July 23rd 2017
Pray For Those Members Of Mankind That Exist, But Do Not Possess The Key To A Happy Afterlife!
Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When you became a Christian, did you know that you would immediately die? That is, you are supposed to die to the attraction of things found on this earth. When you accepted the grace granted by God through Jesus Christ then, “you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Paul then wrote, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Here ask yourself a tough question, “do these professions really match my daily character?” Remember too that earthly possessions are not the ultimate problem for believers, the problem comes in when your desire for earthly possessions causes you to cling to things, instead of believing all things are a gift from God, not granted to you because you earned them!
When Jesus walked this earth as the God/man, He said many things about himself and how salvation is only possible through Him. Such knowledge causes some people to deny that the Bible is truly God breathed, as it states only followers of Jesus Christ will be saved and thus end up in heaven. Some people find fault with a God who established only one way to end up in heaven when you die to this life! In the Gospel of John, we find some statements Jesus made confirming this truth. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6). Jesus emphasized even more this truth when He stated. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18). One God, one Son, there is no other options, as this is the salvation plan God allows!
In this statement Jesus tries to make it clear that He is talking about living in the hereafter not in the present world. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36). God’s wrath was caused by the Fall of Man, and thus, the resulting curse brought on this earth. Then Jesus makes it clearer that He is the only answer for salvation there is. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. (John 8:24). To gain salvation you MUST believe that “Jesus is the answer!” Oh, the question is, “What must I do to be saved?”
The writer of acts echoes this same requirement for gaining salvation. Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). After Peter had convinced some Jews that Jesus was truly their long-awaited messiah, they then asked what they must due to be saved. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38). Notice here that Peter did not say this is one option for salvation, it is the only one. Have you received “the gift of the Holy Spirit?” Having the Holy Spirit in your life will cause you to have a better attitude about other members of mankind! God can forgive us our sins, and thus the indwelling of this Holy Spirit will allow you to be forgiving too.
In this world today, we seem to be seeing an increase in violence, and much of this violent attitude is caused by people trying to stimulate themselves artificially instead of having a solid belief in the God of the Bible, and the salvation offered through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If everyone believed that there is salvation available through grace we would have a much happier world. Paul wrote about this to some extent in the book of Romans. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18). The writer of Psalm 133 talks about how brothers should live in unity. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1). This was written before Jesus came into this world, but He was already known to the Jews to be coming.
Paul wrote about how the blessing of God are reserved for those members of mankind who believe that God is real, and that He will bless the people who chose Him to be their God. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (2Thessalonians 1:8-9). Do you know someone who is being shut out from the blessing God wants to bestow on them, because they do not believe that God/Jesus really do exist? If you do pray for them first, then try again to tell them about Jesus, and His love for them.
There is existence, then there is life. Over seven billion members of mankind exist on this earth today, but most of them do not believe that Jesus Christ is there only available means of having a happy afterlife. Many of them do not believe there is an afterlife. Such people exist, but they are not truly alive that is for them there is a hereafter, but their immortal soul will experience a very troubled continuation of life, not something to look forward to. John wrote about this sad situation. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1John 5:12)
Pray for those members of mankind that exist, but do not possess the key to a happy afterlife!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When you became a Christian, did you know that you would immediately die? That is, you are supposed to die to the attraction of things found on this earth. When you accepted the grace granted by God through Jesus Christ then, “you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Paul then wrote, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Here ask yourself a tough question, “do these professions really match my daily character?” Remember too that earthly possessions are not the ultimate problem for believers, the problem comes in when your desire for earthly possessions causes you to cling to things, instead of believing all things are a gift from God, not granted to you because you earned them!
When Jesus walked this earth as the God/man, He said many things about himself and how salvation is only possible through Him. Such knowledge causes some people to deny that the Bible is truly God breathed, as it states only followers of Jesus Christ will be saved and thus end up in heaven. Some people find fault with a God who established only one way to end up in heaven when you die to this life! In the Gospel of John, we find some statements Jesus made confirming this truth. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6). Jesus emphasized even more this truth when He stated. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18). One God, one Son, there is no other options, as this is the salvation plan God allows!
In this statement Jesus tries to make it clear that He is talking about living in the hereafter not in the present world. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36). God’s wrath was caused by the Fall of Man, and thus, the resulting curse brought on this earth. Then Jesus makes it clearer that He is the only answer for salvation there is. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. (John 8:24). To gain salvation you MUST believe that “Jesus is the answer!” Oh, the question is, “What must I do to be saved?”
The writer of acts echoes this same requirement for gaining salvation. Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). After Peter had convinced some Jews that Jesus was truly their long-awaited messiah, they then asked what they must due to be saved. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38). Notice here that Peter did not say this is one option for salvation, it is the only one. Have you received “the gift of the Holy Spirit?” Having the Holy Spirit in your life will cause you to have a better attitude about other members of mankind! God can forgive us our sins, and thus the indwelling of this Holy Spirit will allow you to be forgiving too.
In this world today, we seem to be seeing an increase in violence, and much of this violent attitude is caused by people trying to stimulate themselves artificially instead of having a solid belief in the God of the Bible, and the salvation offered through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If everyone believed that there is salvation available through grace we would have a much happier world. Paul wrote about this to some extent in the book of Romans. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18). The writer of Psalm 133 talks about how brothers should live in unity. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1). This was written before Jesus came into this world, but He was already known to the Jews to be coming.
Paul wrote about how the blessing of God are reserved for those members of mankind who believe that God is real, and that He will bless the people who chose Him to be their God. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (2Thessalonians 1:8-9). Do you know someone who is being shut out from the blessing God wants to bestow on them, because they do not believe that God/Jesus really do exist? If you do pray for them first, then try again to tell them about Jesus, and His love for them.
There is existence, then there is life. Over seven billion members of mankind exist on this earth today, but most of them do not believe that Jesus Christ is there only available means of having a happy afterlife. Many of them do not believe there is an afterlife. Such people exist, but they are not truly alive that is for them there is a hereafter, but their immortal soul will experience a very troubled continuation of life, not something to look forward to. John wrote about this sad situation. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1John 5:12)
Pray for those members of mankind that exist, but do not possess the key to a happy afterlife!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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