Jesus

Is Your Faith Legitimate?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Have you ever wondered if your faith in Jesus is legitimate? Oh sure, if you attempt to raise your child in a God-fearing home, you probably exhibit a healthy fear of God that your children pick up on.

It is one thing to show your children a God-honoring approach to the Almighty, but it is something else entirely to live this belief out in your private life when no one is around to judge you.

In these cases, it is often all too easy to let our faith slide and commit sin through unbelief and trying to handle our situations using our own efforts.

But God never wanted to handle all our problems on our own. He is our loving, caring Father, and wants to help us through the difficult situations of life. 

In fact, I would even go so far as to see He feels honored when we reach out for help, as this shows a level of trust and reliance that He deeply desires from His children.

However, we can just as easily stray from God when we try to figure out and handle all our problems on our own. We may think we have all the answers, especially if our current situation is similar to one we’ve encountered before.

In these situations, it’s easy for us to rely on our past experiences and successes to handle this problem by ourselves. 

After all, we may think we don’t need God, while waiting around for Him to come through when we can easily take care of our situation ourselves. 

The first way we can tell we’re not living by faith is making the mistake of trying to figure out and solve our problems by leaving God out of them. 

If we truly love Jesus and all that He’s done for us, it should be easy to turn immediately to Him when problems arise and place their outcome in His hands. 

Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for our good to those whose love God and are called according to His purpose. 

If we’ve accepted Christ into our lives, we can rest assured that His leading and guiding are directing our lives into a favorable direction. Somehow, someway, everything will work out to our advantage.

The second action that should signal to us that our faith is legitimate is when we remember to continually love Jesus when things don’t happen the way we want them to. 

That may sound simple, especially when things are going well, but it becomes much more difficult when we’re facing the trials and tribulations of life. 

If you got recently passed over for that big promotion you’ve been looking forward to, it may be hard to maintain a happy attitude toward your boss and especially the individual who was promoted in your place. 

In fact, it may be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done to put on a happy face and offer them congratulations. 

God calls us to celebrate the good fortune of those around us, so we should try our best to feel happy for them and smile at their positive situation. 

Doing so shows that you’re displaying the love of Jesus. It means you’re a bigger man (or woman) and can celebrate their achievements no matter what they are. 

After all, you’re not in competition with anyone except yourself. If you can improve yourself by a mere 1% every day, pretty soon you’ll begin to notice some significant improvements in your life.

The third sign that we know our faith is legitimate ties in closely with the second sign and involves loving God’s people just as He loves us.

For certain, we commit many sins every day, yet our Heavenly Father is just to forgive us of all them. 

In the same way, we are commanded to love others and forgive them just as they sin against us. 

In fact Jesus tells us to forgive our neighbor a whopping 490 times, in essence saying there should be no limit on our forgiveness.

That can be a monumental task that the Lord is asking of us, especially when the trespasser shows no remorse for his actions.

However, if we’re to live in the peace, love, and forgiveness that Jesus did while on earth, we must take his teachings to heart.

Love for others also means going out of our way to serve others and anticipate their needs. Others may never ask us to do something for them out of embarrassment. 

It is up to us to see their needs and lend a helping hand when it is in our power to do so. We should always love, help, and serve people just as God does the same for us.

These three areas are but a few of the ways that we can demonstrate our love and care for God and His creation.

Since we are part of His creation, we should always be on the lookout for how we can better someone’s else’s life.

I’ll be the first to admit that I often fall short in doing this. Too often, I’m in a rush trying to get things done that I overlook the needs of those around me.

It could be something as small as letting someone cut in line at the grocery stop, or helping someone who is obviously stranded on the side of the road.

I try to justify my actions (or lack thereof) by telling myself that I would be late if I stopped to help that person. However, I might be the only person who stops to offer assistance while that persona waits in vain for help.

I need to do a better job of listening to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to me in these situations.

How about you?

A Chance Encounter

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

I was probably about 10 years old, give or take, and was riding my trusty Schwinn bicycle around my small town just as I often did. I came upon several kids, also on their bikes, who were more or less just congregating in the middle of the road.

I immediately recognized some of the kids as “those kids” that attended the one and only Christian school in our small county. It was located just down the road from the public schools, but it may as well have been miles away. 

I barely knew of these kids, as they rarely interacted with the rest of us who went to the county school system. To me, they all dressed funny and seemed a bit strange.

Nevertheless, I stopped to see what was going on, as there were a couple of kids I was familiar with in the group.

