Category: Religion

Life is worth…Living!


I just finished reading one of the last entries on a blog which was written by an atheist. I didn’t know him personally, but then I read a post from a few days later which his wife wrote and he passed away four days after writing the post that I read. It was…a post which showed the thoughts of someone who was giving up on life. He was depressed and had seemingly decided that it was his time to go. I don’t know for sure if he killed himself, but he knows for sure, where his eternity is. He had asked me before to prove the existence of God and whether the Bible predicted WWII, I told him that I could not prove the existence of God and that the Bible did not predict WWII.

You cannot prove the existence of God because He is. It is a question of faith and if you don’t have faith or you don’t believe anything in the Bible, then there isn’t any proof which would prove that God exists. Even if He came to us today in human form like He did when Jesus walked with His disciples, nobody today would believe in Him except for those of us who already believe. The problem with this is, of course, that He said in the book of Revelation that He would come back as a King of Kings and with the armies of Heaven. Jesus would not come as He did 2,000 years ago.

God loves each of you, and if you can open your mind a little and read the Bible for the history and culture that is there then you will see Him. Although, reading it as a history book is good, that is not all that is in it. There are so many things which God can reveal to you if you will have faith and believe. The problem with this is that there are many people who only read it as a book which has history and poetry and lots of stories in it, reducing it to just words.

The problem with doing this is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Inspired by His Spirit so that the history and the stories told in it would have a line which winds from the beginning of the Earth to its end. It doesn’t go into detail about every nation or every war which happens, but it does point to your Savior and the only way to salvation and eternal life! Give your heart to Jesus, the Spirit will touch you at some point in  reading His Word, then you have to listen and open your heart to Him.

That place where you have always felt…empty. That is where the Spirit is supposed to live in you! He is the only One Who fits in that space and once you realize this and ask Him into your life, then you will finally feel whole! No more time alone. No more feelings of incompleteness. Satan will come and try to steal your joy at finding this, finding Him, but if you lean on Jesus and seek His strength to get through it then you will!

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem and since life itself is temporary make sure that you ally yourself with the Creator and your Redeemer, Jesus the Christ!!

The day of His birth…


Most of us celebrate our birthdays, although many seem to worry about them as the numbers get bigger. Why worry about a number? It just means that God has given you another year, another day to live and enjoy your life here with friends and family! Yes, there are some who feel as if their life would be better if they didn’t have so many birthdays piled one on top of another, but let me ask this question: Without killing yourself, what can you do about the march of time and another birthday?

Blunt answer: nothing

God gives us the air that we breathe and the food that we eat throughout our lives, so what will you do with another day, another week or month or even another year? Will you glorify Him in your days, telling others about His grace and His mercy?

This is one of the jobs that we are all supposed to be engaged in, particularly if you are a follower of Christ. Why do we walk as though we don’t know Jesus? Are there some who do this? Yes, there are some who only come to church on holidays or weddings or funerals, what good does it do for you to come at these times? Do you truly listen to the message or did you come to be seen and be in the community?

If you are doing this for your personal gain, it is no good at all for your spiritual well-being. Like the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Temple:

Luke 18:9-14 King James Version 

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Jesus’ day of birth is celebrated in December not because that is when He was born but because it was easy to get pagans to celebrate a day that they already celebrated. Jesus was likely born sometime between the middle of September and October, in any case we do celebrate Him by giving gifts to each other, just as He was the ultimate gift to us. He came not to bring a kingdom down or to begin His reign as Lord and King, but to shed His blood as a perfect sacrifice for ALL of our sins! He died for the whole WORLD, not just for the Jewish nation but for all of the people on Earth and His sacrifice was necessary for us to be able to atone for our sins.

God loves us because that is what His Word says! He is not a liar nor a cheat, yet some people seem to feel cheated by Him because He doesn’t magically provide all of their needs or their desires. He provides for exactly what you need, WHEN you need it. Not more than you need or less, yet that is why many people don’t like Christianity. They seem to expect God to provide for them because He owes them something. God doesn’t owe you anything at all! If you are blessed by Him with riches and wisdom be thankful for it and help those who don’t have what you have been blessed with, as much as you can without offending them.

