It Really is Your Choice

Jesus Christ provided for a way for us to enjoy the glories of Heaven (John 6:44; Acts 4:12, 16:30-31). He is the only way for us to receive redemption. That is why Christians are always sharing the good news of the Gospel of Christ. We may get on someone's nerves, but we share God's Truth for their benefit, not our own. We are already Born Again and our place in Heaven is already reserved.

What about your place in Heaven? Have you repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be your personal Savior (John 3:16)? Have you surrendered your life to His redeeming grace and realized the benefits of living in His family now and forever? There are multiple ways to enter eternity, but only one leads to Heaven; all the rest lead to hell (John 3:18).

Satan is very cunning. He appears as an angel of light and he perverts God's truth to his own advantage. He wants to take Jesus' place as King of the universe. He already rebelled against God and lost his place in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14). Now he is the "god" of this world and he wants to stay that way (2 Corinthians 4:4). He fills the world with his lies in order to take as many people to hell with him as he can (John 8:44; Romans 1:25).

If you reject Jesus as your Savior and remain as an unbeliever, living in unbelief and sinful pursuits, you will never see God (Revelation 21:7-8). If you admit that you are a sinner, regret your sinful lifestyle, choose to live according to Biblical principles, ask Jesus to cover you with His precious blood, and place your faith in God's faithfulness, you will enjoy the blessings as a co-heir with Jesus of God's Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Prayer:

Father God, I come to You in Jesus' name to acknowledge that I am a sinner. I am as grieved over my past lifestyle as You are. I want to turn from a life of sin and self-reliance, and live according to Your Biblical principles.

Thank You for sending Jesus to die for me and to pay the penalty of my sin debt to You. I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead and that He now sits at Your right hand. I want to take advantage of Your grace and to live a life of purity and truth.

I will serve You in gratitude for the many blessings You provide for me throughout my lifetime. In Jesus' name and for His glory. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Once we place our full trust in Him and His promises, God keeps us in His hands and never forsakes us. - John 6:37, 10:28-29; Hebrews 13:5

Doubting God

We actually deceive our self when we think that we have life all figured out (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). God smiles patiently at those who profess to be wise. He considers human wisdom as foolishness (Romans 1:22). As foolish as Satan was to rebel against God, he is smarter than we are. God calls him the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Yet, we have power over Satan if we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We can take authority over Satan when he tries to take advantage of us, and attempts to get the victory in our circumstances (Daniel 10:13). As Believers we can refuse to rely on our human wisdom; and, instead, seek God in all of our choices and decisions (Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 55:6).

At times, we are subjected to life's fears, worries and anxieties. Actually, we are doubting God when we worry. Sadly, worry causes us to view our self as an orphan, alone in the world without nurturing caretakers (Psalm 68:5). We are saying that we can achieve a better, more sure change in our circumstances by worrying than we can by trusting in and waiting on our Father God (Matthew 6:27).

Often we worry our self right out of faith in God. We get discouraged and we cry our self to sleep, if we can sleep at all with all of the stress hormones ravaging our body. We look to people, places and things to make us happy, when all along the King of the Universe dwells right in our heart (Ephesians 3:17).

In Christ, we have an antidote to worry. Someone said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everything is small stuff.” In other words, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” God is capable of perfecting orchestrating both the large and small details of our life. He daily cares for the birds and flowers; and we are even more important to Him than they are (Matthew 10:29-31).

God’s Spirit will give us the mind of Christ if we totally surrender our life to Him (1 Corinthians 2:16). Only God can save and provide for us in body, soul and spirit. We can live by faith in His faithfulness, because He never lets us down (Hebrews 13:5). We often forget that there is a seed for a miracle in each and every trial we experience.

Prayer:

Father God, the more trials we experience in this life, the more we fear we will have to go through. We insult You by limiting Your resources, power and love for us. Remind us that we can cast all of our cares on You, because You always care about us and what we need (1 Peter 5:7). Help us to depend only on You as our Savior, Lord and King.

Thought for the Day:

If we live in fear of the future, we forfeit the blessings of today.