I don’t remember much about the conversation that took place—except that the Christian school kids were talking about Jesus and Hell. These weren’t my favorite topics, but I was curious to hear what they were saying, so I tuned in.

These kids, who appeared younger than I was, were saying that it was necessary to accept Jesus so that you could be “saved” and to go to Heaven and avoid going to Hell. I believe they even quoted a few scriptures to back up what they were saying.

I’ll admit that I didn’t like the tone of the conversation at all. It was disturbing. My mom regularly took me to one of the local churches in town, but at that time I don’t believe I had ever heard this particular teaching about Jesus.

As I recall, at our church there was some talk about Jesus being the son of God, but there was little if any mention about accepting him as your Savior as the only means to get to Heaven.

To be honest, hearing what they had to say about the gospel scared me. I had always assumed I’d go to Heaven just based on the fact that I was a “good person” who went to church and recognized that there was a God. 

It completely turned my idea of life after death upside down. Was what they were saying true? Did I really need Jesus in my life?

After a few minutes, I left the small group and continued on my bike ride, trying to put the conversation out of my mind. 

However, I never forgot what those young kids had to say about Jesus and salvation. Their words stayed with me over the years, and as I got older, I became more and more convicted of my need for Jesus as my Savior and that just a belief that there is a God in Heaven wasn’t enough for me to get to Heaven.

Things culminated in later years. My mom and I had switched churches by this time, to one where faith in Jesus was regularly preached as a prerequisite for eternal life in Heaven. 

Finally, at the age of 15, I gave my life to Jesus. It took many years, but I finally came to a saving realization in the Lordship of Jesus and the necessity of repentance and giving my life to Him. 

However, it all started back on that street with that group of kids several years earlier. That meeting left an impression on me that I’ve never forgotten.

I’m grateful to God for planting that seed in my heart even at that young age. It took some time, but the seed kept growing and came to fruition years later.

Who knows where I would be without that chance encounter on the street that day?

Knowing About Jesus Versus Knowing Jesus

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Do you know Jesus? That may seem like a pretty simple question, but how you answer it is quite important.

Many people have heard of Jesus, that He was a man who lived a long time ago and who some say had some good moral teachings. 

Beyond that, there are many people who know of Jesus. They’ve heard a little more about Him than the first group and may even believe that He was a great prophet who had some radical ideas.

With all due respect, those who simply know some things about Jesus, don’t truly know Him, and they definitely don’t know Him as their Savior.

I may know of the President of the United States, but I certainly don’t know him on a personal level.

To know Jesus Christ as your Savior and have a daily, ongoing relationship with Him is the only true gateway to an intimate relationship with God the Father. 

As Jesus Himself said,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Jesus also said,

I and the Father are one.

John 10:30

Simply put, there is but one true pathway to God, and that is through His Son, Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus, then you don’t know the Father.

Our sin is what separates us from God, creating a chasm between Him and us that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

That is the point at which sin entered the perfect world God had created.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Rom. 3:23

Hundreds of years later, God made a covenant with the Israelites, giving them the Law, which they were supposed to adhere to.

However, the Law was simply the precursor to the work that Jesus did on the cross. The Law helped humankind to recognize their sin and the futile attempts at keeping all aspects of the law.

Being the just God that He is, and since man failed at keeping the Law, God the Father sent His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins once and for all.

He allowed Jesus to be flogged and cruelly murdered by crucifixion, one of the most excruciating forms of torture and death ever devised.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom. 5:8

But that’s not all. After His death, Jesus lay in the tomb for three days. Then the Father resurrected Him, putting on a grand display of Christ’s power over death. 

With Jesus’s death and resurrection, we have the same hope of eternal life if we simply repent of our sins and let Jesus into our lives as our Savior. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom. 6:23

There is no other pathway to an eternity spent living in Heaven with God.

When you die, if you haven’t let Jesus into your life as your Savior, you’ll spend all of eternity separated from God in a horrendous lake of fire.

You may say, “Well, that just doesn’t make any sense. I’m a good person. God wouldn’t send me to some place like that.”

It’s not that God is sending you there; it’s that you’re making the choice to live in eternal separation from God.

Or you may simply not believe the Bible and all the truth contained in it.

For all the Christians who take the Bible literally, the worst thing that could happen is that they’re wrong, and we simply cease to exist after we die.

However, if the Bible is right and you’re wrong, you’re putting your entire eternity at stake. You risk ending up in a place that you will definitely wish you weren’t in.

However, it’s easy to change all that. If you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior, there’s no better time to do it than right now.

