Hello everyone and God bless you all! Today was the first day back after our spring break. We had a great time with my father in law and his wife. It was the first time meeting her since my wife’s mother went to be with the Lord. They have been married for five years now. She is a strong believer in Christ and it was great spending time with her. My father in law installed a new toilet, bathroom fan, and oven hood vent for us and we are so thankful! Our kids loved visiting with them and our son was pumped to help install the toilet. My father in law is a very kind, generous, and extremely hard working man and he represents Jesus with a big heart. It was great learning from both of them and the kids loved cuddling up with Grandpa and Grandma watching Netflix. We love you guys!
Our son and Grandpa installing the new Kohler toilet.
Here is what it looks like fully installed. Our son even helped with the caulking. Great job son!
I know, probably never thought you would see a picture of my toilet. I promised my son I would do a post showing his work. What is it they say…”Oh, the bold look of Kohler.” That thing is a power flushing wonder! Thank You Lord for the gift of a toilet that I don’t have to plunge anymore! We really appreciate the new vent fan in the ceiling too. Very nice choices Grandpa!
Here is the new oven hood vent in the photo below. I had that thing sitting in the garage for almost a year because I didn’t know how to wire it. My father in law has built many houses up in Alaska and he knows how to do electrical work. It was amazing how fast he had it installed!
We had a lot of cool conversations while they were here. One time they were asking me about my blog and I was talking about sharing Christ all over the world. My father in law talked about planting seeds and encouraged me to keep planting them. He said, “you never know when they will sprout.” So true! The whole visit was very encouraging! Praise God!
This evening, as I watched the sun get ready to set, I opened my Bible to Matthew and this is what I turned to:
“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
Jesus speaking in Matthew 13:31-32
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I want to encourage you tonight to keep planting those seeds! You are planting the Kingdom of Heaven every single time you help people come to Jesus!
Thank You Jesus! May Your will be done and may You empower us to testify and bring glory to Your Name!
Like my Grandma always said, “stand up for Jesus.”
Good morning everyone! I was up early this morning around 5 a.m. and I was ready to go in the Spirit. I took that photo at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time just as a faint hint of the sun’s rays began to light up the horizon. The Lord has made another new day full of His blessings! May we rejoice and be glad in it as the Word says!
It was a strange day yesterday. I wasn’t even able to write a post. Today is officially the first day of spring and it has been getting warmer, praise God! Here in Colorado we have little red clover mites (which are a type of spider mite) that get in our grass sometimes. Several times we have had them come into our house and end up all over the windows and window sills in the walkout basement. That happened again yesterday. The mites don’t like water, so they look for dry ground when they get wet. They don’t bite and they are teeny tiny, but they smear like red paint when we squish them. It is a real nuisance.
So, I literally spent all day fighting an invasion of clover mites. I spray Ortho Home Defense on them. They come in by the hundreds, if not thousands, and you have to get them while they are bursting. The words bursting and mites are not good together. I love spring, but I don’t like the bug activity!
I called our lawn care team at TruGreen and told them about the problem because they just sprayed for mites last week. Obviously it didn’t work the first time, so they are coming out to do another treatment for free. We have been getting our house ready because my wife’s father is flying in from Alaska tonight. It’s not cool to have mites coming into the house when expecting family.
I was very upset and discouraged about it. Last year it was so bad that it took three straight days of spraying them to stop the invasion. I fought them hard yesterday and prayed for the Lord to stop it and all is quiet this morning. I pray they don’t come back as it gets warmer.
I really wanted to write a post yesterday, but it just was not in God’s will. I expected that I would sit in my office and study God’s Word and write, but instead I killed mites all day. That was really frustrating and it was not what I expected. You know what though? God knew all along that I was going to spray mites yesterday. I was so frustrated and angry about the mites and I told my wife how discouraging it was to be dealing with it again. My wife said something like, “But you have what you need to stop it and you took care of it.”
Yes honey, you are right. The Lord may not have stopped the mites from bursting and coming inside again, but He did give me the weapons and knowledge to strike the invasion down! The day did not go how I thought it would, but we must always remember that we are not in control. God is God and we are not.
