Category: Salvation

Matthew 7:13,14                                                Which Way to Go

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God.  The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time.  Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.  The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention” (MSG).

The poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is also applicable to the Scripture above.  The most quoted verse of the poem is: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

That also makes all the difference in the Scripture above, and that difference becomes obvious and all important at death.  I can tell Robert Frost where the road well travelled ends, and where the less-travelled road ends.  But I think I will let Matthew 7:13,14 do the telling.  “The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.”  Salvation itself is an easy step, accept Jesus Christ as Savior, and speak that aloud, and you have been saved.  But those who wish a full and rewarding Christian life pursue Christ vigorously through reading the Bible, prayer, fellowship with fellow Christians, and listening to teaching from God’s chosen ministers.  Do it.  The rewards are well worth the effort.

One last note for those who have already accepted Jesus Christ as Savior—we have a responsibility to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  The time has come to make the “less-travelled” road the road of choice for our friends, families, neighbors, and even those we don’t like until it becomes the “very well-travelled” road.  Check it out in Mattherw 28:19,20.

2 Corinthians 6:2                      Now Is the Right Time

“For God said, ‘At just the right time, I heard you.  On the day of salvation, I helped you.  Indeed, the “right time” is now.  Today is the day of salvation.’ “ (NLT).

It may not be the most beautiful picture ever taken of Multnomah Falls, but it is special to me.  It was a foggy, misty, rainy morning, and it was my chance to get pictures of Mulnomah Falls, pictures I had been looking forward to taking for fifty-six years.  I was disappointed by the misty conditions, but it turned out to be a rare photograph.  I didn’t realize it until I showed the picture to my son, who said,
“How did you get that picture with no-one on the bridge?”  Then I realized that even while we were there there was almost no time when the bridge was empty.  It was “at just the right time.”  I was blessed to have been there at just the right moment, a very small moment in time.

There’s a big difference between the “right time” for me with this photograph and the “right time” mentioned in the Scriptue verse above.  I “just happened” to pick the right time to activate the shutter.  I’m sure there was no other right time that day to take this picture.  The Scripture verse says, “Today is the day of salvation.”  That was true the day that it was written by Paul two thousand  years ago, but that was not, and is not, the only “Day of Salvation.”  God first extended salvation on the day that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, and every day since then has been the “Day of Salvation,” and every day until Jesus returns to call His church home will be the “Day of Salvation.”  So, the day is now, the opportunity is now, to accept Jesus as Savior and claim your ticket for eternal life with Him and me and many, many other rejoicing Christians in heaven.  He is preparing a place for you.  Be sure you claim it!

1 Timothy 2:5                                   Jesus, the Magnificent Bridge

“There is one God and one mediator so that human beings can reach God.  That way is through Christ Jesus, who is himself human” (NCV).

The picture is of the bridge just below the Glen Canyon Dam.  It’s a picturesque and impressive bridge.  It’s easy to see the engineering that went into building this impressive structure that spans the deep and wide canyon beneath it.  It will take you and your car safely across the chasm from one side to the other.  Many people cross it in both directions each day.  By the way, there are other bridges further down the valley that serve the same purpose.

I took the liberty of superimposing an image of another bridge on this picture.  This bridge represents the bridge from earth to heaven, and it is, for us at least, a one- way bridge—from earth to heaven.  That bridge is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is the only way to get from earth to heaven.  There are no other bridges to get from earth to heaven.  Jesus Christ is the only one, and we represent this bridge by the cross, an ancient instrument of death.  Victory over sin is gained only by clinging to Jesus.  By hanging on that cross Jesus became the mediator between God and man.  That bridge does not have an impressive structure of steel beams to hold it up, but it does have the strength of one single man, Jesus Christ, to hold it strong enough for everybody who wants to cross from earth to heaven to do so safely.  The blood of our Savior is imprinted on that cross and His blood will hold it unshakeable until the last sinner has crossed from sin to forgiveness.

Thank you, Jesus, for being our bridge to heaven and eternal life with you.

Mark 16:15                                                       Spread the Gospel

“And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’” (NLT).

The bright yellow color is intense in the center of this flower, the yellow radiating toward the outer edges.  Let me use this as a simple visual illustration of “Go into all the world and preach the Good News.”  If we visualize Jesus Christ as the brilliant center of Christianity, which He is, we can see disciples, us, spreading this Good News towards the ends of the earth.  It’s time to do it, time to focus on speaking the Good News of forgiveness of sin and eternal life with our great God in heaven.  If I can’t personally do that, then I need to support those who can.  Wait a minute—I can spread the Good News myself.  I know lots of people who need this Good News, and I even meet others I don’t know who also need the Good News.  Lord, give me the boldness to represent you by the way I live my life.  When I can’t do it with words, help me to do it with my actions.  Help me live so that people may wonder and even ask why I am not dragged down by all the turmoil the world is going through.

Mark 16:6                                                               He Is Risen!

“’Don’t be alarmed,’” he said.  ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here.’  (NIV)

It was true yesterday.  It is true today, and it will be true forever!  Praise be to God!

HALLELUJAH!

2 Corinthians 5:17                                 New Life–New Beginnings

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (NKJV).

Each spring the very ground seems to celebrate new life.  Flowers grow and display their vivid colors; trees bud with new leaves, and some trees even bud with flowers that will develop into fruit later in the year.  There seems to be a spring in the step of most of us as the weather warms and the hours of sunlight lengthen.  And for me, baseball and stock car racing begin new seasons.  There is much to be joyful about in the season of spring.  Schools even take holidays to celebrate it.  (It used to be called Easter vacation, but now it has been renamed “Spring Break.”)

All are good reasons to celebrate the return of spring, but of course the greatest, most significant reason to celebrate this time of the year is because of the ultimate sacrifice given by God the Father.  He sacrificed His Only Begotten Son that each of us could have new life—a brand new life with all of our sins forgiven and a home reserved for us in heaven for eternity.  In sports, most youngsters will ask for a “do-over” if it wasn’t done right the first time.  Sometimes it is offered by the other players, but this ultimate “do-over” is always offered by God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  As the verse above states, “…he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  There it is:  old life gone and forgotten—new life straight ahead.  So, this year have the most significant celebration ever.  Celebrate new life in Jesus Christ.  Watch to see fruit appear in your life as you grow and mature in the Christian life.  If you’ve already done that, congratulations.  Now go invite someone else to do the same.