When Jesus comes back again, he will rule and then everyone will know there is no controversy about Jesus being the Son of God and God in the flesh. They will have already accepted Jesus as God or they will suffer the consequences.

Do you know Jesus as the second person of the Trinity and are saved from this future wrath? If you have rejected this you can still repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.  Watchmy video on Youtube,"The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and will have peace with him when he returns.

May God Bless you!

Copyright by Ray Ruppert