Thankfully, this post is not just about mites. I also received a piece of hate mail regarding the post I did on Monday titled “If You Were To Die Today.” This person has taken jabs at me before and I just delete her comments. She does not follow my blog and she is a very legalistic Pharisee type person. She might even be a member of a cult like Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon based on some of the strange things she says. What she said to me made me feel sorry for her. She claims to believe in Jesus, but she said she knows 100% that she would not go to Heaven if she died today. It is so heartbreaking when someone who claims to believe in Jesus does not understand that they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and not by works. There are so many living under the fear and bondage of legalism that Jesus already set them free from. You either trust in Jesus for your salvation or you don’t. There is no other way to be saved.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
I don’t need to argue with every legalistic person out there who wants to mock me and fight me. My job is to simply proclaim the Gospel. God’s Word is strong enough on its own. I preach the same message that Jesus preached: That we are only saved by grace through faith in Jesus. It is the same message the Apostle Paul preached and I will preach it until my very last breath. If you believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul, then you are saved and that is a done deal guaranteed by God, not by you or by any works you could ever do!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus speaking in John 3:16
“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
Galatians 2:15-16
“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
Romans 3:27-28
I was reading the Word this morning, and the Lord spoke to me about His faithfulness. No matter how long you have walked with Christ, don’t ever forget that you are only righteous because of Him. He is our righteousness! He is our peace! He is our salvation! It is Jesus that purifies us with His sanctifying love! We are justified and forgiven by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, not by works!
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Galatians 2:21
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:1-2
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:3-9
Consider what Paul said to the believers in Galatia who had fallen into the bondage of legalism and arrogantly trusting in themselves instead of Jesus:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”
Galatians 3:1-5
It is because we believe!!!
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
Believers in Jesus Christ are saved through their faith in Him alone and that salvation is secure because His blood is all sufficient to forgive our sins. Believers in Jesus Christ are being sanctified, that is being made holy and pure and righteous, every day by the power of the Holy Spirit. May we always remember that our salvation and righteousness only come from Jesus! It is not by our works that we are saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and made righteous! Jesus is faithful and trustworthy and He will carry us home!
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Jesus will do it, not you! Give Jesus the Glory He deserves and trust in Him!
Many of you know I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior my freshman year in college in 1996 through the ministry efforts of Campus Crusade for Christ. During my entire four years at the University of Northern Colorado I was blessed with a great mentor and friend who was the Director of Campus Crusade at the time. His name was Jim, but we called him Jim Bro because he called all the guys “bro.” I received discipleship training in the Word and evangelism and soon I was sharing Christ all over campus with Jim and the other brothers from Crusade. I want to share one of the questions Jim would ask when we were sharing Christ. It is a shocking question and the answers people gave were very interesting and revealing.
The question is this:
If you were to die today, how sure are you that you would go to Heaven?
Jim would follow up with, “Just give me a percentage bro.”
Nobody we shared Christ with ever said 100% sure. They would say things like 80% or 90%, but never 100%. The next question was simply, “why?”
Answers would vary with different reasons why they felt they should be allowed into Heaven, but mostly the answer was, “because I’m a good person.” They would say they were not a murderer or anything like that or they would say they had gone to church a few times and they believed that was enough to enter Heaven.
Here is the problem folks. “Good works” or being a “good person” will never get you into Heaven. The Lord is very clear on this truth in His Word. If our works could save us, how would you ever know that you had done enough? Praise God for His grace! Jim had asked me the “how sure are you” question when he shared Jesus with me for the first time and I had answered exactly the same way. I said something like 90% sure, then I followed up with, “I’m a good guy. I don’t even step on ants.”
Here is another problem folks. We are not “good.” Sure we can act “good” for a time, but the human race is utterly sinful and we need a Savior. If you don’t believe in sin, just look at our world. Really? Sin is everywhere and we see it, experience it, and suffer it wherever we live on this earth. We are born into this fallen state of sin and we need to be redeemed! We desperately need to get back to the God who created us!
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..”
Romans 3:23
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Psalm 51:5
I posted the photo of the Grand Canyon to illustrate the deadly problem of sin. Sin, which means missing the mark in the Greek, separates us from God. We fall short because of our sin and sin leads to death. This whole world is dying because of it. God is holy and perfect and we are not. Imagine God is on one side of the canyon and you are on the other. You want to get to the other side to be with God, but you can’t get there on your own. No matter how many good works you do, it will never get you across that great void.
God knows we are imperfect and sinful and we could never reach Heaven by our own efforts, so He came down to us and made a way! Folks, that is the best news the world could ever hear! How did God do this you might be asking?
God did it by stepping off His throne, coming to earth as the man Christ Jesus, and ultimately dying on a cross to forgive the sins of all mankind! Jesus paid the price for every single sin that has ever been or ever will be committed by every single person on this earth and that includes you.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Romans 3:25-26
“David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are they
whose transgressions are
forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will
never count against
him.”
