THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “ Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “ If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19:16-17, 20-22 (emphasis added)

This is the tragic moment of a rich man who met Jesus personally and asked Him the most important question anyone can ask - "What can I do to have eternal life?"

Jesus baited him with keeping the commandments. We really can get to heaven through personal perfection - but only the most prideful really believe deep down that they have reached sinless perfection! Ultimately Jesus came to the real problem - the covetousness of the young man! His riches had taken possession of his soul!

This man faced the moment of truth - that moment when we all must decide if we will surrender our false beliefs for the sake of the truth or continue in our own version of reality!

Sadly, the rich young ruler chose the latter! Tragically, many have followed his example throughout the centuries after Jesus spoke these words! Why do we do that? Why are so many willing to accept a lie rather than face reality?

Deception seems the most obvious answer. One believes that somehow his version of reality will supplant God's. Others may actually believe that they will eventually be judged but are duped into thinking that it will somehow be worth it. This is especially true when we are young. After all, old age, death and the judgment seem so far away!

Great men of the Bible made the opposite choice when they faced their personal moment of truth!

Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son because he trusted so fully that God was able to raise him from the dead! (See Hebrews 11  ) Moses lived in the comforts of the royal palace in Egypt - yet He forsook all to suffer with his Hebrew brothers because he knew the pleasures would only last for a season! Paul was a "rising star" among the Pharisees - but counted it all as rubbish when he met the living Jesus!

Many scientists, politicians and wealthy people have a lot to lose if they acknowledge the truth! So when their moment of truth comes, they choose to hide it, cover it and bury it! They choose the passing pleasures of success, fame, wealth and status!

How tragic that the rich young ruler "walked away in a state of sorrow!" 

It saddens me to think that one day, all of those who chose passing pleasures over truth will stand before God one day. I picture that day that will come to every one of us. On that day all of fame, stated or wealth a person enjoyed will come to a screeching halt! On that day, No on who was envied or worshipped for who they were or what they had in this life will no longer care. It will all be behind them as though it never existed!

Those who accepted the truth when it stood before them will not care about the past either.. The difference is that they will rejoice that the past is gone because it is being replaced by an unimaginable eternal future! Millenniums in the distant future, those who follow Christ will be just getting started!

In the words of the famous song, Amazing Grace...

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun!


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OUR GREAT HOPE

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise
Hebrews 6:13-15

We may face hard times when God seems far away. Other times, we may look at our lives - our actions, thoughts and motives and wonder if we will really be found worthy enough for God to take us in to His Kingdom when we stand before Him!

The good news is that God's promises are in His hands and He is faithful even we fall short! The blood of Jesus is enough to wash us completely - 100% from our sins, past, present and future!

God made a promise to Abraham. God's Word is enough! But He appeared a second time and SWORE AN OATH to Abraham that He would keep His promise! A double assurance was given to Abraham! How much more can we be assured today under the New Covenant?

That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, WE might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
Hebrews 6:18

The "WE" is you and I! We have been given the same assurance that God will welcome us in that day - not because of our own worthiness - but because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ!

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
Hebrews 6:19-20

Jesus is our High Priest forever. His Priesthood is unchanging and eternal and can never fail. Though we fall short, His suffering and death on our behalf is more than enough to issue our entrance into His heavenly Kingdom!

We have this blessed hope as an anchor of the soul! Like a ship which may drift a short distance while it is anchored, the anchor will prevent it from drifting away.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and given Him control of your life, remember that He is your Anchor! Any earthly anchor may be moved if enough force is applied - BUT JESUS CANNOT BE MOVED!

And if He cannot be moved - and you are attached to Him - you also cannot be moved!


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TEN BASIC STEPS TO CHRISTIAN MATURITY

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

When we appear before God, we will all be judged according to one very important question:

What did you do with Jesus?

Books that will be opened on that day. The contain our works - all that we have done by which we will be judged!

Then another book will be opened called THE BOOK OF LIFE!

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12, 15 (emphasis added)

The Bible makes it clear that only those in the Book of Life will be spared the Lake of Fire!

I wonder if we fully believe and grasp the implications of that statement today. If we did, would we not be extremely diligent to make certain our names are in that book? would we not also be diligent to warn others of the gravity of this future judgment.

Those who are not in the Book of Life will be judged by their works. Some may feel relieved and feel confident that their works stand this test. But the Bible also makes it clear that no one's works will be enough to save them! God has already evaluated the world and has declared the entire world as fallen and already condemned for eternity! This is an awesome and serious matter with eternal implications!

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:18

Some feel their "good works" will outweigh their bad works. They envision a scale with good on one side and bad on the other. Whichever is weightier will determine whether they are allowed into heaven or condemned to hell.

Think about that though! Do we judge that way? If a model citizen is found guilty of murdering an innocent person, do we bring in the scales to determine his sentence? Do we call his third grade teacher to say, "He brought me an apple and always paid attention." Others might testify that he is a "good man." He may be able to pile up a huge number of witnesses and facts that testify of all the good works he has done for society.

 Does the judge then say, "Your good works outweigh your bad so you may go free!" Of course not! If he is guilty of the murder and all the good works in the world will not be enough to set him free!

There is only one way to stand in the judgment - through Jesus Christ!

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:18

God sent Jesus to die for our sins! He took our sins on the cross when He suffered and died for us! Each and every sin is bought and paid for! Now we can accept His free gift and be saved!

We can't understand it completely because we are fallen and our thinking is flawed! But we can choose to turn from our sins and trust in what Jesus did on our behalf!

The alternative is to stand before Him without Jesus without His sacrifice and without His blood which washes our sins! The name of all those who come to Christ and believe in Him from the heart are recorded in THE BOOK OF LIFE!

If our name is in that book, the sins recorded in the other books will no longer be addressed or remembered on the judgment day! Only the good will be remembered and rewarded! The choice seems obvious - yet many still reject Him!

Right now - in this life - each of of us needs to answer this eternally important question...

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

Ask Him to come into your heart right now - right where you and just as you are! Ask Him to change you according to His ways and plan for you! If you truly turn from your sins and believe from your heart - you will be changed forever and your name will be written in the Lamb's book of life!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY - FOLLOW THIS LINK...
THE 4 SPIRITUAL LAWS

IF YOU DID PRAY TO RECEIVE JESUS - GO HERE...
TEN BASIC STEPS TO CHRISTIAN MATURITY