Why do I say this? Because many people don’t like charity. They don’t want you to give them something and to some it is insulting that you would even think of helping them. But, if they truly needed it I don’t believe the offer would be turned away. It is the same with salvation. It doesn’t cost us anything and we don’t have to do anything to get it. Sometimes it is because of this that people don’t see the value of coming to church and accepting Jesus as their Savior.

Life is moving too fast!


Has anyone else noticed that this year has flown by? I know, while the “candidates” were campaigning  it seemed like it would NEVER end! That is how it felt to me anyway. Yes, life does move quickly and the older we get, we notice it more. While you are working it seems that life flows by like a swift stream. Every day goes by, you come home, have something to eat, watch a little TV, take a shower and go to bed, get up and begin again. Hopefully, you don’t work the night shift because when I worked that shift I went to work at 9:30 pm, worked all night in the hospital lab, got off work at 7:30 am. Drove home, got as much sleep as possible and then ate something, took a shower, and went back again.

These schedules don’t allow for much family time, or me time, they just run on and on and on until you finally quit or something else happens in your life.

God did not intend for us to work like this, but our society demands it because there is no equality in our lives any more. What do I mean by this? I mean e-quality, emotional quality of life. If you are married and have children there are plenty of emotions in your home already. But, are they quality emotions like love,kindness, patience and truthfulness?

This is something which we are missing out on these days because of all the electronic distractions that are in the home. We have smartphones, tablets, Kindles, computers, laptops, game systems (small and PC sized), when do you find the time to sleep and pay attention to the people around you who are supposed to be your family? This needs to be fixed but how? Throwing out all of the electronic gadgets won’t work, that only creates animosity and bitter feelings between those involved. There should be some moderation in their use, but I don’t know how to get this message across.

Why am I complaining about this? Because it happens not just in my home but I am sure it happens in millions of other homes as well. Attention spans have dropped to the point of seconds not minutes like it was during my years growing up. If something isn’t solved in the first fifteen seconds or so, they move on to the next level or game and maybe they will try again later. If that doesn’t work, many of them just trash it and move on to the next game system they have.

Yes, life moves at the speed of attention spans. Today it may be said that five to ten minutes are the top-tier of attention that you may get. After that, minds wander in all kinds of directions but the subject matter that you may be teaching or preaching on. If you home school, the span of attention is a little better, but not by much. Particularly if they LOVE to play games, hand-held and console type.

But God loves each and every one of us, game players included, and He can use our talents and our gifts IF we will let Him. Please seek Him out as your Savior before the day comes when you don’t have a choice but to stand before Him. Your life here is your time given to learn of Him, get to know Him and seek Him earnestly for your own salvation. If you don’t use this time for this, then your eternal destination will be much different and far worse than you can imagine.

The Blessed Life


Psalm 1

1.Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2.But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4.The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5.Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6.For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Blessed is a state of satisfaction, joy and happiness in the circumstances of your life. It is usually the state of a man who lives in obedience and faith in God.

The Hebrew word for law is torah, which encompasses more than just “law”, it is more closely related to teaching or instruction. So, it is a revelation of God’s will for His people rather than a list of legislative material or judicial decisions.

The image of the righteous as flourishing trees is a common metaphor in the Old Testament. Bearing fruit is an extension of the metaphor and refers to the product of faith in God and the spiritual life of the individual.

In the fourth verse, the life of the godly and the ungodly are contrasted by the reference to the chaff. Chaff which is a useless byproduct of threshing wheat is in contrast to the fruit of the previous verse.

The ungodly are carried away by the wind, being separated from that which is useful and valuable, even separated from God.

In verse five, stand gives the idea of being able to survive or remain after the judgment.

In verse six, the summary shows what is anticipated for those who follow the two ways; God’s protection for the righteous and disaster for the ungodly.

