Wednesday, February 28, 2018

For All Generations

Acts 2:38-41 - Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Boy, if the time right after Jesus went to be at the right hand of the Father was considered a perverse generation, what might today be considered?

We have been forewarned from Genesis to Revelation what was, what is and what is to be. I read and hear quite often how we are in the last days before Christ returns. 

It is noted in the Bible that in these last days there will be mockers and scoffers suggesting: ...that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2Peter 3:2-4)

In a way, things do continue eras they were, yet not. We see perverseness. The last days look like this: But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God...
(2Timothy 3:1-4)

When we see the evil in the world can’t we sort of believe this? I do not think America will be great again. Sorry. That’s man’s hopeful plan. God may have another plan. Man can’t fix all the evil there is. But God can. Like in the days of Noah...But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.(Matthew 24:36-39)  Only when Christ returns and all evil is removed will there be any greatness again. And only those who have confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior will be part of that. Only those who believe His Word. Only those who put all their faith and trust in Him. 

Do you see? All the warnings. God is not a liar. God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)  His Word shows us all we need to know and do and who we need to trust. If we don’t know His Word we have no part of the good life to come. We are not good apart from Him. No good at all. We are the liars if we say we do not sin nor that any sin (according to the world) is in us. 

As the first scripture says, Jesus’ forgiveness is for all generations but not everyone will receive His gift of salvation. It just doesn’t happen because we say we know and believe in our heads this Man, Jesus. He has to become personal to each of us. We have to know we hear Him speak. We have to know His Word and the truths therein, not what the average man thinks he knows. Not what this denomination says vs. this one. Do you know the truth??

If any of this is worrisome there is still time to be relieved of this concern. Jesus does that. He’s willing any time, any day for any person willing...willing...to believe in Him over self and man. It’s got to be personal between you and Jesus. It’s not just saying you believe then living as you wish. It’s abiding in Him. In Him.

Will you gladly receive the Word? Will you gladly receive Christ and then receive truth and life and the way to God the Father? You can. Now. 


Hebrews
3:7-8,13- Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 





Thursday, February 8, 2018

Again, Do Not Fear

Matthew 24:6 - And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

This life is temporary. Our eternal life is forever. We can have the assurance of this eternal life while we live in this physical world. Not everyone has this assurance. Some fear death. Some are never sure if they are good enough. God has all the answers for all these fears, His Son, Jesus Christ, through a relationship with Him.

The verse above speaks of wars and rumors of them. If God tells us this about wars, it can be for any circumstance in our life. 

Reminds me of this advice:
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

I posted something like this on Facebook. I received a comment: A war of Matthew's time is not comparable to a nuclear war of the 21st century.
I answered: Doesn’t matter. We still need not fear if we are in ChristFor whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

Oh, the promises of God to those who love Him, who trust in His name. This life is temporary. Life after this is eternal.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Corinthians 4:16-18In the grand scheme of things, the afflictions we will encounter in this present life in this present body, are but for a moment and of light affliction, while they may not seem to be at the moment. ...may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1Peter 5:10)  Eternal hell will be real affliction.

If you want to know that you will be able to withstand anything this world can dish out you need the power and strength only our God has. Many put their trust in man. Government can’t save us. Looking to any man or organization can't ultimately save us. But there is One who can. His promises are sound and filled with truth. It’s all I have to say. 

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)


Psalm 118:6,8 - The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Not Us!!!

Romans 10:10-13 - For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

I know I write a lot about our salvation not coming from what we as humans perceive as good works. Again, the Bible says our works are as filthy rags (this cannot be disputed; God never lies). We cannot do good enough things, be good enough people to please God. The only thing we can do is call on the name of the Lord for this salvation. It is a choice we make, on our own. Many churches don’t teach this. I can’t say why other than possibly a difference in the understanding of the term born again. And because we are a works-based society; always have been. But our working to achieve this salvation makes the work of Christ nothing. Nothing

I’d never heard this in the Lutheran Church. I may have been under the idea that because I was baptized as an infant I was in good hands. I do believe some may have a devotion to God and the Lord without knowing what born again is. Only God knows our hearts and motives. It can also be a desire of these people to seek God and live for Him. It isn’t just pastors or priests. And I’m certain not all pastors or priests are born again. We are not to be ashamed of what we believe and be letting others know about the power of God, how He has changed us, not we who have attempted to change ourselves. 

I read this recently. It emphasizes my point(s) that it is not about our goodness or works: Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell—it is redemption. The need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that redemption is the only reality. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, not the cause of it. If we place our faith in human goodness we will go under when testing comes. (Oswald Chambers)

Redemption. It only comes when one chooses to call on the name of the Lord to be saved. Have you actually called out to Him? Have you repented of your sins, whatever they are, either great or small? If one says they have not sinned or not sinned as gravely as another, they lie. No one is righteous without Jesus Christ. Still the hardest thing to explain is this receiving. It comes from the heart, not the head. It’s humbling oneself before God. It comes with our seeking to do this...or sometimes, in our attempt to drive Him away (like me). Our pastor suggested last week that the Bible says we are to seek Him and sometimes we do, but God is seeking us also! Are you resisting? No good will come of that.

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. (Acts 16:30-31)  I questioned this scripture for a time. It almost sounds like if one receives Christ the entire family, because of that one’s salvation, will be saved. Salvation is an individual commitment. It’s between you and the Lord. You can’t skip into relationship through someone else. You must make the choice.

God is always available to listen; He’s never too busy. The Bible shows the love of God for those who love Him. He is merciful. He pours out His grace on the humble and repentant. There is a heaven and hell and there is a narrow road to heaven and a wide road to destruction. The narrow road is less traveled. It is harder; it is less acceptable to others. The wide road is the way of society's standards, which these days are extremely lax. (And just because you don't adhere to their standards doesn't make you better than them.) No one is righteous!

Let the power of God change you. Ask for Him to show Himself to you. If this born again, redemption thing doesn’t sit well with you, consider opening yourself to learning His truth. I had to do it. I survived. I didn’t want to; I rejected God for as long as I could. Then He turned me around in a heartbeat. It’s a glorious thing to be touched so personally by God. Really, it is.

John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”