by Joe La Bianca This is a message to all those who rely upon themselves. Jesus died for you. Did you hear me? Jesus died for you. Isn’t that enough for you to see that self reliance is a sham? Are you trying to receive salvation in return for your services? If you are, hear this well. Jesus died for you. Jesus died for you!!! Maybe if I keep on typing it over and over again, you will understand. You know what I’m going to ask. Why would He die if you could earn it. He earned it with His death. He ended the law with His death.
The Old Covenant was God’s perfect will. It went unfulfilled until the last Man. Jesus was the last Man in the Old Covenant. God knew that we could never do His will so He did it Himself, through Jesus. After Jesus lived for 33 years, the number of completion, God considered the law fulfilled by Jesus. In order to end the law and replace it with grace, Jesus died. A covenant is only established when someone dies. He died to end the law, while He bore our...

by Joe La Bianca I have had the privilege of corresponding with my favorite singer. I’ll leave him nameless, but suffice it to say that he is recognized as the best singer that rock has ever known. He wrote an encouraging statement to me that got me thinking. I would like to share it with you. He said, “Don’t ever be discouraged by those who have not experienced God’s mercy, His kindness and His love.”
Sometimes, as Christians, we can get dismayed by all the things that unbelievers say about Jesus. Sometimes we can even get mad at them, and lash out. It seems that, in these last days, every person has his own opinion about who Jesus is. It is rare to hear of the objective Jesus. By objective Jesus, I mean the Jesus we can clearly see from the New Testament; the Jesus that is not subjective, from one’s own thinking.
The objective Jesus is the Savior of the world. He is the Person of the four gospels, the Person who Paul preached. Paul said in Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or...

The Thief on the Cross by Joe La Bianca

Was the thief on the cross a member of a church? No. Was he a Calvinist? No. Was he baptized? No. Did he speak in tongues? No. Was he filled with a life of good works which contributed to his own salvation? No. Did he work in the fields even for an hour? No. Was he saved? Yes!!
The salvation of the thief on the cross has shown us how simple being saved really is. It is a refutation of anything that adds to the simple gospel message. The thief minimizes what is really necessary for salvation. His example gets rid of non-essential issues, as far as salvation is concerned. He shows us the one thing needful.
Remember that moments before, this thief was reviling Jesus. He was actually attacking Jesus along with the other thief, Matthew 27:44. It seems that Jesus doesn’t hold a grudge. It seems that Jesus understands that we are sinful people and is willing to accept anyone who will come to Him, no matter the timing.
All the...

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
A person can give an audience to the gospel; he can understand the report about God’s Son and His work on the cross, and still...

Jesus The Man
By Joe La Bianca

Hebrews 2:14-18
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
“The children” are people. God views us as children who are loved. If God didn’t love us children, He would not have taken such drastic measures in becoming flesh and blood. If the children were something else and not flesh and blood, then God would have become something else to save us. The fact that we...

Here’s something strange. I’ve been telling of the love of Jesus on line. I get all kinds of responses. But the funny thing is, of all the people who respond to the message of Jesus, it’s the ones who say they have never sinned who are the meanest. The ones who deny being evil are the nastiest people you will ever meet. How is this? Well, the fact is, all have sinned, so when these mean ones hear this, it touches a nerve inside of them, and they lash out. Conversely, the people who hear that all have sinned and accept this, are the ones who are the sweetest, most humble people. So accept the truth about yourself and Jesus will heal your sin. Refuse to believe and you will never change. God sees your hate. People see your meanness. Why don’t you see it? I think you do see it. That’s why you become so angry. Here is the solution. Believe that Jesus died for your sins. Believe that He rose from the dead. And then you will be saved, delivered, and finally brought in to the family of God.

Carrying Your Cross is Comforting by Joe La Bianca

Carrying your cross is comforting. What does it mean to carry your cross? I know Christians that incorporate carrying their crosses into their relationship with God. They make being saved a very hard thing, and think that it is God who gives them their crosses. Listen well! God does not give us the cross, the unbelieving enemies of Christ do.
Every time you are persecuted, whether by word or deed, you are carrying your cross. Never blend cross carrying into your relationship with God. God would like nothing better than for your life to be free from persecution. But it won’t because the world hated Jesus and it will hate you too.
God doesn’t persecute us, the world does. Your relationship with the world is one of death. We are the stench of death to the rebellious, but the fragrance of life to those who are being saved. So how is it comfortable to carry your cross? The next time you are verbally or physically...

Living For God by Joe La Bianca

Do we live for God in constant worry? Should we always question if we are right with God? Does God want us to be unsure of our salvation? This is a message for perfectionists.
I think we should let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Ask any perfectionist and they’ll tell you they are not happy. They cannot have peace. This should tell you it’s not the way.
Peace! What is a peace that passes understanding? Well, it’s a peace without knowing how it could be there. How could I have peace with God? I know myself, all my faults. How could God and I have peace? I don’t have to understand. I receive the peace of Christ that goes beyond my understanding.
I believe that Jesus earned my eternal life. We cannot achieve our own salvation by being good. If we could, then Jesus would not have died. The Father would have said to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane that there was another way. He would have saved Jesus from the cross. But the...