WELCOME TO THE
FAMILY
Jesus
answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life . . . .”
John 14:6
There was a certain Pharisee named Nicodemus who went to Jesus
by night to speak with Him. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one
can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born again. Nicodemus
questioned Jesus as to how can a man be born when he is old and
how can he enter into his mother’s womb a second time? Jesus
answered: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born
of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:1-21) You see, Jesus was
talking of a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one.
No
doubt, this high ranking Pharisee knew the Scriptures since he
was Jewish and a member of the Sanhedrin, but Jesus said he must
be born again. Although reading and studying the Scriptures are
wonderful, it takes more than studying them to be saved. We
must come to Jesus Christ, asking Him to cleanse and purify our
hearts, admitting our wrongdoing and He will do what it takes
from there. We cannot cleanse ourselves because Jesus paid the
highest price for us at Calvary when He shed His Blood for the
redemption of our sins. Salvation is a free gift and Jesus
Christ is the only One who can free us from the chains and
bondages of sin. (John 8:36; Rom. 8:2; Gal. 5:1)
All that we’re asked to do is to come to God with a broken and
contrite spirit just as King David did when he sinned against
God. (Ps. 51:17) Did God forgive King David? You better
believe it! How do I know that? Because Scripture promises
that if we confess our sins He will be faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
The decision to receive Jesus Christ is the most important one
anyone will ever make because it actually determines our
destination for all eternity. There is no time for delay because
life sometimes ends unexpectedly. Many people think they can
wait to make this important decision because they want to live
as they are, or any number of excuses, but life can cease or
Jesus Christ could return, and it may just be today!
My niece is a principal of a school and she told us recently
about a 23 year old teacher who was seemingly healthy, sitting
in her class teaching her children, when she died suddenly. I
also told you last time about our sweet little great-niece who
passed away at only eight years old. As these things come our
way, it becomes even more evident that we have no promise of
tomorrow and important not to wait in making the decision to
accept Christ.
Some miraculous things happen when we accept Jesus Christ as our
Savior. We become a new creation and the old things in our
lives pass away and all things become new. (2 Cor. 5:17) The
heart that was once full of sin and red as scarlet suddenly
becomes pure and white as snow (Isa. 1:18). Our names are even
written in the Book of Life! Then one day when we stand before
God to be judged when this life is over, we will be happy when
He finds our names written in that great book. For those whose
names that are not found written there, it will be a terrible
time. (Rev. 20:11-15)
The “darkness” that was once so evident within us, goes out and
the “light” comes in. (I Pet. 2:9) So many people never even
realize that they’re walking around in darkness until Christ is
invited into their hearts and then suddenly light begins to
radiate from their very being and with the love of Jesus
Christ. The awesome thing about that is that our Heavenly
Father actually “rescues” us from the dominion of darkness and
brings us into the kingdom of the Son, He loves. (Col. 1:13)
At the point we ask Christ into our hearts, we actually “cross
over from death to life.” (John 5:24) Ephesians 2:1 tells us
that we are actually “dead in our trespasses” but when we ask
Christ into our hearts, we are made “alive” and we no longer
walk around as dead men and women, boys and girls, but alive . .
. truly alive!
We cannot be saved by our own good works and deeds alone, even
though our deeds may be very admirable in the sight of man. God
is looking upon our hearts and says to be born again, to come to
Him and be made clean. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us: (8) “For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God (9) not of works, lest anyone
should boast.” We can see from this Scripture that we’re saved
from something other than what we can actually do for ourselves.
We can’t boast about it, because we can’t do this for
ourselves. Unfortunately, man can be a prideful creature and if
he can find something to boast about, he might just do that, but
God is the only one who can do the work in us. Believing that
doing good deeds will save us makes the precious Blood of Jesus
out to be a mockery because He shed His Blood so that all people
may be free. (John 8:36) Now I am not saying that we do not
need to do good deeds at all because that is not how I believe.
I love to work for the Lord because I love Him. When we love
someone we normally want to do something for him or her, don’t
we? What I am saying here is that we cannot “earn” our
salvation.
