Reservations Only - Matthew 25:34

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. - Matthew 25:34

    There are only two ways one can obtain an inheritance: by birth or by adoption. No one else is entitled to my inheritance, as it has been reserved for me through one or the other of these ways. The neighbor’s kids can’t receive it. A distant cousin cannot receive it. A perfect stranger cannot receive it. It is reserved for me and legally bequeathed to me by the grace of the testator. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you ...”- 1 Peter 1:3-4.
    Our inheritance awaits us upon our passing from the flesh into the spirit. Upon our deaths, we who have been chosen by God will receive the eternal life as promised to us by God Himself! “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13-14.
This is the Promise handed down to those who are faithful to God through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to obtain the inheritance. We cannot work our way into it, nor can we cajole our way into it. God is not deceived. God cannot be pandered to by our base and fleshly desires for eternity in heaven. Our heavenly Father is above reproach and will not succumb to our devilish machinations, regardless of our ostentatious behavior. It is only through genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that our inheritance awaits us. “For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13.
    The manner in which we become heirs of the promise is evident on every page of Holy Scripture. One cannot reasonably hope for salvation and the promise of salvation by thinking, speaking, and behaving like one who is ‘of the world.’ We must live in such a way that is exemplary of our place in the Book of Life. “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” - Revelation 21:27.
    We must understand that we are forever at the mercy of our Almighty God and that a life lived in complete and utter disregard for His will can only lead to perdition, endlessly and eternally, without relief.    
    The scriptures are replete with warnings and cautions against walking in the ways of the world. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” - 1 John 2:15. This inheritance was reserved for us before time began and is guaranteed to all who love and have faith in His only begotten Son. It’s not a winning lottery or scratch-off ticket we can buy at our own expense. It is the gift of God that we obtain by His grace alone. “ ... he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:5-7. This is the promise and the glory reserved for us if we but persevere in the faith.

What Kind Of Love - Matthew 27:22

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” - Matthew 27:22

    The question is simple enough. I don’t mean bleeding in the sense of injuring oneself on the job we do to feed our families, nor do I mean sacrificing oneself for a nation during times of war or in law enforcement. Bleeding and dying in those instances isn’t the goal. It is incidental to the goal. No, I mean for whom have we deliberately bled our own precious blood. “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” - Matthew 26:28. This is the love of Christ beginning on the night of the Last Supper.
    What kind of love would be required for Jesus to die deliberately for someone else? I believe I would die for my wife or my children, a sibling, or a dear close friend. But what special set of circumstances would have to be present for me to bleed wilfully and die for a perfect stranger? For people who are estranged from me? For people who hate everything I stand for? For people who hate everything I am willing to die for? Could anyone of sound mind, knowing what awaited Christ, doubt the veracity of His Gethsemane prayer? “And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’”- Luke 22:41-42.
    His love must be beyond reproach if He was willing to sacrifice His own life for the lives of those who would blaspheme His holy name just days after they proclaimed Him their King.“And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” - Matthew 21:9. For those Jews who celebrated the coming of the Messiah, ‘hosanna’ meant, ‘pray for us, save us.’ And what of people today who will pray for financial gain, a new home, or any other worldly treasure then arrogantly deny the very divinity of Christ? Who were they praying to? The fickleness of man is absurd!
    On this Good Friday, let us never forget the love that has forgiven us; the love that has saved us; the love that comes only from God Himself. Let us raise our own voices as those in the past and sing, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
   

