Category: Salvation is a choice

Salvation, is it important to you?


Many people seem to think that being a Christian is not fun, but they could not be more wrong. Living as a follower of Jesus today is not easy but the rewards of being a follower of His are worth more than ALL of the money in the world! To God, your soul is worth more than the entire world! Just ONE soul in God’s Kingdom is worth more than all of the wealth in the world, imagine how much value He places on all of us?

Believing in Jesus and His atonement for you and your family is all that is necessary to be saved, then follow Him, learn about Him, read His Word, seek His counsel in all things. Living daily for Him is not a joy ride that you take on one certain Sunday. It is not something which you do because you are in trouble or you have been given a bad diagnosis. Yes, He is to be sought out when things like this happen but He is to be followed every day of your life even after the problems are taken care of!

Jesus endured all of the stripes from the whip used on Him without a word, as well as the nailing to the cross and He did this because it was necessary for the atonement which He came to provide for us. The agony was not something which He sought because in the garden He had asked the Father if it was possible for this cup to pass from Him, yet not my will but thine. Jesus was sweating drops of blood in His anguish before this trial, but He did it anyway.

The Creator of the universe allowed His creation to whip Him with a cruel cat of nine which tore flesh and reached down to the bone at times under the hand of Roman soldiers who hated the people where they were tasked with keeping the peace. They took out their hate and frustration on Him and never thought about it until afterward. At least some of them repented after He arose from the grave according to historical documents.

Could He refuse to go to the cross? Yes. He could have come down or struck down those who put Him there? Yes, but if He had we wouldn’t have salvation granted to us and anyone else who believes in Him and His message.

Life today has many hardships even in America. Most of the world doesn’t think so, but there are many problems which we have that are fixable IF we will turn back to Him. Follow Him, believe in Him, read His Word, and do His Work while we are here instead of being selfish and proud and taking care of just one person….me.

When you do that you have declared that you are your own god because you are more important than anyone else. Our problems are multiplied in this world because it isn’t just one person who is doing this. It is almost every person in the world! Very few take care of others very much. Oh, you see a few hundred who will sacrifice themselves or their comfort when problems arise, but if we did this as a country on a daily or weekly basis the entire world would be so much better off!

Acting as Jesus would in every situation is something which is not normal for us. It is hard for us to understand and practice that way of life, but that is what the Christian life is supposed to be like! Seek Him out in every situation, His wisdom and His direction for your decisions because if you can’t do that or if you won’t do that…then how can you truly claim the distinction of being a Christian?

What He did not do


I wrote that as a statement and not as a question because it is something which, I believe, we have not really considered before. Jesus told His disciples that “I and the Father are One”

Jesus is as much God as He is God’s Son, so why did He suffer the things that He did? He could have caused the heat to be not so hot. He could have brought rain during His time in the desert. He could have done many things to prove His place as the Messiah, but He didn’t…why?

romans_5__8_by_israel42-d4r02q5Because He knew that the Jews would reject Him before HE came. He knew that they would crucify Him and He knew the one who betrayed Him and He could’ve stopped it all…but He didn’t. Why?

The spear that pierced His side, rent the flesh like the curtain in the Temple yet it was covered with water and blood. The cleansing blood of the only sinless sacrifice which could take the sins of the entire world, not just those living but ALL of those who had ever or would ever live…and make them spotless if they would believe in Him. Why?

There are many, many things which Jesus could have done during His lifetime to prove that HE was and is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God…but He didn’t do many things. He did heal some people and He fed many more with very little, it seemed, He calmed a storm and chased demons from people’s minds and bodies. He did all of these things, yet He allowed His creation to imprison Him in flesh and bone. He allowed them to scourge Him with whips and hang Him on a tree as a common criminal, yet HE had done nothing except to take the sins of mankind on Himself. Why?

The reason for the questions here is not so hard to come by if you read God’s Word for what it is. A story of love.

As John wrote is the verses which we know so well: “16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.… John 3:16,17

It was because of God’s love for all of us, not just the Jews, that He sent Jesus to us to live, to teach and preach and heal during His ministry and to die for our sins and rise again so that we might live with Him one day in eternity. That is why Jesus did the things that He did and chose not to do those things which would get in the way of His mission for us.