Take a moment and pray to God. Tell Him you’re sorry for the sins you’ve committed and that you want to live a better life from this point forward. 

Thank Him for sending Jesus to die for your sins, washing you clean of them, and making you righteous in His eyes. 

Then ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior. Acknowledge that Jesus is God in human form and that he is the true pathway to salvation.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Rom. 10:9-10

The next thing you need to do is find a Bible-believing church to begin attending.

Find the pastor and tell him you’ve recently accepted Christ into your life, and that you’d like to be baptized as an outward sign of your acceptance of Jesus as Lord of your life.

The steps to accepting Jesus and becoming a Christian are simple. But if you’ve been living in sin for a long time, they may seem like a huge commitment. 

Furthermore, it doesn’t mean that everything will be completely rosy after you accept Christ.

You’ll still have problems, but you’ll now have God in your corner helping you, as well as Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceding on your behalf with the Father (Rom. 8:26, 34).

Don’t put off making the biggest and best decision of your life. One day it will be too late.

4 Principles That Are Necessary for Effective Prayer

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

If you’re like me, you may have wondered from time to time if God really hears your prayers. After all, you may go days, weeks, or months without getting any kind of definite answer from God. 

At times it feels like it’s not even worth bothering to pray because your prayers are only bouncing off the ceiling. It is at those times it’s toughest to pray, but it is also at those times when we probably need to pray the hardest and with all the faith we can muster.

We can rest assured that God does indeed hear our prayers. There are multiple places in the Scriptures where we’re told that God hears our prayers. In just one of these examples, we read in Psalms 6:9:

The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.

And in Psalms 66:19, King David says:

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Matthew 21:22 tells us:

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

The list could go on and on of verses that promise us that God hears our prayers.

However, there are some caveats we must adhere to in order to get our prayers answered. We can’t just live our lives the way we want, without any concern for God’s principles, and expect Him to answer our prayers. It simply doesn’t work that way.

Pray Within God’s Will

One of the first things we must do to have our prayers answered in the affirmative is to make sure that our prayers are made within God’s will.

We’re told in 1 John 5:14:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Well, your first question might be, How am I supposed to know God’s specific will for my life? Sure, I know I’m supposed to read the Bible, pray, and give to my church, but what about the specific things in my life? How do I know what those are?

The best advice I can give you for finding God’s specific will for your life is simply to ask Him. Lord, do you want me to take this specific job? Yes, it seems like a great opportunity, but is it your desire for me? 

You may have to spend some time on your knees before the Lord, even fasting, before you get a clear answer from Him. And don’t forget to ask your family and friends to join in prayer with you. If it’s a private matter, you don’t necessarily have to tell them what it’s about. God knows about it after all.

You Must Be a Righteous Person

James 5:16b tells us:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Although our righteousness is found in Christ, for our prayers to take root, we must be a person who strives to do God’s will every day. The context of this verse is one in which we’re encouraged to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other that we may be healed. Then we’re told that a righteous person’s prayer has great power. 

So, does that mean we need to confess our sins in order to expect our prayers to be heard and answered. It would seem so. As much as I don’t like the idea of telling my sins to a friend or accountability partner, I don’t really see any way around it, according to this scripture.

So, when we confess our sins and pray for one another, we can rest assured that our prayers are being heard and effecting change. I like how the New King James Version renders the last part of that same verse:

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

Treat Your Wife as Christ Treats the Church

I am far from a perfect husband, as my wife would surely tell you. However, the proper marital relationship is modeled in scripture.

1 Peter 3:7 commands us husbands: 

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Furthermore, in Ephesians 5:26-28, we are told:

That he [the husband] might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

However, wives, you’re not off the hook on this one. We’re told the following in Ephesians 5:22-24:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

When husbands and wives are in a mutually beneficial marital bond, not only are they happier, but they’re helping ensure that their prayers are heard and answered by our Heavenly Father.

Pray the Word, Just as Jesus Did

In the gospels, we’re often told that Jesus would head out early in the morning to be by himself and pray. I’ve always wondered what he could devote so much time to in prayer. 

While I still don’t know, I believe that a large portion of his time spent in prayer must have been devoted to praying the Father’s words back to Him.

That’s actually one of the most productive forms of prayer because we’re taking God’s promises and reminding Him of what He told us in His word He would do.

One of the most famous examples of Jesus doing this is found in Luke 22:42 when He is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples:

Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.

If you’re looking for other promises of God that you can pray back to Him, the book of Psalms is a good place to start. Psalm 91 is a wonderful account of all that God does for his believers. 

