Traffic Numbers

John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Not everyone goes to heaven. Got your attention?! Don't stop reading!

I saw a meme on Facebook one day. It said: The fact that there is a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about traffic numbers. 

Now while I don't believe the highway/stairway are fact, this statement otherwise is true. Painfully true.

There is only one way to heaven...through Jesus Christ. There are certain things that must be done to achieve this. We have to realize that God is seeking us. He does love us. So, we must believe in Him, repent of our sins, of which we are all guilty, turn from them, give our lives to Him, proclaim His name, preach the Gospel. No one on earth becomes a saint before receiving Christ. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Not everyone is going to heaven. We are not children of God until we receive Him. Until then we are His enemies. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10) 

What I say is quite often the same message written in different ways. That's because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. His message has always been simple and will remain simple. It was truth when He spoke it; it will be truth forever. His Word never changes and neither does He. 

His love for mankind will never stop and I'm certain He is grieved in His own way when people reject His simple message: I am the way... Not by works, by self, by any other means. Only by and through Him. That means giving up of self, giving in to Him and trusting in Him. 

We wake up in the morning and know that He has given us another day. We didn't do it. We didn't do anything during the night to achieve it. Many don't think this way. 

Jesus tells us we must come to Him, believe with all our hearts in Him, turn from our day-to-day type of living, and begin to live according to how it has been pointed out in His Word. We can say we adhere to His basic Ten Commandments, but we are guilty of all of them. If we don't love God and put Him first in our life, daily, we've broken the first and most important one! No other gods before Him... Maybe later I will explain them all. 

Sadly, many are rebellious (including believers at times, speaking for self). They don't know His Word, are filled with the pride of life, of accomplishments achieved through their own means, without regarding God. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1John 2:15-17) Are we perfect? No. Will we fail at times? Yes. Can we get back in God's grace? Absolutely.

Let's face it, when was the last time you asked God to help you? Asked for His wisdom or strength instead of devising your own plan? Asked for His protection? Huh? Have I hit a nerve? I'm willing to admit I hit one for myself!

While the highways and stairways are not literal, they do represent what will happen to people who do not receive Christ as the only way to heaven and those who reject Him. But this receiving isn't by just knowing who Jesus is. It's a heart issue, one we know we have undergone if we one day are touched by His Spirit and a change occurs within us. A change that causes us to see God in a different light. I once was blind, but now I see moment. To know deep inside God has changed thoughts, desires, actions, words. To the point where He is on our minds often, daily. To the point where His Word is an important part of our day. To the point where we communicate to Him throughout the day. In other words, we seek Him! 

No, there is no literal highway or stairway. But the road to destruction is deadly and descending. The road to life goes up and few will be ascending to heaven and eternal life by that "Way."

Jesus is always ready to know and hear those who are willing to choose Him. If you really want to know Him, call out with a heart of repentance to Him. He will be elated to take you under His wing. He does love all mankind, just can't accept them all. It takes commitment. It will not be a smooth ride. But it will be worth it. Eternal life or eternal judgment. Which would you choose? 

Do you seek God? Do you read the Bible? Do you pray? Think about it. You may not know as much about God as you believe you do. The narrow gate includes the people who do; the wide gate is where those who do not are wandering. Don't be part of the "few" listed below. 

Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

God Has Never Stopped Moving!

Genesis 1:1-2 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

I'm listening to a series of CDs by an evangelist who spoke at our church recently. The first message was When God Moves. As usual, this is part the preacher's message, partly paraphrased, and partly my thoughts. It even fits right in to our study in Revelation. I'm certain there is a reason for all this. Any italicizes words are his.

Sometimes our lives as believers can seem to be in a funk. Maybe we have become stagnant...in our lives or in our churches. As Jeremy Prochazka stated, we might proclaim, We need a move of God. Then he followed that statement with this nugget of truth: It's not that we need God to move; He is always ready to move. It is we who have moved on, on our own, in our own way. 

