BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 3:11
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Let me start out with the best verse that sums up this study. Luke 6:47-49; “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” If you are trusting in any other source other than Jesus Christ for your salvation, you are like the man who built his house on the earth without a foundation, and you will most surely parish.
Far too many people put their faith in the religious sect in which they proclaim, but know this, going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a donut shop makes you a cop. Just a little humor, but you should get the point. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there is nothing that you can do to earn salvation. If salvation could be bought, then why would Jesus allow himself to be put through such a horrific death if there was any other way to be saved? Listen very carefully to what Jesus prayed just before He was about to be handed over to those that were going to put Him to death. Matthew 26:39; “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Jesus prayed to the Father three times for this cup to be removed from Him. In fact, He was sweating great drops of blood from the anxiety that He was feeling. You think for a moment that He wanted to suffer this death. It doesn’t appear that way. Listen to what Luke 22:44; says, “And being in agony, He (Jesus) prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The fact that The Father did not honor Jesus’s request is solid concrete evidence that there is no other way to be saved except through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you are being told that you can earn your way to heaven, then you are proclaiming that Jesus’s sacrifice was not enough. I don’t think people really understand who Jesus is, He is God in the flesh. God came to the earth in the flesh in the personage of Jesus Christ for one purpose, which was to save mankind from the predicament that we put ourselves in, in the Garden of Eden six thousand years ago. When sin entered mankind, we were all destined for separation from God for all eternity. That means that we were all going to hell. God cannot and will not allow sinful man to enter into His Holy Kingdom. Therefore, sin had to be dealt with. There was only one way and that was definitely not by paying for your own sins. We can’t do anything to earn back what we gave up six thousand years ago.
There are certain religious sects that feel they can go through weekly rituals that can make reconciliation for their sins. No matter what you do, you cannot reconcile your relationship back to God in any way, shape or form. When you go through these rituals, you are saying, “Sorry Jesus, I don’t need you, I can do it on my own” “How ludicrous!” All that is going to matter when you stand before Jesus Christ is whether or not you received His gift of grace and became born-again into the Holy Spirit. “There is no other way” Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Most of us that were born during the baby boom years have learned to read, so why is it so hard for us to understand what this verse is saying. I know why, because not very many people have ever taken time to read the greatest book ever written, and also, because they want to trust their pastors and priests to tell them the truth. To trust your pastor or priest is like playing Russian Rolette with your eternity. Are you really that foolish or do you not understand that your eternity is right around the corner and when you pass from this world, you are going to one of two places and that is determined on the choices that you make now, and, oh, by the way, it is forever, not temporary, like some cults teach?
This week’s blog hit pretty close to home for me in the last month. I had a friend that was in a horrific accident that ended up taking his life. The reason this hit me so hard is because I do not believe that he had a relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, I can’t say for sure, because none of us know what happens just before we pass from this world to our final destination. But I do know what the Bible declares for those that live sinful lifestyles. This particular man I thought would live forever, because he was a fighter and a survivor but all this ended in a heartbeat and he is no longer with us. I do know this, that where ever he ended up, I’m sure he would love to come back and share with those that he loved the truth of what lies ahead after this life. It reminds me of the Biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man, but I’m sure that no many people have ever heard this story. Luke 16:19-31; “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, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. (Which was known as Abrahams Bosom) 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. 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. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. ’He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Let me point out that this is not a parable. Parables are stories without names that send us a strong message to learn by. This is a story that actually took place. I read this story because, once again, you will most likely not hear this teaching from the pulpits of Christianity. I love the following words from C.T. Stud, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” There is no statement much truer than this one line statement from this wise man. The sad truth is this, not very many people will get a chance to read or listen to this message, and those that do read it or hear it won’t let it sink in, or they won’t believe what is written. It will just go over there heads because they are so indoctrinated in religious rituals and false doctrine that they are afraid to break away from what they have been taught to learn what the Bible really teaches. The Bible says in Matthew 7:14; “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I quote this Bible verse often because most people are under the understanding that we all go to heaven. When the Bible says “Few” it means a Few” Only those that learn the truth of salvation will take part in what God has prepared for those that love Him and believe of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and to be quite frank, I don’t personally know too many that fall in that category. Oh sure, I know a lot of people that go to church every week, but once again, that does not mean that you are saved. They’re in church on Sundays or whatever day it may be and then the rest of the week there living in their sinful lifestyle. God requires that we fellowship with Him 24-7, not just on Sunday mornings as most people would believe.
So, with all this being said, ask yourself this question, is your house built on a rock or is it built on sand. When I say house, I mean your eternal expectations. If it is built on the Rock which is Jesus Christ, you will not fall in the time of temptation, but if it is built on sand, you will not have a chance to fend off the snares of the evil one. This is extremely evident in the days in which we live. I see more and more people every day falling into the world and the new world system. Which way are you headed? Are you transforming into the image of Jesus Christ as we are instructed to do, or are you conforming into the world system, that is on the near horizon. The choice is 100% up to you. God will only give you what you choose, life eternal or death in the Lake of Burning Fire. We never know what a day will bring, just like my friend that I mentioned above. If he knew what was coming, I’m sure he would have lived his life differently. Whatever choice he made is now eternal. Please choose Jesus today!
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