Where do I begin?
First, I think I’d be dead and in hell by now without Jesus.
Looking at some of the medical events I’ve had over the last five years, even
though I am still reasonably young by human measures, my relative youth doesn’t
guarantee that I would have stayed alive until even now. As far as I’m
concerned, I think it’s foolish for any of us to assume that we all will live
to be 70, 80, even 90 years of age. I personally know of people who have died
in their 20s. I even was friends with someone who died of cancer at age 16. And
don’t get me started on that bevy of famous Classical composers who died in
their 30s, or of famous rock-and-roll artists who died in their 20s. By God’s
grace – and only His grace – I’ve already outlived many of them.
Second, by the same token, it is no guarantee that I’ll be
alive tomorrow, or a month from now, or a year from now, let alone 10 years
from now, let alone 30 years, let alone 50. I’m just glad I still have time to
repent and get right with God, which I need to do every day. Every day I find a
way to mess something up, to sin, to rebel. In my human eyes I consider some of
my errors small (like I could feel a prompting to pray for someone as I go
about my day but instead I turn on YouTube and watch a car crash video). But
sin is no laughing matter, and there is no such thing as a “small sin.” God and
sin cannot coexist, and heaven and sin cannot coexist. Sin has to go somewhere
else. And if a person will not stop their sin and let Jesus come into their
hearts and change them, the person will end up wherever sin has been banished. Hence
hell’s existence.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23, NKJV
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness. Proverbs 15:9, NKJV
The point is, Jesus paid that price and tore that veil that
separated man from God. Today we remember His birth, the day He came into this
world as a tiny baby (just like every other person who has ever lived). I too
am grateful for this tiny baby that grew to a man who healed the sick, restored
sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, walking ability to
the lame, and even restored the dead back to life… even with just a word in one
case… and even 4 days after the person had died, in another. And that’s just the
tip of the iceberg.
Today we celebrate the birth of the One who not only did these things but also laid His life down when He died. Roman floggings and crucifixions were normally so brutal that just about any other person sentenced to what Jesus was sentenced to would’ve died far sooner. The Romans tried to kill Him. They failed. They failed because it was Jesus who laid His life down, died, and then went to conquer death, because He’s God. And then He rose again from the dead. Specifically, God raised Him from the dead. Now He’s in heaven, seated next to God the Father. Soon He’ll come again to make everything right on earth that once was wrong. We don’t know when. But He’s coming.
The point is, Jesus has made a way for me in spite of all
the perfectly justifiable reasons that I shouldn’t be allowed to enter heaven. Not
that what we do or don’t do doesn’t matter – it does – but it pales in
comparison with knowing Him. Everything on earth pales in comparison with really
knowing Him, with knowing His heart, knowing His desires, knowing His
will, with knowing His love. So how do you get to know Him? Receive Him in your
heart. Repent of all sins in your life. Believe on Him to be the Savior of your
soul – to be your Savior. And receive Him as your Lord, your King, your
Master, your Emperor.
[Side note: in western cultures we’ve come to frown on monarchies
and dictatorships, in favor of democratically-elected republics or parliaments.
Sure, some western countries (namely in Europe) have monarchies. My understanding
is that those monarchs are largely ceremonial with some responsibilities, but
it’s the Prime Minister that runs the country with the help of a governing body.
However, God is not a President or a Prime Minister, nor a church (or The
Church) as His law-making governing body who has the power to overrule Him if
they disagree with any kind of executive decision on legislation. No, God is
the King, the Church is His bride, and all believers are those who are with the
King at every command of His.]
Above all, how you get to know Him once you’ve received Him
is by surrendering to Him and spending time with Him. Which I’m still learning
to do.
So I’m grateful that Jesus has made a way for me to be able
to get into heaven, by repenting, and trying to get myself to spend quality
time with Him and let Him be the King in my life (and no one else).
I’m also grateful that, according to His word, even though
Jesus was fully man in addition to being fully God, because He was fully God He
cannot lie. I still need help receiving this by faith because I still have
experiences of being let down, betrayed, or outright rejected by authority
figures in my life. (Side note: I don’t mean the police or any other similar
type of authority figure, by the way. I’ve always had good experiences with
them, and I am also grateful to God for that! No, I’m instead referring to authority
figures in my family/various families as well as different individuals in my
various communities over the years who have had direct influence over my life.)
But because Jesus cannot lie, therefore He is an authority
figure I can trust, no matter the command. I often don’t understand what I hear
from Him, but that’s fine. So long as I’m willing to trust Him and obey Him, I
don’t have to understand. Therefore, I’m grateful for that.
I’m grateful He spoke to me at a particularly down point in
my life in the fall of 2009 when I was unable to find work in Minnesota so I could
continue to live there.
I’m grateful He immediately provided me with a church community
and as importantly, a church family to plug in to in order to restart my faith,
such as it was at the time.
I’m grateful He led me to my first men’s Bible study to
experience the beginnings of intentional community with a reasonably tight-knit
group of young men in their 20s and early 30s.
I’m grateful that, from there, He led me to the counseling
center where I was able to get even more help and receive deeper healing for
the next almost-decade.
I’m grateful that, through His prompting me to agree to step
into leadership for a couple ministries at my church (I was already on
leadership for one of them for a couple years, so I was kind of “grandfathered”
in), I officially became a member of the church and ultimately got baptized, publicly
declaring my allegiance and relationship to Him in front of several hundreds of
people as witnesses.
Simply put, I’m grateful to Jesus for saving me.
That said, I also understand that just because I got baptized and proclaimed with my lips: “Jesus is Lord!” in front of those several hundred witnesses does not guarantee salvation (I have to believe it in my heart as well). Full, daily obedience to Him is required of me, and over a decade later I still find myself disobeying at least one command each day. (My baptism occurred on December 1, 2013, and my ten-year anniversary occurred just a few weeks ago.) It is why, according to His Word, I must continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. His grace does not come cheap.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12, NKJV
Still, I’m grateful for His grace, because repentance and surrender
is the price. Because Jesus paid the ultimate price, the required blood
sacrifice on the cross to atone for my sins (and “sin” singular, referring not
just to the multitudinous sins I’ve committed over my lifetime but also to my evil
human nature), our price in return is much simpler and much lighter. As Jesus
Himself said:
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30, NKJV
If you’ve made it this far, it’s possible that you might be
shocked at what appears to be heavy self-flagellating. You might also be
thinking, “wow, this blogger thinks of himself as a terrible, horrible person!”
The truth is, without Jesus, I am by nature a terrible, horrible person. And
without Jesus, by nature, so are you. And so is everyone else. As a matter of
fact:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23, NKJV
But I’m turning this on me because 1.) no one is going to
stay long in reading or listening to anything where the writer or speaker is
beating up their audience; and 2.) I also want to break down the walls between
you and me regarding the seriousness of not receiving Jesus Christ as your
Savior and especially as your Lord. In past posts, I made harsh comments about
this (I still firmly believe these were made out of necessity), but sometimes the
gong-like nature of these comments will lose their resonance with the intended
audience. In this regard, you and I are no different. Without Jesus, you and I
are both evil sinners in danger of the fires of hell. And hell is bad. This is
just reality. But the good news is – and I am very grateful for this – is that
Jesus did (and still does) make a way for both you and me to be saved.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11, NKJV
I’m grateful that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my
sins.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3, NKJV
And I’m grateful that He rose again from the dead, that God
raised Him from the dead.
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9, NKJV
He is risen!
