Jude 1:24-25; “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time now and forever, Amen.” (ESV, all emphasis mine)
Ephesians 3:20-21; “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and forever; Amen.”
Revelation 5:11-14; “Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and forever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Trying to make it in today’s evil world without real hope is absolutely frightening beyond words. The increasing crime rate and violence we are experiencing in America and worldwide is unprecedented. Everything Paul talked about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 about difficulty in the last days is in our everyday news right now.
“But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid Such People.”
Jesus said in Matthew 24:9-13, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My namesake. And then many will fall away and betray one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
It is becoming more and more obvious that to declare Jesus as Our Savior is very unpopular. Christians are being portrayed as haters, even though we try to love everyone for their eternal soul as we are directed by our Jesus. Even though we love all, we do not have to accept what the Father calls abominations, and this turns them against us.
Christian businesses are being targeted with legal challenges because they will not perform services or make products that obviously go against our relationship with our Heavenly Father. There are numerous secular florists, bakeries, photographers, and whatever that have no problem fulfilling the sinful acts. However, business owners who are believers are purposely sought out in an attempt to cause persecution.
Jesus told us in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”
There is an answer for this, yet many believe that it is too hard. The answer is to “surrender” to our Lord and Savior and become a part of His precious flock. It may not totally change your circumstances on this earth, but your forever will definitely be for the best.
In 1896, the song “I Surrender All” was written by Judsen Van DeVenter (12/1855 – 07/1939). Please consider your forever and choose Jesus as your eternal Savior.
1.) All to Jesus I surrender; all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
Ref.) I surrender All; I surrender All; all to thee my blessed Savior; I surrender All.
2.) All to Jesus I surrender; humbly at His feet I bow. Worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take me now. (ref)
3.) All to Jesus I surrender; make me wholly Thine. Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine. (ref)
4.) All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee. Fill me with Thy love and power; let Thy blessing fall on me. (ref)
5.) All to Jesus I surrender; now I feel the Sacred Flame. Oh the joy of full Salvation; Glory, Glory to His name. (ref.)
Please know that the hard part is believing that eternal Salvation is not performing numerous tasks, jumping through hoops, or having to go into debt to purchase it. In fact, Ephesians 2:8-9 sets the record straight on this; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
There are steps to follow which have been called the “ABCs of Salvation.” This can be found in Romans 10:9-13.
The “A” is to admit you are a sinner, as everyone on this earth is without exception. There was only one “human” who lived a totally sinless life, and that was Jesus when He came to this earth in human form. Please note, as a human, He was subject to all the feelings and emotions that we experience. Satan even tried to tempt Him to sin without success. Though He was made to be lower than the angels while on this earth (Hebrews 2:7-9), He kept His focus on the reason He was here and completed the only sacrifice for our sins that the Father would ever accept.
The “B” is to believe Jesus did come to this earth, was crucified and died for our sins, and was raised by the Father on the 3rd day to conquer sin and death for us once and for all. Also, we believe Jesus is truly a part of the Triune Godhead.
The “C” is to call on the name of the Lord to be saved. All who truly call on Jesus to be their Savior will be saved. Besides Joel 2:32, this is found in Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13.
Our Heavenly Father will force no one to receive and accept Jesus as their Savior but will accept all who truly do. He is absolutely a God of Love, as given in John 3:16-18. He will allow the choice to not receive Jesus, but the consequences are severe. There are only two choices in spite of what false prophets may try to tell you.
All who take their last breath on this earth without Jesus will be scheduled for the line at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. Everyone there will end up in the lake of fire with Satan and His demons forever. The judgment is to learn the degree of their eternal punishment, not if they are saved or condemned.
All who have received and accepted our Savior will be with Him forever in Heaven. We will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), but that is to determine rewards gained or lost by what we did while on this earth. This judgment is not to see if we have Heaven or hell, as we will be with Jesus forever.
The activities today are practically shouting that our Jesus will be coming soon to take all believers off this sin-filled planet to keep us from the coming wrath. No other prophecies have to be completed before this takes place. The time to be ready for the Rapture is right now – today! Once the Trumpet of God sounds and the shout is given by an archangel, the Rapture will be over in the “twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Joshua expressed to the people the best possible answer we could give. To summarize, he told the people to choose that day whom they would serve. As for Him and his household, they would serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).
To surrender to our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, is to gain Heaven forever. Quite frankly, this seems like a total win-win situation. Instead of absolute darkness forever in eternal punishment, we will have the light of the Savior forever and ever in absolute paradise. He’s waiting for those who will call on Him. Please choose wisely, as your eternal destination depends on this.
Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus!) Shalom! (Peace to you!)
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