BRETHREN, WE HAVE ALL WE NEED TO LIVE GODLY LIVES

Do we really need to live godly lives, and if so, why? Yes we do, because our Father has thus instructed us: “You must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living [before conversion] to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16 NLT, emphasis added).  

Is God holy? Yes, God is holy! He demonstrates that by His disdain for sin! Isaiah prophesied, “The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore” (Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT). John’s experience recorded in Revelation tells us the words of the song of Moses and the Lamb as sung in heaven, “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed” (Revelation 15:3-4 NLT, emphasis added). Yes, righteousness (holiness) has been ascribed to Him alone; God is indeed holy!

God wants us to be holy, and the Scriptures remind us constantly about our charge to be holy, and we ought to take it seriously. Holiness was His plan for us before the beginning of time; amazing! No wonder He tells us His plans for us are for our welfare (see Jeremiah 29:11). Paul puts it this way: “God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT). “We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God … God’s will is for you to be holy … God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives” (1Thessalonians 4:1, 3, 7 NLT).

God has not left us to guess what our charge is, nor to figure out the details on our own. Instead, He has shown us how! As God planned our holiness, He sent Jesus to bring about our salvation and keep us on the path of holiness: 1) “Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood” (Hebrews 13:12 NLT). 2) “For by that one offering, he forever made perfect those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14 NLT).  

Since we’ve established that our Father wants us to be holy, let’s move on to the strategy—how to be holy. The Scripture tells us, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT, emphasis added). He has given us His Word to instruct, correct, guide, encourage us (see 2 Timothy 3:16). This calls for diligence in reading, studying, and applying the Word to our lives. Knowing the Word and obeying it are key to maturity. Our minds are renewed as we do what the Word says. The Holy Spirit, who is our Teacher and Advocate according to the scripture, will teach us everything we need to know (see John 14:26), but of course we need to be willing to be taught. So yes, providing the Word and the Spirit is proof that God has provided all we need to live a life that pleases Him.

In addition to the Spirit teaching us, we are also charged with teaching and encouraging one another. Included in the Great Commission is the charge to teach new converts the Word of God (see Matthew 28:20).

The Psalmist has discovered this truth about God. Meditate on it; you’ll gain a new respect for the Word of God: “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair … They are a warning to your servant, a great reward to those who obey them” (Psalm 19:7-9, 11 NLT). Are we obeying them?

Ask yourself, and answer honestly: are you being obedient to the Word? Obeying the Word is the only way we carry out our charge of, “Be holy because I am holy.”   

EVERY SOUL MATTERS TO GOD

God sent Jonah to Nineveh, a Gentile .city, to warn them of impending judgment if they did not repent. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a pagan city, which had a reputation for brutality and torture and was nicknamed “the city of blood” (Nahum 3:1 NIV). For that reason, Assyria was a dreaded enemy, not only to Israel, but also to the surrounding nations. Nineveh apparently was as great in wickedness as it was in wealth and power. Jonah wanted no part of God’s deal with them. He headed in the opposite direction, far away from Nineveh. He got onto a ship that was bound for Tarshish, not for Nineveh. He went below deck, lay down, and then fell into a deep sleep.

When God caught up with him, he gave an honest but sad excuse for his behavior. He said to God, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2 NIV).

Regarding salvation, the Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? . . .  Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:13-14, 17 NIV). Jonah must have thought if he didn’t declare God’s word, Nineveh wouldn’t know the truth that would lead the people to repentance and subsequently to forgiveness. After all, he did not believe they ought to be pardoned. He wanted them to face the impending doom, and that would have been a blessing in disguise for Israel—obliteration of their enemies forever.

Scripture, however, teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. (See Matthew 5:44 NIV). Jonah could not forgive the enemies of Israel, but God could! The souls of our enemies are just as important to God as the souls of our loved ones, and that is why He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. (See 1 Timothy 2:4 NIV).

You need to answer two important questions.

One: are you neglecting to share the word of God with any particular group of people because you don’t care for them, or because, in your assessment, they are anti-God, terrorists, and etcetera? It is not for us to decide who should or shouldn’t be pardoned. We need to work with God’s agenda, not our own. He came to save all, He died to save all, and He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! Every soul matters to God!

Two: are you running away from God because you disagree with His ideas or plans? You will not get very far. God knows where you are every second, and he can find you without looking. Learn from Jonah’s mistake, make a U-turn, and go in the direction God is leading you.

God gives second chances. He gave Jonah a second chance, and said to him a second time, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give to you” (Jonah 3:2 NIV84). If you’ve been running away from your assignment, stop; God will give you another chance. Running away is just a waste of time, because God’s plans will always prevail!

TRUSTING YOUR GUIDE

Have you ever had to depend on a Global Positioning System (GPS) to get you to a place you were unfamiliar with? I have, a few times, but today’s experience was a bit different.

