Read It, Learn It,
Live It, Share It
“if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9
Some of the sweetest words to ever fall upon my ears
are the words from a child of mine stating, “Daddy,
I believe that Jesus died for me and rose again so I can go to heaven someday.” The grace of the Lord has fallen upon my
family and we are blessed to be able to serve the Lord. I wholeheartedly believe in the Holy Word of
God, written and captured by His disciples and the apostles of the early church,
that salvation comes to those who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I rest in that truth and long for the witness
and understanding of knowing that my family and friends are likewise blessed
with eternal salvation.
If you woke in the morning and Jesus Christ were standing at the foot of your bed, what would your first reaction be? Would you fall at His feet and beg forgiveness? Would you reach for His hand and feel His authority and power sweep through your veins? Would you raise your hands in praise and worship? For many people, unless this were to happen, they are unable to accept His existence. Without the physical proof that this man, Jesus, walked the earth, died and rose again; they are incapable of coming to this point of redemption in their life. It takes a faith beyond explanation and understanding. There is no physical proof, no logical reasoning or guaranteed eyewitness encounter. A follower of Jesus Christ is doing so completely based on the acceptance that there is something after death, and that something is either eternal life in the abyss of Hell, or an eternal life reunited with God the Father in heaven.
For those that deny this faith based belief, can only fall into one of 2 camps.
If you woke in the morning and Jesus Christ were standing at the foot of your bed, what would your first reaction be? Would you fall at His feet and beg forgiveness? Would you reach for His hand and feel His authority and power sweep through your veins? Would you raise your hands in praise and worship? For many people, unless this were to happen, they are unable to accept His existence. Without the physical proof that this man, Jesus, walked the earth, died and rose again; they are incapable of coming to this point of redemption in their life. It takes a faith beyond explanation and understanding. There is no physical proof, no logical reasoning or guaranteed eyewitness encounter. A follower of Jesus Christ is doing so completely based on the acceptance that there is something after death, and that something is either eternal life in the abyss of Hell, or an eternal life reunited with God the Father in heaven.
For those that deny this faith based belief, can only fall into one of 2 camps.
1) They
have no belief that there is something after death. They believe that we only have the here and
now for as long as we are on this planet.
Once we are six feet under it is over.
This is a life without hope, without purpose or meaning. It is a life that is focused on living today
and today only, for if tomorrow they were hit by a bus it would matter not.
2) There
is a large group of individuals that refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is the
ONLY way to an eternal life. This group
of individuals generally believe in a supreme authority and hold onto a belief
that this authority has control over the earth and all that is within. They
will believe that a person Jesus from Nazareth likely walked the earth and most
believe he was a righteous and even prophetic man, but they cannot accept his
deity. They justify their beliefs by
stating that this supreme authority is loving and therefore would allow for many
paths to an eternal life, or even a resurrected life (as some would believe). They
will deny the words of the disciples and apostles as truth and refute the
entire New Testament as the Word of God, because it is too restrictive.
The reality is that
they cannot accept the message of grace.
God’s plan of salvation is not complicated, and often times people try
to make it so. Salvation comes from
believing and confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and believing that He
indeed lived, died and rose again. From
that point of acceptance, by the grace of God, we are granted salvation from an
eternity in Hell. But, that is just the
beginning. The new birth represents a new
life of living for the One who gave you that salvation. No, it does not create a perfect human
being. We are still overflowing with a
propensity to sin, because of our human nature; but we realize that our sins
are covered by His act of compassion on the cross of Calvary.
The power of following Christ comes from knowing that God’s love is available to every one of us, and is all powerful. That only by His grace are we saved, not by anything we can do. To dwell in heaven with God for eternity will require that we become perfect. He demands perfection, which is impossible to achieve, and therefore He created a bridge to close the gap between His demands and our inadequacy. This bridge was the sacrifice and death of His Son to cover our imperfections. This single act is the foundation that differentiates Christianity from every other religion. There is no possibility to achieve perfection through human works, for we cannot even fathom what the perfection of God looks like. We are only capable of entering heaven because Jesus’ death and resurrection became the sacrificial offering to cover our sins before we were even born.
True salvation will open your heart for the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, and create a conviction that requires redemption, or turning away, from sinful acts. The realization of living in sin brings one to the conversion in life that is led by the Holy Spirit, to become more Christ-like in our actions. Becoming like Christ is an impossible task, for He was perfect in every way, but through continued study of God’s Word and communicating with the Holy Spirit within, we daily get stronger and closer to our Savior.
This is the message to share with your children, your family and your friends. For without this decision in life, they will be lost forever; and if you truly love them as you say you do, it should matter to you. I’m sharing it with you in hopes that you in turn will share it with those you care about. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed, there is nothing more important in your or their life; is there?
©
Sondove Enterprises, 2013The power of following Christ comes from knowing that God’s love is available to every one of us, and is all powerful. That only by His grace are we saved, not by anything we can do. To dwell in heaven with God for eternity will require that we become perfect. He demands perfection, which is impossible to achieve, and therefore He created a bridge to close the gap between His demands and our inadequacy. This bridge was the sacrifice and death of His Son to cover our imperfections. This single act is the foundation that differentiates Christianity from every other religion. There is no possibility to achieve perfection through human works, for we cannot even fathom what the perfection of God looks like. We are only capable of entering heaven because Jesus’ death and resurrection became the sacrificial offering to cover our sins before we were even born.
True salvation will open your heart for the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, and create a conviction that requires redemption, or turning away, from sinful acts. The realization of living in sin brings one to the conversion in life that is led by the Holy Spirit, to become more Christ-like in our actions. Becoming like Christ is an impossible task, for He was perfect in every way, but through continued study of God’s Word and communicating with the Holy Spirit within, we daily get stronger and closer to our Savior.
This is the message to share with your children, your family and your friends. For without this decision in life, they will be lost forever; and if you truly love them as you say you do, it should matter to you. I’m sharing it with you in hopes that you in turn will share it with those you care about. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed, there is nothing more important in your or their life; is there?
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
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