PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: TRUST GOD

Hurt feelings. Sin. Satan. Abortion. Drugs. Addictions. Hate. Racism. Lies. Gossip. Slander. Pride. 

Tough topics.  Hot topics. Pastors' dilemmas.

Difficult issues of today’s society are often avoided from the church pulpit.  Pastors and ministers do not want to hurt feelings and tread on toes in fear of losing congregation membership.  Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Ministries does not hold back on any “hot topic” that is an offense to God.  In general, most church sermons and pastors’ preaching have become a cool zone.   

Pastor John Collins will tell you he is not politically correct, Jesus Christ was not politically correct and not preaching and teaching the TRUTH from the pulpit is NOT pleasing God. Cushioning the truth behind what society deems acceptable is leading a congregation to complacency and acceptance of sin.  According to Pastor John, “men have interjected their will upon the people and Christianity has suffered. Religion will get you nowhere if you are complying with the traditions of men while ignoring the commandments of God.” 

Abortion, drugs, addictions, hate and racism are all part of society today.  Lies, gossip, slander, pride and ego are all part of everyday life.  These are the hard topics that pastors MUST talk about to their congregations in order to teach TRUTH.  Pastor John Collins does exactly that.

God sent Jesus to teach and preach God’s Law.  Jesus went about the countryside, living and talking among the sinners, not the ones who were self-righteous in what was taught and conceived as law by man.  Men took God’s Law from the time it was written on the tablets by Moses and twisted it to their uses and purposes.  These were the priests and holy men of the time, people who were looked to as examples of faith and religious conviction to the Jews.  Jesus came and taught what was right: kindness, love, looking after those who had need, the poor-everything wrapped up into the commandment of love your neighbor as yourself.  In other words, treat others the way you want to be treated if you were in their place. Jesus taught that what was of this world is sin.  Two thousand plus years later, Pastor John Collins began his ministry of revival in Wyoming with Love That Cross.  The very same lessons from Jesus are the lessons that Pastor John preaches in his revivals. Abortion is murder. Drugs and alcohol and addictions are gluttony, among other issues associated with them.  Hate and racism has no place in God’s creation-there is only ONE race-the HUMAN RACE.  Pastor John Collins teaches that these sins are no different than lying, cheating, or stealing. A sin is a sin, one is no worse than another in the eyes of God.  Pastor John teaches that as Christians, we do need to be tolerant, but we also need to be aware of our faith and where our hearts are in relation to the sin that is being witnessed. It is not up to us to bombard others with our faith and beliefs, but we also have to be cautious to not conform to their beliefs.  Pastor John says that we must know as Christians what our beliefs are so that we do not compromise what is in our minds and in our hearts.

Pastors, ministers, reverends, preachers are held to a higher accountability according to the Bible.  Pastor John takes that accountability seriously; God comes first in his life. Jesus taught to be aware of “false prophets”, those that look like a Christian pastor, but inside are truly a predator, a wolf in sheep’s’ clothing. Jesus taught that there was only one way to get to Heaven and that was through Him.  Pastor John preaches that pastors on the pulpit who do not know how to get to Heaven and preach otherwise, or who are there for profitable gain and not to save souls should not be on a pulpit.  The Bible very clearly shows that “there is only one way to get to the Father, God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe. That is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior who died on the Cross for us and became the pure sacrifice on our behalf so that He could pay the price for our sin and conquer death and Satan once and for all; that by our belief in Him and our seeking forgiveness through Him, we are permitted access to the Father and the kingdom of heaven.” These words of Pastor John’s call it like it is.

Pastor John challenges pastors to preach without crib notes for a change. Instead of meticulously writing out a lengthy sermon or a tick list, set to fill a specific allotted time during a church service, preach from the heart.  Let go of the restriction of the mind and preach FILLED from the HEART by GOD’s WORD.  God wants us to know Him, to FEEL the Spirit within.  Pastors who are truly serving God CAN preach, just like the apostles of Jesus’ time, speaking from the HEART, where the Spirit lives.  It can be done without preparation and the fanfare of technology.  One simply must TRUST God and Jesus to put the words in their heart and then speak it on their behalf.  Pastor John challenges those same pastors to search their hearts and minds and take a stand, once and for all, on the difficult issues.   

