I think as Believers, we all smugly think that if we had lived during Biblical times and had witnessed the miracles and teachings of Jesus…we would of immediately realized He was the Messiah. But would we? Humanity saw Him as just another man…indeed, a good man who taught with unheard of authority and passion, but still just a flesh and blood human like the rest of us. Would we have been able to recognize His divinity…when the incarnate Jesus Christ…the embodiment of God took on human form and lived among us? I would hope and pray so.
Tag: eternal future
Hebrews 9:12 ” He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
You have been redeemed! Your debt of sin has been cleared off the books forever…your freedom purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. But Jesus didn’t have to die over and over a multitude of times to atone for your sins… rather, He came and gave His life once for all in order that you may have eternal life. Yes, you have been redeemed!
Luke 15:24 ” For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found…”
If you think about it…we’re all like the prodigal son. We were all spiritually dead – separated from God the Father, with no hope of eternal life…when we were made live again, by the blood of Jesus Christ. For we all had wandered away from our Heavenly Father, just like the prodigal son…and just like the prodigal son, when we had come to our senses in the middle of that pig pen – we realized we couldn’t make it on our own. That’s when we returned. We returned to a loving Father with outstretched arms, rushing to meet us and draw us to Him.
John 5:39 ” You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.”
Jesus Christ can be found on each page of the Bible. So as we read, we need to be continually asking…”How does this Scripture point me to You Lord?” By personalizing the Scriptures like this…reading the Bible will never become a dry and boring ordeal we just tolerate, but rather an ever new and exciting adventure of discovery.
John 4:13-14 ” Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ “
We’ve all been very thirsty. An interesting note about the human body…hunger pangs will eventually subside, but thirst will never go away, for our bodies need water to operation and maintain homeostasis, (a stable and normal condition of all systems within the body.) In this Scripture, Jesus is offering the Samaritan woman the kind of water that will not only satisfy immediately, but will become an Artesian well within her. Like a spring rising up with a new and constant supply of fresh water, this living water fills and quenches our thirst unlike anything the world can offer.
Psalm 68:20 ” Our God is a God Who saves; from the sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
The Lord saves us from what? In a single word – condemnation. John 3:18 tells us that from the womb we are condemned already…destined to Hell. No amount of good works will ever save you. Nor will you ever make it to Heaven on your believing Grandmother’s shirt-tails. But most strikingly, you will never be able to save yourself. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver you from the wrath that is to come. Only He can offer you freedom from an eternal sentence of Hell.
John 8:42 ” Jesus said to them, ‘ If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on My own; but He sent Me.’ “
God sent His only Son to earth in order to save us from our sins. Jesus Christ came from God to take our place on that cross. So if you know God…you love Jesus…and if you love Jesus and accept Him as your Savior, your sins are forgiven…and when your sins are forgiven, you receive eternal life.
Hebrews 10: 39 ” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
The scripture today is a continuation of the thought from yesterday…a encouraging thought for all of us… that we are stronger than we think, braver than we can ever imagine, and only need to trust the Lord in order to succeed. We are exhorted here that we are not of those who shrink back, but rather have faith. For what hangs in the balance is simple…eternal life, or eternal damnation.
Jeremiah 3:12 ” ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt.’ “
In God’s perfect plan, not one human-being would experience Hell and eternal death. But He’s also not sitting up in heaven with a big sledge hammer, relishing the thought of punishing sinners. Quite the opposite, for in II Peter 3:9 it says, “The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Our Lord is graciously waiting for all to turn to Him…but we have to make the first move…not only admitting our sin, but accepting responsibility and confessing… we need You, Lord.