She loves those who the Lord loves and she helps in any way she can.
Most people will tell you that there are many ways to get to heaven but that is not what has been taught in the Bible. The continuous thread of salvation from Genesis to Revelation has always pointed to Jesus as the Savior. God’s Word doesn’t speak of the Messiah as being many people because there is only One, Jesus. But, when you read the book of Matthew you will find where Jesus told of the “way to life”.
Matthew 7:13-14 says: “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. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Some teach that the way to life is easy and free of trials but that isn’t true. Even Jesus told His disciples that “you will have trouble in this world“. Even though the way to Heaven and eternity does seem to be parallel with the roads that actually don’t get you there, make sure you are on the right pathway. Other religions do tell of being good and kind to others and many of their good points sound very much like Christianity but if you will read the Bible entirely you will find that it’s the one that has the Truth in it. The others are just making copies of that truth with some convenient changes that make their message sound very appealing.
That is why Jesus told His disciples to hold fast to their faith and do not be fooled by other claims from false prophets and religions. This is why we must place our Earthly life of things and temporary pleasures on the altar and sacrifice it daily so we can live a life surrendered to Jesus. This isn’t easy for people to hear because in our world the culture says “get more, be more, earn more” but none of “more” satisfies the longing in our hearts. We feel this as we grow but we don’t know what we are looking for until Jesus takes His place in our heart.
Even when the wide and easy road seems to go in the right direction, the narrow way leads to eternity with God.
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. Deuteronomy 10:20 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/deu.10.20.KJV
There is life everlasting in the name of Jesus, yet our world doesn’t want to hear this today. Mainly because those who are in the world and not a part of the church can’t see much difference between the people in the church and those outside it. Why aren’t we, as Christians, trying to live our lives as a reflection of Jesus instead of a reflection of the world around us? This is not the way that Jesus wanted His church to be.
We are supposed to live as a reflection of Him on a daily basis, not just on Sundays or holidays. We are supposed to take the example that He set for His disciples and be that example to those outside the church so that they will want to know Him as their Savior. If people know that you attend church regularly and then see or hear you acting outside the church like someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior…why would they want what you say you have?
Your life as a Christian is not going to be a perfect reflection of Jesus but you should at least try to live your daily life as one of His disciples! This is why you hear so many people saying that they won’t attend that church because there are too many hypocrites in it. Some won’t come to church because someone said something to them in the wrong tone years ago or they criticized the way they were dressed. Jesus accepted anyone regardless of their status or their clothes and we should do the same.
In the parable of the banquet, this parable was spoken to the guests at the Pharisee’s banquet. Jesus had noticed them picking out the places of honor for themselves, and this prompted the parable.
Jesus presents to them an imaginary or hypothetical banquet scene in which they themselves figure. Suppose they presume to take the high place reserved for the guest of honor. Then they may be asked to move to a less honored place, and thus be disgraced and embarrassed. However, if they choose to sit in the lowest place, they will likely be asked to take a more honored position and this will reflect their credit.
Yes, He was crucified for your sins and mine but He lives today, seated at the right hand of God. He is coming back to take His church, His Bride home to be with Him and I believe it will be soon. How soon? I don’t know but we are living at the edge of the age of grace right now. Prophecies from Daniel and Ezekiel are coming true right now, we are at the very cusp before that trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise and those of us who are His will rise after them to meet Him in the air! Oh, what a glorious and wonderful day that will be.
For many people, that day will be a very different day. If you haven’t given your heart to Jesus yet, on that day you will surely know that your place was taken and it was offered but you refused to accept Him as your Savior. At that moment you can give your heart to Him but…the next seven years will be rough. The book of Revelation tells exactly what will happen during the next seven years and for those who claim Jesus as their Savior, it will be hell on Earth. It will be hell on Earth for anyone who refuses to worship the leader of the world at that time, the antichrist.
As the publican said in Jesus’ parable, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” When your heart knows and you will know that you are a sinner when you are convicted, don’t turn away. Give your heart and your life to Jesus and seek Him every day in the Bible. Even though all of the persecution and trials that will come during the Tribulation, God will recognize that you are His. Just because the whole world is going through the judgment of God doesn’t mean that He has turned His back on everyone. You can still be saved by doing the very same thing that would save you before all of this happened…just repent and ask Jesus into your life and your heart.
The simplicity of salvation is in the verse of John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but will have eternal life.
Your belief in Jesus’ atonement for your sins is all that is needed. Remember the theif on the cross? He only asked Jesus to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom, and Jesus told him that “Today you shall be with Me in paradise“. There are no works to perform, no ministry needed and no amount of money given that will gain your access to Heaven, only your belief in Jesus as your Savior will accomplish that.
We are all sinners when God touches our hearts and then we see the true nature of our sins. We are sinners and nothing more until we are changed by the Holy Spirit. It is the touch of God’s Holy Spirit that begins the change in our hearts and it is at this point that we realize how much we truly need Him as our Savior.
God’s love for us is so deep and so encompassing that we cannot understand it. Anyone who has been touched by Him can tell you that the depth of His love cannot be understood by mankind. But it was this love of His that sent Jesus to Bethlehem as a baby so He could truly understand our condition by experiencing all of our pains and sorrows Himself. It was this compassion that kept Jesus on the cross and, during His ministry, caused Him to be favorable to those who needed Him the most.
God’s love for Israel and the Jewish people has always been evident in how He saved them from Egypt and how He took care of them during their travels in the wilderness. Yet, He knew that they would stray from His commandments after entering their Promised land. He always kept a remnant who didn’t follow other gods or defile themselves in other ways and He brought them back to Himself. But when you read the Old Testament, you get the feeling that they didn’t appreciate His care for them. Sometimes it seemed that they didn’t recognize that He cared for them at all.
God created this universe for us to see Him in everything around us. From the smallest animals to the mighty Sequoia that stands high in the mountains. His creative fingerprint is everywhere but there are so many today who refuse to see it and acknowledge Him as the Creator. I pray that you will pick up a Bible soon, even if it is just the New Testament, read it and seek Him as your Savior.
Our world is at the end of the “age of grace” and the time of the Gentiles spoken of in the Bible is also coming to an end. The next worldwide phenomenon will be the disappearance of those who are believers in Christ. So… are you ready?
The Living Message of Christ 