Joe got to experience a Christmas this year unlike any other year. As I was
talking to Joe he was sharing some of the hard things him and his son were
going through. During our conversation Joe mentioned that through everything he
was trying to be a good person in life, to do good deeds, and make it to church
when he can. All in hopes of being good enough so that when his day comes he
will be able to enter the gates of heaven. Joe tried to keep hope and said that
God was helping him and his son to survive, but I could tell he still was
carrying a huge weight on his shoulders. I felt the nudge so I went
forward and asked him: "Joe, have you ever heard of assurance of
salvation?". Joe's reply was " I'm not sure I have". I proceeded
with sharing with Joe what the assurance of salvation is...
See I too use to contemplate if I were to die today have I been good enough
that I could go to heaven. I would wonder have I done enough good deeds, been
good enough and gone to church enough. The truth is we can never be good
enough, do enough good deeds, to assure our salvation into heaven. Why? Because
that's not the key to getting into heaven, and if it was, well, we would all
fail MISERABLY. How do you even try to begin to please a God who is perfect,
holy, and can have anything simply by saying it? (i.e "let there be light,
and there was light" Genesis 1:3), You can't. Which is actually a blessing
because working to get to heaven would be a never ending job, and again, we
would fail miserably. No one is perfect. So then that leaves the question, how
do we get to heaven and is it even attainable? The answer is YES. In order to
explain this let's travel back, once again, to the beginning, back to
Genesis.
God created this world with intentions to have relationships with
us. When Adam and Eve decided to go against God by eating of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, they ultimately where saying that they didn't want
to follow their creator and all he had set for them. They wanted, instead, to
do what they thought was best, which actually was going against God, which then
released sin into the world. From that point on nothing God created flourished
or lived like it should have; everything fell short of God's glory. There was
now a separation between the perfect and Holy God and man. God, however,
had a plan to bring the relationship he had built with his creations, man and
women, back. This plan is the Christmas story. Jesus was born to bridge the gap
between God and humans. The pinnacle of Jesus life here on earth was His
crucifixion. When Jesus died on the cross what He did was take our place.
"For the wages of sin are death" Romans 6:23. This is the price that
needed to be paid for all of mankind's sin in order for the gap to be filled
between man and God. Jesus took our place on the cross and bore all of God's
wrath that was due for our sin. Jesus lived a perfect life and was the only one
that should not have endured God's wrath but instead He came into this world as
a lowly man and bore the sin of man. This then turned the tables for man,
because Jesus took our place.So now when God looks at those who believe and
accept Jesus is the Savior of their life and gives Him control of their life,
He sees them as holy, perfect, clean, worthy to walk with Him, His precious
children, heirs to the throne, and citizens of His kingdom. He sees the
perfection of Jesus when He looks at us, because Jesus' blood paid the price of
our sin. He paid a debt that wasn't His to pay, all so we could have a
relationship with the Father again.
We were suppose to be on that cross, where Jesus bared more pain then any
man could ever withstand. He endured more suffering than a human life could
take because He knew His suffering was the only way for mankind to be free of
sin. When we accept this truth when we believe in God the almighty Father who
created heaven and earth, and in His Son who took our place, We also believe in
and receive The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the living God that lives inside our bodies as our
Holy Counselor and strength. God provided us with the Spirit so that we would
have His wisdom and strength to live a life worthy of what He has called us to.
The Holy Spirit guides us to the will of God and gives us strength to follow
Him.
There is a purpose for each of us, no one is a mistake, God sees you as
perfect, and loves you. He desires a relationship with each one of us. The
Christmas story, The Gospel, is all evidence of this. Proof of a loving and
almighty God. This story is the redeeming story of mankind and also the
greatest love story ever to be told and ever to actually happen. God lives and
reigns to this day and always will. He will never force His love or
relationship on anyone but gives us a choice. Having made this choice I
proclaim the goodness of God. We live in an unfaithful world, but I know
everything will be ok because I have chosen to follow a faithful God. A God who
has promised my salvation, eternal life, a room in His kingdom, true life. My
life has changed drastically since I decided to start pursuing a relationship
with Christ, it's not always easy, but, even in the hard times God makes it
worth while. He is a living hope that keeps me going each and everyday. A
Father that will walk through the fires with me and not let me be harmed, a
Father that will never forsake me, this is the Father I will forever follow,
and I invite you to, too.
This is what I got to share with Joe this Christmas season. Joe had never
heard of assurance of salvation. Joe invited God into his heart that day and
proclaimed Him as Lord and Savior. Tears of joy were shared and Joe said "
What a great hope this is". Joe was exactly right. No matter what we go
through here on earth, we know that this isn't are true home and that it's only
temporary. When we accept Christ as Lord of our life and give Him control we
look forward to a life in eternity.
If you have the desire to follow Christ I encourage you to speak with God,
repent of your sin, acknowledge Him as the One true God, your savior, and know
ruler of your life. Begin to seek Him in prayer, by reading the bible, and by
getting connected to a church and community that serves God and helps one
another grow through fellowship.
I will leave you know hoping you had a Merry Christmas and that this New
Year you grow in knowing Christ and that you find the many blessings He has
awaiting you.
'For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal
life." John 3:16
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept
by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5
