“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that
leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. Matt 7: 13
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14: 6
Well I hope you enjoyed celebrating the glorious resurrection of Christ Jesus. He HAS
risen and what that means for mankind, itself, is impossible to underestimate....unless...
There are folks out there who simply like choices. They want there to be an A,B and C door
that allows them a say in what is to happen. After all, it's their life, right? Well, I'm not so
sure, but that was handled in a previous blog. People want to be the captain of the ship, and
this may, unfortunately, include their perception of how they may find God.
The Bible, Jesus, himself and God through His word have eliminated doors of choice. They
have made it clear that good people of other religions, of other beliefs or simply people who
are out there searching for their soul's destination really have but one choice when it
comes to the issue of their soul reaching God. Jesus.
That may seem a bit haughty, a bit limited, a bit stand-offish....okay. The choice of
following Jesus becomes more commonly known with every day. The gospel message
is available to people, everywhere, in some fashion. Whether one sides with the issues
of election and predestination or whether one sees God as reaching out to His whole
creation, the end route remains the same...acceptance, belief and trust in Jesus Christ,
the spotless lamb of God, the redeemer and our Savior.
His arms are outstretched. There's plenty of room at the foot of the cross. He is strong enough and glorious enough to handle all concerns, fears, problems.. even sins. He
desires to be Savior, Lord and King.
What better time to find Him from your knees. He isn't hidden behind any door. He
is our accessible, grace-filled sovereign Lord. Speak to Him, today.
Praise God!
Showing posts with label Resurrection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resurrection. Show all posts
Monday, April 21, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
What counts and what doesn't
Because the sinless savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that these three days, the Friday of Christ's
death on the cross to Easter Sunday with the most important event in the history of mankind, the resurrection, are so very important.
So with that in mind, what is important and what not in the whole justification and
salvation of those belonging to Christ Jesus? As hard as it is for some to grasp and
understand, Christ, not we, achieved atonement for us; it IS by grace alone and through
faith in Jesus that we may, one day, stand before a Holy God and be invited in as a
son or daughter. We didn't do anything deserving, we didn't accomplish anything that
would merit being saved, we haven't done or said anything that warrants the greatest
gift ever given.
So what doesn't count? (in no particular order).... the size of your bank account, the
latest credit rating, number of college degrees, notches on your belt, friends. the square
footage of your home, number and quality of automobiles you own, organizations to
which you belong, annual salary, number of hits on twitter, Facebook, etc. Size of
your plasma TV, amount you tithe, how you dress for church, where you sit in church,
favorite sports team and its success, your I.Q., amount of giving to charity, places you
have vacationed, body fitness, health status, good deeds you have done, kindness
you have shown, how you are perceived by others, books that you have read....
Obviously I could go on and on. the key, here, is that there simply isn't anything that
we can "bring to the table" when it comes to our own justification.
So what does count? I'll start with something related to the above. We simply
have to recognize our own personal need for a savior. Nothing gets done until we
take to our knees and understand that we can't really control anything related to
God's willingness to accept us. We are unclean and sinful! Without Christ our future
is dim. We need to love God and others, the crux of Jesus statement about the
most important commands. We need to do this without expectation of any
related rewards, solely in appreciation and gratitude for what has been given us.
We need to forgive others because, yep, we have been forgiven! We need to be
ever aware of the darkness of Satan and his desire to heighten our pride and head
us in the horrible direction of rejecting God.
It is a happy and blessed Easter because Christ has risen, defeating death, the devil
and granting to those who he tends, the gift of everlasting life in the presence of a
glorious sovereign God!
Happy Easter, everyone!!!
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that these three days, the Friday of Christ's
death on the cross to Easter Sunday with the most important event in the history of mankind, the resurrection, are so very important.
So with that in mind, what is important and what not in the whole justification and
salvation of those belonging to Christ Jesus? As hard as it is for some to grasp and
understand, Christ, not we, achieved atonement for us; it IS by grace alone and through
faith in Jesus that we may, one day, stand before a Holy God and be invited in as a
son or daughter. We didn't do anything deserving, we didn't accomplish anything that
would merit being saved, we haven't done or said anything that warrants the greatest
gift ever given.
So what doesn't count? (in no particular order).... the size of your bank account, the
latest credit rating, number of college degrees, notches on your belt, friends. the square
footage of your home, number and quality of automobiles you own, organizations to
which you belong, annual salary, number of hits on twitter, Facebook, etc. Size of
your plasma TV, amount you tithe, how you dress for church, where you sit in church,
favorite sports team and its success, your I.Q., amount of giving to charity, places you
have vacationed, body fitness, health status, good deeds you have done, kindness
you have shown, how you are perceived by others, books that you have read....
Obviously I could go on and on. the key, here, is that there simply isn't anything that
we can "bring to the table" when it comes to our own justification.
So what does count? I'll start with something related to the above. We simply
have to recognize our own personal need for a savior. Nothing gets done until we
take to our knees and understand that we can't really control anything related to
God's willingness to accept us. We are unclean and sinful! Without Christ our future
is dim. We need to love God and others, the crux of Jesus statement about the
most important commands. We need to do this without expectation of any
related rewards, solely in appreciation and gratitude for what has been given us.
We need to forgive others because, yep, we have been forgiven! We need to be
ever aware of the darkness of Satan and his desire to heighten our pride and head
us in the horrible direction of rejecting God.
It is a happy and blessed Easter because Christ has risen, defeating death, the devil
and granting to those who he tends, the gift of everlasting life in the presence of a
glorious sovereign God!
Happy Easter, everyone!!!
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