In this sermon/study of Psalm 1, it is easy to see what is important for those of us who decide to follow God and His laws and His wisdom. The blessings of God are the expectation or the reward which will be given to those who delight themselves in Him. In today’s society, many people think that these “blessings” will be in the form of money or other tangible things such as cars, homes, etc.

In God’s economy, obedience to Him can reward us with things such as these if He desires to give them to us and if we are willing to use them for His glory and His Kingdom. The big part that many people miss is that they look for these things NOW!! We tend toward being very impatient when looking for a blessing or reward from God.

God may reward you during your lifetime, or your actual reward may be your eternal life in Heaven and your dwelling place there. Your reward is completely up to God because He is in control ultimately. He is the rewarder and your Creator, so your rewards are entirely in His hands and under His decisions.

This psalm was written to show us and anyone else who reads it, that wisdom comes from God and true wisdom comes from seeking Him out in your life. I am not speaking of your so-called “life” here, paying bills, going to work, having a relationship with your spouse and your children.

I am speaking of your Life in Christ, the Life that you receive from Him when you give your heart to Him and accept Him as your Savior. Seeking Him out in the Word of God and learning about Him through reading it and studying it. Yes, it takes a few minutes every day, but so does reading a newspaper. If you need to learn something about Jesus and His Father, the Bible is the only place to find truthful information. Reading a magazine about flower arrangements or gardening takes a few minutes, sometimes more, but if you want to know how to do those things it is necessary to learn from the source.

If you want to be successful in being a Christian and a follower of Jesus, then you need to read and study His teachings in the New Testament and learn about His Father’s ways by reading and studying the Old Testament. That is a lot of study and reading isn’t it? If you have a college education you had to read and study those subjects while in college didn’t you?

If you didn’t learn from those books, then you couldn’t pass the tests to get your degree. If you really want to know Jesus and His Father, then you need to study the Word of God. Not only to learn some passages or to remember some of the Psalms or a few passages from Matthew, but to understand the requirements of being a child of God. The only real requirement of God which can’t be negotiated or bargained away is obedience.

God required it of Solomon, David, Saul, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Adam too. All of them failed at some point in their obedience, but they came before God, admitted it and asked forgiveness for it at some point. We all fail, but Jesus paid the price for each of us because the price of sin (failure) is death or being far from God Himself.

Why would that be a punishment? Because, when you are exposed to the perfect, Holy and whole Love that God is, then you realize that you don’t measure up without Jesus. If you stand before Him without Jesus, you will know how unworthy you really are. How bad would that look to us today? Think of a wedding chapel. Decorated all in white from top to bottom. Everyone is required to wear a white robe or clothes to be admitted to the celebration. Someone arrives, who is a friend of the groom, but they look as if they rolled around in the mud of a pig pen before coming. Can they come in? Will they be admitted dressed as they are? No! Because they may have had white on, but now it is filthy and they can’t change in time right? Wrong! If they repent and the Groom forgives them, then a fresh garment will be provided, after a short bath of course, and they can attend.

That robe is the covering blood of Christ which cleanses all sin (the bath), making us acceptable and holy before a Holy God. When we stand at our judgement and our life’s decisions, wrong or right, sinful or not, are brought forth. If you are covered by the blood of Christ, the consequences are taken care of by Him and He is your advocate before God. Your debt has been paid in full by Jesus and you are part of the family of God.

Please, make sure that your heart is right with Him before that day comes because afterward is not the time to make a decision which should’ve been made during your life here. When this life is over, you will stand before God. Pray that you don’t stand there alone.

Give …. a chance!


There are many, many things which could go in that space and I don’t want to even attempt to go over all of them. Today, you could say that our country should go in there or the President-elect, Donald Trump, should be in that spot. There are many more that could go there but my point here is that whatever you place in that blank space, do it!

Don’t just say it, do it! What is the most important part of your life which needs to be in that place? Is it your job or something concerning school or your marriage which needs a chance to work? Is it your relationship with your Savior? Is there a multiplicity of options in your life which needs a chance to work?

