DOD 17 – Monday July, 10, 2017

I’m trusting the Lord with the timing of this one men. I know its Monday, and I’d love to start off the week with something super encouraging, but this is what’s on my heart, and where I’m at after the weekend…

I watched my wife’s last living grandparent die at the age of 91 on Saturday. It all happened so fast. A couple months ago, she was playing bridge, loving her pets, making some of her favorite drinks and enjoying the comfort of her beautiful town home in a beautiful part of Lexington. And now she’s gone.

Here’s a question to consider today as we boil this down and focus in on what we want to be about this day, week, and for the rest of our lives. 1,000 years ago, the only thing that will matter to us, the only question that we will have answered that ever mattered is this:

What did you do with the gift of grace and forgiveness offered by Jesus Christ at the Cross?

The bible is clear about this men. No one comes to the father except through Jesus Christ. We are all born with sin, sin carries with it the penalty of death, and the only way to defeat death is through the gift of life offered by Jesus. This is the free gift of salvation offered to all men. And it’s a gift that we each need to take, receive, accept, and believe for ourselves.

And let’s not be confused… coming to the Mat and MI doesn’t equal being saved. Going to church doesn’t equal being saved. Praying before meals and doing bible study on the weekends doesn’t equal being saved. Going on mission trips, donating to charities, being a good husband or father or son doesn’t equal being saved. Check out this passage:

Matthew 7:21-23 - ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’­­

This guy did everything he could to please and perform for­­ God, and when he died, he stood before God and God told him to get away, because he never really KNEW HIM. There was no relationship. It was all based on performance and works.

Here are some thoughts today guys, as I consider all this…

The bible tells me to work out my salvation with fear and trembling and to examine myself to make sure I am living and walking in the faith. If you can’t remember the moment, or the season, or the time in your life when you began this personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that should be concerning. Everything else hinges on this. Your personal freedom and victory from whatever addiction has your number right now can’t be realized until you have the Holy Spirit’s power living inside you, and that only happens after you give your life to Christ. We need to get clear on this for ourselves because there is power in clarifying where you stand before God and knowing who you are in light of what He’s done for you. You can have confident assurance on the other side of actually beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I want to live my life in such a way that when the bell rings and my number is called, I will have confidence in my salvation, and therefore, I will have said what I wanted to say, done what I set out to do, stood for what mattered most to me, shared my faith with the people who God entrusted to me, and Iived my life in such a way that my legacy continues to impact and point people to Jesus Christ for as long as possible way after I’m gone.

1.      Are you confident of your relationship with Jesus Christ the way someone who was married would be confident of the fact that they were married? 

2.      Are you living with any major regrets that you have the capacity currently to make right and you’re just waiting, stuck behind fear, or doubt, or insecurity? What if you lived like today was your last day…? 

3.      Are you the man in Matthew 7? And if today was your last day, would you be met with the same fate as that man who thought he was secure and ended up being cast away? 

4.      Are you willing to humble yourself and give your life to Christ today if you know that you don’t currently have a relationship with Jesus? 

Please chime in on GroupME with any thoughts you have about any of this, and especially if you realize that you have questions, doubts, or KNOW that you need to give your life to Christ and begin relationship with Him. Love you guys, and thanks for letting me be real about what’s on my heart today.