GOD BLESSES OTHERS BECAUSE OF US--HIS CHILDREN

Our God is good and gracious. He allows it to rain on both the just and the unjust. In His goodness there is also room for justice, which means sometimes He punishes.

On some occasions, in the midst of blessing His children, the wicked are spared. For example, Abraham once had a dialog with God about his nephew Lot. Lot lived among wicked people, and God shared with Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom, where Lot lived. By the end of that dialog, God had agreed to not destroy the place if He found ten people who were not wicked (see Genesis 18:16-33).

Also, in the days of Noah, God decided to wipe people off the face of the earth, because “The Lord observed the extent of Human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil” (Genesis 6:5). So He said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth” (Gen 6:7). Verse 8 says, “But Noah found favor with the Lord.” Apparently, he was the only righteous, blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God (see Genesis 6:9).  

I wonder, what the world’s population was like, if Noah was the only righteous person in the world? This leads me to conclude his own family cared nothing about God. This is sad and beyond understanding. Like the Scriptures say, God does not do anything without revealing it to His prophets (see Amos 3:7). So He confided in Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!” (Gen 6:13). God followed that revelation with instructions for Noah to build a large boat to house him, his family, and the animals for safety.

Furthermore, God said to Noah, “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you” (6:17-17).

It struck me that although Noah was the only righteous person, his family was saved, including his daughters-in-law. God is indeed merciful; for our sake, He can choose to bless our loved ones! One righteous person is better than no righteous people. Let’s be faithful in our walk with God!

Nevertheless, when it comes to salvation, it is an individual issue. God does not call us by groups, family, or church. Salvation through Christ is on an individual basis. When the jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16: 30-31). We cannot be saved on behalf of others, no matter how much we love or care about them. Each person has to want to, and should ask to be saved, so let’s share the gospel with our loved ones and those with whom we come in contact!  

ENDORSE IDEAS PRAYERFULLY and with CAUTION!!

Christian, from whom should you seek counsel? “From God, of course,” you might say, and that is true. But we can seek and accept counsel from mature Christians, and the Bible teaches that as well. For instance, young Timothy learned a lot from Paul the apostle, the younger Christian from the seasoned one. And Psalm 1 tells us, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked” (Vs 1). In other words, it’s okay to seek advice, but not from unbelievers, because, “The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path” (Psalm 37:30-31 NLT). Yet, we’ll soon discover that even counsel from a believer could be misleading.

Sometime after King David was anointed king over Israel, Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers, contractors, and building materials to David, and they built him a magnificent palace (see 2 Samuel 5:11). As time went by, David talked with the prophet Nathan, expressing his desire to build God a house, considering that he David was living in a magnificent palace while the Ark of God was in a tent (see 2 Samuel 7:1-2). Nathan, probably without blinking, responded, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you” (Vs 3 NLT). 

I’m sure King David was encouraged by that response, and had probably started planning what this temple might look like. I don’t think it occurred to him for a second that the endorsement from Nathan was not of God. After all, it had come from God’s own prophet. That very night however, God, in a vision, asked Nathan to stop David from the idea of building (see 5-17).

David of course abandoned the idea of building the temple. God had said one of his sons would be the one to build the temple, and it turned out to be Solomon, his son with Bathsheba. Solomon built the very first temple in Jerusalem, using the materials and supplies his father David had provided.

The prophet was impressed with David’s idea, and so did not give much thought as to whether that was or wasn’t God’s will. King David assumed Nathan knew what he was talking about, and so was ready to get started on the project. I’m sure this situation is common among Christians today, where we give or accept counsel without first seeking God’s will in the matter.

This is a good lesson for all of us. We need to give and accept counsel, but prayerfully. Good ideas don’t always mean God’s “yes!”   

THE THREE STAGES OF THE GOD-MAN RELATIONSHIP

STAGE ONE

God created humans in His own image, for a purpose—to reign over His creation: the fish, the birds, the livestock, and all the animals, and to multiply (see Genesis 1:26-27). He planted a garden, the Garden of Eden, and placed the couple there to take care of it, and to eat the fruit from the trees (with two exceptions) for food. God visited the couple in the garden in the evenings, and life was just swell.

One day, the serpent deceived Eve, convincing her to eat fruit from one of the forbidden trees. She convinced her husband, Adam, to eat of it as well. The next time God dropped by the garden to visit, the couple was nowhere to be found, because they were in hiding. Why? Because their disobedience led to a discovery—they were naked! Sin tarnished their relationship with God; in response, God drove them out of the garden.