We all have things which need a chance to work, in one way or another. For some of us it is a relationship, whether it is one with our Savior or our spouse or another family member, really doesn’t matter. The point is that relationships have to be worked on, taken care of, nurtured if we want them to grow. So much is going on in the world today, and if it was broken down to what the REAL problems are and what or maybe Who would fix it, the choice would be simple.

The problem with that is this: nobody likes a simple solution.

Simple solutions to complex problems involving cultures and religions which have been at odds for centuries are not achievable in our world. Why? Because we are human and our solutions involve other human beings, each of us has their own idea about a solution to a specific problem. When we don’t cooperate with each other to implement a solution, the problem gets bigger and it isn’t solved in the long run.

The point that I am attempting to get across to those who may read this is that human problems don’t have a human solution. Our solution is found in the Bible, in His Wisdom and faith in Him, not in our fallible ways and understanding. I don’t claim to have those answers, but God does. They are found by reading and studying His Word and asking Him for wisdom in our daily lives.

Living by His Word, studying His Word and His wisdom and asking Him to show you and me the way through a problem or around a problem is the best way to live. It isn’t easy because most of us don’t like to admit that we can’t find the solution. It isn’t easy because we don’t really like to study any book, regardless of which one it may be. God’s Word isn’t hard to understand if you ask Him to help you to understand it.

Seek Him out in the Bible, because when you go looking for Him…you will find Him or He will come to you. He hasn’t lost you, but you may have forgotten where to look for Him. Don’t forget that God loves you and has loved you and me since before the world was created. Each of us has a job in His Kingdom, mine is being a preacher, yours may be something totally different. Just like any government in the world, all jobs are important in some way and if someone isn’t doing their job then the rest suffer for it.

Well, we are here…


So, what do we do now? God places rulers, governors, Senators and Presidents in their positions in order for His will to be done. One way or another. Just as God used Pharaoh when the Israelites were slaves, He will use our leaders, our President to make His will for us known. We may not realize it, we may not even want to acknowledge God is the One, the only One Who is truly in control of our world.

God said in the Bible, where Paul wrote in Romans 9:17:
“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

This is what I believe that God is doing here in America today, and not just here but all over the world! The people who are showing up like the Neo-Nazi’s, the white supremacists, many of those who are “taking advantage” of the unrest and uncertainty in our country are just adding to the problems before a solution can be figured out for anything! Most of the voters who actually voted for Donald Trump are not like them nor do we belong to the organizations which are claiming that we do.

God is bringing all of this to a tipping point and one day this will tip over and we will be involved in some real problems, not just these small problems which everyone seems to be whining about. It will not be something that everyone will be joyful about and very few will enjoy it at all, but God is still in control. Some of you who read this may want to ask, “Why is this happening now?”; that is a good question but why didn’t it happen thirty years ago? Why didn’t some of this happen sixty years ago?

Because we, as a people and as the only race on this planet able to think about things like this, are in a position to read and know that where we are in prophecy means that we don’t have many more years before there is a worldwide realization that God truly is in control.Why do I say this? Because when so many people disappear, worldwide at the same time, some will know what it means but many people won’t get it and that is our mission now! To make sure that they don’t have to find someone to tell them what is going on!

Just because we have a President elect who has used the fears and rhetoric that he did in order to get elected, doesn’t mean that he is like those who are wearing the T-shirts with his name on them! You know, I didn’t vote for the President that we have had for the past eight years, but I have prayed for his salvation and for God to give him the wisdom to do his job. I didn’t go into the streets and burn cars and break windows and such because I didn’t want him. God says that we should serve under those who are put above us in government because He is the One Who placed them there!

When life gets too hard….


Kneel and pray to your Father in Heaven. Some might say that this is a cop-out or just a crutch that we Christians use to get through the tough times. It is NOT a cop out or a crutch but God does give us the strength from His Spirit for our struggles and our hard times. It doesn’t make them any easier nor does it make them go away, but His Strength and His Spirit give us a boost…a little more ooomph to get through those tough patches.

