by David Brenneman
"The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one." Psalms 14:1-3.
"If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?" Proverbs 24:12.
"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him." Proverbs 24:16-18.
"Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked; For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?" Proverbs 24:19-22.
Wisdom and instruction. These are found in the Word of God. Until we come to Christ...we'll not understand, fully, what is meant by what is read.
The harshest is that there's yet billions who say in their hearts "there is no God". In the midst of these billions are those who only lay claim to a superficial knowledge of God. They believe in God but really are not putting any faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins. They erroneously refer to Jesus as "the man upstairs". They lay claim to that but do not let Him rule in their hearts. Then they wonder why their lives are so difficult.
Believers need to live out their lives in Christ. To stop hiding it under a basket. Jesus's return should be our expectation daily.
There's none righteous no not one. That's what God's word says of all humanity. Only in salvation through Jesus Christ do we have a standing in the presence of Almighty God.
Trillions and trillions of people will be saying be as these "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice(live your daily lives in) lawlessness(sin).’" Matthew 7:21-23. *emphasis added by me.
The daily practice of most of this world is a life in sin. Each one doing whatever is right in their own eyes. Just as the Scriptures say.
An just as the Scriptures say...Jesus has put before everyone the choice of death and life. A life without Him as their Lord and Savior and a life with Him as Lord and Savior.
Jesus is calling to all to come to Him and the truth is as we began reading...there's nobody of their own looking for Him. Jesus calls and people respond. Jesus beckons and people either come to Christ for salvation or they reject Him.
Rejection in this here this now, prior to both physical death or the Rapture of the Church, is an eternally effected choice. What is decided in your life as you live and breathe impacts where you spend eternity. Either permanently separated from Jesus in excruciatingly painful torment in Hell, and after the Final judgment the Lake of Fire, or Heaven with Him forever.
Jesus said the road is narrow that leads to life and way is broad that leads to destruction. The narrow road is what leads to salvation in Christ Jesus. The way that is broad is that open maw that millions fall into every day that find themselves in Hell, not understanding until then that their rejection of Jesus sent them there.
A life in Christ must be more than believing that Jesus lived 2000 years ago. It must be more than just acknowledging that He's the Son of God.
Jesus must be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life. You must ask Him to be that to you and for you.
"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.
My Dear Reader you do not want to die in your own sins. No matter what this world throws at you, nothing is worse than that.
Jesus is calling to hearts all the day long. Is He calling to you? If you're not yet among those who have, yes He is.
All the thief on the cross did was to believe that Jesus was who He said He was and asked Him to remember him. To which Jesus told Him that He would be with Him forever.
Jesus is calling...are you listening?
Open your hearts and let Him in.
Realize that you're "good" in your life will never measure up to all that Jesus did to live a sinless life and to die on a cross in your place.
Jesus is calling...
Jesus is calling...
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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