To say we worship and serve an awesome God would be a huge understatement. Our Creator could have been totally different in the way He looks at us and treats us; however, He has shown us what absolute true love really is. To be fair, He does have some stipulations for our eternity with Him, yet none are harsh, burdensome, or unreasonable. (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
First of all, we go to Exodus 20, where the Father gave the Ten Commandments through Moses. In verses 3-6, we read, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourselves a carved image of any likeness, of anything that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me, and keep My commandments.”
One note here: jealousy in humans is typically a negative trait, meaning they have earthly desires for selfish reasons, and God is not on their minds. Our God is possessive of the worship and service that belongs to Him and does not want us worshiping anything other than Him. To bow down to man-made idols or to other humans in worship is an abomination to the Father.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to know for sure that He is with us at all times. Isaiah 41:10 states, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Psalm 32:10-11; “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”
Psalm 73: 24-26; “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory. Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is nothing on Earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Proverbs 3:5-8; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
One more from the Old Testament, even though there are a multitude of others: Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
There are those who would say to have a cross of some sort would be a sin. However, it depends on how the cross is viewed or used. When I see a cross, I do not worship this implement of death, but it reminds me of My Savior to whom I give total worship and praise. He gave His life on a cross to cover the sin debt we all owe but could never pay. That is why Philippians 2:9-11 states, “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
When we bow down, it is to the Savior, not the implement of His death on this earth.
In John 17, we have the true Lord’s prayer when He spoke with the Father prior to His perfect, sinless sacrifice for us. In verses 1-5, we read, “When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted His eyes to Heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. Since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life that they know you, the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.’”
Our Jesus paid the sin debt for all who would receive and accept His pure, perfect, sinless sacrifice. Romans 10:9-13 tells us we must admit we’re sinners, as all people are. This is backed up by Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. We are to believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God who came to Earth as a human. He died as a human on a cruel cross at Calvary and was raised from the dead on the third day to conquer sin and death for us all. Romans 10:13 sums it up with, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through Faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The ultimate praise and glory belong to our Heavenly Father when we consider Romans 8:1-4; “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death, for God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
All who truly call out to our Savior to forgive them and to have an eternal home with Him will be saved. Likewise, all who take their last breath here on Earth without Jesus as their Savior will be cast into the lake of fire to spend eternity in punishment along with Satan and his demons (Revelation 20:11-15). That will be forever without pardon or the chance of forgiveness.
There is no third option or another way to Heaven. It comes down to putting all faith and trust in our Heavenly Father’s word being absolute truth. Please remember Titus 1:2 and several other verses that state, “God never lies.”
There is an event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 which describes all true believers being taken up to meet our Savior in the air to avoid the wrath or tribulation. This is another promise of God that is given in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10. This event will take place in the “twinkling of an eye” according to 1 Corinthians 15:52. That’s faster than anyone could take a breath much less call out to be saved before the Rapture is completed.
Today would be a great time to consider your eternal destination; and if you would like it to be in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints that have gone before us, now would be the time to call out to Him. All who enter the seven-year wrath/tribulation will experience a time that is worse than has ever been on this earth. Waiting another day could put you in the time of the wrath. We don’t know the day or hour that our Savior will take His flock Home.
Our Father gave us freedom of choice and will force no one to call out to be saved. However, all who truly call on His Son for their eternal Salvation will not be turned away. People will still be able to call on Jesus and be saved for eternity, but the cost will most likely be martyrdom. The majority of those who go into the 7-year wrath/tribulation will take the mark of the beast rather than call on Jesus to be saved. They may believe they can still be saved after that, but taking the mark is the second unforgivable sin. The first is to take your last breath here without Jesus as your Shepherd.
For all who would like to guarantee a place in Heaven, Jesus is the only way to have this. John 14:6 states, “And Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” This is the absolute complete message that the 66 books of the Bible are all about. Having Jesus as Savior means having the Father. Not having Jesus as Savior means not having the Father either.
Acts 4:12 completes this message with, “And there is Salvation in no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Please take a moment to seriously consider what eternity you are destined for. Having Jesus as your Savior will automatically put you in with His flock that will be Raptured from this earth at just any time now and keep you from the wrath that will follow. That’s a covenant God has made with all who accept His Son. My wife and I pray daily for all our loved ones who have not received Jesus as their Savior, along with all acquaintances and even frenemies, which is all who don’t particularly like us. We don’t want to see anyone end up in the lake of fire.
We hope to see you there too! No matter where you are from or what your background is, we would love to have you with us through eternity. Call out to the Savior to become a part of His precious flock, and we will see you at the Rapture!
Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus! Shalom! (peace be with you)
(Also, see raptureforums.com Home/Featured Articles)
The post All Accolades To Our Triune God :: By Dennis Huebshman appeared first on Rapture Ready.
Leave a Reply