What shall we do with Jesus?


WomanbytheWellSome people see Him as a great prophet. Some claim that He is the Son of God. Christians believe that He is the Son of God, foretold in Scripture, born of a virgin, fulfilled the Law of Moses in His life, Who taught His disciples that belief in Him is the way to Heaven. Then after three years of a miracle-filled ministry, He was taken into custody, condemned as a heretic and a rebel toward Roman rule and crucified.

Yet, God confirmed His place and His claims by raising Him from the grave three days later. He then taught His disciples for fifty days until His ascension to the Father.

Do we have proof of this? Only that there is an empty tomb where He was laid and our faith through the Holy Spirit confirming that God’s Word is true!

So, what will you do with Him?

themissingpieceThe Bible, particularly the New Testament, says that we should believe in Him. Archaeology has proven many, if not all, of the historical books in the Old Testament to be true and accurate. Science has proven that God’s rule of circumcision on the eighth day to be medically accurate because a baby’s body doesn’t have clotting factors until that time. There are many other proofs of the Bible which I won’t go into here.

My point in this post is to encourage you to learn more from God’s Word, seek Him out in it and make sure of your salvation! Jesus came to specifically save and sanctify each of us who will believe in Him. The next time He comes, He will be coming to take this world as His Kingdom and to prove to all that the Bible is true and that He is the One that He claimed to be when He was here the first time!

There is no denying this point, unless you just refuse to believe the Bible as the true Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us to point us in the right direction. If that is what you choose to believe, then there may be no way of convincing you otherwise. I pray that anyone who reads this or any other blog about our Savior will at least give the Christian faith the chance by reading the Bible with an open mind. I am not asking that you believe something just because, say Billy Graham believes it. But, don’t dismiss it out of hand either.

Particularly if you have ever felt the Holy Spirit speak in your heart, your soul and haven’t acted upon it yet. Don’t put this decision off because it truly is of eternal value to you! There is a life after this one, but living through eternity without God would be…well the only way that I could describe something similar on Earth would be like a prisoner in a dark cell with no light, no air moving, and yet you couldn’t die. Even if you never got any food, you would be in that cell for years, decades, even centuries. No contact with anyone. Most people would go insane in a situation like this.

Except, in hell you can’t go insane and there will be heat and a lot of it. What else will be there? I don’t know except to say that anything like water or food, anything which would give you a chance at Life, will not be present. Don’t test this out to see if you might like it, because once you are there, you won’t get out. It isn’t temporary and you can’t be “prayed out” or bought out. Jesus is the only way out, but you have to accept Him before you die, not after.

Seek Jesus while He may be found and accepted into your life while you are here, please?

 

See the Lord do this thing….


Featured Image -- 57701 Samuel 12: 14-16:

14 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God;
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.
Samuel said these words in front of the people of Israel when they crowned Saul their king, because they wanted a king like everyone else had. They didn’t want God as their King! God is very patient with us, even when we reject His rule in our life. He doesn’t smite a person dead when they foolishly shake their fist at Him and ask for Him to strike them dead. That doesn’t stop them from being foolish enough to do it though.
God is not a man. He is not made in our image as many seem to try to mold Him that way, we are made in His Image! Thankfully, God has enough patience with humanity to allow us to keep living and hopefully we will learn about Him enough to feel the need for Him to rule in our hearts the way that He should!
As in Proverbs it says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom“. Fear in this context is respect or reverence not fear as in scared of or afraid! Being a child of God brings joy into your life, knowing that He is always at your side. He, our Creator, is on your side and always near you, no matter what the circumstances may be! We are beloved by God Himself, whether you have given your heart to Him or not! He doesn’t wish that anyone should go into Hell forever, but by your choice of not giving your heart to Jesus and asking Him to come into your life it is you who chooses that path for eternity!
God created mankind to be in fellowship with Him all of the days of our lives. But..it was our choice to remain in that relationship with Him and everyone knows how that turned out! Through Jesus our Savior, each of us can change that situation and get back into fellowship with God. All that is required is that you believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins and ask Him to save you from your old, sinful life.
That is it! That is all that is required and its all that you or I can do to become a child of God! No amount of money or works in this life can get you righteous enough to be allowed into Heaven. Only the blood of Jesus can cover your sins and mine so that God sees His righteousness instead of our rags! You only have this life, however long it may be, to get this done so please don’t wait. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so please seek out your Savior today and ask Him to come into your heart to change you into the person that God knows you can be.

