May 24th 2020
I’ll Pray For You! Easy To Say, But Do You Find It Easy To Pray?
John 5:24 (NIV)
Jesus once said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
This is too easy, there must be a catch! What about all the “good” people who believe in another god or gods? Why would the God of Love not allow them to go to heaven when thy die? Can you, do you believe that God only has one plan for salvation of all of mankind? Why didn’t Jesus tell us this while He walked this earth as the Savior of all of mankind? Jesus did tell His disciples (us) that He is the Way the only Way! You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:4-9)
If there is only one God, then doesn’t it make sense that there is only one plan for salvation? Some people seem to think that God needs to accept whatever salvation plan that mankind thinks up! Whom do you think makes the rules for salvation requirements? If some human being comes up with a plan, should God be required to accept it, and add it to all the existing salvation plans? Mankind is required to seek God and then we must search for the one plan that God created to attain our salvation. Does that make sense to you? It does to me! John wrote about what he experienced when walking with Jesus on this earth. John and other disciples wrote these accounts for us, and they are recorded in the Bible for our education in the Word. Here is one such account. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:3-5).
Have you planned to study God’s Word, and attempt to understand it, so you can comprehend and thus believe it to be true? If not, why not? There really is nothing more important in your life than to seek to know Jesus! Jesus came to this earth to give mankind the ability to be able to grasp the salvation plan, because it became simplified because Jesus lived here on this earth, for mankind to see what He did and how He reacted with mankind. The salvation plan thus becomes more understandable as we do not have to comprehend and understand God the Father who resides in heaven! Jesus told His disciples what is required for our salvation, and it is simple. We only need to believe that Jesus is the Savoir of this world. Paul wrote about this situation and how we are to live in this cursed world, but we are not to love it, but instead to love Jesus. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). During this time of pandemic, we need to try and keep life as simple as possible by depending on Jesus’ examples of how He lived on this earth. We need to try to look toward the future as an eternal timeframe not a mortal one, so this earthly existence becomes less important to cling to.
We should not be looking forward to leaving this world, because while we are still here Jesus has work for us to do. All of mankind is in line to becoming a child of God, if they just come to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior! John wrote we are all “born of God.” Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:1-5). To overcome this world, you must be born again, which of course means you must take on Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior! This second birth is how we become “born of God!”
Some people feel they cannot be good enough to earn a place in heaven when they die. In the Old Testament God makes it clear that salvation is not dependent on how good we are during this mortal lifetime. If you have studied your Bible, then you know that David was not always a sinless person. He committed some serious crimes against God and man. The writer of Acts tells us what God said about David, even though he did commit some serious sins. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He (God) testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ "From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:22-23). God refers David as “a man after my own heart.” Important notice what God is quoted as saying next, “he will do everything I want him to do.” It seems to me that God knows mankind may fail at being good, but that if we try to please God, He will accept as being good enough to serve Him!
So, be sure you do not become self-righteous as some of the religious leaders had become when Jesus came to live on this earth. Jesus told a parable about such a person, and then, He also told about another man who held God in awe, and thus, he knew he was not good enough to expect good thing as blessings from God. To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)
Do not try to be good on your own! Be sure you are trying to become more Christ-like every day! During this trying time in which we live make sure you hold God in awe and take Jesus with you wherever you go! Someone may notice and want to know more about you knowing WWJD!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
John 5:24 (NIV)
Jesus once said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
This is too easy, there must be a catch! What about all the “good” people who believe in another god or gods? Why would the God of Love not allow them to go to heaven when thy die? Can you, do you believe that God only has one plan for salvation of all of mankind? Why didn’t Jesus tell us this while He walked this earth as the Savior of all of mankind? Jesus did tell His disciples (us) that He is the Way the only Way! You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:4-9)
If there is only one God, then doesn’t it make sense that there is only one plan for salvation? Some people seem to think that God needs to accept whatever salvation plan that mankind thinks up! Whom do you think makes the rules for salvation requirements? If some human being comes up with a plan, should God be required to accept it, and add it to all the existing salvation plans? Mankind is required to seek God and then we must search for the one plan that God created to attain our salvation. Does that make sense to you? It does to me! John wrote about what he experienced when walking with Jesus on this earth. John and other disciples wrote these accounts for us, and they are recorded in the Bible for our education in the Word. Here is one such account. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:3-5).
Have you planned to study God’s Word, and attempt to understand it, so you can comprehend and thus believe it to be true? If not, why not? There really is nothing more important in your life than to seek to know Jesus! Jesus came to this earth to give mankind the ability to be able to grasp the salvation plan, because it became simplified because Jesus lived here on this earth, for mankind to see what He did and how He reacted with mankind. The salvation plan thus becomes more understandable as we do not have to comprehend and understand God the Father who resides in heaven! Jesus told His disciples what is required for our salvation, and it is simple. We only need to believe that Jesus is the Savoir of this world. Paul wrote about this situation and how we are to live in this cursed world, but we are not to love it, but instead to love Jesus. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). During this time of pandemic, we need to try and keep life as simple as possible by depending on Jesus’ examples of how He lived on this earth. We need to try to look toward the future as an eternal timeframe not a mortal one, so this earthly existence becomes less important to cling to.
We should not be looking forward to leaving this world, because while we are still here Jesus has work for us to do. All of mankind is in line to becoming a child of God, if they just come to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior! John wrote we are all “born of God.” Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:1-5). To overcome this world, you must be born again, which of course means you must take on Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior! This second birth is how we become “born of God!”
Some people feel they cannot be good enough to earn a place in heaven when they die. In the Old Testament God makes it clear that salvation is not dependent on how good we are during this mortal lifetime. If you have studied your Bible, then you know that David was not always a sinless person. He committed some serious crimes against God and man. The writer of Acts tells us what God said about David, even though he did commit some serious sins. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He (God) testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ "From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. (Acts 13:22-23). God refers David as “a man after my own heart.” Important notice what God is quoted as saying next, “he will do everything I want him to do.” It seems to me that God knows mankind may fail at being good, but that if we try to please God, He will accept as being good enough to serve Him!
So, be sure you do not become self-righteous as some of the religious leaders had become when Jesus came to live on this earth. Jesus told a parable about such a person, and then, He also told about another man who held God in awe, and thus, he knew he was not good enough to expect good thing as blessings from God. To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)
Do not try to be good on your own! Be sure you are trying to become more Christ-like every day! During this trying time in which we live make sure you hold God in awe and take Jesus with you wherever you go! Someone may notice and want to know more about you knowing WWJD!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak