★ Man Chooses Only What Is Most Harmful To Him!

One of the most tragic contraindications in human behavior is that people constantly choose what is most harmful to them. About 2000 years ago the Jews demanded the release of a murderer named Barabbas instead of their MESSIAH. Release to us Barabbas!  They clamoured.  Since then the people have frequently got their Barabbas's.

By preferring Barabbas, they also choose the principle which he represented: Doing what they liked as free people, even if it is to the detriment of others.

Today we have a similar choice to make. If we elect to go for the egotistic way of life that is predominant in this world at present, we shall reap its fruit.

Was there no alternative in Jerusalem at that time?  Certainly there was!  They could have chosen their Messiah, JESUS of Nazareth. HE had not come to do HIS own will, but the will of GOD, who had sent HIM. Whereas the life of his neighbor meant nothing to Barabbas,  JESUS CHRIST sacrificed HIS own life on the cross for the salvation of the lost.

Now we are certainly not insinuating that anyone sympathizes with a criminal like Barabbas. However, the principle that Barabbas incorporates is 'Doing what he likes', applies more or less to everybody. In GOD's sight that is self-will and thus Sin. Therefore we all need a SAVIOR and that SAVIOR is JESUS CHRIST. We need JESUS CHRIST as our Redeemer. HE is holding out HIS saving hand to all who wish to put things right with GOD.

Taken from the daily devotionals, The Good Seed.

♥ The Middle East Solution!

A few years ago the son of a prominent Bedouin sheikh from the south of Israel applied for a residential permit in the U.S.A. during a visit there. The application was at first rejected.  Later a Christian preacher accompanied him to the head of the competent department to support the case. The latter asked the young men a series of questions.

The Arab described the situation in Negev in the south of Israel. He told of his family and his own personal history. Then he began to speak in detail of his faith. To the astonishment of the official he mentioned what CHRIST had done for him and what HE meant to him. Finally the young man had the courage to say, That is the story of my life!  His counterpart replied,  May GOD be praised!  I, too, am a  born again Christian.

It turned out that the head of the department was a Jew by birth, who had equally been converted to CHRIST. So now the Arab and the Jew shook hands as brothers in CHRIST! At the end of the conversation the young man said, We have now experienced the real solution to the problems in the Middle East.  It is CHRIST, The Living LORD!  No human being,  no nation,  no peace treaty can help us. The LORD JESUS CHRIST alone can do so.

CHRIST is truly the PRINCE of Peace. For issues concerning the future and eternity,  any certain hope rests on HIM. HE is our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1, Isaiah 9:5, 6

★ Do You Demand Proof!

He who comes to GOD must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of those who deligently seek HIM. (Hebrews 11:6)

Some people demand a proof of GOD's existence without being willing to seek HIM earnestly. They reject The BIBLE as The WORD Of GOD, with the objection that someone must first prove there is a GOD. Their reasoning is at fault. In any field of knowledge one must accept certain basic facts before continuing to examine the structure of the subject. 

Would it not be foolish to pour doubts on the subject of Mathematics simply because one refuses to agree to the accepted principles on which it is based?

It is not possible to prove that two numbers that are each the same as a third must therefore be equal in themselves; one  must blindly accept the fact. However, if one understands something of Mathematics,  one recognizes the correctness of the whole system. Or lets consider another theory in Science.  For example, in evaporation, we can never see the water being converted to vapor, our eyes can never see the process, yet we believe it blindly simply because some great scientist said so. In the Bible, we are called to believe in the greatest MASTER Scientist of all time, JESUS!

It is no different concerning the knowledge of GOD. We must believe that HE exists and that HE rewards those who earnestly inquire after HIM. We must also believe that through HIS SPIRIT, HE has given mankind pronouncements that are recorded in HIS WORD, The HOLY BIBLE.

So we must read The BIBLE with a heart of faith! Don't demand a proof of GOD's existence beforehand;  as soon as you have come to know The One True  GOD, you will no longer need any proof. By faith we understand.  Hebrews 11:3 says  that by faith we understand that the universe was formed at GOD's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible; if we reverse the process, we shall experience the short circuit which affects so many today.

Taken from the daily Gospel meditations, The Good Seed!

Lets not forget the words of JESUS in John 20:29 which goes this way. "Then JESUS told him (Thomas), Because you have seen ME you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen ME and yet have believed."

★ JESUS- YOUR PASSPORT TO HEAVEN!

Europeans are privileged people.  Traveling within Europe has become simple and uncomplicated as never before. For most countries there are no troublesome frontier controls. However, when we read of refugees crossing the Mediterranean in small boats, attempting illegal immigration, or when we ourselves prepare a journey to non-European country, we become aware of one general principle: Every state lays down conditions for immigration to  protect its own citizens and their interests.

If I wish to enter a foreign country, I must find out the conditions applying to that land. Then I must decide whether I can fulfill them or whether I should give up the planned trip. Arguing about the regulations would be pointless;  no one at the travel agency or the relevant consulate can change them. At the frontier the decisive issue is: Have the conditions been fulfilled.

GOD has made use of HIS right to establish and publish the conditions for entry to heaven with all its glory. HIS intention is not, however, to restrict the number of entrants, but to enable all to enter. What counts is not origin or status or any personal qualities. If we decided the way to enter by our own strength,  goodness or intelligence, no one would ever reach heaven. As sinners we have all become guilty before GOD. We need CHRIST, whom GOD sent to be our redeemer. HE is our passport to Heaven,  THE ONLY WAY TO GOD and Heaven's eternal joy.

The above article is taken from the devotional, The Good Seed.

JESUS said, "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to the FATHER except through ME. John 14:6.