When the burdens of life get so frustrating and demoralizing that we just feel like it is too much to bear, that is when we should cry out to God and ask for His Wisdom and His Strength to carry us through. He will give those things to each of us to get through these times and these problems, no matter how big they may seem to us…He is BIGGER!

There is no problem too small or too great for God to help you with if you will give it to Him. Don’t take it back after an hour or two, let God have it and then you need to rest in His provision and grace that it will be taken care of, by Him and in His way and time. In the political climate that we have today, we can’t turn away from prayer. Because it is necessary!

I urge all of you, not to vote because I am sure you have likely done that already if possible, to pray and to do so earnestly for the remainder of the day today. Why? Because, our country needs God influence in this election. Many times we live and work without God’s influence or His wisdom leading us and guiding us and we are using our own wisdom in all of our life’s problems. Why is that bad? Because, God knows the outcome before we could possibly see it come to pass.

Is He in control? Yes! We may get the person that we want in office or we may not. The office of our President is not the One that will save our country or this world from chaos, only Jesus as our Lord and our King will do that. God is on His throne and He will decide who sits in the Oval office, whether we like it and the outcome or not.

Where are you?


Many people seem to be wondering this about God these days. You see and hear about disasters and wars and all of the diseases and droughts all around the world and many people do wonder about why they can’t tell if God is even interested in our lives today. He hasn’t gone away and He does care more for the entirety of humanity, those who believe in Him and those who don’t, and He cares enough that He sent His Son to give His life as payment for our sins. Your sins and mine!

God has not moved away from us, He is still on the throne and in His City but He is also near you in your problems and in your trials. He is the One Who strengthens us every day to get up and be about our business in this world and in our life on it. I pray that our nation and this world will seek Him before it is too late.

Why do I say that? Because we are standing at the edge of a dangerous place and time and I fear that the person who is in America’s White House may just tip the scale so that things may spiral out of control toward a economic and worldwide collapse like the world has never seen before. God is still in control, even when this happens but we won’t be able to look around us and tell it. Unless you are holding on to Him in this time and during the days and weeks ahead, the situation will look terribly bad.

God loves us, but just as He used other cultures and nations to punish Israel in times past, He will also do the same with America and the world because we have abandoned His teachings and His Law. You know that it is true because when you turn on any news channel, regardless of the country you live in, the Bible and Christians are being blamed for the problems that we face!

When the REAL problem is actually that we have pushed Him and the Bible out of public view and out of our children’s education and this is the greatest threat to our world because we have turned away from our Creator. We have decided that we know better how to run this world and train our children to seek their own way and their own wisdom rather than His.

The whole of Creation cries out for Him to restore the glory and beauty of what He began in Genesis because in the beginning all of it was perfect and good in God’s eyes. Nothing was out of place, nothing was wrong with any part of it until we, meaning Adam and Eve, chose to do things their way and go against what God had told them to do. Today almost all of humanity has chosen to go their way and do whatever feels right to them instead of learning about and obeying God.

I would rather be in God’s hands than to go against His Word and follow the crowd today. Please, pray with me for God’s mercy and His provision for all of us, because in the hands of mankind is only destruction, pain and misery.

What?


I hear this a lot! If I had said that to my father, I would’ve paid for it and I doubt I would’ve said it again!

It seems that in today’s world, many people are saying the same thing in reference to God and His Word and the so-called “rules” that are preached in the pulpit of many churches today. Why do I say many and not all? Because there are many preachers who are not preaching from His Word like they are supposed to.

There are no “rules” in Christianity to keep, other than the Commandments of our Lord. We are not required to study His Word a certain number of hours a day, we aren’t required to wear certain clothes, we aren’t required to do anything. But, consider this: God sent His only begotten Son to give His life as a sinless offering for all of our sins. Then, He was raised from the grave on the third day and appeared to many people until just before the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to His disciples.

God didn’t have to do this, but it was His plan from the beginning where He mentioned this:  “I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).