For the 91st Psalm, you can pray something like this:

Dear Father, in the 91st Psalm, you promise to deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. You promise me that I will not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day. A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. I’m trusting You to come through on your promises because I know You are a God of Your word. I thank You that I can trust you.

Then, of course, the famous 23rd Psalm has been used for thousands of years to bring comfort to weary souls.

For this psalm, you could pray:

Lord, thank You for leading me beside still waters and restoring my soul, just as You promise in Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because You are with me.

It’s quite an uplifting experience to comb through God’s words, finding His promises and reminding Him of them in your time of need. Doing so strengthens your faith, bonds you closer with God, and shows Him that you have hidden His word away in your heart.

These four principles are a good start toward getting your prayers answered. However, I’m sure there are other principles we must adhere to to ensure our prayer life is fruitful; I encourage you to seek these out on your own and strengthen your prayer life.

God Is Always on Our Side

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

As believers in Christ, we never have to doubt that God is with us and working in our lives.

He is always at our side, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Even when we feel our loneliest, we can rest assured that God is walking beside us.

After all, we’re told in Romans 8:28a: 

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good. 

This verse should be enough to reassure us of His love for us and that He is actively working in our lives.

Of course, there are a myriad of verses that tell us that God is always there for us, always on our side. In Isaiah 41:10 we read:

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.

We need not be afraid of anything in this life, as God is always available to strengthen and help us. All we have to do is trust in Him and place our hand in His.

A few verses later, in verse 13, we read:

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Again, God tells us not to be afraid because He is the one who will help us.

In Joshua 1:9, we’re told:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

There are also abundant references to God’s presence in the New Testament. Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 28:20b:

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Jesus says this immediately after commanding them to make disciples in all the nations and then baptize the converts. He doesn’t give them a huge, important task like this and then leave them to their own devices. He knows they will need His help.

In Acts 2:27-28, Peter quotes King David in Psalms 16:

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.

We can go through the Bible and find many more examples of God telling us He will always be by our side. But the simple truth is that we can’t go anywhere where God isn’t.

Whether we’re high above the earth flying in a jetliner or deep below the ocean depths, He is there, always pulling for us.

He will go to work in your life to help you become the person He has desired for you to be all along.

The redeeming work of Christ on the cross, as He died for your sins then arose from the dead, makes you justified in God’s eyes. 

And for that reason, He will never leave you nor forsake you. That fact should be comforting for us all.

All we have to do to tap into this power is accept His son Jesus as our savior, then latch onto God.

We don’t have to be perfect before we come to Him. Just show up where you are, as you are, and He will do the rest. 

Praying in Jesus’s Name

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Can we really trust God to hear and answer our prayers?

In several places in the Bible we’re told to ask God for what we want (in Jesus’s name) and He will give us our requests. 

But is it really that simple? Can we think of God as some sort of cosmic vending machine just waiting for us to make a selection so He can dispense what we want?

No, of course that’s not accurate. If it were, then that is exactly how we would see God, as a supernatural genie waiting to fulfill our wishes.

Rather, God promises to give us what we long for, so long as He is our main focus:

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

We’re focusing on three chapters of the gospel of John—14, 15, and 16. In these passages we are told several times that God will give us what we ask for in Jesus’s name. 

However, as we’ll see, these promises are not without caveats that we must adhere to. And dare I say that most of us fail to fulfill our end of the bargain. I know that I often do.

Let’s first look at John 14:12-14. Here, Jesus is speaking to His disciples:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

In verse 13, Jesus promises to give us what we ask for in His name. However we have to look at the surrounding text on either side of that promise. Immediately after the promise are the words, “‘…that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’” 

And after this sentence, Jesus reiterates His promise: “‘If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.’”

It is obvious that Jesus wants to get His point across about doing what we ask, but it is also apparent that His promise is conditional in that the reason behind our prayers is to bring glory to the Father.

Verse 12 gives us an even stronger description of the reason behind Jesus’s promise:

The works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do. 

Once again, it is to bring glory to God through our actions. 

I believe that is the whole crux of this passage—to do good works and pray for things that are in line with God’s will so as to bring glory to Him. As long as we are doing that, He will give us the desires of our hearts.

Now let’s look at the next chapter, John 15, specifically the verses before and after verses 7. In this verse we’re told:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

That’s a pretty big promise. But we have to look beyond the promise to the surrounding verses before we can understand the reason behind the promise.

