Amen!
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
If we believe in Jesus the Christ and His resurrection then we will be raised to life with Him one day. This is the very thing which Paul was writing to the Corinthian church about because some were saying that there is no resurrection or life after death. Jesus said that there was and He proved it by coming out of the grave like He said He would.
If there is no life after death or resurrection then our faith in Him is useless and the word which we preach is false. But the Word of God is truth and all of His Words are true so there is life after this one. Whether it is to a heavenly home or to be cast into hell is your choice by choosing to believe in Jesus and His redemptive power for your life or not. It is your choice and it is your decision about this which will determine which eternity you will endure or enjoy…so make the right choice for you.
Don’t turn away from His offer of forgiveness and eternal life with Him because without Him eternity will be punishment and pain because of your own choice of not believing in His redemptive power.
God is always near you whether you believe it or not. Whether you have accepted Him as your Savior or not, He still knows where you are and what you are doing at any time. You cannot hide from Him or get away from His sight, so it is best not to try. Give your heart to Him when you feel His touch on your heart, repent of your sins and follow Him as the disciples did. That way your eternity will be secure and safe in His home which He prepared for you.
Jesus came and died for the sins of all mankind. Whether you accept His offer of salvation through what He did for you or not is still your choice. It is not God who sends people to hell but it is your own choice about believing or not in the One who died for you which will send you to heaven or hell.
Have you ever really sat down and thought about what has happened in your life? I know that most young people may not think about their lives much, but as the years add up you owe it to yourself to do so. Why do I say this? Because you don’t know when your time may be up that’s why.
We can be good people, morally and spiritually at least in our own estimation. But, will that be enough? Will that be good enough to get you into Heaven? According to God’s Word, no it won’t be enough. Why? Because morality and righteousness on our own terms are not enough and it’s not good enough.
God made a way for us to be acceptable and forgiven through faith and belief in Jesus and what He did on the cross almost two thousand years ago. Which does not require anything of us including works of any kind or money, just accept it through faith and believe in Jesus and the forgiveness which was paid for in His blood.
As the Bible says there is a wide road and a narrow road, some are traveling by one or the other. Many of those on the wide road attend church but they haven’t given their hearts to Jesus. They are just going through the motions of being “Christians” in their own minds but not in their hearts. I pray that most of those will wake up to their mistake before it is too late.
God extends His love toward all which He proved with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The debt of sin has been paid but if you don’t heed God’s call on your life and accept it then your eternity will be much different than what you think it may be. Make sure of your salvation before your time on Earth is up because we never know when that time might be. If you have felt the prodding of the Holy Spirit in your life, seek Jesus out in Scripture and repent today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us even if we have made plans. God may have different plans for us.
Seek salvation through repentance and giving your heart to Jesus while you can. When your life is over here there are no second chances.
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…..” because He is a gracious God and a merciful One and will forgive you for your sins if you will repent and seek Jesus in your life.
Make sure of your salvation before it is too late. Amen
Many people today seem to believe that they must do works of some sort to be worthy of their salvation. Why? There is nothing which we have or that we can do which is worthy to pay for any part of our salvation. God is the Creator…our Creator, therefore, everything that is in the entire universe belongs to Him already. So how can we possibly have anything which would be worthy to give to God in exchange for any part of your salvation?
Salvation cannot be bought by anything which we have because it is already paid for through the blood of Jesus. It is a free gift given to us through God by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His work which He did during His time here. Your salvation is a free gift from God because a price has been paid which we cannot pay but Jesus paid this price for all of mankind.
All that we have to do is believe in His free gift and the works which He performed for our sins, accepting the gift of salvation through faith by Jesus Christ. There is nothing which we can do or pay in any way which will add to our salvation because our salvation is bought with the precious blood of the Son of God! Nothing in the universe is worth more to God than our obedience and our lives when we give them to Him as a living sacrifice in His service.
The blood of Jesus paid all of the sin debt which we owed on our sins, so there is nothing which we can do to add any worth to our lives except to live for Him and do those things which He did as far as our faith will enable us to do. God loves each of us and we should love Him because without His power we would be nothing. He grants us the days in which we live, one day at a time, so be thankful for each day that you have. Don’t scorn the gift of life which each of us has when we wake each morning because we have one more day to work for Him until our time is up and we go to Him!
Many people seem to think that there are all kinds of rules that you have to follow or some formula which goes with being a Christian but there isn’t. Believe in Jesus and the sacrifice which He paid for your sins with, repent of your sinful ways and ask Him to be your Savior. Then walk with Him from that point on. It isn’t hard to do since even a child can understand salvation and where it comes from.
When you feel His touch on your heart and you know that you are a sinner, the only place to come to is the cross of Jesus. Asking Him for your forgiveness and believing that your salvation is found only in Him. Those are the “requirements” and they aren’t hard to do once you realize that you need Him.
Many churches sit silently today, waiting for the songs to be sung or the prayers and praise to begin. Although, many of them are closed and don’t have a congregation to keep them going, so they just sit and one day they will be torn down. It is a shame that our country is abandoning the faith that our fathers and those who came before them had. The faith in God which brought many to our shores to begin a new life of freedom. Freedom to worship they way they wanted to and in whatever church that they wanted to worship in or even to be able to refuse to worship the God Who provided this land and its freedoms for them if they chose to do so.
