 question which is part of this is: does God know you?
Many of the generation who have come along in the past twenty-five years or so know more about Star Wars or the Marvel heroes or Poke’ Mon than they know about our Savior. But you asked did I know God? Well, Jesus is God the Son, then there is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit so He is your Savior if you believe in Him and the repentance that HE paid for on the cross for each of you. Knowing God is not some mystical meditation thing, because you can get to know Him by reading His Word and seeking Him as your Savior.
Doing “works” on this Earth and in this life doesn’t help you to get saved. Working for God is the fruit of a person who IS saved and is serving their Lord and Savior because He did all of the work needed to grant you salvation by His grace. We can add nothing to our salvation but we can show others our Savior by talking to them about Him or blogging about Him or teaching a class. These are the result of your salvation but they do not add to it or help God save you. As I said, Jesus did all of the work needed for your salvation, all you have to do is believe in Him and accept Him as your Savior.
It sounds too simple doesn’t it?
But if you read the book of John and the book of Romans in the New Testament you will see that your belief in Him and your surrendering to Him as your Savior is all that is required of you. It doesn’t take giving thousands of dollars to charity or mission fields or even going on a mission trip. It hinges on your reaction to His call on your life convicting you of your sins and then turning from them toward Him in repentance to walk as a new creation in His likeness! I pray that anyone reading this will seek Jesus out as their Savior and Lord because He is coming back soon. Make sure you will be a part of that first resurrection.
Have you felt disappointed when you attend church or after you leave? Let down by the lack of friendly people who noticed or didn’t notice that you were there? This is the way I would feel if I went to a BIG church, but if it happens at a church where there are fewer than fifty people it really hurts. This is the reason that many people attend once and then never return. Those in the church should welcome people who attend their services, especially those who are there for the first time. Don’t shake their hand like they have some disease that you are loathe to even be close to! Don’t look at their clothes and shoes and decide that they aren’t worth your time, God loves them or they wouldn’t be coming to your church for the first time!
Feeling disappointed and unwanted when you come to a service is the way that Satan wants you to feel so you won’t ever return. Listen to the message, if it is from the Word of God. If the sermon doesn’t come from the Bible with Scripture references throughout, leave when the service is over and don’t return. Make sure that you go to a Bible teaching church with believers who believe in the God of the Bible and in His Son. If the sermon is made up of “feel good” words which sound like they came from a book of self-help fluff, don’t listen to it! RUN from that church and never return!
God sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, into this world so that He could pay the debt by His blood shed on the cross and the whipping post but He overcame the death brought on by the crucifixion by His resurrection on the third day. This was planned and accomplished by the Lord long before we were born but God looked down through time and saw each of us struggling with sin and afflictions brought on by Satan and his demons. He knew that we couldn’t overcome these afflictions on our own and He made a way for us through belief in Jesus. Simple though this may sound, it is all that we need in our lives in order to be victorious all the way to our eternal home!
God loves you and He has made this way for you by His power and through the work of Jesus, the Son of God. If you have heard or felt His call on your heart and life, don’t turn away from it. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow so make sure of your salvation today because the work has been done for you. All that is needed is for you to believe in Him and ask His forgiveness of your sinful life. Ask Him to remove your pain and depression and all of your Earthly problems whatever they may be and in Jesus’ name, He will do it and give you the strength to tell others about your Risen Savior!
Knowing Jesus as your friend and your Savior is the most fulfilling relationship that you can have. So, why do we seek Him for salvation and then walk away from the relationship? Many people today do exactly that. They know they need Him and they know that they are sinful in their lives. They will seek Him out and feel His call and conviction in their lives and maybe even accept Him as their Savior but when things don’t work out the way they want them to, they walk away from Him.
Knowing Who He is and having Him as your Savior is the best relationship that you can have. But if you only want to know Him as a Savior and Lord and not as your Savior and Lord there is nothing gained for you except knowledge of Him. Knowledge doesn’t bring salvation. Satan and the demons know Who Jesus is but that doesn’t help them because they won’t serve Him.
There are times that I think it is that word which turns people away. They don’t want to be a disciple or a Christian because they don’t want to serve Jesus. He gave His life and His blood for your soul to have a chance at salvation so I believe that we do owe Him our service and our life. God has given us all of the best, even though we don’t see it that way. He has provided us with a sun that isn’t too hot and a planet to live on that isn’t too hot or cold. He prepared it with lots of water and air to breathe and land that we could cultivate for our food and things that we need.
So many things that we have been blessed with, whether you live in America or anywhere else in the world because God loves us so deeply. I know there are diseases and wars going on and famines and earthquakes and hurricanes that happen from time to time, but God is still in control of it all. If He weren’t we wouldn’t be here. There are so many problems which we could have that He has prevented and then there are others which we have caused. Not “global warming”, but so many other problems in our societies just because we have refused to worship the One True God.
Seek Him out while there is yet time to do so because there will be one day in the near future when He takes the church and all of those who have given their lives to Him to Heaven. When that happens, there will be hell on Earth until He says that it is enough. Think about it.
Joy in my heart!
Working and doing any kind of work for God is a joy! Whether you are a teacher or a preacher or a blogger! Just knowing that you are telling others about your Lord and Savior even if you never meet them or even know them, God will use your words and give you the words to say so that someone will seek out Jesus as their Savior. The idea of a Savior which is planted in their mind and in their heart (soul) will take root and God will cause it to bloom in their life. It may not happen today or tomorrow but when God is behind your words and the results which come from them, it can’t help but grow.
Jesus has such a powerful love for mankind, not just the Jewish people, until He gave His life so that we could all come to know Him for our salvation. True repentance and acceptance of His sacrifice along with believing that He paid for our sins and their penalties is what is needed for salvation. It doesn’t take a tub full of water for baptism nor many years of “works” for Him to be saved. Speaking in tongues is not required and being overjoyed with the power of the Holy Spirit doesn’t make a difference in whether your salvation is true or not!
16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
19And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
22And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24Who, having received such a