by David Brenneman
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:1-5.
"There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:9-14.
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.
In and of ourselves all that we can do, the best we can do apart from the Spirit of God, is to gain an elementary understanding of the Word of God.
An intellectual understanding profits nobody in any way concerning the Word of God.
Satan and his minions have an intellectual understanding of the Word of God. In some respects their understanding does go further...for they know that it will be fulfilled regardless of what they try to do to subvert it or remove it. They know and yet they keep on trying.
They try to remove the Bible from the world but as the Word of God has said He's been writing it on the hearts of men and women who've come to Him for salvation.
As the year wraps up today and I look back over this year and the prior years I look at what all God's done to prove to the world that He is and that by no means has He ever turned anyone away from Him who's wanted salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Those outside of the body of Christ have only a cursory understanding of what Christianity is.
I've been both fortunate and unfortunate to know people who's only use for God's Word, and His people the Church, is to be warmed by their presence and to benefit from their connections with our Father in Heaven. When that's removed, their true colors are revealed.
You and I must come to the place in our lives where we choose to accept the free gift of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus alone for the forgiveness of our sins. I can't choose it for you, you can't choose it for someone else. It's a personal choice. The Bible says that to each a measure of faith has been given unto salvation. It's there within you to believe and be saved by Jesus Christ.
Until you do there's extremely little you will ever know of what a life in Christ is like or is all about.
You can't understand it because it's so foreign to you. Much as to me the work, the passion, the drive, the knowledge of a nurse or doctor is foreign to me. I know what they do but do not know the how's the why's the passion that brings that out in them. I cannot understand what they understand.
"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that 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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.
Ending this year in a right standing before Jesus and starting 2026 knowing that you are safe in the arms of Jesus is the best gift you will ever give yourself.
Read what Jesus Himself says:
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:24-27.
"And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38.
There's nothing anyone can say to argue why they, in and of themselves, should be allowed into Heaven. Without what Jesus did on the cross, saving themselves is impossible.
Most everybody knows John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16.
But have you read the rest of the story to Nicodemus?
"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:17-21.
For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son, that if you believe in Him, you won't perish but will have eternal life.
You, my Dear Reader, have to choose whether to come to Christ for salvation or not. Those who choose not to, well Jesus is the Judge who says that all who reject Him will spend eternity in painful torment, forever separated from God.
There are no second chances after you die. Death signs your name on the line determining your destination for all eternity. A life in Christ signs His Name in our place. A life not in Christ signs our own and will send us where we really don't want to be.
Choose wisely my Dear Reader.
Yes is this life we will see conflicts because of choosing Jesus but since He has overcome so shall we who have trusted Him to be our Lord and Savior.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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