December 1st 2024
The Decision To Follow Jesus Assures You A Place In Heaven As A Brother Or Sister Of Jesus Christ!
Matthew 12:49-50 (NIV)
Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
In the selected verses Jesus told His disciples that everyone who chooses to follow Him immediately becomes a child of God. Thus, we all have God the Father as our heavenly Father, which then places us in the family of God. Now that is maybe the most important blessing you will ever receive, as it establishes your eternal destiny! If you are reading this and you are also a citizen of the USA, then you are envied by a huge numbers of people living in this cursed world. As the USA is battling against thousands of people from all over the world who are trying to sneak into the USA from our southern border.
This is being mentioned only to show you how thankful we should be for being blessed to be where some ancestors decided to come into this great country sometime in the past. However, remember the decision to live in this country while being a blessing is only a temporary choice! The decision to follow Jesus Christ has eternal blessing, as it guarantees a future that will never end, and assures you a place in heaven as a brother or sister of Jesus Christ! There is nothing more important than having made that decision!
Paul wrote letters to several churches to help them understand how to work together within their congregation to improve their collective knowledge of what Jesus tried to teach His disciples when He still walked this earth. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16).
Paul was hoping that these new congregations would want to obey Jesus’ teachings and thus develop plans to train new people joining their church so that through obedience to Jesus Word this church would then bring glory to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17). Does your church offer such training through Bible Study classes? Do you contribute to such classes by your attendance, and/or by leading the classes, if asked to do so?
There is theological difference of opinion about the term of “God’s chosen people” as being reserved to the Jews, but Paul in the NIV Translation uses that term describing us! Well at least he uses it in his letter to the church in Colossi. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12). I like this expression from Paul because Jesus Christ certainly chooses Christians to end up with Him in heaven for eternity! Jesus’ perfect sacrifice buys our ticket for entry into heaven, when God decides it is the right time for you (us)!
The earthly freedom we experience is certainly something to be thankful for but do remember it is earthly and temporary. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7). When you first come to believe that Jesus is who He says He is, then your faith is established and will grow, as the Holy Spirit then came into your life. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). If God is on your side and the Spirit is available to you for guidance then life in this cursed world is improved, it is not heavenly because it is still being run by humans many of whom are influenced by Satan and his demons.
Peter who served with Jesus on this earth wrote about serving and suffering for the sake of being a follower of Jesus while living on this earth. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10). It seems Peter may be referring to the fact that he disowned knowledge of who Jesus was and that he was trying to serve with Him. However, Jesus restored Peter even though Peter had disowned Him.
Jesus Christ demands obedience of all those who choose to follow Him while we still live on this earth. If we do, try to obey His commands in our everyday lives He may bless us with adequate provisions so that life is not a total drain of our strength. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:12). However, those who choose to live as they please and choose to participate in evil desires, and do not even attempt to help other people who need help, it says, “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
During this Advent Season be thankful for whatever God has blessed you with, and if you have an abundance think about the people who may need your help. Be Happy in Jesus, “Trust and obey, for there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Jesus Christ is coming to town soon; you can meet Him in the church of your choice. If believers gather to worship Him, He will be there to join you. He will even be there weather you are naughty or nice.
Now that is the joy of the season to be thankful for!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 12:49-50 (NIV)
Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
In the selected verses Jesus told His disciples that everyone who chooses to follow Him immediately becomes a child of God. Thus, we all have God the Father as our heavenly Father, which then places us in the family of God. Now that is maybe the most important blessing you will ever receive, as it establishes your eternal destiny! If you are reading this and you are also a citizen of the USA, then you are envied by a huge numbers of people living in this cursed world. As the USA is battling against thousands of people from all over the world who are trying to sneak into the USA from our southern border.
This is being mentioned only to show you how thankful we should be for being blessed to be where some ancestors decided to come into this great country sometime in the past. However, remember the decision to live in this country while being a blessing is only a temporary choice! The decision to follow Jesus Christ has eternal blessing, as it guarantees a future that will never end, and assures you a place in heaven as a brother or sister of Jesus Christ! There is nothing more important than having made that decision!
Paul wrote letters to several churches to help them understand how to work together within their congregation to improve their collective knowledge of what Jesus tried to teach His disciples when He still walked this earth. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16).
Paul was hoping that these new congregations would want to obey Jesus’ teachings and thus develop plans to train new people joining their church so that through obedience to Jesus Word this church would then bring glory to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17). Does your church offer such training through Bible Study classes? Do you contribute to such classes by your attendance, and/or by leading the classes, if asked to do so?
There is theological difference of opinion about the term of “God’s chosen people” as being reserved to the Jews, but Paul in the NIV Translation uses that term describing us! Well at least he uses it in his letter to the church in Colossi. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12). I like this expression from Paul because Jesus Christ certainly chooses Christians to end up with Him in heaven for eternity! Jesus’ perfect sacrifice buys our ticket for entry into heaven, when God decides it is the right time for you (us)!
The earthly freedom we experience is certainly something to be thankful for but do remember it is earthly and temporary. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7). When you first come to believe that Jesus is who He says He is, then your faith is established and will grow, as the Holy Spirit then came into your life. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). If God is on your side and the Spirit is available to you for guidance then life in this cursed world is improved, it is not heavenly because it is still being run by humans many of whom are influenced by Satan and his demons.
Peter who served with Jesus on this earth wrote about serving and suffering for the sake of being a follower of Jesus while living on this earth. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10). It seems Peter may be referring to the fact that he disowned knowledge of who Jesus was and that he was trying to serve with Him. However, Jesus restored Peter even though Peter had disowned Him.
Jesus Christ demands obedience of all those who choose to follow Him while we still live on this earth. If we do, try to obey His commands in our everyday lives He may bless us with adequate provisions so that life is not a total drain of our strength. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:12). However, those who choose to live as they please and choose to participate in evil desires, and do not even attempt to help other people who need help, it says, “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
During this Advent Season be thankful for whatever God has blessed you with, and if you have an abundance think about the people who may need your help. Be Happy in Jesus, “Trust and obey, for there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Jesus Christ is coming to town soon; you can meet Him in the church of your choice. If believers gather to worship Him, He will be there to join you. He will even be there weather you are naughty or nice.
Now that is the joy of the season to be thankful for!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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