That “seed of the woman” was Jesus Christ!

rules-for-christian-living-1024x613The reason that I said that there are no “rules” in Christianity is because once you accept Jesus as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living inside your heart. When that happens, you begin being changed from the inside and you want to do those things which so many people call restrictions or rules. You are changed from the person that you were into a new creation in Christ!

Before I truly accepted Jesus as my Savior, I still liked to smoke a cigarette once in a while, now I don’t have the craving to do so. A long time ago, I drank whiskey almost every weekend along with smoking illegal drugs like marijuana. That was more than 37 years ago, I don’t want to do those things anymore. I still have cravings sometimes for a smoke or a beer but God says that He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able to bear, and He is true to His Word!

Why do some preachers preach messages which don’t go by God’s Word today? Oh, they use some passages from it, but the message doesn’t necessarily follow the meaning of those passages sometimes. Understand now, I am not picking on preachers in general, there are just a few who have done this. Some of them you have heard of in the news, some are local to me in the area that I live. My point is that if you are truly called to be a preacher for God’s Kingdom, you need to preach from His Word.

I know that some of what I write I don’t include a scripture every time, it is just the “wisdom” that I have learned from reading the Bible for the past ten or fifteen years from Genesis to Revelation. Each time that I read through it, I find something new that I didn’t understand before or maybe the Holy Spirit reveals to me something that He didn’t the last time.

That is the kind of study that God wants from His adopted children. There isn’t a rule that you have to do it, but how else are you going to get to know God if you don’t learn His voice which is revealed in Scripture? Does that make me a “super Christian”? No, just a forgiven and redeemed one! God loves the whole world, which is why He sent His Son into it so that He could live a sinless life and be the blameless, spotless, Lamb of God which would take away the sins of the world!

The offer of redemption is available to each of us, regardless of race, color, or nationality. It doesn’t depend upon your religion or your willingness to be a missionary and there are no requirements of denying yourself of food or water or anything that is available to you. The only part of you that God wants is your heart and your obedience to Him. When He calls you, answer Him. If He leads you to go somewhere to be a missionary, go without question.

This is the God that led Moses through the wilderness and helped him to defeat Pharaoh and release Israel from bondage. God also went with them through the wilderness and fed them manna and gave them and their animals water from the Rock (a type of Jesus). All of this is there to be learned. Sixty six books in the Bible tell the story of God’s love for mankind and show you the Savior Who was to come and Who did come to die for your sins. He will come again, only this time He will be King of Kings and Judge the whole world, those who haven’t accepted Him as their Lord.

What? Is an expression of surprise and sometimes frustration, but it is also used disrespectfully as well. What should you do? If you have felt His call, a small voice or a touch in your heart telling you that you need Him, don’t push Him away. Don’t run like Jonah did, because God is everywhere and He can find you. If He has something for you to do, it means that nobody else can do it….just you! Think about it while you can.

Are you sure?


 

Can you be sure of your salvation? Yes, you can. Many people seem to wonder if it is possible to be absolutely sure of your salvation and it is. If you are sincere in your repentance and your decision to follow Jesus.

Have you made that decision? Have you felt the Spirit’s call or touch upon your heart? Did you answer that call or did you do like so many, decide to wait until a better time? There is no better time.

Some doctrines claim that you can’t turn away from the call of God. These are people in our own country and in others who claim allegiance to Calvinism. Baptists are Calvinists, but there are some Calvinists who believe that there is no reason for them to call people to be converted in church, there is no reason for us to tell people about Jesus because the call of God on your life is irresistible! You cannot walk away from it without giving your life to Jesus!

I want to tell you that they are WRONG!! If one of the disciples of Jesus could walk away from the evidence laid out before him, which he saw and experienced every day for the three years of Jesus’ ministry, if you are as stubborn as he was about his life or his version of it, then you can too. If Jesus doesn’t measure up to your idea of a Savior or Lord of your life, then you will possibly turn away from Him.