In the english language, a small word can change the meaning of the sentence. Now lets consider the sentences, "I am the way" and "I am a way". The words "The way" clearly signify that this is the only way. But the words "A way" signify that there is more than one way. So in clearer terms, JESUS is saying that  "HE(JESUS) is the only way, the only truth and the only  source of true life.

To sum it all up I am going to close by quoting the scriptures in Acts 4:12 which says, "SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE BUT JESUS CHRIST, FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO MEN BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED."

JESUS CHRIST IS SON OF THE LIVING, UN-CREATED, SELF-EXISTANT, OMNIPRESENT,  OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT GOD, WHO BEING ONE IN ESSENCE WITH THE FATHER, THE FATHER AND SON TOGETHER IS WORSHIPPED AND GLORIFIED.

★ The ONE and Only SAVIOR of Man!

GOD our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is ONE  GOD and ONE Mediator between GOD and man, the man JESUS CHRIST,  who gave HIMSELF as a ransom for all.  1 Timothy 2:3-6

Who is this Savior GOD? HE is The ONE True GOD,  who already revealed HIMSELF to HIS earthly people Israel, as a Savior and Liberator. Today HIS offer of salvation and freedom stands to all people from every nation. All need salvation,  and GOD is ready to save every individual.

Part of this salvation that GOD is willing to grant is also the knowledge of truth. It is an essential component of it, for whoever is unaware of the truth concerning himself will not acknowledge that he is a sinner and needs saving. Moreover, whoever does not know the truth about GOD will not believe that HE is holy and must punish sin. Nor will he believe that GOD is love, so that we can put our trust fully in HIM.

We learn about the truth concerning ourselves and the truth about GOD through JESUS CHRIST, The SON of GOD. And in HIS perfect life here on earth, we see how man should live. And in HIS atoning death we recognize GOD's holiness and love in the giving of HIS SON for us.

If I clearly recognize who I am and who GOD is, in this light, one thing becomes obvious: I have no possibility of bridging the infinite gap between myself and GOD that has arisen through my sins. But then GOD directs my attention to CHRIST,  The Mediator who has become our bridge to reach GOD, as it were. I have no means of paying my debt of guilt, but CHRIST has intervened as my guarantor.

The reason why God created man is this: When GOD created man, HE gave him the most favorable circumstances for a happy life on earth.  But man transgressed the only  commandment given him: Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and thus failed the test of obedience. GOD had warned them and death entered as the termination of life; since then it has been man's ememy. The apostle Paul wrote: Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)

Yet eternal life does exist! GOD provided a way out of this hopeless situation. The Bible testifies that by faith in  CHRIST alone, JESUS CHRIST,  The SON of GOD, everyone can obtain a new life and immortality.  But we must concede that we are sinners and confess our guilt before GOD. HE will then grant us this eternal life, which continues in the world beyond the grave, long after we have left this earth.

It is indeed only through JESUS CHRIST alone that we can attain eternal life henceforth,  i.e. know GOD as The ONE who loves us and wishes to make us HIS children. It is also only through JESUS that we can possess this life in abundance, this free gift of eternal life The Good  SHEPHERD grants HIS sheep. John 10:10 says that.

The tree of life was at the center of the garden of Eden. Is The LORD JESUS the very center of our life and our thoughts? GOD calls upon us to live by faith in fellowship with The LORD JESUS CHRIST and to find in HIM our joy and strength.

♥ Believers Absolute Assurance of Heaven While On Earth!

Charles Stanley,  a preacher of The Word of GOD in England, never ceased trying to find possibilities to propagate The Good News of JESUS CHRIST. When he was in York in one occasion,  he encountered a large crowd waiting to see the funeral procession of an eminent church dignitary. He joined the crowd, but it soon started to rain and many sought shelter under the roof of a bjg shed.

Stanley took the opportunity and opened his BIBLE. He read these words: Blessed are the dead who die in The LORD JESUS (Revelation 14:13). He then stated that no-one is called blessed simply because he is a member of this or that church. Whether someone belongs to The LORD JESUS CHRIST is the determining factor.

These words caused unrest. But the listeners paid attention again when Stanley explained what it meant to be in The LORD and to die in HIM. He pointed out that faith alone enables someone to lay hold of the salvation offered by GOD through CHRIST JESUS and then to die in peace.

One of the listeners inquired, Did I understand you to say that one can know in this lifetime that he is saved and possesses eternal life after death? That question seemed to interest others too.

In his answer Stanley referred to a series of Bible texts showing that GOD gives HIS children absolute assurance of salvation already here on earth. You may know that you have eternal life, IF AND ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

The first part of the epistle to the Ephesians presents the blessings that GOD intended for HIS children already before the foundation of the world and which have now been granted to us in  CHRIST JESUS. For this purpose GOD has made us alive together with CHRIST and made us sit together in the heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS.  Ephesians 2:5, 6

Just as the Israelites could reap the blessings of the promised land, only in Canaan, so we also have to be transferred spiritually to the heavenly places, so as to rejoice in the fruit of the land.  But we do not have to wait until the wilderness journey is over, as the Israelites did,  for we cannot be in two places at once while on earth. Spiritually we have our possession in the heavenly places as believers, while we experimentally are still proceeding through the desert. The spiritual fulfillment of the type goes further than the imagery can depict.

All this is a gift of GOD. We could do nothing for it, and there is no possibility of growing into it. However, once the question arises as to what attitude we take concerning this precious possession, and whether it has any affect on us, growth becomes relevant. Therefore we find instructions and encouragement for the practical life of faith in the second part of tge epistle, so that we walk worthy of the vocation with which we have been called

Are we aware of the riches we have been freely given to us by GOD? (1 Corinthians 2:12)
And how far have we come in appropriating the blessings that we have in CHRIST JESUS for our practical life of faith?

Taken from the daily devotionals, The Good Seed.