God knows who He will call to be His, but if you don’t answer… what will happen? Nothing.
Just like His disciples, when Jesus called them to be His disciples if they had refused or just chose not to be His disciples, the church would not exist today. Christianity would be very different or nonexistent. But God had a plan and when the call went out to them, they did answer. Then they spread the gospel to the world they knew and those they could reach and the church grew.
People need to realize that Jesus is the only way to eternity with our Creator. It has nothing to do with your works or your money. Remember, the thief on the cross had no way to be baptized or even to witness to anyone until his story was told in the gospels. Jesus still promised him that “today you shall be with Me in Paradise”, just because of his belief alone.
Does God have a plan for your life? I think He does if you will give your heart and your life to Him. Just saying some words in a “sinner’s prayer” will not save your soul, you have to believe in Jesus with your heart and your faith in Him. You might feel something in a revival service if you say that prayer but if your heart and your behavior doesn’t change then it was just words. I pray that you will seek to know Him and believe in Him for your Salvation because we’re not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow.
As it says in God’s Word, “it is appointed to man once to die and then face judgment“; make sure you are not facing Him without the forgiveness that belief in Jesus for your eternity brings.
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.
Have you ever wondered how some people get through tough times? Many will tell you upfront that they just push through those times. But what if the problem is something that you can’t push through? Like cancer or a death in the family? Personal strength and grit won’t get you through those successfully.
Spirituality and horoscopes won’t help either. The only help comes through faith in Jesus. Faith can get you through a problem regardless of the intensity of the pain. Faith can give you the strength to endure treatments and pain when nothing else will. Faith can change the circumstances when you place it in the One Who can do that.
Faith, even a small amount, can make a dramatic change in your life and in your circumstances. I know that I have repeated this but it’s true. God gives you your faith but the quality of your faith makes the difference. By “quality” I mean whether you have doubts about Who your faith is in or not. How deep is your faith? Can it get you through tough times? Regardless of how bad they are or how bad they will be.
There is so much going on in the world. It is hard to understand why it is all happening. Unless you have read the Bible. God told us that many of these newsworthy things happening today would be happening near the end of the age. Some people don’t want to believe that we are at that point but there is no other explanation for the hatred and violence that just gets worse from week to week.
The news media doesn’t want to report it so most of the real news is covered up or not reported. Some news agencies report on news that others tend to overlook. Otherwise, life goes on and many don’t realize which “news” is real and which isn’t important in the scheme of things. But…God knows what is happening and why because He is in control.
Why is our world in the shape that it’s in? Because Satan has tried to corrupt the world and everyone in it for thousands of years. Even when you give your heart to Jesus, he won’t leave you alone. Satan reminds you that you aren’t good enough for God’s love, he tells you that those things that you did many years ago will keep you from getting into Heaven. Even when you know that Jesus is your Savior, Satan will try to make you doubt it every day. Whenever you think something you shouldn’t or say something you know is wrong, he will remind you that you aren’t good enough.
The problem with his logic is that Jesus chose each of us who are called to be His and once we have given our hearts to Him, nothing can take us from Him. In our strength, we can’t be good enough but the Holy Spirit gives us the strength, in Him, to resist those “suggestions” from the devil. God loves us His Strength to make it through each day, one day at a time. Make sure you have sought to know Jesus as your Savior because one day soon He will be coming back for His Church, so make sure you are a part of it.
