As most of you know that Kathy's grandma passed away on April 12th, and we went back to Kansas for the services. Tami and Kim's grandma passed away on April 10th, and they went back to Pennsylvania for her services. With the death of someone that is related to you, it is often a time to truly reflect on what is important in life.
Many of us are focused on our jobs and trying to acquire wealth. But the Bible is clear in Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.......v 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven.
Many of us are focused on school, gaining knowledge and wisdom from the world. But the Bible is clear in 1 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) Where is the wise man? where is the scholar? where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world.
Many of us are focused on our status among people, what car we drive, how big our house is, clothes we wear, etc in an effort to "show off what we have". But the Bible is clear in 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world , the love of the Father is not in him.
Many of us are focused on our families. But the Bible is clear in Matthew 12:48-50 Jesus replied to them, Who is my mother and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, He said, here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Now don't misinterpret this, there is nothing wrong with any of these. But when they become the focal point of our lives instead of Christ, that is where the problem enters. We need to focus our lives on Jesus, once this is realized, then all the other things will fall into place.
I read a book in high school called I am Third. It basically relayed the message of the Lord is first, my friends(family) is second, and I am Third.
With the death of loved ones close to us and even the death of ourselves coming at anytime the question that should be asked of ourselves, Is the Lord first in your lives?
Until next time.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A New Challenge
The posts up until now have been sort of basic in the beliefs of Christianity. Now I am going to go into an area that is going to challenge us. It is going to challenge in a way that we often are not comfortable with. It is going to challenge the status quo in our lives. It is my desire and hope that as we explore this area that we are able to do so with an open heart so we can grow in knowledge and mature in our walk with the Lord.
The area we are going explore, I am going to put in the form of a question. What does believing in Jesus look like?
I think that generally people today have a false sense of assurance that they are going to Heaven. Some may say how can you make such a sweeping, broad brush statement like that. I am not making this statement based on my own opinion, it is God making this statement in the Bible.
To the unbelievers who say God loves us and good people will go to heaven. Jesus tells us otherwise in Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a FEW will find it.
To the people who think they are Christian because they prayed a certain prayer, or go to church, or read the Bible, etc. Jesus says to them in Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
John also responds to these type of people in 1 John 2:4 The man who says I know him, but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.
The Bible gives many examples of people who "SAY" they are a Christian; however, God says that they are deceived.
When judgement day comes, we don't want to be the ones that we think we are going to Heaven and God says to us (Matthew 7:23) I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME. We want to be the ones on judgement day where God says to us (Matthew 25:21) WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!!
How can we be assured that we are true and genuine believers in Christ?
First...2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith: examine yourselves. Also we see in 2 Peter 1:10 Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. And again in 1 Corinthians 11:28 But a man must examine himself.
So the first thing that we need to do is examine ourselves. We need to ask the Lord to help cause a true, authentic, and honest look at ourselves and give us a strong desire to correct the changes in our lives that are needed.
Until next time
The area we are going explore, I am going to put in the form of a question. What does believing in Jesus look like?
I think that generally people today have a false sense of assurance that they are going to Heaven. Some may say how can you make such a sweeping, broad brush statement like that. I am not making this statement based on my own opinion, it is God making this statement in the Bible.
To the unbelievers who say God loves us and good people will go to heaven. Jesus tells us otherwise in Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a FEW will find it.
To the people who think they are Christian because they prayed a certain prayer, or go to church, or read the Bible, etc. Jesus says to them in Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
John also responds to these type of people in 1 John 2:4 The man who says I know him, but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.
The Bible gives many examples of people who "SAY" they are a Christian; however, God says that they are deceived.
When judgement day comes, we don't want to be the ones that we think we are going to Heaven and God says to us (Matthew 7:23) I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME. We want to be the ones on judgement day where God says to us (Matthew 25:21) WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!!
How can we be assured that we are true and genuine believers in Christ?
First...2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith: examine yourselves. Also we see in 2 Peter 1:10 Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. And again in 1 Corinthians 11:28 But a man must examine himself.
So the first thing that we need to do is examine ourselves. We need to ask the Lord to help cause a true, authentic, and honest look at ourselves and give us a strong desire to correct the changes in our lives that are needed.
Until next time
Friday, April 2, 2010
Christ Died Today
It is interesting how we often make big deals about birthdays, wedding anniverseries, etc; however, we don't really pay too much attention to the day that Jesus died for us. Today a little less than 2000 years ago, as followers of Christ, we are reminded and humbled, that Jesus our King died for us.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
ACCEPTING CHRIST
We have now seen that we can receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone. So the next step is for us to actually receive the gift of eternal life..... Let me clarify what this involves.
First, we must transfer our trust from ourselves(ex. going to church, being a good neighbor, living by the Golden Rule etc.) to what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. He takes our sin and we receive His righteousness.
The next thing is to receive Christ as our Savior. This means that we are trusting in Jesus alone for salvation(getting to heaven)
The next thing is that we receive Christ as Lord of our life. This means to yield our lives to His control(very important, we will start to go into this next post)
And the last thing is to repent of our sins and follow Him. This means that we are willing to turn (U-TURN, not simply veer off) from the things that we have been doing that is not pleasing to God. We need to follow Him as He reveals His will to you in His Word(Bible)
I hope that the above explains what is involved when receiving the gift of salvation. Once we have sincerely decided to accept Christ into our lives we are to communicate it to God through prayer.