Where Christ Is Lord His Word Is Truth - 1 John 4:6

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. - 1 John 4:6

    I drive an hour plus each way to the church service I attend on Sunday and any other event that may be featured during the year. That’s better than a two-hour drive to attend church. Many people ask me why I don’t elect to attend a church closer to me. I’m not sure they understand why I do so, even after I’ve tried to explain.
    In my lifetime, I have attended so many different churches that I cannot recall the exact number. I’ve sat through the services of every denomination, from Roman Catholic to some of the most ambiguous ‘non-denominational’ churches you could imagine. But every one of them failed to deliver the infallible and inerrant Word of God! They threw a Bible verse or two around when it suited them or they failed to apply proper hermeneutics to their exegesis. Some even dispensed with the entirety of the Holy Bible, claiming its strict adhesion to faithful doctrine divides people rather than bringing them together. And some even liked to make God up as they go along, being very careful to avoid offending anyone with the truth! “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” - 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Make no mistake about it: truth must never be compromised for the sake of peace.
    So you can probably imagine how grateful I was when I found a church that was a bastion of truth through Jesus Christ. And all I had to do was drive a couple of hours to fellowship as the Holy Bible recommended. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them... I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people... For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”- Leviticus 26:3,11-12 and Matthew 18:20.
    The key to my satisfaction with my church rests entirely on the fact that I have long admitted that I am a sinner and that Jesus made propitiation for my sins to redeem me from an eternity in hell. And that is what my church professes.
    That may be a lot to digest, especially when most people aren’t even willing to admit they are sinners! Most folks say, “well, nobody’s perfect.” But that’s as far as they’re willing to go. The reason they take such a dim view of sin and its consequences can be narrowed down to two rationalizations: it is what they are being taught in their churches, or it is a self-contrived view of their state of depravity. But that is not what the Bible teaches. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24. The acolytes of false teaching worship neither in the Holy Spirit nor do they worship in the truth!
    As true Bible-believing Christians, it is our duty to understand Christ as our Lord and by doing so we understand His word is truth. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” - John 14:6. This is the Christ of the Bible. This is the Christ of truth. This is Jesus Christ, in His own words! It is only when we see Him in this context that we can worship Him and fellowship according to the will of God. This is the church where we can feel at one with our brethren, our pastors, and the true Word of God. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
    Yes, I continue my weekly two-hour drive to church service each Sunday and will continue to do so as there is no substitute for the inerrant and infallible word of God delivered in both truth and spirit..

The Petrine Fear Factor - Matthew 10:32-33

   
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 10:32-33.

    There are many people who have a difficult time sharing the Gospel with family members and friends. It’s easy from a worldly point of view to understand this hesitancy by some brethren. It’s not a matter of avoiding religion or politics among polite company. Often, it comes down to the fear that sharing the word of God forthrightly will offend the friend or family member. And not without reason. Some of the best loved people in our lives are not just silent about God; they aggressively insult our beliefs and God Himself. “Don’t come in here, preaching to me” The comment, if not verbalized that way, often takes the place of the elephant in the room when the subject is broached. But Jesus Himself has warned us against such faintheartedness in the face of trenchant opposition and they are words we would be wise to heed. “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 8:38. This sobering advice to any Christian.
    We shouldn’t forget the lesson of Peter in the courtyard when he denied Christ, not once or twice but three times; this even after Jesus had warned him of his cowering denials. “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same.” - Matthew 26:34-35. We all know what happened to Peter’s bravado in the face of his own fears.
    Fortunately for Peter. His story didn’t end with his fall from grace in the courtyard. Eventually, he was raised from the ashes of his spiritual failure to become Christ’s ‘rock.’ Everywhere he went, he boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus.  “...let it be known to all of you 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 is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”- Acts 4:10-12. This was preaching in boldness; not something couched in hesitancy or fear of angering others.
    Peter’s restoration brought him to the pinnacle of spiritual faith, even unto death upon the cross under the order of Emperor Nero in approximately 64 AD. And we’re too reluctant to proclaim Christ as King to our own family and friends?
    Paul the Apostle issues the proclamation that we should go forth fervently with God’s word. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:1-2.
    These words aren’t simply advice on how we are to share God’s word if we feel no resistance from those around us. This is what we must do as Christians wherever we are and whenever we feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to do as Christ commands us. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20. This is the command of Jesus Christ, no matter who the audience is. Our job as Christians is not to succumb to the fear of Peter, but to aspire to his boldness.