What are the difficult issues?  Sin.   

The pulpit has become a soapbox to profess the love of God and Jesus, and sugar coats the reality of the Resurrection.  Sin is what keeps us from that beautiful awful sacrifice of Jesus’ life for us to be able to have eternal life with God, not eternal life in Hell with Satan. Sin has become a topic of distaste.  If pastors don’t preach from the heart, don’t talk about the difficult issues of gossip, being a busybody, lies, resentment, adultery of the heart, abortion, gluttony, greed, addictions and how it all keeps us from sharing in the grace of God through His Son Jesus, then there is no Hope.  Pastor John knows that there is Hope, and in order to bring revival, there has to be change and the difficult issues have to be faced head on.  That time is NOW.

Pastor John’s revivals confront us to take our faith seriously, to not take the Bible lightly, and to not take our belief in Jesus for granted.  The society we live in is chaotic and confusing.  So many people do not know God, do not know Jesus, and do not know the Bible.  Even those who say they know the Bible and who “know” Jesus are not as educated in the Bible as they think they are.  The lack of knowledge allows Satan to mislead many people who say they are Christians away from God and away from Jesus. Pastor John teaches that God wants us back, He wants us back Home with Him.  The only way to do this is to get back into the Bible by reading it and by coming to know Jesus and what He teaches that is written in that Bible as a blueprint for how to live. Pastor John teaches that obedience to God and to Jesus is the only way we are going to get back Home to God.  We have to stand firm in the truth, facing the hard issues with the armor of faith in God, trusting that we are held FIRMLY in His hands.

“God is never secondary in my life, He is always Primary”- Pastor John Collins.

***Pastor John Collins is head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries and Love That Cross Revival which originated in Wheatland, Wyoming.  His ministry now reaches across the United States****

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: SURVIVAL

Pastor John Collins and Love That Cross Ministries are about REVIVAL: revival of faith, revival of belief in God and Jesus, revival for knowledge of the Resurrection and its Salvation, revival of our country, and even revival for the world.  Revival means a renewal of faith in God and coming to know that there really is Salvation in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is a re-awakening and resurgence of our interest in God and in Jesus.   Pastor John Collins preaches that revival is needed in order for survival: survival in our day to day struggles, survival of our souls for eternity, survival for our country and for our world.  The time for revival is NOW. 

Love That Cross Ministries began at a revival in Wheatland, Wyoming and has been involved in spreading the revival of faith in God from the beginning in Wyoming and now across the country.  Pastor John Collins is the head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries and is an evangelist who has been leading people to God for ten years. Over the course of that time, Pastor John has been guided by God to know that in order for us to overcome society and the sin that is in this world, REVIVAL is vital. As a country, we have lost the hope of salvation that lies in the Cross.  So many of us DO NOT know God, do NOT know Jesus that we have become a hopeless society.  The violence, drug abuse and alcoholism, and suicide rates show that we are a hopeless society.  We have very little faith in God anymore, very little faith in the salvation found through Jesus. In addition, so many high profile pastors, self-proclaimed prophets, and televangelists have twisted Christianity and the Bible to serve their personal purposes that the general population wants very little to do with “Christians.”  That makes society hopeless. Pastor John has challenged pastors to step up to the pulpit and PREACH!  Preach to save souls, not line the pocketbooks of those on the pulpit.  Preach to please God, to bring Him the delight that He deserves, not the self-indulgence of greed, self-righteousness, and popularity that runs thickly among many on the pulpit right now.  REVIVAL is necessary for renewing the message that is being preached and REVIVAL is needed for humanity to come back to the foot of the Cross!  It is time for change.  That time is NOW. REVIVAL. 

