From the time that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, every human being has been born with the nature of sin.
Psalm 51:5 reveals that we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (different kinds of sinfulness). 'Sin' is our nature of rebellion against God, which we all received from Adam our forefather.
Jesus Christ was sent to earth as God's Solution to our problem of sin. In Mark 2:10 Jesus said, "....the Son of man (meaning himself) hath power on earth to forgive sins,".
Some time ago there was a commercial on T.V. in which a man made the statement, "It may not be your fault, but it is your problem". That's the way sin is. It may be Adam and Eve's fault. But it sure is our problem. The fact is that we will still suffer everlasting punishment in hell and the lake of fire, if we die in our sins.
But because of God's great love for us, He sent us his Solution for sin. John 3:16 says,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The apostle Paul said in Romans 6:23 of the Bible, "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Only Jesus Christ, the Son of God has the power to forgive sins. When he died on the Cross for the sins of the world, that act guaranteed you and me the opportunity to be forgiven. But we must have a repentant heart (be sorrowful for our sins) and ask for his forgiveness. The blood of Jesus has given us that right!
Salvation is a free gift. But we must ask in order to receive. Another scripture says "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved". If you will repent of your sins and call on him now to save you, he will! Some years ago I repented of my sins, asked his forgiveness and he saved me! He'll do the same for you if you will ask Him!
Remember, God's gift to you is eternal life through Christ Jesus The Lord!
Jesus: The Treasure of Great Price! Matthew 13:44
What is it that you value most in life? Each of us has a particular value system. We have either consciously or unconsciously developed this value system consisting of what is most important to us at the top. And what is the least important at the bottom.
Things or people we place the most value on are those things we treasure. What's at the top of your list? (Ask yourself this question... and be honest about it!)
Jesus gave a story to explain the value of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:44 which reads,
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Imagine discovering a treasure of great value hidden in a field, a gold mind perhaps! The owner of the field apparently does not know the treasure is there! What would you do? I don't know about you, but I would do just what this person did, sell everything I own and buy the whole field just to get the treasure out of it!
Jesus is the treasure in the field! When you get Jesus, you also get the kingdom of heaven! When you repent of your sins and ask him to save you, you have purchased a piece of the kingdom of heaven! All you have to pay is your old sinful life in exchange for the new one that he has purchased for you! Its like trading in your old beat up car for a brand new one, with no money down. Wow-- what a deal! (Who wouldn't take that?!)
Jesus says, I am the way the truth and the life! No man comes to the Father but by me. In another place he says I am the door!
So come on into the kingdom, the door is wide open! Your Father is waiting! Make Jesus Lord today!
Things or people we place the most value on are those things we treasure. What's at the top of your list? (Ask yourself this question... and be honest about it!)
Jesus gave a story to explain the value of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:44 which reads,
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Imagine discovering a treasure of great value hidden in a field, a gold mind perhaps! The owner of the field apparently does not know the treasure is there! What would you do? I don't know about you, but I would do just what this person did, sell everything I own and buy the whole field just to get the treasure out of it!
Jesus is the treasure in the field! When you get Jesus, you also get the kingdom of heaven! When you repent of your sins and ask him to save you, you have purchased a piece of the kingdom of heaven! All you have to pay is your old sinful life in exchange for the new one that he has purchased for you! Its like trading in your old beat up car for a brand new one, with no money down. Wow-- what a deal! (Who wouldn't take that?!)
Jesus says, I am the way the truth and the life! No man comes to the Father but by me. In another place he says I am the door!
So come on into the kingdom, the door is wide open! Your Father is waiting! Make Jesus Lord today!
Jesus: The Sower of Salvation! Luke 8:5-8
Jesus is the Sower of the seed of salvation into the hearts of people.
In Luke Chapter 8:5-8 Jesus describes himself as the sower or planter of the word of God. He says it this way:
5 A sower went out to sow seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus, is the planter of the Word of God into the hearts of people. The word that he plants into our hearts is the truth about who he is and what he has done to save us from our sins.
Who he is? He is the Son of God from heaven.
What has he done? He has died on the cross in payment for my sins and yours.
Now that you have read this, the seed has been planted into your heart. The question now is, what kind of heart do you have?
1 Is your heart like a path on the side of a garden upon which men walk and destroy the truth you have heard with doubt, unbelief or foolish thoughts so that you don't receive the truth and be saved?
2 Or is your heart like a garden full of stones with so little soil that nothing good will grow? And when you hear the word about salvation it doesn't go deep. You just think about it for a moment... and after a short time you forget it and go on about your life business as usual, and nothing ever changes for the better.
3 Or is your heart the soil full of roots that choke out the truth? When you hear the word of truth about how Jesus died for you, do you say that "this time I will change", but your life is too full of activities and work and relationships and stuff that just choke out good intentions? And you never truly repent and let Jesus come in. You just have too much going on.
4 Or is your heart like good soil? Now that you have heard that Jesus died for your sins, you truly believe it, you are sorry for your sins and desperately want to change. You ask him to save you and be your Lord. You continue to live for him, calling on him daily and reading his word and obeying Him til he comes!