Today, I participated in a Walk and Run for Life event: not that I really walked, but that is beside the point. After the event, I needed to make a stop somewhere before going home. I didn’t know how to get there, so I programmed my GPS to aid me. I had to follow the instructions to the letter, since I had never made that trip before. I was directed through areas I never knew existed. It took faith and courage to not do anything different, with the hope that I’d get to my destination. And wouldn’t you know it, just by following the instructions to the letter, I arrived at my intended destination without any problem! Woot, woot! Having said that, I should also mention that I’d gotten lost before following GPS directions. In other words, the GPS is not always 100% dependable!

As I was driving, I thought, “My experience today is very similar to following God through obedience to His Word--the Bible.” See, the Bible is God’s instruction for living a godly life in this life, and arriving in heaven someday! We Christians have heaven in mind as our final destination after travelling through this life, but so do many non-Christians. The non-Christians, however, have not trusted Jesus for salvation; they’re trusting in themselves, their good deeds, or some other religion. It is our responsibility to guide as many of them as we can to put their faith in Jesus, and then join us on this journey that leads us to our final home.

The Bible is the inerrant Word of God; we can never go wrong by obeying it. As I said before, the GPS can occasionally lead one astray, but never the Bible.  

Today, I encourage you to make the Bible the only guide you depend on in this life. It does not change and never needs to be revised or updated. It is complete, and all who have lived by it can testify to its authenticity. The Bible challenges us to put it to the test: “Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own” (John 7:17 NLT). The Bible is the only guide we’ll ever need! It tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT). Read it daily and obey it!  

DON’T MISS THE RAPTURE

What is the rapture and why is it so important? The
rapture is an event that is going to take place in the
very near future when Jesus comes to call Christians,
both living and dead, and takes them to be with Him. He
doesn’t land on earth; He meets them in the air. People
will just disappear. “For the Lord Himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who
are still alive and are left will be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so
we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
The Blue Letter Bible explains caught up as:
• Claim for one’s self eagerly,
• To snatch out or away.

I love the idea of Jesus not sending a messenger, but
coming Himself to claim us eagerly for Himself then
snatch us away. It sounds like He has been waiting for
a long time for this day to eventually come. May we be
just as eager to meet Him as He is to meet us.

Also in first (1) Corinthians 15, Paul tells us, “We will not
all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet
will sound, the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed” (verses 51-52).

There will be only one such event and this is it; don’t
miss it. Although people will be saved during the
tribulation, life then will be more unbearable than it is
right now. Don’t strive to be in batch number two; join
batch number one. We get to see Jesus sooner and defy
gravity as we leave this painful, sorry place behind.

Wouldn’t it be better to be changed, robed with
immortality, and with an imperishable body sooner
than later? What an experience that will be! If you are
going to be a Christian, be one now so that you can
enjoy everything that comes with it. Getting saved in
the tribulation is better than not getting saved at all,
but don’t you want to experience the rapture? I can’t
wait! Would you rather get saved during the tribulation?
You most likely will not, but if you do, we will see you
on our return to earth to reign with Christ. This is your
invitation to believe in Jesus today, and be ready when
He comes to eagerly claim us, His own for Himself.

MAKE A U-TURN

What is a U-turn? If your sense of direction is as poor as
mine, you will be familiar with U-turns. People with poor
sense of direction will do U-turns.

Usually, anybody on the road has a destination in mind.
The direction in which one goes can bring one closer
to or farther away from the intended destination. For
instance, if by mistake, one travels northward instead
of southward, one would have to turn around, and go in
the opposite direction in order to arrive at the intended
destination. That turn would be a U-turn. A U-turn is
only necessary if one is going in the opposite direction
of where one wishes to go.

We have experienced life long enough that we know
it comes to an end sooner or later. But what happens
after this life ends? Some believe nothing happens;
when it is over, it is over. Others rightly believe there
is life after death, but are not sure what to do to have
it. Some in this group think they know what to do to
inherit life after death; they think they need to obey the
Ten Commandments and or do a lot of good deeds. The
Bible teaches differently. It teaches that when this life
ends (spirit separated from the body), we will have the
opportunity to live on. Our existence will be in one of
two places; heaven or hell.

While in this life, each person needs to decide where
they’d want to spend eternity, and then take the
appropriate steps to prepare for the destination of their
choice. Many people seem to want to get to heaven,
but are headed in the wrong direction. Their arguments
include: “God is too kind to send anyone to hell” and “I
am not as bad as . . .” etc.

God’s plan of salvation is: admitting one is a sinner,
and cannot save one’s self, asking God for forgiveness
through the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ, and
placing one’s faith in Jesus. This is the only way to gain
God’s favor and be allowed into heaven; Jesus clearly
says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Are you going in the wrong direction, setting your own
standards, putting God in your own mold, arguing about
what God will or will not do? If you really want to go
to heaven, you need to make a U-turn, and go in the
direction God is pointing you. That is, placing your faith
in Jesus Christ. Don’t waste time; do it now, it is that
important; tomorrow might be too late.