Verses 5 and 6 talk about the importance of abiding in Jesus so that we can produce much fruit, because apart from Him we can do nothing. It is this abiding that is so important to fulfilling the destiny that God has planned for us. 

Verse 8 then tells us:

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Once again, if we read the passage correctly, we understand that Jesus’s promise is not intended to be spent on our own selfish desires, but rather it is intended to produce fruit, bring glory to God, and draw others to Him.

We must keep these ideas in mind when we go to God in prayer, not merely asking for solutions to our problems, but imploring God to show us how we can be used daily to advance His kingdom.

Next, we look at Chapter 16 of John. In verses 23 and 24, Jesus tells His disciples:

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

The “day” that Jesus refers to is His resurrection after spending three days in the grave. His disciples will be excited at His return from the dead. Furthermore, He tells them that they will be able to ask the Father in Jesus’s name and they will receive their petitions. 

Even though not explicitly spelled out in this section, based on similar promises in the preceding two chapters, we must assume that the prayers mentioned are not just any old prayers, but rather petitions of God that will advance the work of His kingdom and bring Him glory. 

Jesus wants us to be fruitful during our time on earth. Hence, the reason He mentions praying in His name on so many occasions.

Plus, He promises to send the Holy Spirit, who will guide His followers into all truth and help them produce fruit for the Kingdom.

These passages in the gospel of John are but a few examples of Jesus telling his followers to pray in His name and expect results.

The important idea we must keep in mind, however, is that our prayers are not meant to be spent on only petitioning for our desires. 

We must align ourselves with God’s will and pray God’s word in accordance with the Scriptures. Then we can expect to see Him working in our lives in a supernatural way for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom.

What If It Were Today?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

What if today were the day that Jesus calls his believers home? How would this change how you lived out this day?

I, for one, know that I would feel “unready” to say the least. There are so many things in life that I had always intended to do for God, that I have never gotten around to doing. 

There are so many people that I’ve never talked about the gospel with—people of other faiths that I care about and would want to be included in the family of believers before it’s too late. 

You might then ask why I don’t simply get it together and talk to these people now, while there’s still time. 

That’s a very good question. Perhaps it’s fear that’s stopping me—the anxiety of possible rejection on their part. 

What about you? What would you do differently today to prepare for Jesus’ return? Whatever it is, make plans to go ahead and do it while you still can.

The truth is, no one knows when Jesus will come back, and we all have a list of things we could work on before that time comes.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 

Matthew 24:36

Not even Jesus knows when He is coming back!

Much of your to-do list probably revolves around relationships—righting neglected relationships or forming new ones in the furthering of the gospel and creating goodwill within our community.

So, maybe we should just act like Jesus is coming back today. We would certainly accomplish more for the gospel than we currently are. 

Living our lives like it could be anytime would revolutionize our faith and turn many people around us onto the gospel.

Today is a great day to start living like that.

What If You Were Heir to a Kingdom?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

We’ve all probably tried to imagine it at one time or another—it’s part of being a child and playing make believe.

The fantasy is…what if you inherited your own kingdom? What would you do?

As a child, it’s fun to imagine such scenarios. And it’s easy to dream of all the things you would do if you did inherit a kingdom.

Perhaps your dream as a child was to sit on a throne and issue decrees to the citizens of your kingdom. Maybe you’d love to have others wait on you all day long, taking care of your every need.

The list could go on and on of the fun things you could do if you had your own kingdom to rule over.

Unfortunately, few of us will ever come into a kingdom—at least here on earth.

The good news is that if we’re believers in Christ, we’re guaranteed a kingdom someday. 

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:32

Think about these words for a minute and let them sink in.

Your heavenly father is actually going to give you a kingdom! It’s like all your childhood dreams have come true.

But what does this mean exactly? Without a doubt, there is controversy over the meaning and timing of the word “kingdom” in this verse in Luke and similar verses.

However, one meaning it could have is Jesus’ millennial kingdom on earth that He establishes after His second coming.

Many believers overlook this 1000-year reign of Christ on earth; however, it is an important part of eschatology (the study of the end times or last things).

Besides our being a part of the eternal kingdom of God in Heaven, I believe that Jesus may be referring to his millennial kingdom.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:2a:

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

Believers in Christ are the saints Paul refers to in this verse.

What world is he talking about? It could very well be the world during Christ’s 1000-year reign. 

If so, then we’ll reign alongside Him:

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Rev. 20:6

Could it be that we’ll sit beside Jesus and co-reign with Him? I believe that’s what the Bible tells us.