Why so much division?


Beliefs, creeds, denominations…it seems that our world is cracked into thousands of pieces when it comes to deciding about Who we believe in and serve. Why?

DivisionMostly it is because of the work of Satan. He has been at work in the world creating other “gods” for people to worship and also creating division in the church itself. Sometimes these are small cracks but over time and with a little help from willing people they get bigger until the church splits in two or crumbles into the dust.

In the first century, just after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples taught His Truth as The Way. Some called it The Truth. For many years it stayed that way until Catholicism and the Catholic church became the dominant form of worship in the crumbling Roman empire.

Until the Reformation, there were no Scriptures that a worshiper could have in his possession and read for himself or herself. Then, when the Bible was printed in English and German, many people were put to death when they were found to have one of these Bibles. The persecution of Christians by the church and by pagans, is found in the Book of Martyrs if you would like to read it. It is difficult to read, but it will show you what it took to be a true believer in Jesus, all the way up to recent history such as in the communist countries since WWII.

The fracturing of the church into so many denominations has caused many problems between believers. Some believe only parts of Scripture, some follow only a few verses in one book or another, when we are supposed to be people who believe in the entire Word of God! Not bits and pieces of it but ALL of it, the Old Testament and the New Testament should be taught in its entirety. Yet, many churches today seem to pick and choose what they will teach or believe and the parts that they will not.

This is not the way that Jesus wanted His church to be! We are not supposed to be bickering and fighting over parts and phrases, choosing which to teach and which to tell others that it is not God’s Word! If it is included in the Bible, whether it be a Jewish Bible or Orthodox Bible or a Protestant Bible, then it should be taught to everyone in the congregation, young and old!

I ask that anyone who is interested in God or Jesus and the Word in the Bible, please seek out a Bible teaching church and search out the Truth. God’s Word is true and has never been found to be wrong in any manner. Many try to bring parts of it to trial saying that it contradicts itself, but if you would seek the Truth it can be found that all of it is more true and accurate than many historical works. Praying that all of you who read this will seek Him out in the Bible and as your Savior. Amen.

Loss, life and Love


Everyone goes through all of these in their lifetimes. Some go through them a little earlier or more frequently, sometimes it happens a bit later in life. But…we all have each of them at some point. Regardless of when or how things happen in your life, God is always near your heart and available to comfort your spirit and give strength to your soul. We cannot see Him or feel Him physically, but if you are a child of His you can feel Him spiritually by your side in all things, good or bad.

Why do I bring this up today? Because, all over the world there are people who are hurting because of one reason or another. Whether it is because of the loss of a loved one or because of disease or war or persecution, even in America people experience these. Maybe not to the point or extent that those in other countries do, but we should at least be in prayer for our brothers and sisters everywhere.

God cares for all of the human race regardless of the country or religion which you may subscribe to follow daily. He knows your struggle and would like for you to come to Him in faith. Though many people seek Him by other names, that is not how you get to know and love God. Faith and belief in Him and in Jesus is the only way to come to Him. You can’t call a statue “god”, nor can you pray to Him as another name and think that He hears you.

Jesus said that the only way to the Father is through the Son. No other name or worship is part of that relationship, just faith in God and belief in Jesus. God provided a way to salvation through belief in Jesus and His atonement for us in His death and resurrection. No other religious leader in history has ever come out of the tomb or grave after their death, except for Jesus! There were many witnesses of His resurrection body and His teaching after He came out of the tomb because He taught for another 50 days before ascending to the Father.

Life is in Him and eternity is only one heartbeat away. Make sure that your eternity is with Him!

How can I be saved?


faithIt is a question which may be on quite a few people’s minds these days. Why? Because of the frequency of the indicators which point toward the end of the age. The more powerful storms, more frequent storms, the number of conflicts in the world, the hearts of many people growing cold toward their fellow-man and to religion in general. All of these were foretold many years ago by our Lord Jesus, yet few are taking notice of them happening today because our news media doesn’t take prophecy serious.

