1 Cor. 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
As we live out our lives in these end times, we can see more and more evil in the world. What used to be thought as good is not bad, and vice versa. The world has turned upside down. But how does a person know what is right and what is wrong? God gave us all a conscience and we are born with the innate ability to know the difference. However, as we get older, the god of this world infiltrates that ability just as he did in the Garden of Eden.
“Hath God said,” is probably the devil’s favorite phrase! He causes man to doubt and to change his ways. He numbs the conscience so that there no longer is a conscience! So how does a person know what is right?
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to God’s Word. It’s fitting that Jesus Christ is known as the Word of God. (John 1:1-5) The answer to all of life’s questions actually lie in this verse. Man’s whole life is spent searching for the true meaning of life. Some don’t understand what they are searching for while others take the advice of friends. Mankind is always searching for what will me them happy.
Scripture instructs us on how to be happy. True happiness can only be found when we have Christ as our Saviour. There’s no other that can bring total joy and satisfaction. Christ’s saving blood covers our sin and His word allows us to learn and draw from Him. In these difficult times, draw close to His side through the Bible. Read and absorb and then reach out to others to share the Gospel.
The Psalmist knew hundreds of years ago just how to cleanse his way and that was through the Word of God! He knew that cleansing only came from God.
This cleansing occurs when one is born again! (John 3:3, John 3:7) When one’s spirit is born again, it’s a totally new life! (2 Corinthians 5:17) A thief no longer steals, a liar no longer lies; it is a change of one’s mind and a decision to no longer live in sin but live with Christ as the Captain of your ship. He directs and guides, like a rudder, through His Word.
Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
How these end-time events have grabbed hold of men’s hearts and turned them into evil hearts. The more the Bible has been removed from public places, and personal lives, the less people think about its contents. Its contents used to be considered so sacred that men swore oaths with their hand upon it. Why? Because it used to be considered holy and when an oath was taken with hand on the Bible, it was believed that man’s response to that oath would be truth! It is no longer. In one of our Lord, Jesus Christ’s prayers, He told the Father:
How can one follow a “book” in obedience without it containing truth? Would you base your life on a Star Wars novel? Of course not. Within the pages of the Bible, you have the very words of God. All of the Bible is truth and you can rely that you are not being misguided. In its pages you find direction and answers to every question in life.
Man’s whole life is spent searching for the true meaning of life. Some don’t understand what they are searching for while others take the advice of friends. Mankind is always searching for what will me them happy.
Scripture instructs us on how to be happy. True happiness can only be found when we have Christ as our Saviour. There’s no other that can bring total joy and satisfaction. Christ’s saving blood covers our sin and His word allows us to learn and draw from Him. In these difficult times, draw close to His side through the Bible. Read and absorb and then reach out to others to share the Gospel.
The Psalmist knew hundreds of years before how to cleanse his way and that was through the word of God! He knew that cleansing only came from God.
It is only through salvation can a person find peace in the midst of the tumultuous times to come. If you think things are bad now, wait until after the Rapture of the Church. Don’t be left behind! Settle where you are going to spend eternity right now. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee; E’en though it be a cross That raiseth me, Still all my song shall be Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.
Though, like a wanderer, The sun gone down, Darkness comes over me, My rest a stone; Yet in my dreams I’d be Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.
There let me see the sight, An open heaven; All that Thou sendest me, In mercy given; Angels to beckon me Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.
Then, with my waking thoughts Bright with Thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise, So by my woes to be Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee
Sarah Flower Adams was a British actress who received praise for her performance in an 1837 production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After health problems disrupted her plans to continue with theater, she found comfort in writing poems and hymns.
Her most notable hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” came about in 1841 when Adam’s pastor was looking for a hymn for the following week’s sermon on Genesis 28:11-19, which is referred to by many as “Jacob’s ladder,” or “Jacob’s dream.” Adams offered to write the hymn and completed it within a week to go along with the pastor’s sermon. The hymn was originally set to music written by her sister, Eliza Flower, but another hymn-tune called “BETHANY,” written by Lowell Mason in 1856, has become most widely recognized and is most familiar to listeners today.
How does one draw near to God? How can you have that relationship with the Lord that close and personal? The Bible states that God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners (John 9:31). The Scriptures also state that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, according to John 14:6. Jesus in the One that provides the way for us to have a close relationship, not only to Him but to the Father! He is the only Mediator we need! (1 Timothy 2:5)
At the moment of salvation, we receive the Holy Spirit to help us through our daily lives! We don’t need anyone else to intercede for us to the Father. The Holy Spirit intercedes for the believer so our prayers are in accordance with the will of God. Here’s a good example: You are praying for a new car and are looking at a Cadillac. The Holy Spirit knows that it won’t fit in your budget so He intercedes for you and God puts a cheaper vehicle in your path. I know this is basic but it proves my point.
There let me see the sight, An open heaven; All that Thou sendest me, In mercy given; Angels to beckon me Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.
Message for today
Today’s Gospel message is so diluted. They preach a loving God, which He is, but they don’t preach that He also requires repentance. One can sit in a garage all day but will never be able to claim that he is a car. It’s no different than calling yourself a Christian just because you go to church. There must be a change of heart, mind and direction!
When a person is truly born-again, Jesus becomes the center of his/her focus. Decisions are made with the Lord in mind; life’s trials are viewed through the Word of God. The things that used to appeal to the believer are no longer desired. The heart is convicted when sin is committed. If this has not happened to you, then you must think about it.
One cannot be practicing sin and worshipping God at the same time. This is what James calls double-minded. He also points out that we must cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. Seeking forgiveness for sins is not asking Jesus to die on the cross again so that those sins can be forgiven. They are already forgiven. What is necessary is that you acknowledge that sin, feel remorse for it and turn from it. That is repentance, my friend.
Born-again believers should see sin with different eyes and with a different heart. It should pain us, tear us apart inside, when we sin! As we grow older in the Lord and closer to Him, we will hurt more each time we sin. We see sin with the same eyes as God does. This is drawing nigh to Him. This is the whole point of today’s hymn.
Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!