Even Jesus said that on that day, when all who are on Earth will bow down that there will be many who claim Him as their Savior saying “Have we not cast out demons in your Name and healed many in your Name?” He said that He would tell them to “depart from me, I never knew you.” This is a very frightening thought, not only for them but for us as well. How do you know, without a doubt, that you are saved by Him and that you have His Spirit in your heart? Are you absolutely sure?

This is what we are searching for today…absolute assurance that we belong to Jesus! Do you have it? If not, then how can you get it?

What is a better time than today? When would be a better time than right now? We are not given a certain number of days or years to live. We wake up and we should thank God for one more day to  work in His Kingdom, one more day to enjoy our children and the world around us! Do you take tomorrow for granted? Do you make plans six months or a year in advance? How do you know that you will be here at that time? You don’t know for sure, none of us do.

Paul told the Philippians this in chapter 3:8-9:

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

Even Paul’s only hope of salvation and eternal life was found in the person of Christ and His presence and righteousness in him. Paul did not trust his efforts or beliefs to get him to Heaven, but he did trust in Jesus and his confidence was in Christ alone and the work of Christ in his life!

That is where our assurance is…in Christ alone, living and abiding in our hearts and in our lives and doing His work through us for Him.

In John 6:51, Jesus said a very hard saying for those around Him:

“I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Jesus also referred to His blood as well, for us to “drink of Me”; these sayings made many of His followers fall away and leave Him.

He was teaching that if you want eternal life, then you have to open your heart and allow Him to come in, by receiving Him and His Spirit into your heart and your life. Becoming part of your life, every day.

Some people say that they believe in Jesus so they are saved. Not necessarily. You can believe about Jesus, but unless you have the person of Jesus living in you then you don’t have Him at all!

In 1 John 5:12 the apostle writes it even clearer: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

The evidence of His Presence in your life is seen in your life through your actions, your words, your attitude because all of these will change from the person that you were before to the person that you are because of His Spirit living in you. It is true that many of your old habits will still pop up occasionally, but if you learn more and more about Him through the study of His Word and prayer then the “new creation” will become evident. The sins that you enjoyed once will be repulsive to you. There will be an excitement about learning from the Word of God, which once was so boring.

2 Corinthians 5:17 King James Version (KJV)

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Essentially, you will become more like Christ. If you want the assurance of eternity and of your salvation then you have to look for the evidence of the person and the work of Jesus Christ in your life! He did everything that was needed for us to have salvation, all that we need to do is stop looking at ourselves and focus on Him and on His life in us. He is making you into a new creation, a new person who is more like Himself which your old self could never be!

On your own strength and your will you or I cannot become more like Jesus. The Pharisees are proof of this because they worked hard to learn all of the Law of Moses and God’s commandments. Many of them, though not all, even tried to abide by the Law as closely as they could. The knew the Scriptures, they knew about God and His acts of forgiveness, they knew about what sacrifice to give and when to give it at the Temple, yet their faith was in the works and keeping the Law…not in God.

Misplaced faith will bring all of us to ruin. Knowledge of God, memorized scripture, tithes given faithfully to the church, attendance of church services faithfully, these are all good things BUT unless you have crucified yourself by seeking out what God wants of you, placing Jesus on the throne of your life instead of yourself, unless you have died to your selfish wants and have been resurrected as a new creature in Christ Jesus….? All of those good things that you have done are useless.

Jesus must be on the throne of your heart and your life. Doing His will by reading God’s Word and learning what He desires most above all…which is obedience to Him. If you haven’t done this on a daily basis, not just on occasions when you feel that you NEED God, because we need Him every day in order to do His will! If you neglect learning about Him because it doesn’t fit into your life or your schedule, then you may not know Him as Lord and Savior.

Those who were the “teachers of the Law” knew all of the right things to do and say and sacrifice, yet they did not obey God in all things. They had “book knowledge but not heart knowledge”.

Search your heart and your life. Does your speech and your actions reflect Jesus as your Savior? If your salvation is not evident in your life enough that people can tell that you are saved before you say a word, then you might need to pray and ask God to show you where you fall short and ask Him for the strength to give Him a place of honor in your heart.