We’ll get to have a kingdom, after all!

Ed Hindson’s wonderful book, Future Glory, details the millennial kingdom and all the other wonderful things God has in store for believers. I highly recommend it.

However, to receive this kingdom, you have to accept Jesus as your Savior while you’re still on earth. 

If you haven’t done that yet, it’s the most important decision of your life. It will determine where you spend all of eternity—not just the 1000 years of Christ’s reign on earth.

The choice is yours. However, once you’ve passed on from this life, it’s too late. Make the decision today to begin your new life.

And look forward to reigning with Christ during the millennium.

Where Did God Come From?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

At some point, most people have probably wondered where God came from.

You may not be familiar with the term aseity, particularly when it comes to God. According to gotquestions.org,

The aseity of God is His attribute of independent self-existence.

Basically, it means that God was not created. He is and always has been in existence. There was never a time when He did not exist. 

Aseity is a difficult concept for us human beings to wrap our heads around. We think in terms of beginnings and endings. For us, everything that we see we understand has been created, either by God or by man. 

Whether we’re looking at the sun—which we can attribute to God’s creation—or we gaze at the car sitting in our driveway—which was made in a factory somewhere—these are things that were once not in existence.

For us to think about God and His “independent self-existence” we have to accept what to our minds is an illogical concept. 

However, God is the sovereign Creator of the universe, so it shouldn’t be hard for us to ascribe aseity to Him. 

In Exodus 3:14a, we read,

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”

This means God is and always has been. He is not just the beginning and the end. He is, and He created the beginning and ending of all things, including us. 

He didn’t need anyone or anything to create Him.

Someone may ask, Well, then did God create Himself? To ask that question implies that God had a beginning, a time when He didn’t exist. My opinion is that God did not create Himself. 

As R.C. Sproul writes in Enjoying God,

To create itself, something, even God, would have to be before it is. It would have to exist and not exist at the same time.

That logic makes sense to me. God could not have created Himself because He could not have existed and not existed at the same time.

Furthermore, God’s aseity means that He does not rely on anything else for His existence. He did not depend on anything for His creation, and He does not need any outside help to maintain His existence.

In fact, it is us humans, and every other living thing on the planet, that depends on Him for our existence. Without His willingness to keep us alive, we would not exist. 

We would not and could have ever come into existence without His causing it. He is the Supreme Cause and Creator of everything else in the universe.

God and only God decides the lifespan of everything.

When we’re talking about the aseity of God, it doesn’t include just God the Father. Jesus and the Father are both God, so the same principles hold true for Jesus as well.

Referring to Jesus, John 1:3 says,

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus our Savior has all the same godly characteristics as God the Father.

He existed before anything else and was integral to the creation of our universe. Without Him we can do nothing.

We can’t mention Jesus without talking about His saving grace.

In fact, He is our only path to salvation. In John 14:6, Jesus says,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Furthermore, He says in John 10:30,

“I and the Father are one.”

We have to accept the Lordship and divine attributes of Jesus to obtain our salvation. Believing that He is God and that He created everything else opens the door to eternal life.

It is the only way that we can enter into everlasting fellowship with God.

So, only by accepting the aseity of God, including that of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, can we accept the deity of God.

He is not in the same category of creation as we are. He is the Creator, and we are the created.

God doesn’t have to have a beginning and an end, as He is the Author of everything else. 

Understanding and grasping this truth will help us better revere, worship, and serve God in our everyday lives.

One Day Closer to Jesus

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

If there’s one thing that believers in Jesus should have, it’s hope. Romans 15:13 tells us, 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

If we have Jesus, we also have the Holy Spirit. That means we should have plenty of hope in our lives. 

That doesn’t mean that every day is going to be all roses. After all, Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:33, 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

These words should give every believer hope.

If you’re having a rough day, just remember that nothing is greater than Jesus and the hope we have in Him.

In fact, each day we live, is one day we’re closer to seeing Jesus face-to-face. 

Either through the rapture or by our own passing, if we’ve accepted Christ into our lives, today we’re that much closer to living with Him forever. 

I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a whole lot better about everything that’s going on in my life and in the world right now. It’s a crazy time to be alive.

Just think, there are a finite number of days until we meet Jesus—it could be one day or 10,000 days, but there are only so many of them.

However, after we’re joined with Jesus, we have all eternity to look forward to, fellowshiping and worshipping Him. There will be NO END to those days.

The question is, have you accepted Jesus into your life? If you haven’t, then there’s no better time to do it than now. 

Tomorrow may be too late.