Tag Archives: Hebrews

Before your head hits the pillow

Why is it important that God is unchangeable?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Why is it important that God is unchangeable?

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Numbers 23:19 – God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?

James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Yes, our God never changes. This is one of His attributes. He is immutable, that means He never changes. He is not better at one time and worse at another. But for us, as people of God, why should this matter?

The fact that God does not change is central to every other attribute we know of God. God is all knowing. He never knew less than He does today and He never knew more. His knowledge has ALWAYS been the same. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” God didn’t only know Jeremiah before he was in the womb, He knew each of us. God’s knowledge of us and His plan for us has NEVER changed.

God is merciful and just. God’s mercy is the same today as it was thousands of years ago and His judgment is the same. As I read through the books of Chronicles and Kings I became amazed at the Kings who were evil. Each one of them must have seen God’s judgment on previous evil Kings but they still did evil. God’s justice is supreme justice. God will always deal with evil in His perfect unchanging way. Many of the kings of the Old Testament failed to learn about God’s unchanging justice but we have the Bible to read. We see what turmoil can befall us if we choose to turn our backs on a perfectly just God. But we can also see God’s mercy, His perfect and never changing mercy, on those who fall on their face, profess their sins, and work to fulfill God’s plan in our lives.

God is unchangeably holy. Nothing we can do can make him more or less holy. He is unchangeably righteous and unchangeably faithful.

God has promised His blessings and his faithfulness to those who follow Him. That doesn’t mean that our lives will always be easy, but they will always be blessed because that is God’s promise. His vows, promises and commitments will NEVER change.

The fact that God is unchangeable gives us the great assurance of our salvation. God tells us in Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess 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 confess and are saved.”

The fact that God does not change gives us the assurance that once we have truly accepted Jesus as our Savior nothing can undo the grace and mercy that God has given. This promise, this mercy, this grace is unchangeable. God’s commitment to you as one of His children is an eternal commitment. Because God is unchangeable, this CANNOT change!

Things in your life may change. You may go through struggles and trials. You may be tossed about by the waves of this world, but God’s love for you, His promise of your salvation, will NEVER change. That is why is why it is so important that we understand that God cannot change. God is our anchor in the wind tossed seas of our life. He will hold us fast. He will tether Himself to us. He will NEVER leave! Praise God! Praise Him for His unchanging love, His unchanging mercy, and yes, even His unchanging justice!

Before your head hits the pillow

Are You Heaven Bound?

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Early this morning I posted a meme that made comments about what would NOT get you into heaven and what WOULD get you into heaven.  The comments that ensued were interesting.  Very rarely have I posted anything that caused this much conversation.

First let me say that no meme or no single post that I place on this page will contain in it all of Biblical doctrine.  I post memes and writings that I hope will challenge you, encourage you, teach you, bring your joy, or make you think.  This one certainly did many of those things.

But since this little meme caused such a stir, I thought that I should write about this topic tonight.  So here goes.

Good works will NOT get you into heaven.  You can be the best philanthropist who ever lived and it will not help you walk through the gates of heaven.  Only trust in Jesus as your Savior will do that.  But we must know that good works are a requirement in the life of a Christian. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” And James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Faith and trust in Jesus DEMANDS good works, for to this we were created.

Merely being baptized will not get you into heaven.  Many are baptized as children.  Just because your parents baptized you does not mean you gain automatic entrance into heaven.  Others were baptized as adults and I would say it is fair to assume that even some who are baptized as adults do not really know Jesus as their Savior.  So baptism in and of itself will NOT get you into heaven.  But that does not mean that baptism is unimportant. Mark 16:16 says,”Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Baptism or profession of one’s faith is an outward expression of an inward commitment to the Lord.  This passage however, should not be construed to say that if a person is not physically baptized that they cannot be saved.  The second part of Mark 16:16 says that whoever does not BELIEVE will be condemned.  If you are a true believe then you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it is this baptism that is necessary for salvation.  No one can believe without the Holy Spirit working in their lives.

Attending church, mass, or Sunday school will not get us into heaven.  For many people sit in church pews or at mass every week who have not met and believed in their hearts in the risen Savior.  But does that mean that worshiping together is not important?  Quite the contrary.  Hebrew 10:24-25 speaks of this when it tells us this, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  So, although going to church will not save us, we are instructed to assemble together to stimulate one another to love each other and to reach out to those in need.

Giving money and doing charity work will not get us into heaven.  No matter how much you do or how much you give you will never be able to give enough to gain entrance into heaven.   Only trust in Jesus as your Savior will do that.  But does that mean tithing and charity work are unimportant.  No, not at all!  2 Corinthians 9:7 instructs us, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” That is giving of our time, our treasure, and our talents.

