Salvation is Free But Owning it Costs Everything

Luke 13.24 commands, exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Consider God’s words about the cost of belonging to Him:

Matthew 6.15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.

Luke 9.24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Luke 14.26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 17.33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

John 6.53 I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. (more…)

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What Are You Concerned About?

1 Peter 4.2 observes, he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.

The focus of the Christian is to be the same focus as Jesus Christ the Lord. That focus is upon doing the will of God regardless of result or cost.

As humans we begin our lives self-focused. Everything is about us from infancy. The child portrays this truth early and often. We never evolve from this focus if we do not lose our lives by giving them over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is why He observes that, unless we lose our lives for Him and His mission, we cannot keep them for eternal life. (more…)

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Access to God is Easy But Limited

Jonah 2.8 observes, those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.

It appears offensive to some for others to claim that there is only one God in the universe. It makes sense that only one God exists. If there were two gods wouldn’t they battle it out to see who really was GOD? The definition of the word assumes supremacy over all.

Religion is the access point to God. False religions lead to false gods. Offense occurs when a person’s religion is deemed false. (more…)

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Endurance is a Requirement for Christians

Hebrews 10.36 reminds, you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.

Why do we need endurance to do God’s will? Does anyone feel the need for endurance? Most people trying to do God’s will want more resources; money, people, time, strength but rarely endurance.

Endurance has the idea of persevering through difficulty. In a world of, with God all things are possible, what do we need endurance for anyway? (more…)

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The Only Real Solution to Solving The World’s Problems

Hosea 12.6 commands, you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice, and by waiting for your God to return to you.

Almost daily we are bombarded with tragic news. Senseless killings. Natural disasters. Awful accidents. The world is broken. The obviousness that something is terribly wrong is overwhelming. We want solutions but are we looking in the right place for the answers? (more…)

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What Does Godliness Look Like?

Titus 1.1 records, Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness.

In this opening sentence in Paul’s letter to his friend Titus, he gives an insight into the true meaning of godliness. When most people think of godliness they think of people like Mother Theresa or Billy Graham. They also think of character associated with godliness like goodness, honesty, kindness, love, generosity.

I suppose everyone has their own list. No doubt most of us would consider ourselves somewhat godly. (more…)

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