What kind of heart do you have? You get to choose. Jesus has sown the good seed into it. Now what will your heart do with it! Only you can decide! "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear"!
In Luke Chapter 8:5-8 Jesus describes himself as the sower or planter of the word of God. He says it this way:
5 A sower went out to sow seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus, is the planter of the Word of God into the hearts of people. The word that he plants into our hearts is the truth about who he is and what he has done to save us from our sins.
Who he is? He is the Son of God from heaven.
What has he done? He has died on the cross in payment for my sins and yours.
Now that you have read this, the seed has been planted into your heart. The question now is, what kind of heart do you have?
1 Is your heart like a path on the side of a garden upon which men walk and destroy the truth you have heard with doubt, unbelief or foolish thoughts so that you don't receive the truth and be saved?
2 Or is your heart like a garden full of stones with so little soil that nothing good will grow? And when you hear the word about salvation it doesn't go deep. You just think about it for a moment... and after a short time you forget it and go on about your life business as usual, and nothing ever changes for the better.
3 Or is your heart the soil full of roots that choke out the truth? When you hear the word of truth about how Jesus died for you, do you say that "this time I will change", but your life is too full of activities and work and relationships and stuff that just choke out good intentions? And you never truly repent and let Jesus come in. You just have too much going on.
4 Or is your heart like good soil? Now that you have heard that Jesus died for your sins, you truly believe it, you are sorry for your sins and desperately want to change. You ask him to save you and be your Lord. You continue to live for him, calling on him daily and reading his word and obeying Him til he comes!
What kind of heart do you have? You get to choose. Jesus has sown the good seed into it. Now what will your heart do with it! Only you can decide! "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear"!
Jesus: The Light of the World! John 8:12
In the 8th chapter of John a woman found committing adultery was brought to Jesus while he was in the temple teaching. The scribes and Pharisees reminded Jesus that according to the Law, Moses said she should be stoned to death. But, they said, what do you say? They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of going against the Law of Moses. Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger, as though he did not hear them.
When they would not let him alone, Jesus stood up and said "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her". The scribes and Pharisees that heard his words were convicted of their sins by their own conscience. In other words, all of them remembered their own sins which they had committed and began to walk away, beginning with the oldest to the youngest.
None of them were without sin, and Jesus knew it. He himself was the only on present who had no sin, and thus the right to judge her. And he chose not to!
After everyone left who had accused the woman of adultery, Jesus stood up, looked around and said "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" Then the woman responded, "No man, Lord." Jesus then replied to her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
Jesus did not say that the woman did not deserve to be stoned according to the Law. He did not deny her guilt. He simply chose not to condemn but to forgive her instead. After forgiving her he told her to go and sin no more. What a loving Savior he is!
Following this Jesus said to those looking on, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Sin is darkness. This woman was living in darkness, bound by a life of adultery just as so many are today. But Jesus is the light of the world. That means He has come to deliver all of mankind from the darkness of sin. He has paid the price for all of us to be free from sin no matter what our sins are! He has not come to condemn us for our sins but to save us from them! How wonderful!
He has paid the price for our sins with his own blood on the Cross and shown us the way out of sin and death... He is the Light of the world. He is saying to you that if you will follow him, you will not walk in the darkness of sin, but will have the light of life!
Won't you call upon him now, ask him to forgive you of your sins and begin to follow him today. If you will ask him, he will forgive you, even as he did this woman. Remember, He has not come to condemn you, but to save you!
Jesus is the Light of the world!
When they would not let him alone, Jesus stood up and said "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her". The scribes and Pharisees that heard his words were convicted of their sins by their own conscience. In other words, all of them remembered their own sins which they had committed and began to walk away, beginning with the oldest to the youngest.
None of them were without sin, and Jesus knew it. He himself was the only on present who had no sin, and thus the right to judge her. And he chose not to!
After everyone left who had accused the woman of adultery, Jesus stood up, looked around and said "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" Then the woman responded, "No man, Lord." Jesus then replied to her, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
Jesus did not say that the woman did not deserve to be stoned according to the Law. He did not deny her guilt. He simply chose not to condemn but to forgive her instead. After forgiving her he told her to go and sin no more. What a loving Savior he is!
Following this Jesus said to those looking on, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Sin is darkness. This woman was living in darkness, bound by a life of adultery just as so many are today. But Jesus is the light of the world. That means He has come to deliver all of mankind from the darkness of sin. He has paid the price for all of us to be free from sin no matter what our sins are! He has not come to condemn us for our sins but to save us from them! How wonderful!
He has paid the price for our sins with his own blood on the Cross and shown us the way out of sin and death... He is the Light of the world. He is saying to you that if you will follow him, you will not walk in the darkness of sin, but will have the light of life!
Won't you call upon him now, ask him to forgive you of your sins and begin to follow him today. If you will ask him, he will forgive you, even as he did this woman. Remember, He has not come to condemn you, but to save you!
Jesus is the Light of the world!
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