Everything is happening as it always has happened in the past and it won’t change. That is the way many are looking at almost everything around us except the temperature changes! They are taking a one or two degree rise in temperature as a portent for disaster, yet even the temperature is doing the same as it has always done. Our influence with carbon emissions and such has only impacted the climate for about one hundred and fifty years or so. Maybe a little longer if you consider coal-fired mills in the early 1800’s.

Still, the climate has fluctuated in temperature up and down for thousands of years without the help of mankind and it will continue to do so whether we stop using fossil fuels or not. I am not trying to get on a soap box about climate change, but I do want to talk about the end of the age and where you may spend eternity.

Have you asked Jesus into your heart? Are you sure about your salvation? Have you truly been walking with Him daily or did you just say a prayer once and get a warm fuzzy feeling inside and think that you were covered? The Holy Spirit isn’t a holy teddy bear! An emotional feeling of love and compassion doesn’t even come close to what you can have with Him, but feeling that way one time and then going on with your life, as if nothing really happened doesn’t cut it!

Yes, God loves you and He does call you to Himself…but if you don’t answer or if you answer in a way which limits Him in your life, then you may not know Him as well as you think and He may not really know you at all. Finding that out when you stand before Him is not the time to fix it, because at that point it can’t be fixed. If He doesn’t know you, no matter how much you have gone to church or read the Bible or prayed to Him for different reasons in your life, then you will be cast into outer darkness.

Is that the eternity that you want? If it is, be my guest. Jesus died and rose from the tomb in order to pay your debt and mine in full. Playing church and praying to god or your version of Him is not the way to be a Christian! Doing those things makes other people THINK you are a Christian, but if your life away from church or at home shows a different person than the one you would be if Jesus were with you then a change is still needed.

If your life would be no different with Him walking by your side, eating with you and being near you, then you do belong to Him and He is part of your everyday life. If He showed up at your house and you had to rush to clean up things or change something on the television, then you might want to reconsider whether you really belong to Him at all.

Seek Jesus in His Word, find out more about Him and determine to follow Him every day, then ask Him to come into your heart. That is one prayer from a sinner that God always hears when it is done with a repentant heart and a life that is intent on following Him.

What will you do?


john317Jesus did not ask this question exactly, but He did ask His disciples “Who do you say that I am?”. The answer that Peter gave was one which wasn’t available in the Scriptures of the day, but it was given to him by the Holy Spirit. So…what will you do with your knowledge of Jesus and Who He is to you?

He is our Savior and our Creator and our Lord, but He doesn’t cram Himself into your life. It is your decision to accept Him as your Savior when you feel the Spirit touch your heart about your need of Him. We do need Jesus, each and every one of us. So…what will you do?

God loves all of humanity but we don’t return that love and that is a sad situation which most of the world is living in right now. God made a way for us to be sanctified and cleansed by His Son’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. The only thing that we can do for our salvation is to accept it by faith.

There is nothing which we can add to our salvation because it was taken care of by Jesus. Your money won’t get you a better home in Heaven, your works here on Earth won’t get you any closer to righteousness here on Earth. The only place where your salvation could have any impact is right here where you are and that by telling others about your life and the new life that Jesus gave you!

No evangelist or preacher can earn a better place in eternity and no amount of charity will do it either. We are ALL equal in God’s sight when we accept Jesus as our Savior, no matter our position or place in our country or a business. The pastor’s saying is true: “The playing field is level at the cross”. The rich man has no advantage over the poor and a salesman or janitor has the same opportunities as a President or a Prime minister when coming to salvation and their place in God’s Kingdom. Slaves and statesmen are equal and no one stands any taller than a person on their knees asking for God’s forgiveness.

God loves the saint and the sinner alike, but God doesn’t love the sinful lives which we all have led at one point or another. So….what will you do? What is your decision? Consider that Jesus said for us not to worry about tomorrow because it has enough trouble of its own and we are not guaranteed even our next breath. So…what decision will you make about making Him your Savior and Lord?

God’s Gift to mankind!


