John 14:1 NKJV — “Let not your heart be troubled…
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There we were at the top of the ferris wheel. The stars were bright and fireworks were on display in the distance. The moment had finally arrived and it was time to ask the most important question in our lives. I can only tell you my side of the moment and she can only tell her side but I was a nervous wreck. I had grown accustomed to our relationship and like a ferris wheel we had our share of ups and downs. We had both heard the warnings about the commitment we were about to make. It wasn’t just about us becoming man and wife, it was the merging of two families, balancing two careers and coming to the realization that we were committed and intertwined in each others lives. We were becoming one. No longer on seperate paths, together and all in. We could not have one without the other.
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It seems like everything in life is a choice. Our nature tends to “cherry pick” our favorites in music, tv, lifestyle and religion. Disregarding anything that might prohibit us from living the way we want to live. We treat our decisions as an example of ordering a hamburger. Cheese or no cheese, no onions, no tomatoes, plain or maybe a vegetable burger, just as long that it meets our palette. When it comes to religion, God or Jesus the “cherry picking” is even more diverse.
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A recent study shows that nine-in-ten Americans believe in a higher power, but only a slim majority believe in God as described in the Bible. God comes in different forms and in different names. There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word “God” is used by multiple religions as a noun or name to refer to different deities, or specifically to the Supreme Being, as denoted in English by the capitalized and non capitalized terms “God” and “god”. “God is good, God is love and God is wonderful” are platitudes we hear everyday but the commitment in living a Godly life, accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is something a lot of church goers have a hard time adjoining to.
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Isn’t the belief in God enough for eternal life or are we not understanding God’s master plan for all of us? We should take a closer look on what the Word of God reveals starting in the beginning and after the fall of man;
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Genesis 3:14-15 NKJV — So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life. And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
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The person spoken of in Genesis 3:15 is called the seed of the woman and not of the man, which can agree with no other than the Messiah, who was to be born of a virgin, which was afterwards more clearly revealed by the Prophet Isaiah;
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Isaiah 7:14 NKJV — “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
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This was fulfilled in Jesus, who was truly the seed of the woman and of her only, being made of a woman and not begotten by man. He was conceived in the womb of the virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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The arrival of the Messiah in Bethlehem was prophesied by the prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament but many missed the signs except for a few. As Jesus ministered to His disciples and followers, it became clear that salvation was at hand, all they had to do was put their trust and belief in Jesus for rest, peace and everlasting life. It was God’s plan and yet many could not or would not recieve what God so lovingly gave. Once again the question is being asked, “Why is believing in God enough? Would God really not accept someone just because they do not accept Christ?”
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Peter Speaking to Israel
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Acts 4:8-12 NKJV — Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
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Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, was clear on why the acceptance of Jesus is important for our salvation. The Lord also gave us this proclamation;
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John 14:1 NKJV — “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
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And then Jesus followed with exactly who He was;
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John 14:6-7 NKJV — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
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At the root of this question, “Would God really condemn someone who believed in, loved, and worshipped Him, but not necessarily Jesus?” is a major theological assumption which must be addressed. The assumption is that Jesus is not God. The question necessarily divides the very nature of God. If God is triune, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as Christians claim, then it is impossible to worship “God” and not worship Jesus because Jesus truly is God. If God is not triune, then Jesus is not fully divine and the Christian faith is nothing more than another religion vying for attention.
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Christianity rises or falls on the connection between the Father and Son. One who loves and trusts in one will truly and surely love and trust in the other. Here is a sample of some of the relevant texts which discuss the impossibility of love for and trust in one apart from the other;
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1 John 2:23 NKJV — Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
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1 John 5:10-12 NKJV — He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
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John 5:22-23 NKJV — “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
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Luke 10:16 NKJV — “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
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2 John 1:9 NKJV — Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
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There is an inseparable link between the knowledge of the Son and the knowledge of the Father. To love one is to love the other and to reject one is to reject the other. To speak of God accepting those who have rejected Christ is to misunderstand Who Christ is.
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God wants you to leave the surface platitudes and envelope yourself in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and to be blessed with a happy and peaceful life. – By the way or btw as the Millenials would say, that night on the ferris wheel we talked about all the variables surrounding our lives and then I opened the case that held her engagement ring, I asked her to marry me and then…she said, “Yes.”
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Revelation 3:20-22 NKJV — “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
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