Simply tell God that you are willing to commit your life to Him and accept Him into your heart.
I pray that each and every one of you will make this commitment and that it is genuine and from the heart.
If you have made this commitment, be assured because Jesus says in John 6:47 .... Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes HAS eternal life. Key word there is HAS, not might have, not could have, Jesus said HAS. What a great feeling knowing that heaven is your destination. Until next time.
First, we must transfer our trust from ourselves(ex. going to church, being a good neighbor, living by the Golden Rule etc.) to what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. He takes our sin and we receive His righteousness.
The next thing is to receive Christ as our Savior. This means that we are trusting in Jesus alone for salvation(getting to heaven)
The next thing is that we receive Christ as Lord of our life. This means to yield our lives to His control(very important, we will start to go into this next post)
And the last thing is to repent of our sins and follow Him. This means that we are willing to turn (U-TURN, not simply veer off) from the things that we have been doing that is not pleasing to God. We need to follow Him as He reveals His will to you in His Word(Bible)
I hope that the above explains what is involved when receiving the gift of salvation. Once we have sincerely decided to accept Christ into our lives we are to communicate it to God through prayer.
Simply tell God that you are willing to commit your life to Him and accept Him into your heart.
I pray that each and every one of you will make this commitment and that it is genuine and from the heart.
If you have made this commitment, be assured because Jesus says in John 6:47 .... Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes HAS eternal life. Key word there is HAS, not might have, not could have, Jesus said HAS. What a great feeling knowing that heaven is your destination. Until next time.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
To get into heaven, we must transfer our trust from ourselves onto Jesus and what He has done for us. I hope this video helps illustrate that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Vl9zaH8eQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Vl9zaH8eQ
FAITH
As mentioned in the youtube video, we receive the gift of God by faith. The Bible says that faith is the key that opens the door to heaven. You could have a key ring with several keys on it, they all may look similar, but if you go to the front door of your home, you could try all the keys on the key ring except the right one and they will not open the door....The right key to heaven is called faith, saving faith. That will open the door to heaven. Nothing else in the world will open that door.
So we now know that faith is the key to heaven, but what IS faith. First we will look at what it is NOT. It is not just knowledge about historical facts of Jesus. Some people believe in Jesus like George Washington. They believe He actually lived. He was a real person in history, but they are not trusting in Him to do anything for them now. Most people say that they believe in God, but that belief/faith is not what the Bible means by saving faith......In James 2:19 You believe in One God, good! Even the demons believe that and shudder. And in the first part of Matthew 8:29 the demons said, What do you want with us Son of God. So we see even the demons believe in God and we know they don't go to heaven. So believing in God is not what the Bible means by saving faith.
Another area that many people mistake for saving faith is like temporary faith in emergencies. Like praying to God that their children will get better when they are sick. Or when people travel the pray to God for safe travel. Or say you had a big decision you prayed to God for wisdom in making that decision.....All these things are good to do, but they are only temporary situations that has to do with OUR lives. Many people trust in the Lord for all these temporary matters. But saving faith is trusting Christ to save you....save you eternally.
I know before I accepted Christ into my life, I was trusting MYSELF for getting into heaven. I tried to live a good life, I tried to go to church, I tried to live by the Golden Rule. etc. but the problem with those things is that it was all about "I".
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ ALONE for our salvation. It is relying on Christ alone and what "HE" has done rather on what I have done to get me into heaven. In Acts 16:31 it says Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
So we now know that faith is the key to heaven, but what IS faith. First we will look at what it is NOT. It is not just knowledge about historical facts of Jesus. Some people believe in Jesus like George Washington. They believe He actually lived. He was a real person in history, but they are not trusting in Him to do anything for them now. Most people say that they believe in God, but that belief/faith is not what the Bible means by saving faith......In James 2:19 You believe in One God, good! Even the demons believe that and shudder. And in the first part of Matthew 8:29 the demons said, What do you want with us Son of God. So we see even the demons believe in God and we know they don't go to heaven. So believing in God is not what the Bible means by saving faith.
Another area that many people mistake for saving faith is like temporary faith in emergencies. Like praying to God that their children will get better when they are sick. Or when people travel the pray to God for safe travel. Or say you had a big decision you prayed to God for wisdom in making that decision.....All these things are good to do, but they are only temporary situations that has to do with OUR lives. Many people trust in the Lord for all these temporary matters. But saving faith is trusting Christ to save you....save you eternally.
I know before I accepted Christ into my life, I was trusting MYSELF for getting into heaven. I tried to live a good life, I tried to go to church, I tried to live by the Golden Rule. etc. but the problem with those things is that it was all about "I".
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ ALONE for our salvation. It is relying on Christ alone and what "HE" has done rather on what I have done to get me into heaven. In Acts 16:31 it says Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
The Great Transaction
I had trouble uploading this video, so I went through Youtube. Click the link to view it. I hope this works, let me know if it does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bThGzyqd1ZE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bThGzyqd1ZE
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