Now the Lord had said to Abram,
“Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father's house,
to a land that I will show you.”
Genesis 12:1
The most dramatic changes in your life will come from God's initiative, not yours. The people God used mightily in Scripture were all ordinary people to whom He gave divine assignments that they never could have initiated. The Lord often took them by surprise, for they were not seeking significant mandates from God. Even so, He saw their hearts, and He knew they were trustworthy.
The Lord spoke to Abram when He was beginning to build a nation dedicated to His purposes. Through this nation would come the Savior. God appeared to Moses at the very time He had purposed to deliver Israel out of slavery in Egypt. God found in Jesse's youngest son David a godly man who could lead His people. God surprised Mary when He told her she would be the mother of the Messiah. God's Son selected the twelve disciples, all ordinary, uneducated men, when He was ready to take the good news of His salvation to the world. Through the ages God has taken the initiative in the everyday lives of people to accomplish things through them that they never could have imagined.
The Lord may be initiating some new things in your life. When He tells you what His plans are, trust Him and walk closely with Him. Don’t let the busyness of your present activity keep you from experiencing all that God has in store for you. You will see Him accomplish things through your life that you never dreamed were possible (Eph. 3:20). - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
The most famous passage in the Bible tells us the extent of how important people are to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
That to save the pinnacle of His Creation, the Father would accept the life of His own Son instead, in our place.
There's a song written quite a while ago that had a line in it that says that while He was on the cross we were on His mind.
Think about life. Not just your life but life. The generation you live was necessary for you to live in. I have often wondered, and had dreams, of living in a different time. Many of you probably have too. But in the brief moment of eternity we call history, now is when and where God chose you to live. Satan does whatever he can to destroy life. Those who are not aborted, he tries to destroy, one thought at a time. For those who listen to the call of the Spirit and are saved, he still tries to inhibit. To stall, to clog up the works as it were. To prevent them from being fruitful.
But in every thought about the grand scheme of things, eventually you come back to you. Jesus died because He chose you. You were more important than the rest of creation. After the Final Judgment, all of creation is being obliterated. The heavens and Earth will be replaced.
The place of residence is up to all who are born. You choose either Salvation in Christ Jesus or you choose yourself. The Bible tells us that without Salvation in Christ Jesus alone you cannot be saved.
There's only one. There was only 1 Ark built in Genesis. The Ark of God that saved Noah and his family.
He chose you because He loves you.
We sometimes are a stubborn lot and either it takes a short while or our entire life to realize that. Once we accept the truth, we ask Jesus to save us, the Holy Spirit comes in with a Plan and Purpose for our lives. The foremost is to clean house and start making us like Jesus. The sins of old are washed away. The breaking of habits. The learning of obedience. In all this, we still choose.
But know this, we weren't saved to just get onboard the love boat. It's not about just being admitted onto the ship n then go on living as we wanted to before we were saved. There's work to be done for those who are saved. It may be something little or something grand, bigger than we can imagine. We may be a shepherd boy who saves Israel in the face of a towering Goliath. The key is being willing to obey.
Ananias was well spoken of in his town. Devout, adhered to the Law. Read of what Paul says of him. God called upon him to heal Saul before he became Paul. Imagine going about your day and all the sudden the voice of Christ Jesus speaks to you for you to do something. That is what happened to him. In my life there's been moments when I will indeed testify that Jesus has verbally spoken to me. Now what you need to understand is this...not everyone is going to come to Christ and become a Billy Graham. Read in Corinthians. We become part of the body of Christ. Look at your body. It has parts that must do their part or nothing gets done. They aren't glamorous parts. They seem insignificant yet without them life doesn't happen. Not everyone will be an evangelist or preacher or teacher. You may only be called to be a candle. To light the way for others to find Jesus. Andrew, one of the Disciples, was one to bring others to see Jesus. Had he not been himself in that, Peter wouldn't have been brought to Jesus. Some may argue that oh Jesus would have found him anyway. Ah but the interaction wouldn't have been the same.
Huge thing in the thief on the cross. His ministry has spanned over 2,000 years yet he never went to seminary. Never was taught in any school. Yet the story of his life was summed up in his declaration of needing to be remembered by Jesus. I imagine on the day of when we give an account of our lives, that there will be billions who came to Christ because of the faith of that thief.
What is holding you back? Jesus is indeed gently knocking on the door of your heart. He asks to be let in. He's got a love for you that stretched from one nail pierced hand to the other. His love is never ending.
You know? When disaster strikes, people try to grab the things that they value the most on their way out of the danger. Yet most everyone is forced to let go of that stuff because in the end all that can be taken to safety is them. When you die, everyone will be getting what you left behind. It won't be anything or anyone standing with you before Jesus. Just you. Just Jesus. He will ask you why you should be allowed into Heaven. Being a good person won't cut it. There are no good people in Heaven. There are people saved by grace. Their sins forgiven, their names written in the Lamb's book of Life. They will say that Jesus died for me, He took my place, that I might live. Jesus is my Savior.
What say you? If you keep putting it off one morning you will either wake up dead in Hell or wake up dead in Heaven. You know not when God will say it's your time.
He chose to die for you. He has always loved you from before time began.
The Bible says that the return of Christ will come at a wholly unexpected moment. In an instant it will happen. To bang, no thunderous roar. To explosion. It will simply happen. Then the 7 years of judgements begin when Israel signs an agreement with the Antichrist. What happens in those 7 years is worse than Hell. It's the wrath of God upon mankind that rejects Him. Even after most of the 7 years is over, they would rather the rocks fall on them to hide them from Jesus than face Him. This isn't shared to scare. It's shared to point out that time is short if you think there's time, think again.
Now is the time to let go of your life and embrace the Salvation ready for you.
His love was and is so great that He paid the price for your sin. He's waiting with open arms to receive you to Himself.
Now...
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