Romans 4:6-8
Jesus Christ was not simply a prophet as Muslims say. Jesus Christ was not simply a good man like the world says. Jesus Christ is Lord and on His thigh is written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! He died for you, for me, and for all of us because God loves us. He so loved the world that He died for all of us, so He could bridge that great divide and provide a great salvation for the whole world!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus speaking in John 3:16
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
We would always ask the person we were sharing the Gospel with if they wanted to be 100% sure they were going to Heaven. They would almost always answer yes. The only way a person can be 100% sure they are going to Heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way and Jesus is very clear on this. We all need the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus and Jesus is the only One who ever died to forgive our sins and reconcile us with God!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time…”
1 Corinthians 15:3-6
Through Jesus, you no longer have to live separated from God. He has bridged the gap and made the way into Heaven. There is no boasting in Heaven. You cannot earn your way there. It is a free gift of God and you are only saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ!
Upon believing in Jesus Christ, you will be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, which seals you in Christ and guarantees your inheritance in Heaven! It is by grace you are saved!
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
Once you belong to Jesus, you will always belong to Jesus and nothing can snatch you away from Him! Trust in Jesus and take Him at His Word! He loves us so much that He died for us and that love is for you too!
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Jesus speaking in John 10:27-30
Nobody in all creation in Heaven or on earth is greater than the Father and Jesus! Nobody! Jesus Christ is the only One who has ever made such a promise. Yes, we are all sinful, but we can choose to receive the grace of God and be forgiven and freely justified through faith in Jesus!
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:21-24
I have been 100% sure I am going to Heaven since I was 18 years old in October of 1996. That assurance has been strong and unwavering for the last 22 years for one reason and one reason only–Jesus!!! My salvation and righteousness are through faith in Jesus Christ alone and there is nothing I could ever do to save myself.
So, I leave you with this question. If you were to die today, how sure are you that you would go to Heaven? You can be 100% sure right now and I have pointed you to our only salvation on this earth. Death is coming for all of us and that is certain, but that does not have to be the end! You can live eternally in Heaven and have that peace and assurance today! It is up to you to choose whether you are separated from God or reconciled with God. He has made The Way and that Way is Jesus. I pray you choose life!
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
Grace and peace to you all in the saving grace of Jesus Christ!
Hello everyone and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I am a bit late posting this because we are getting our house ready for family to visit. This week is our spring break! With my last name being Callahan, I definitely have to post something about my Irish heritage. I am very thankful and proud of my Irish ancestry and I think it’s really cool how my ancestors came over on the ships from County Cork, Ireland to Ellis Island in New York. That’s how I ended up here in America, so praise God for my ancestors and their courage to come to a new land and make a new life! I hope my family enjoys this too. God bless you all!
The above photo is our family coat of arms. That is the ancient Gaelic spelling of our name. We are descended from Ceallachán who was the 10th century King of Munster. History records that he was even fair haired like me, which makes me smile. The phrase “fidus et audax” means faithful and bold. King Ceallachán was a brave warrior who defeated viking invaders. He protected his people and the people loved him. I pray I will be a faithful and bold warrior for Christ and live up to my family name!
“Callahan is a well-known Irish surname. The Callahan name means descendant of Ceallachán. He was the Eóganachta King of Munster from AD 935 until 954. The personal name Cellach means ‘bright-headed.'”
-TheIrishRose.com
My first name, Ryan, means “Little King” or “Little Ruler,” so Ryan Callahan is “bright-headed little king.” I love history and ancestral meanings, but just to be clear, I’m no king and any crown I have I lay down at the feet of Jesus.
King Ceallachán’s Castle
When my ancestors came over to America in the 1800s there was a lot of hatred against the Irish. Most of them became laborers or farmers and many lived in the New York City ghettos alongside the African Americans. They experienced bigotry and discrimination, but they were tough hardworking people that never gave up. My direct ancestors ended up settling in Illinois because they were impressed by the fantastic soil for farming.
“Suffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name Callahan.”
-HouseofNames.com
County Cork, Ireland
There are many famous members of the Callahan clan throughout history and they seem to really like to use our name in Hollywood movies a lot. I have always been interested in my family history and I hope to visit Ireland someday! My Uncle and Aunt visited several times. What a beautiful country!
It is said that St. Patrick used the clover leaf to share the Gospel and explain the trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Patrick was a brave man who shared the Gospel fearlessly under threat of persecution and death by the Irish druids. It is a blessing to celebrate how the Lord advanced the Gospel through Patrick and my Irish heritage on this day! I can think of no better way to celebrate both than by sharing the Gospel with you! The Gospel is simply this: Your soul can only be saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That’s it! It is a beautiful and powerful message and gift of love from God and it must be received by faith!
