Category: Christian

Are You On The Outside Looking In?

Chris Jacobson

(Originally Published on: Aug 31, 2015)

Harvest Crusade – Anaheim Stadium – Sunday, August 30th, 2015

This was the view last night from the outside of Anaheim Stadium…
Outside Looking In Harvest Crusade Anaheim Stadium 2015

It’s a nice picture, but wouldn’t you rather be inside? It’s free to attend, just as salvation is a free gift.

Here’s the view from where I sat on the inside near the right field foul pole, field level…
View from the Inside Harvest Crusade Anaheim Stadium 2015

Ok, not a seat of honor, but a magnificent sight nonetheless.

And here’s what it looked like as people came pouring down from their seats all throughout the Stadium…
People stream out to the field at Angel Stadium during Harvest Crusade 2015

These people came down to the field to confess their sins before the Lord, and to receive forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life, to be born again in Christ. This is what it looked like moments later … not much room left on the field …
Harvest2015-FieldAlmostFull-IMG_1016

If you would like to be forgiven of all your sins, and come into a right relationship with the God who created you, the God who loves you and wants to spend time with you, pray this prayer along with Greg Laurie as he leads you…

If you just prayed this prayer and meant it from your heart, congratulations! Welcome to God’s family!! You are now an adopted child of God.

Now, find yourself a Bible and read it daily. Start with the New Testament and read it straight through, don’t bounce around. It’s important to know the context.

Next, find yourself a local church that is convenient and teaches from the Bible as the Word of God. Make it a habit to attend regularly. Also, try to get into a small group Bible Study in the middle of the week sometime in between Sundays. Nothing will help you grow faster!

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for more information about what to do next.

Intrinsic Value

Chris Jacobson

(Originally Published on: May 19, 2015)

One of the most important truths the Bible teaches is the fact that God loves us totally and without any preconditions, and our self-worth should be based on this and this alone.

Love is not finite, because God is not finite. God IS love and the source of all love. Therefore, when God loves me, He gives me ALL of His love, AND He still has ALL of His love to give to you, and to each and everyone else. He doesn’t hold anything back.

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And God doesn’t love us because of the way we look, or how smart we are, or how wealthy we are, or how successful we are. He places no circumstance or condition on it. A diamond, whether it is lying at the bottom of the trash dumpster or prominently displayed in a glass case in the museum, has exactly the same value.

And we do not, we can not, EARN His love.

Those of us who are parents, think about how much we love our children, even though we love imperfectly and incompletely. What did they do to earn our love, and yet we still love them that much?

There is nothing we can do, nothing we can say, nothing we can even think, that can separate us from the deep, unabating love of our Father in heaven.

Yes, our sin DOES separate us from God. But even in our sin, He doesn’t stop loving us, He doesn’t abandon us. When we sin, because of His great love, He made a way for us to come back, to restore our relationship with Him, through Jesus.

Many of us spend our entire lives searching for validation from parents, from spouses, from siblings, from teachers, from co-workers, from public accolades … from everything and everyone other than from God. But we don’t have to spend one fraction of a second searching.

God created each and every human being uniquely and intentionally, each with Intrinsic Value – it is innate, naturally inherent. This is because we alone among God’s created beings are made in His image. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:27 NASB)

We were created valuable and our value never decreases.

We must learn and understand this truth, really understand it at our core, and we must teach it to our children and reinforce it every day from the time they are small. (See Deut 6:4-9)

If each of us really GOT this, can you imagine how many of our societal problems would disappear over night? These problems are mostly symptoms of each of us searching for a different source for, and trying to earn, our value. But God wants us to be at peace. He tells us to, “Cease striving and know that I am God;” (Ps 46:10a NASB). It’s really that simple.

God values each and every one of us beyond human measure, which is why He sent Jesus into the world to redeem us. We just need to realize and internalize this each day, to understand how truly valuable we are, and we need to help others to do the same.

Christian Healthcare Ministries

Chris Jacobson 2 Comments

(Originally Published on: Jan 12, 2015)

CHMinistriesLogo

If you don’t have adequate coverage, or if you’re paying too much for the coverage you have, Christian Healthcare Ministries is a great option. You must be a practicing Biblical Christian and will be required to sign a faith statement.

From the Christian Healthcare Ministries website…

“Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) is an affordable, faith-based solution for Christians to the problems of rising healthcare costs and expensive health insurance policies.

An eligible option under the national healthcare law, CHM is thousands of Christians united in sharing each other’s medical bills.”

CHM is NOT insurance, but it qualifies under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) so you can opt out of the whole health insurance mess. The way it works is that you are a cash customer, so you can go see any doctor or healthcare professional you want to. You are responsible for the bills incurred, but the other members in CHM voluntarily help you cover those bills.

When you have a medical issue, you inform the service provider that you do not have insurance but are a cash customer and member of a Christian healthcare sharing ministry. Then you ask for whatever discounts they would normally provide if you DID have health insurance.

Our insurance costs kept skyrocketing year after year and we kept cutting our coverage to keep it affordable – until January 2014 when Obamacare became law, and our premiums tripled! We made the switch to CHM on February 1st and never looked back.

We pay only $450 per month for our family of four for their Gold Plan plus another ~$30 per month for what they call the Brother’s Keeper program to cover overages that are not covered by the Gold Plan. Under the Gold Plan, we pay the first $500 per healthcare incident. But, CHM applies any discount you are able to negotiate on your own behalf against this $500 member’s share amount.

We had to use CHM for the first time when our son got a concussion on May 1st last year. Because of the discounts offered (it was very easy to ask), we ended up paying $0 out of pocket for an emergency room visit and doctor’s bill – it was covered 100%. And the CHM staff was very caring, helpful and easy to work with.

I love this ministry because it is God’s people helping each other out in their times of need – and not just financially. Members receive a monthly newsletter and are encouraged to pray for and send encouraging cards and letters to others who are suffering from poor health conditions. Also, some members can’t afford to pay for their own share of medical costs. Through the newsletter, we are informed of this added need and members voluntarily cover those additional costs as they feel led to do so. This is the Body of Christ caring for one another the way God prescribed. It’s wonderful to be a part of it!

And finally, if you refer someone to join, once the new member has been a member for three months, you will get one free month of membership!

So, if any of you decide to join, please click here to reveal my membership number and provide it when you apply so I will receive credit. The page is password protected and the password is: chministries.

After you join, when you refer someone else, feel free to refer them to this blog post for background information, but have them use YOUR membership number instead and you’ll get a free month, too.

I hope Christian Healthcare Ministries will be as big a blessing for you and your family as it has been and continues to be for ours!

The Harvest is Plentiful but the Laborers are Few

Chris Jacobson

(Originally Published on: Jul 29, 2014)

The 25th annual SoCal Harvest Crusade happens just weeks from now on August 15–17 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.


(Video I took from down on the field 2 years ago)

Start praying for one or more unsaved people in your spheres of influence and then invite them to come with you to Harvest one or more nights. God will bring them to your mind – as you read this and over the next few days.

Also, if it’s not too late, volunteer as a field worker to help counsel people when they make their initial commitment to come to The Lord. It’s an amazing, blessed experience.

Don’t make up the person’s mind for him or her by not asking. Pray and ask, and see what The Lord will do with it.

Luke ‭10‬:‭1-2‬ NASB
1. Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
2. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

http://socal.harvest.org