December 6th - Receiving Jesus

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, even 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.” (John 1:12-13)

I have heard countless invitations in which the pastor promises salvation if his listeners would “receive" Jesus based on the above scripture.

But those verses do NOT say that those who receive Him are then saved, it says they are given “the right to BECOME children of God”. So, when do they BECOME the children of God? It is when two things happen. First, they “believe in His name” and Second, are “born not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, BUT OF GOD”.

No human being sees or enters the Kingdom of God of their own free will. It is a matter of the will "of God”. And, it is the will of God that they be born AGAIN of "the Spirit"  before they can enter and see the Kingdom of God. Jesus told Nicodemus...

"Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot SEE the kingdom of God…unless one is born of water AND the Spirit he cannot ENTER the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3,5)

All human beings are “born of water” when their mother’s water breaks. And all human beings are born of “the Spirit” after they are resurrected from death.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a SPIRITUAL body...However, the SPIRITUAL is not first, but the natural; then the SPIRITUAL.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)

Being born again was a mystery until the mystery was revealed by the Apostle Paul.

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a MYSTERY; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-57)

One final question: How many humans will finally receive Jesus, believe in His name, and enter the Kingdom of God as His children? 

Answer: ALL of them!

"...at the name of Jesus EVERY knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father...for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:10-13)

"...for this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Saviour, God, Who wills that ALL humanity be saved and come into a realization of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and humanity, a Man, Christ Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for ALL (the testimony in its own eras), for which I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the nations in knowledge and truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-7)

December 5th - Happy Birthday Sue Ann!

Happy Birthday Sue Ann!

I love my wife. She puts me in my place when necessary, states her mind as she sees it, and then proceeds to live her life in a way that mirrors Christ. She would not agree with that last part. She thinks of herself as “unspiritual." She has a favorite verse…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

She loves me, her children, and her grandchildren without measure. That is the measure of a spiritual woman as I interpret the Bible!

Again, Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

December 4th - The Path to Glory

“I am crucified with Christ…” (Galatians 2:20)

When Jesus hung on the cross it was a graphic declaration that death is the only path to GLORY for humanity. I repeat - Sin, death, and the grave is the path to GLORY. Even Christ Jesus, when He became a man, was on that path.  He was the "first fruits" of those raised from death to immortal life, the rest of us will follow…

“Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep...Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His GLORY?...But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with GLORY and honor..." (1 Corinthians 15:20; Luke 24:26; Hebrews 2:9)

It is the "Spirit of Christ" within us that testifies to us of our future salvation from death and the glory to follow...

"As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the GRACE that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the GLORIES to follow." (1 Peter 1:11)

The governments and religions of the world are not a path to GLORY, regardless of how righteous they may seem. It is not political party affiliation or church membership that determines the GLORY that will be ours AFTER death. It is determined only by the "GRACE" that is ours in the plan of God.

Christ died…so will we
Christ was raised….so will we
Christ was glorified…so will we

“Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep...As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive...sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, IT IS RAISED IN GLORY...” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22,42-43)

The resurrection of Christ Jesus was the key that unlocked the glory to come for all others...

"Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised." (1 Corinthians 15:12-15)

So, the godless liberal and the most God centered conservative need to get this straight - are you listening? Humanity is not on the path to glory by being "politically or doctrinally correct". The holiest among us, as well as the most wicked, are on the same path to glory.  

The wrath of God ends with the death of the sinner. Every person will be suitably chastened by God, die, and then be saved out of death! - resurrected to enter the glory of the Kingdom of God. That is the power of the blood of Christ!

"Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath." (Romans 5:9)

"It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all humanity.” (1 Timothy 4:9-10)

On our path to glory, humanity should work to be productive citizens, safe and secure - but it is the grace of God that will bring us into the glory of the Kingdom of God .