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus promising eternal life in John 3:16
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! Even if you are not of Irish lineage, you can still celebrate the courage and love to share Jesus with the world!
Grace and peace to you all from the Callahan clan of Colorado!
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Our brother in Christ Tedashii just came out with a new album called “Never Fold.” This song he did with Sarah Reeves called “Step Into Love” is beautiful! The Holy Spirit touched my heart through it and moved me to tears. I pray it encourages you all and it gives you a sweet glimpse at how much God loves you!
“Walk on water with the Father know He’ll carry me to shore.”
Tedashii, Step Into Love
We live in dangerous times, but God’s love is more powerful than all of the sins of this world. Don’t ever forget that and never give up!
Grace and peace to you all!
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
The world received terrible news out of Christchurch, New Zealand today. There has been more violence against people of faith and the families and the country need our prayers. Christchurch is normally a peaceful and idyllic place to live and vacation. It is a sobering reminder that this hatred and evil can appear anywhere. I lift these families up to the Lord and I ask Him to bring healing and spread revival through this fallen world.
I have several Muslims that follow my blog. I want you to know that I hurt with you and my heart and prayers are with the families who are suffering such pain and anguish. Just like all the victims of these mass shootings, they did not deserve this. I am a Christian and an American and this violence grieves my heart.
This violence comes from the evil one. It doesn’t matter if the evil person committing the attack is attacking a church, a synagogue, or a mosque, such attacks are all from the evil one. I pray this violence stops! We are not ever going to agree on our faith, but we can strive to live in peace with each other.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18
Some may say this attack is revenge for all the terrorist attacks Muslims have committed in the Western world. I say no more! No more attacks like this from any faith no matter what it is! God is the judge and He will avenge. If you have a disagreement regarding politics or religion and you are mad enough to hurt people, then please take a moment to look at your heart and back away from that anger. It will only lead to evil, which will bring great suffering to you and those you hurt.
“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19
As a Christian American I have many disagreements with Muslims. Yes, it makes me angry when I see Imams saying that Muslims will take over America. Yes, it makes me angry when Muslims attack and kill my people in the streets. However, I do not wish you harm. I pray for you in Christ. I love you in Christ. Revenge and violence are not the answer. May the Lord spread His peace and healing through this world.
Grace and peace to you all.
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Romans 13:8-10
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Well, we made it through the big blizzard yesterday and last night. I have been shoveling snow for the last three hours, so I am going to post a few pictures, go eat lunch, then I am going to sit down and get my chill on. My son helped me the whole time and he never complained once. Thank you son! You did a great job!
Our neighbors (right next door to us to the left in the photo above) just moved here from Texas and the wife got stuck backing out. I said, “Uh oh, looks like she’s stuck, let’s go help.” My son said, “Yes! I’ve always wanted to do this!” He was so excited to help dig her car out of the snow that he ran over to her. We got her out too and my son was so excited and proud. He got under those back tires like a little gopher and dug them out! That was a lot of fun!
That is our street looking east. The ruts in the road are huge.
Those are the little sidewalk plows the low maintenance homes across the street benefit from. We have to shovel the portion of sidewalk in front of our homes on our side because we have single family houses with driveways. I would love to own one of those plows–so nice!
We got well over a foot of snow. It snowed from early yesterday morning and didn’t stop until late last night. It was definitely the biggest storm we have had in a long time.
We started shoveling around 9 a.m. and stopped at noon. You can see our footprints where we ran over to help our neighbor. The snow was thick, wet, and heavy. I call it heart attack snow. A lot of older guys have heart attacks when trying to shovel snow like this. It’s best to go slow and remember, use your legs not your back.
And that’s how we get it done here in Colorado! All the way to the street! I am actually really encouraged because I just did three hours of hard cardio and I feel great! I’m tired of course and I need to rest now, but my heart and lungs are strong despite Celiac. My son and I prayed before we started and we committed the work to the Lord. We asked for strength and I even asked the Lord to have angels help us lift the heavy snow. I didn’t see any angels, but the work was smooth and efficient and we were strengthened for the task. Maybe we did receive some help with the lifting too. Many times they help us without us even knowing it. Anything is possible with God!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..”
Colossians 3:23
I quoted that verse to my son before we started shoveling and he just smiled and nodded. He knew who he was serving and he was happy to do it. Praise God!
Grace and peace to you all!
P.S.
I will be reading all your blogs soon. Just need to eat first! God bless you all!