The world has gone crazy and has lost its way from God.  Too many people are afraid to stand up for God, afraid of offending others and speaking the truth.  Pastor John has said “who cares who is offended?  God is for me, and therefore who can be against me?”  It is time to take a stand and change the direction that the world is taking because the majority of humanity IS heading for Hell and either we don’t care or we don’t know the truth. So many of those high profile preachers previously spoken of won’t say the harsh truth and the hard things about our accountability before God, and we WILL be held accountable for our actions.  Pastor John Collins WILL speak up, HAS spoken up, and will CONTINUE to do so through Love That Cross Ministry and Love That Cross REVIVAL.  That time is NOW.

We humans are arrogant and selfish, we tend to only acknowledge what we can see, touch, and sense.  We don’t recognize the order that God created in this world, we don’t see His laws within the universe. We are blinded by our self-importance and our self-righteousness.  We do not stand a chance but to earn Hell at the rate we are going.  Those same high profile preachers don’t speak about Hell.  If people realized that Hell is as real as our lives here on earth are, we would not procrastinate on developing our eternal well-being.  It is not a place where anyone wants to be. That TRUTH is held in our hearts.  We push it away, ignoring and resenting the truth of it. We are never promised tomorrow, and when we die if we haven’t worked on that truth, it’s too late.  Many people don’t want to accept the reality of Hell, the feeling being that it isn’t fair of God to create Hell.  We as people have a sense of vengeance, of right and wrong, of justice and the price that has to be paid for wrong.  God is just.  God judges right from wrong.  Why wouldn’t there be Hell?

Revival of HOPE is what will turn society and this world around.  Pastor John preaches that Jesus IS real, God IS real, and the Holy Bible contains TRUTH.  That TRUTH is where our foundation of HOPE rests.  Our hope is because Jesus died on that Cross for us, as a perfect sacrifice for all of humanity’s sins.  He died for all of us, ALL of our sins, through ALL the ages, because God knew that we needed it.  We CAN’T do it by ourselves.  Jesus is God’s Son.  God is a LIVING God, very much aware of what is going on in the world.  Both of Them want us, humanity, to find our faith in Them and come home to Them.  In order for that to happen, REVIVAL, a renewal of the knowledge and TRUTH that is in the Bible and a re-awakening of our hearts HAS to happen.  The Cross and what it represents is our hope and our salvation.  When we have hope, then we can be of one mind to help each other stand strong in this life.  Our hope becomes eternal.

Pastor John has preached in the Bible, it is written that Jesus said to go and sin no more.  That is what those of us who have come to believe in Jesus need to do.  Life is hard.  Life is difficult.  Times are tough.  All of that is nothing new. Give your life to Jesus. Accept our weaknesses and repent our sins.  Seek forgiveness with the intention of sinning no more. Commit to being loyal and obedient in your faith, and know that no matter what you go through in this journey of life, Jesus will be there for you.  Trust that you have what it takes to endure, and that it is worth it to try and try, and continue to try. It is in our efforts to get it right, to stay out of Hell, and to make it to heaven that we will achieve righteousness.  

Hold onto the hope that the Lord has given you, because He does love you. 

BELIEVE THAT!

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: THERE IS STILL HOPE

On any given Christian based television or radio program you will hear preachers exclaiming that “THE END TIMES” are here in the world and that Jesus Christ is going to come back and take Christians to Heaven any day now.  It stirs a sense of fear in people who do not believe in God, people who want to know why they feel something is missing in their lives but don’t know what it is.  This is the same message that has been repeated over and over for decades:  the End is near.  Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Ministries will agree that today’s world is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah of the Old Testament, but Pastor John feels that God wants the people of the world to ALL have a last chance at the Hope of salvation through Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

Pastor John Collins began his ministry with the faith and knowledge that God wants people to come back to Him.  Person by person, church by church, the world has turned from God.  Pastor John Collins’ mission has been to reach out to people and churches across the United States, one person at a time, one church at a time to bring renewal of faith and hope in God and Jesus Christ. Pastor John Collins knows that it is not yet the time of Revelation as written in the Holy Bible, but it is a time of REVIVAL and RENEWAL.