STAGE TWO

Now being out of the garden, they had to fend for themselves: sin had come to stay! Sin passed on to their descendants: Cain killed Abel, his younger brother, out of jealousy. Now sin is everywhere. We sin without blinking; even little children do wrong and blame it on someone else. Sin is not a learned behavior; we’re born with it. We sin because we are sinners by nature. Such a tragedy! This stage is ongoing, and if we die without paying for our sin, our separation from God will become permanent: we will go to hell.

Thankfully, God did not give up on us. He became a man in the person of His Son Jesus, lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, and then died in our place. Henceforth, if we repent and place our faith in Him, our relationship with God is restored. Hallelujah! “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), except the name: JESUS! And here’s the assurance, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Also, “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Have you put your faith in Jesus, and if not, why not? What are you waiting for?

Say ‘yes’ to Jesus today, and start your new life in Christ Jesus. You’ll be amazed at the transformation you experience: “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthian 5:17). The Holy Spirit will help you understand the Word of God, and apply it to your life; you will love what God loves, and hate what He hates. You’ve been called to a totally new way of thinking and living. It’s awesome; you’ll see!

As a Christian, you get to fellowship with other believers, encouraging them and being encouraged. As you experience God’s love, peace, and joy, you’d want to share your experience with all who will listen. You’ll be like one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. In fact, doing so is a command (see Matthew 28:18-20). You can now claim Jesus’ promise: “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3).  

STAGE THREE

Now we are at stage three, the final stage of the God-man relationship. As the promise of John 14 says, Jesus will come back and escort us home to be with Him forever. We will never be separated again, just as we are told in the Scriptures: “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with him forever” (2 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Amazing. What a grand entry!

Are you ready? Don’t wait much longer; tomorrow might be too late. You should not miss this opportunity to get into an ongoing relationship with God, starting now, and going into eternity. Amen!

The quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT).
Please share. Thank you!

GET RIGHT AND WALK RIGHT, OR GET LEFT

Many people have fears and concerns that do or don’t materialize. I am one of those people, and one of my concerns is that someday, some of the people who claim to be Christians will have this conversation with God:

‘Lord, Lord! Open the door for us!’ But he called back,

‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’” (Matthew 25:11-12). Or this one:

“Away with you, you cursed ones, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  … Then they will reply,

‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty … and not help you?’ …

God: ‘When you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me’” (Matthew 25:41-45).

What a surprise and a shock! By the time this conversation takes place, it will be too late to make amends.

I don’t know about you, but this conversation frightens me, and makes my stomach hurt, on behalf of those who might experience it! Fortunately, this type of conversation doesn’t have to take place; thank God that for now, there is still hope! This conversation doesn’t have to happen.

 What can make such a scenario possible? This kind of conversation can only be had when people who aren’t Christians, but for whatever reason, assume they are. Anybody who claims to be a Christian based on something other than God’s terms will face this shock and disappointment.

Some people have come up with their own criteria, and have convinced themselves that based on those criteria, they are good enough to go to heaven. What are some of the criteria or the reasons they give?

●      Some people were raised in the Church, sang in the choir, and still attend church.

●      Others claim they are good people, and therefore are Christians.

●      There’s another group that thinks their good deeds outweigh their bad.

●      Some play the comparison game: “I’m not as bad as …”

Now let’s look at the one and only criteria that makes a person a Christian. Here is Jesus’ definition of eternal life; in His prayer for His followers, He prayed: “This is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” (John 17:3). God sent Jesus to earth for a reason—to give eternal life to all who will believe in Him (Jesus): “To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

If one doesn’t become a child of God, one will not go to heaven. The emphasis is on believing on Jesus and accepting Him; it doesn’t say anything about good deeds or going to church. Why accept Jesus? We need to accept Him because we have all sinned against God, and deserve His judgment (see Romans 3:23). The only way to escape God’s judgment is to have someone (a Savior) to take on the punishment we deserve. Jesus is the Savior God sent. Accepting Him means you accept His death as your own. That is eternal life as He prayed.

Those who don’t come to God through Jesus will be left out of heaven, and the only other available option is the destination God pronounced in Matthew 25:41:.: “Away with you, you cursed ones, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.” 

You wouldn’t want to go there, would you? I didn’t think so! Then stop putting emphasis on your good deeds, which will never be good enough. In fact God says our good deeds are like filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6). Instead, repent and put your trust in Jesus and you will be saved (see Acts 16:31). 

When you make this decision, the Holy Spirit will come and live in your heart and teach you, through the Bible, how to live for God. As you study and meditate on the Word, your mind will be renewed in a way that draws you into a closer and closer relationship with God. Do this now, so you don’t ever have to have that disappointing conversation with God. Instead, you will hear Him say: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Amen!

All quotes are from the New Living Translation (NLT).

Copy Pearl Nsiah-Kumi, 4-21-2020

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