by David Brenneman
"Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.
There's absolutely nothing any single person or group of people can do to get into Heaven on their own. It's impossible. Regardless of what many human agencies have tried to convince the masses over the centuries Jesus is and always will be the only Way, the Truth and the Life.
How decent you live doesn't matter.
How good you think you have been doesn't matter.
If Christ isn't your personal Lord and Savior...if He isn't the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life...Heaven will not be where you go when you die.
Jesus Christ became sin on our behalf so that we might inherit His righteousness. He sacrificed Himself to be the only acceptable way to Heaven.
In a week or so we celebrate His coming to Earth to do just that.
To celebrate Christmas is to celebrate Christ. To celebrate His coming to seek and save the lost. To fulfill a multitude of prophecies concerning Himself.
He was and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The King of Heaven.
Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl
Just a child
Is this who we've waited for?
'Cause how many kings step down from their thrones
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross He will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?
How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
Oh, all for me, oh
All for me, all for you
All for me, all for you
All for me, all for you
All for me, all for you
How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least?
How many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
All for me, all for you
"How Many Kings" © BMG Rights Management, Capitol CMG Publishing
How grateful would you be to someone who jumped in the path of impending disaster to shove you out of the way? How would you show your gratitude?
That's what Jesus did.
Disaster is declared against all unrighteousness. Against all sin.
We were born with both. Our views on what's right and good don't compare with the perfection of Jesus Christ. It's not even a close race.
Just as it's written in our opening passage...Nothing can inherit the kingdom of God on their own.
If you could hypothetically live a perfect sinless life it wouldn't matter because you're still born in sin. That still keeps everyone disqualified. That stain of sin can only be washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.
The greatest present you could ever receive has nothing to do with boxes, fancy paper or bows.
The greatest thing to ever receive is the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Nothing else is as important.
The greatest gifts you could potentially make or give to anyone pales in comparison.
But...
But the choice is yours to make.
Jesus describes Hell and its eternally painful. By the world's standards of good and evil...there's countless millions of good and evil people in Hell.
People who have been nothing but hospitable and kind, caring and maybe even loving towards others. People of whom had never even hurt a fly. Are in torment in Hell. All because they rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. People whom the world has at times even declared as great models of humanity are in torment in Hell.
Everything is all because of Christ.
Our living, our dying, our every day life has everything to do with Jesus Christ. We either push Him away or receive Him with open arms.
There is no other way to Heaven but through Him.
No one comes to the Father but through Me, He said.
So my Dear Reader...stop and think about that today. Your world can end in a single heartbeat. Read the headlines...it's happening to millions of people per second. Lives irrevocably altered with no way of going back to the life they had.
Your Aunts, your Uncles, Grandparents, Moms and Dads in the blink of an eye either wake up in Heaven or Hell...all decided by whether or not Jesus Christ was the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives.
Jesus is the only reason for the season coming upon us.
He reaches down into the abysmal darkness of our lives to lift us up and out of it to a new life in Christ if we but ask. It's that simple.
"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.
This Christmas be sure you are saved in Christ Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins. Be sure He is your Savior. Then give that gift to someone else. THAT is the gift that keeps on giving.
There's absolutely nothing anyone can do to get into Heaven on their own. Only through salvation in Christ is it possible.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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