Will taking communion get you to heaven? NO!  Only believing in Jesus as your Savior can do that!  But I Corinthians 11:26 says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” So although taking communion will not save us it does play a vital part in reminding us of the immense sacrifice that was given to pay the debt for our sins.

Will belonging to a particular denomination or political party get you into heaven?  Absolutely NOT!!  No denomination, political party, or friendship is without stain, without sin.  Each party has its flaws and each denomination has its flaws.  Let’s not get so high and mighty about our affiliations that we start feeling better of ourselves just because of who we associate with.  Only faith and trust in Jesus Christ can bring about salvation which gives us the reward of eternity in heaven.

And positive thinking will not get us into heaven.  Many of today’s modern churches will teach and preach the power of positive thinking.  This positive thinking can NEVER get us into heaven.  But God loves us and God created us in His image so we should not fail to see ourselves in that way.  If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are not only created in the image of the Almighty God, but we are also now called children of God!  What a blessing that is.

So nothing listed in the grouping of what will get you into heaven is bad, but rather most are good, and even commanded.  But none of them alone with get you into heaven.

There is ONLY ONE WAY to heaven.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Acts 16:31.  John 14:6 further states, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

And Acts 4:12 says this about Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

So what will get you into heaven?  Only faith and trust that Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to earth, lived among men, never sinned, was tortured and sent to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, for the sins of all who believe in Him.  And that three days later, He rose from the grave and smashed death to smithereens.  He now reigns at the right hand of God the Father and will one day return to earth to bring about a new heaven and a new earth where we will live eternally with Him in Glory!  WOW!! What a Savior!!

Before your head hits the pillow

Tricking Jesus

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Tricking Jesus

The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to trick and trap Jesus. The Pharisees were primarily business class individuals and were viewed in high esteem by the Jewish people. They believed that the Old Testament was the inspired word of God but they also ascribed to many other more traditional laws which were written in the Mishnah as passed on orally from one generation to the next.

The Sadducees were wealthy and more distant from the people. They believed that the Old Testament was inspired and did not believe that oral tradition had equal authority to scripture. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the spiritual realm of angels and demons or an afterlife but the Pharisees did.

But both groups saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and spent much time trying to determine a way to get rid of Him.

In Mark 12 the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus when they asked Him if it was all right to pay taxes to Rome. They believed that if He said no, the Roman government would arrest Him. If He merely said yes it would appear that He was a Roman sympathizer and the people would turn against Him. But Jesus was and is wise. What He told them was to look at the coin. The coin had on it the image of Caesar. He told them to pay to Caesar that which was Caesars and to God that which was Gods.

Later in the same chapter the Sadducees took their turn at trying to trick Jesus. They asked him a really ridiculous question considering they did not believe in the afterlife. They asked Him about a woman who was widowed 7 times. When she got to heaven, whose wife would she be? Jesus was again just too wise for them. He told them that she would be no man’s wife for there is no marriage in heaven. But He didn’t stop there. He then quoted Exodus 3:6 the scripture referencing the burning bush. It states, “I am the God of your ancestors – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus told them that He wasn’t the God of the dead but the God of the living so Abraham, Isaac and Jacob MUST be alive for God to be their God AFTER they had died.

In John 10 the Pharisees were up to their trickery as well. Divorce was a tricky subject and Moses had given the people of Israel an out. They wanted to see if Jesus too would readily condone divorce. But Jesus in His wisdom schooled them once again. He let them know that Moses had written his instructions about divorce only to please the hard hearted wickedness of the people, but God ordained that marriage should be forever.

We have a very wise and powerful God. Jesus knows all and understands all. He knew when the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to trick Him and he knows when we are trying to evade Him or control our own lives.

When we try to trick Jesus by bargaining with Him, he knows our hearts. When we bargain with Jesus saying, “If you will do this, then I will do this,” Jesus sees into our hearts and knows that with that bargain our hearts are not completely surrendered to Him.

Just as the Pharisees could not trick Jesus, we will never be able to trick God either. If we are living a life of faulty service and worship, He knows. If we attend church and go through all of the ritualistic motions of being a Christian but have never really accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, He knows.

If we have deep hidden sins, we must know they are not hidden from Him for He knows our hearts. There is nowhere that we can go to hide from God. There is nothing we can do to trick Him into believing that we are something that we are not.

Jeremiah 23:24 says, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.” And Psalm 139:7 tells us, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” And again in Hebrews 4:13 we read, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

God is all knowing and all powerful. The Sadducees and Pharisees couldn’t put one over on Jesus and neither can we. So if today we have unconfessed sins, let’s go before the Lord and confess them. If we have been living a spiritual life riddled with ritual but not filled with the Spirit of God, Let’s fall on our knees and confess Him as Lord. Let’s ask Him to mold us and make us into a new creature, one created to worship and glorify Him! No more hiding, no more bargaining, no more trickery, just sincere worship. That’s what God wants. Let’s give it to Him!