Another thing is that there is no way to “earn” God’s love
because His love has already been established for us. 1 John 3:1
tells us that the Father lavishes His love on us, that we should
be called children of God. There’s nothing we can do to cause
God to love us less or to love us more. . . but He loves us no
matter what! And His love concerning us knows no measure and
surpasses all knowledge. (Eph. 3:18-19)
What a thrill to know that we actually become sons and daughters
of the Most High God! We are guaranteed this fact from God
Himself: “I will be a Father to you and you will be My sons and
daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:18)
Some people believe that there is no way that Jesus Christ could
possibly save them because of the life they have lived, but I
can assure you that Scripture tells the story and salvation is
for every one of us. God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4) and loves
us no matter what we’ve done in the past, but He gives us a
choice in the matter. God did not make us as robots and that is
why He gives us a choice. He desires that all come to Him and
desires that none be lost (2 Pet. 3:9) which is why God sent His
Son into the world to begin with. (John 3:17)
Scripture tells us that if we confess our sins, He will be
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) Then when we lay our heads
down at night, we won’t have to worry about a thing. We can be
assured that when this life is over, we will spend eternity with
Jesus in Heaven. (I John 5:11) This is one of the precious
Promises we have when we give our hearts to God.
And when we need a friend, we’ve got one in Jesus who will stand
by us through every trial and tribulation. I have often
wondered what I would have done without the Lord to turn to when
I have had problems beyond what I could cope with, and I have
cringed at the thought. Jesus will become our dearest and
closest friend because He tells us in the Word that He sticks
closer than a brother. (Prov. 18:24)
I can’t express enough the awesome power of Jesus Christ and how
he has changed me personally. I think back to my old selfish
desires and the way I used to be before He started doing a major
clean-up project on me and I stand amazed. I have thought of
what I was like and I can’t help but be reminded of an “ugly
clump of clay.” Then one day I asked Jesus Christ into my heart
and asked Him to forgive me of all of my sins. I told Him that I
wanted to live with Him forever and I never wanted Him to leave
me. He welcomed me with open arms and I felt like He said,
“Welcome to the Family.”
Then He put that old lifeless clump of clay on His Potter’s
wheel and began to go to work. Every day I went around and
around the Potter’s wheel as I allowed Him to mold and make me
into something good for His purposes as I was pliable in His
kind hands. As He worked on me over the years, I have been
shaped into the one He wants me to be. I will probably stay on
that Potter’s wheel for life, but that’s okay! I want to be
there, because my Father does everything perfectly. I may not
look perfect on the outside, but inside He is working on
me every day. I had to allow Him to do the work though, because
the Father won’t push Himself on anyone.
I can’t tell you the joy that I have known just from being a
child of the King and knowing Him as my personal Savior. He has
been with me through thick and thin, in the good times, as well
as the bad ones. He has seen each tear that has fallen and has
known my pain and anguish at times, but always working on me to
develop a character which is Christlike.
And there are benefits to being a child of God. Actually,
many! All of the promises of God become ours! Psalm 84:11
says: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows
favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose
walk is blameless.” We become a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you
may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His wonderful light. (I Pet. 2:9)
Does this mean that we will never have problems? I’m sorry to
say that you will have problems, but there is One
who stands with us and who gives us hope as we go over every
mountain! Jesus Christ will be there to extend His loving hand
to help us with whatever comes our way. There is hope for our
future with God and He has great plans for us (Jer. 29:11) but
we must take that first step of accepting Christ as our Savior.
There are benefits far beyond anything we can ever expect. Our
home will be an eternal one in heaven and we will live with God
forever and ever and peace and joy will be ours.
So what happens to the old sin? The sins that we once carried
around like a yoke of bondage are removed as far as the East is
from the West. (Ps. 103:12) God casts them behind His back!
(Isaiah 38:17) In other words, they’re history . . . and He
remembers them no more! (Heb. 10:17) If our sins are ever
brought back up again, it’s you and it’s me, not God, because He
will not hold our sins against us ever again. (Ezek. 18:22;
33:16)
Prayer:
If you have never asked Jesus into your heart, will you pray
this prayer with me?
Heavenly Father, I ask You to forgive me of all of my sins.
Wash my sins away and make my heart new. I ask You into my
heart Lord Jesus and I give my life to you now. I believe You
are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for me and
rose from the dead after three days. From this point and for
the rest of my life, I will live for You, for I believe in You.
Thank you for Your forgiveness. In Jesus Name. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer: “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!” Now
will you write and let me know? I’m anxious to hear from YOU!