I think about God giving Israel a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to guide them as they left Egypt for their long trek to the Promised Land. As long as they followed they were well protected and cared for. These pillars were always out in front for guidance, although when they crossed the Red Sea with the enemy behind them, the pillar of cloud went behind while the pillar of fire stayed in front...protection at one end, guidance at the other. 

God has always been moving. Since the day He began to create, He through His Spirit, moved. Jesus hasn't stopped. If He had there would be no continuation of Christianity. There would be no continuation of persecution, for His name's sake. There would be no evangelists, pastors, and us as disciples to carry on God's Word! His Spirit keeps us going. 

Brother Jeremy went on to say that we who have received Christ are called followers. Why? Because He is moving! If He's standing still we aren't following. If we follow we will know we are in the will of God. Can you honestly say you following Him?

I'd forgotten some of this message. Or had I, because just before he would say more I was forming thoughts to write that were similar. As followers of Christ we are called to share the Gospel like Jesus shared. If you like or love something, you will want to tell others about it, right? Why is it that sharing Christ is so unappealing to so many hearing it? What nerves does it touch? Does it bring up guilt, knowing we have made a lot of mistakes in our past? 

Or maybe we like who we are without Christ and are determined to believe life without Him is okay. What nerves does it touch? 

I have said this before, and Jeremy said it too: Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8) Give Him a chance.

Jeremy started out his message with the story of Jesus when He was 12. The family had gone to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration. On their way home Joseph and Mary realized they'd not seen their Son for awhile. He had lingered at the temple. They returned to find Him there...learning and asking questions, to the amazement of the others...and His parents when they arrived. Always about His Father's business, always in His will. Always following His Father's guidance. As we should.

It is pointed out in the scripture for this account that every year they went to Jerusalem. Jeremy points out how mundane that could become, a routine. Every year... After awhile, what happens? It becomes the same old thing. We may leave church after we have fulfilled our religious obligations, but Jesus may linger there and we won't recognize it. It's losing our sensitivity to the Lord. That's dangerous. We lose sight of Him. We've moved on but He has lingered. We are no longer following Him...we're off doing our own thing 
while He's about His Father's business. We're not in His will anymore.

But...He will organize your circumstances so you can find Him again. That is a wonderful, encouraging thought. I'm so thankful He loves us so much that He would provide another way...even through suffering, which was yesterday's blog. Amazed at how things are so tied together these days. 

If we follow Christ, we are in His will. Brother Jeremy added just as Jesus grew from a Child to a Man, we as believers need to grow in our walk, our faith in Him, following Him. ...as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1Peter‬ ‭2:2-3‬) We start out our walk slowly, taking small steps, feeling stupid, listening and learning, taking it all in, making mistakes. Then suddenly confidence happens. It's like "we get it." But we still do not stop growing. We never do. In time we will be ready for the meat of His Word. Just keep following. And know that God loves you so much that He WILL organize your circumstances to bring you back to Him. 

Maybe our country and churches need to turn back to seeking Him. He longs to move in our midst. But you know what, we have sought our own desires and ways, not His. It's all about me! It's all about us. It's all about how big we can build it or the success we can have. It's no longer all about Him. So we may very well be recognizing it with world circumstances, without really knowing it's God we are missing. He's been pushed aside for too long. He's not in this anymore.

Oh my...then Jeremy ends with the question Jesus' mother asked when they found Him in the temple. It about sums up the world circumstances and the questions people are beginning to ask about where God is in all that is happening, the violence, evil, disasters: So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? ... (Luke‬ ‭2:48‬) Is that what people are asking, Why, God, have You done this? Why will You not do something? (Like the friend and his email to me.) His answer: He was about His Father's business...while everyone else was about their own.

He is always moving, doing His Father's business. It's where we are supposed to be. Why have we sometimes stopped paying attention? Has He or Christianity become a routine? Linger with Him awhile. Follow Him more closely. 

John‬ ‭12:26‬ ‭- If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.