In our life, God sends us in all kinds of different directions. Some of us go into politics, some are pastors or teachers and some are emergency workers. Issues arise when we want to know “why” this turned out this way. God knows the why but He is not disposed to let us know. Occasionally our prayers may be answered with a reason for our situation but God doesn’t usually tell us.
Why? Because He doesn’t have to tell us. I know it’s frustrating but God doesn’t owe us an explanation. He loves us and will lead us down certain pathways if we follow Him. But…He is not required to tell us why we are going this way. In my younger days, I thought I was following Him but I was going my own way. At the time I had not given my heart to Him. I had been “Baptized” but it was just a show. I thought it was real but it was all in my mind.
I didn’t know that we could convince ourselves of being called by God until much later in my life. It’s a scary thought that we can do this because some people could go to hell convinced in their mind that they are saved. Since I finally gave my heart to Him and even became a pastor back in 2011, I have met a few people who are so convinced of their “salvation” but they are living a life that doesn’t have the fruit that Jesus said a Christian would have. I know that isn’t proof of their salvation or whether they are even saved because only God knows the true condition of their heart.
I pray that every person who reads this will search their heart and the Bible to make sure of their condition. Why? Because of the time that we are living in. We are in the days directly before the beginning of the book of Revelation. So many things are lining up with prophecies and the coming of Jesus in the clouds could happen soon. When is a good question but the Bible tells us not to speculate about a “date and hour”. That has been done before and none of them were right.
Why do people reject the good news of Life found in Jesus Christ? Even when the gospel has been preached for 2,000 years in churches everywhere, the world still rejects it in favor of their idea of living. It seems that most people don’t want to know the good news. Many don’t care if there is a life after this one and they don’t care if there are circumstances for any of the sins in their lives no matter how insignificant they may be.
God’s Word tells us exactly how He views sin, even “little sins”. To God, all sin is disobedience and wrong. There are no little ones or big ones. What can we do to live with Him in His home? First, we must admit that we are sinners and we won’t even do that unless the Holy Spirit convicts us of those sins. When He does that, He gives us the faith to believe in Jesus and come to Him. Our response should be to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit and accept our salvation as His gift to us for obeying Him. Most of the time we will respond that way but some people listen to their own “conscience” and choose not to admit anything. When that happens, they are listening to a suggestion from Satan.
Satan and his fallen angels, demons, are real and they don’t want you to accept Jesus as your Savior. Their mission has always been to corrupt God’s plans in any way they can. But…they can’t stop God’s plans. If He intends for you to be saved and give your life to Jesus, you will. It may be at the last moment, but it will happen. Please don’t turn away from the voice of the Holy Spirit because He is calling you to be a child of God. Some people will turn away and when that happens, they can’t be brought back to the point of knowing their need for Jesus. It is a sad thing for this to happen but it happens, even in the church.
Matthew 22:37-40 KJV [37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.22.37-40.KJV
Have you ever considered that God loved us before the beginning of the Creation? He lives outside of time and could see us long before we came into the world. Jesus came to bring salvation to each person that God calls to be His if we will accept it. It is a gift from God and it is nothing that we can do to attain this nor can we work toward our salvation. Jesus Christ already accomplished everything that is necessary for us to be saved. Don’t wait because you don’t know if you will be here tomorrow.
Some people in the church wonder where they can get the joy spoken of in the Bible. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you should have this joy already. The joy spoken of refers to your Savior and your salvation; if you are born-again, you were chosen to receive it. God chooses those who are called to be in His family through Jesus.
I know, I’m getting into “predestination”, but Jesus says that His sacrifice was ordained before the foundation of the world. God knew that mankind would need a Savior and that Jesus would be that Savior. No part of your day surprises God. History is part of His daily thoughts, from beginning to end. He knows what will happen and when, so there are no surprises for Him. Make sure of your eternal future by seeking Him today because the Church will be leaving someday soon and you don’t want to be left here when that happens, although many will be. I pray that all who read this will seek to know Jesus as their Savior.
When you are young you don’t notice pain much unless it is a bee sting or a wasp sting. Falls and scrapes go unnoticed because you just bounce back from it and move on. When you get a few decades counted in your birthday roster, those falls and scrapes and other inconveniences hurt more. Not just because of your age but because your body doesn’t heal as easily as it did when you were young.
You will hear some people say “I don’t bounce like I used to”, and in a true sense, we don’t bounce at all. Most of us land pretty hard regardless of the surface we land on. So, why am I talking about this today? Because when you are young, you don’t think about getting older. It’s not a priority at the time. It is in the future and it hasn’t happened yet, so it isn’t important.
God created us to have a relationship with Him but for a portion of our lives, we try to fill that “empty place” with all kinds of things and people who don’t belong in that spot. Only God belongs there. God made a way for us to know Him and to be with Him into eternity and that is by having a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Your belief in His redemptive work on the cross and His resurrection is the only way to have this relationship. You can’t work your way into it or buy your way into it. It is God’s gift to you through Jesus.
We can medicate our pains in this life and you can do lots of good things if you have the means to do so but your salvation only comes through belief in Jesus Christ.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
Have you thought about what this verse means? The fear of the Lord is not the same as fearing for your life. It is humility in the face of God and respect for the Creator of all things. The One that you owe your very breath and your life to is the One that you should fear and respect. He holds your life and your eternal future in His hands and if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you are safe for all eternity.
Life is given to us as a gift from God. He formed each of us and knew us even before Jesus died for us. Yet, many people think they have control over their lives. While this is true for every person, God is in control whether you want to believe He is or not. Everything from the smallest atomic structure to the largest galaxy is maintained by God for His glory.
You can choose to believe in Him and Who He is or not, but your eternal home and destination is up to Him. Give your heart to Jesus and follow Him because one day the Trumpet is going to sound and the dead in Christ will rise and the church will be taken up and you should be counted in that group. If you are not, then you should give your heart to Him as soon as you can.