Love That Cross Ministries began in Wyoming, focusing on the message of REVIVAL.  In his first revival through Love That Cross Ministries in Wyoming communities came together to worship and celebrate the presence of God through music and witnessing. From a small town in the west, over 600 people attended the free concert and heard a message of hope and salvation in Wheatland, Wyoming, by well-known entertainers from around the country.   

Pastor John’s message is compelling-there is STILL Hope for everyone through the salvation by Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  It is selfish for Christians to pray for Jesus Christ to return with so many people in the United States and the world not even knowing who God is and who Jesus Christ is.  In order to please God, we need to revive FAITH. God wants us back.

A REVIVAL of FAITH does not come overnight.  The deterioration of faith did not happen overnight.  Pastor John Collins will tell you to take a look at the history of the United States.  This is a paraphrased excerpt from Pastor John Collins’ radio programming:  A country that was founded on the premise of freedom no longer values those freedoms!! God blessed the men and women who settled the United States and established a nation that was based on faith in God!!  But now, for more than 50 years, the United States has increasingly kicked GOD out of everyday life!! In the 1960’s prayer and devotions were taken out of the public school system because it offended a child!!  

Today Christian youth have to seek special permission to worship God publically during school hours!  The freedom of religion and freedom of speech within schools is NO FREEDOM at all. The United States court houses have been mandated across the country to take the Ten Commandments down from the buildings.  The Ten Commandments are the foundation of justice, sent from GOD who is JUST and FAIR. God has been banned from courts whose JUSTICE is not based on faith in GOD but on what is POLITICALLY CORRECT. Faith within families has been cast aside for more alluring attractions like television programing, computer games, social media, and technology that are EMPTY of the Word of God and the values that were taught by Jesus Christ. Churches have kicked God out, putting emphasis on profit, congregation size, and performances of the people on the pulpit rather than building FAITH and FEEDING THE SOUL to prepare for eternal life, not the life that we live HERE.

Pastor John’s message in that radio programming is sadly on target.  We as a country have kicked God out of every part of our everyday lives.  God does not force Himself into our lives; He waits with Jesus to be invited in.  Our society is the way it is because we turned our back on God.  We are getting exactly what we are asking for from God. Pastor John Collins has devoted Love That Cross Ministries to reviving the Word of God and the Hope of Jesus Christ across the United States.  He believes that God wants this country to have a chance through revival, one person at a time, one church at a time. Televangelists do preach that there is REVIVAL and RENEWAL crossing the United States.  The REVIVAL that is needed, according to Pastor John, is one of individual faith.  Without healing ourselves first, we cannot heal a church or a community. We need to turn ourselves back toward God in order for God to turn our country around.  

We need to come humbly before God, on our knees, and seek His forgiveness so that we can REVIVE our country.  It isn’t about politics and doing what won’t offend people, it isn’t about being POLITICALLY CORRECT.  Pastor John Collins and many other preachers will tell you that JESUS CHRIST was not POLITICALLY CORRECT!!! Being POLITICALLY CORRECT is not going to save your soul and it’s not going to save the United States.

Pastor John Collins passionately preaches that in order for us to have REVIVAL in our country, we need to get down on our KNEES in PRAYER.  PRAYER is the way to REVIVAL.  REVIVAL is needed for our salvation. The only way we are going to turn this country around, one person at a time, is to seek the SALVATION that faith in GOD and JESUS CHRIST offers.

Pastor John will bluntly tell you it isn’t about sending money to a televangelist to pray for us.  Pastor John will tell you it isn’t about simply going to church and sitting in a pew on any given Sunday.

It IS about REVIVAL of your faith by getting your knees dirty, by caring about others, by helping the poor, by walking, living and acting your faith EVERY DAY, not just on Sunday. We have to come back to the Cross, and LOVE the Cross for what was given there for us by a God who is THERE and is WAITING for us to turn back to Him in REVIVAL and FAITH.

In the words of Pastor John: “BELIEVE THAT!!”