December 3rd - From Death to Life

“The LORD God commanded the human, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely DIE…” (Genesis 2:16-17)

The Hebrew word translated “die” is more accurately rendered “to die shall you be dying". In other words the mortality of humanity would not be prolonged indefinitely by eating from the tree of life. 

"Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken." (Genesis 3:22-23)

“…as through one human the sin did enter into the world, and through the sin the death; and to all humanity the death did pass through, for that all did sin…” (Romans 5:12)

I was asked by a Christian friend if I thought his Daddy had lied to him when he told him that the penalty for unconfessed sin is everlasting punishment in hell. I said no he did not lie to you, he told you what he believed, it just was not true.

I am confident that the wages of sin is DEATH, just as the free gift of God is eternal LIFE. Our existence began with God creating us in our mother’s womb and ends in death because we are mortal. Following that death, our new creation will start when death is abolished by our resurrection into immortal life.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord…."  (Romans 6:23)

"...as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord…" (Romans 5:21)

"The last enemy that will be abolished is death...Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly…this mortal must put on immortality…then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:26,49, 53, 54)

God's plan in the Bible for sinful mortals is to become sinless immortals!

December 2nd - Sanctified in the Truth

"...Sanctify them in the truth, Your Word is truth." (John 17:17)

The truth is always the "truth" whether people believe it or not. But biblical truth cannot be discovered and appreciated without thinking about what we read from the Bible.

“Come let us reason together says the LORD, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)

God is the originator of biblical truth. Truth is discovered when we are willing to discard any false notions about God learned from others. Truth gives us... 

“…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

Regarding the salvation of humanity, especially my friends and family, I reason with the Lord as follows.

"...our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21)

December 1st - How Not to Pray

I am grateful for all the prayers that have been offered up for Robin, Lawson, Landry, Lindsay, Sue Ann and myself the past two weeks, including those who offered hem up from inner closet where no one may ever know.  God knows! Jesus told those who believed in Him how not to pray as well as how to pray…

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:5-7)

NOTE: rewarded does not mean we always get what we ask for, but rewarded for going to God privately with our prayers. I think Paul prayed the following prayer for his friends in his "inner room" which he then put into a letter to them what he had prayed...

"...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Here are some other simple prayers that are recorded in the Bible…

“Father forgive them…” (Luke 23:34)

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” (Luke 18:13)

“Come swiftly, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:21)

November 30th - Did the Rich Man Go to Hell?

Jesus said the following about his parables...

“And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do you speak to them in parables? Jesus answered them, to you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted…" (Matthew 13:10-11)

So, is the following an historic event or a parable?

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus…the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16:19-23)

A careful examination of the context beginning in Luke 14:7 shows me it is one in a series of parables, and therefore not a literal historic event. Everyone should be glad, for if it was a real event it would teach that rich people who receive good things in this life all go to hell, while the poor who receive bad things in this life go to heaven - in spite of the Cross, the Grace of God, or good works.

“So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony…” (Luke 16:24)

The context of the parable is the promises God has made to the nation of Israel, His chosen nation. The rich man represents the leaders who were rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, and the result would be that their political status would be taken from them, and their nation dispersed into the other nations where the "poor" would be cared for and the "rich" leaders would be in anguish. That literally happened to Israel!

For now we should concentrate on strengthening our faith, hope and love in the direct promises of God to people of all nations of the world. We should believe that the GRACE of God has brought salvation to all people.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:17)

"...there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for ALL." (1 Tim. 2:5-6)

“Trust in the living God, who is the Savior of ALL humanity.” (1 Tim. 4:10)

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority." (Titus 2:11-15)

The rich man did not go to the hell of Greek Mythology - and neither will anyone else go there. All will be saved out of death by the GRACE and MERCY of God and become believers in Christ Jesus. They will come to a knowledge of the truth that all humanity is to be saved - the result of the death, entombment, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God. His blood justifies all (makes sinners righteous and saves them out of death).

"Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!" (Romans 5:9)