Some may wonder why I placed an exclamation point at the end of the title and it’s because of the importance of that Gift. God gives each of us life and breath each day that we live, which is a good thing and a great gift to be sure, but His most wonderful Gift came in the form of His Son, Jesus.

In the beginning, according to Christian and Biblical Scripture, the Godhead was/is made up of three Persons of the Trinity. In Genesis, God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters. This was the Holy Spirit which was searching for a place for us. Then God the Father said, “Let there be light”, and all of Creation lit up with Light. The Living Word of God had begun Creation, and one day the Living Word would be known as Yeshua, the Son of God.

So, in the beginning there were the Three Persons of the Godhead. There are other places where they all show up, but that is the first one. The Gift which God gave to us, all of humanity that has lived or will live, is the Son of God Who gave up His place in Heaven to be placed in the form of a child which was born to a virgin in Bethlehem.

Many of you will know the story from Scripture or from watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas, but the point is this: IT HAD TO BE DONE!

Why? Because, human beings are sinful and we can’t keep God’s Law perfectly because our nature won’t allow it. But, Jesus did it because His very nature was God’s nature even though He was living among us as a human being! He walked with His Father throughout His life here, He spoke with Him every day about the things which were happening and His concerns about the state that humanity lived in.

Jesus came to us, not to show us that we are imperfect and can’t be like Him, but to give us a gift which would allow us to become more like Him one day. I don’t mean that we will become gods, but that we will have His righteousness to cover our sinful life’s failures! His blood is the only spotless sacrifice which could do this. Lambs and bulls and the blood from their sacrifice were able to give a temporary satisfaction of a sort in the Old covenant, but it was only temporary and had to be done daily or weekly or even yearly.

The blood which Jesus shed for us permanently covers our sins, all that we can do is accept it by believing that His atonement was for us! Each person on this planet had their sins covered, but each one of us has to accept it and turn away from that life and those sinful behaviors. Then we begin a new life of walking with and trusting in Him to give us the strength every day to do this for the rest of our lives! That is our gift to Him, to keep walking in His strength daily to show our lives to others as a reflection of His Life in us.

I have had people ask me, “Why should I do that?”, like they are supposed to get something out of this deal too?!  You do get something out of it! Eternal life with God and with all of your family who have learned this as well!

If you were offered one million dollars with no strings attached, except with one requirement, that you had to use it not only for your family but to bless others along the way in your life, would you accept it? Could you live by that requirement? With today’s technology, you could be monitored so that if you failed to fulfill that requirement you had to give up all that you had bought with the money which didn’t fulfill it. Now, could you do it?

Most of us could not do it completely and to the letter. That is what the Christian life is supposed to be like, except that we don’t have to give up or give back the salvation which we gain through belief in and acceptance of His Love and sacrifice for each of us. We are supposed to go through life-giving His Life and His message to every person that we meet, if they will accept it. Sometimes its hard to tell others about your Savior, because when they get upset when you tell them that they are sinners and they reject Him, it feels like they are turning on you, rejecting you. When they are actually rejecting Jesus’ message and His offer…His Gift to each of them.

Nativity-29

Are you a Christian?


This is a question which really shouldn’t have to be asked. People should be able to tell from your speech or your life if you are a Christian or not.

Why am I specifying this in this column today? Because, if you are wondering about yourself or someone else’s walk with Christ then you need to make sure of your place in God’s Kingdom. Is this important? YES!!

Think of it this way…I am a pastor and I preach God’s wisdom from His Word every week. I am required by God to give an account of my testimony and for those who have heard, but have not given their hearts to Christ. Am I responsible for their decisions? No, because I delivered the message and it is their responsibility to choose to give their heart to Jesus or not. I am just the messenger!

It is the same with all who have heard a message from a friend or at church or from the television. If you have heard the message of salvation, regardless of where you heard it, then it is your choice to make. God will not push it on you or into your heart, He will touch your heart and you will feel the pull or call of the Spirit to respond and it is your choice to do so or not.

It is that choice which will bring you into Heaven one day or not. Please, don’t turn away from your Creator and your Savior. If you are feeling His presence and His call on your life, make a decision to turn to Him and follow Him. God is real and He loves you, don’t give up on an eternal blessing which is waiting for you because of some temporary pleasure here and now.