Dear Lord, I thank you that you have given us the freedom to worship You or not. I thank you for all of the blessings which we enjoy in this great country and in our world today because all of the blessings which we enjoy come from Your hand and not our own. I thank you for your Son, Jesus, Who died to pay the debts for our sins so that we can come to you in prayer and thanksgiving. I also thank you, Lord, for your friendship and your grace in our lives because without it we would really be in a mess. I just have one more thing to say, Lord, and that is this: Thank you from my heart and soul for bringing me to the knowledge of Who You are and that I needed you. I will be going now, Lord. I hope to talk to you again tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thank God for waking you this morning.
Thank Jesus for paying for your sins.
Thank Him for making it possible for you to enter into Heaven one day.
Be thankful that God doesn’t punish our sins immediately when we forget to ask forgiveness.
Be thankful for His grace and mercy which is poured out for all of us each day.
Be thankful for all that you have and for the unanswered prayers that you thought you needed but didn’t.
Be thankful for the sunlight and the rain and the cool fall breezes to come.
Be thankful for the food that God gives you through His Word and from the garden.
Be thankful for the Living Water which flows from His Word which refreshes your soul and renews your mind as you read it.
Thank you, Lord, for all of the wonderful blessings which we receive from your hands each day…even when we take most of them for granted and don’t thank you for them like we should.
Thank you, Lord, for being our Shepherd and our Savior and our King.
Amen
Your life and mine is a path which we follow all the days of it. Walking in Jesus’ footsteps is the only sure way to Heaven, any other path may be easier but it will lead you astray.
Seeking to find your own way to Heaven will only lead you to an eternity of pain and suffering if you have not followed Jesus in your lifetime. Even if your life here was comfortable and filled with many good things, like the rich man you will burn in hell if you don’t have Jesus as your Savior.
Our good deeds in this life are useless compared to being saved and sanctified by Jesus. Because the works which we do, like giving money and time to charity and helping those who are in need, are useless unless we are doing them in the name of Jesus and with His Spirit loving those that we are helping. Without His love working through us in this world, there is no amount of money or anything else which can make a difference into eternity.
Make sure that you seek Him in all things while you are here because when this life is over and your work for Him is done, eternity awaits you. Make sure of your salvation in Jesus.
Amen
Why the title of “So little time”? Because we are so close to the end of the age that’s why! I am not going to try to predict anything here, but if you pay attention to the events happening around the world, we are getting very close. When will the church be taken up to Heaven? I have no idea. It could be tonight or three months from now or even three years from now. But, in God’s time, it will happen and it will likely happen sooner than most people think it will.
The timing of the “rapture” of the church and its believers and the beginning of the Tribulation are entirely up to God. There are no clues which give the date for these things found in the Bible. There are some prophecies which foretell the things which will happen before that day and many of those are happening right now. But to think that you can come up with a date and time is foolish. God’s Word is not that specific for clues to the Tribulation or the time of the rapture as some seem to think it is.
God cares for the whole human race and He is working to bring as many to a saving grace through Jesus as possible before that day comes. He is the only Person who knows the end from the beginning and He knows the names written in the Book of Life. When those are fulfilled and no more are joining the ranks of the Bride of Christ, which is the church redeemed, then the trumpet will sound and there will be a shout for all of the dead in Christ to rise! Then those of us who are alive will be caught up with them to be with Him forever.
This prophecy is the only one left to be fulfilled before the Tribulation begins. It will begin with the peace treaty between Israel and its enemies all around it, but until then everything will continue on as it has before. Your eternity, whether you believe in God or Jesus or not, will be determined by your decision toward Him. You will enter into eternity by being judged by the actions of your life OR you will be welcomed into eternity by being a redeemed sinner covered by the blood of Jesus.
I know there are some who think that Christianity is a “bloody religion” just because of the death of Jesus on the cross. It could be called that because it is the blood of Jesus which paid the debt for all of our sins, but we are talking about His blood, the Lamb of God, which took away the sins of the world! Whether everyone accepts this or not, and most don’t, it is still part of what God put in place for our redemption. You can choose to believe in it and the Person who died and rose again for you or not, but the fact is that your belief in Him and what He did is the only way to gain access to Heaven.
God provided this and it was put in motion long before the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. As the Bible says, “the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world“, Jesus was prepared to die for all of mankind even before Adam was created! Make sure of your eternity and place your faith in Him. Amen
Our church is having a homecoming service this weekend, today actually, and I was wondering this morning about whether we are coming or going? Are you going to church or coming home from church? Will you be coming to the homecoming or going to a home-going one day?
What do I mean by a home-going? I am speaking of one of two totally different events actually. Either you will die and awaken in Heaven or the Trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise and those of us who remain will be caught up in the air to meet Him! That is the home-going of which I speak. We are only visiting the Earth for a while and during the times in which we are living, we are very close to that day of which Paul speaks.
When our home-going takes place, the world will be changed dramatically. All of the Christians in the world will vanish, graves will open and the bodies of those who believed in Jesus prior to their deaths will rejoin their Spirits in the air to meet Jesus! The world will be perplexed and wondering what is going on. Many won’t understand, but some will know because they have been to church many times, they may have gotten baptized at some point in their lives but they never gave Jesus another thought after that.
Those people who have been in church at some point in their lives will know what happened even if they were left behind. Life on Earth will get progressively worse because the Tribulation will begin soon after these things.
Why am I writing this on a day when we are having a homecoming? Because there are many people who don’t know Jesus even if they come to church, that’s why. God loves every person on the Earth, which is why He sent Jesus to pay for their sins, but He knows that all of them won’t give their lives to Jesus and ask forgiveness for their sins. I pray that most of you who read this will consider that God loves you and Jesus died for you, so please ask Him to forgive you and grant you salvation through Him.
The Living Message of Christ 