How to Draw Near to God(Lowly Submission) James 4:7-10

Do you feel disconnected from God? Many do. How can we draw near to God? I don’t personally know anyone who would not like to draw near to God. Drawing near to God is essential to salvation and thus to the Christian life. How can we endure without being close to Him? What comfort can I have without Him? The Spirit of Christ spoke through Paul in Athens saying in Acts 17:24-28:

 

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”

God has made this world so that people may seek Him and find Him. The times and the boundaries of our dwellings have been set and established by God for this very purpose God wants you to find Him and has blessed all people everywhere to be able to do that.

 

From TZ to Kenya, from South Africa to North Africa, from South America to North America, from Europe to Asia, from Middle East to Near East, from your home to mine, you can find God.

 

Jesus promised, “Seek and you will find” (Matt. 7:7). 

 

The Spirit of Christ said in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse,”

 

The second thing that we see is that God is not far from each one of us. Though many are separated from God by their sins and their own false gods, God is not so far that we cannot reach Him.

 

No matter your sins, your race, your gender, or ethnicity; God is not far. If I am not close to God, it is my fault despite the hindrances from others.

 

Christ’s Spirit said in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Here is the command with a promise. The command is draw near to God, and the promise is that He will draw near to you. When we stand before the judgment seat of God, what will we say?

 “God, I didn’t know where you were.” “I looked, but I just couldn’t find you.”  “God, I was in church”, “I prayed”, “I was good to people.”

Some people come (go) to worship in the Church and get nothing out of it and do not know what their worship has done. Why do so many not get anything out of worship?

 

If you don’t have a thirst and hunger for righteousness, then you may be a Christian in name only. You have to draw near to God. Drawing near to God is essential for our salvation, and that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection was to do exactly that by reconciling God and man (You) through Christ.

 

We draw near to God by humble submission or in other words lowering ourselves into obedience.

 

James 4:7-10 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Humility is essential to submitting in obedience to God. Jesus is the author of salvation to those who obey Him.

 

Heb. 5:8-9. For the Spirit of Christ has revealed the words of Christ through His Apostles and prophets to transform us back into the image of God (2 Cor. 3:18).

 

It is humble submission that helps us overcome sin. For by this we resist the Devil and he flees.

 

We draw near to God by cleansing our hands because we are sinners. If you are disconnected from God, it is because of your sins (Col. 1:21).

 

We draw near to God by purifying our hearts being doubled-minded or even better as the Greek word disuchoi literally means “two-souls”. Sinners claiming to be Christians have to be doubled-minded. “Lament and mourn and weep!” Mourn for your sins.

 

Now what? Christ’s teaching is clearly revealed through Paul in  2 Corinthians 7:10.  “For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

 

If we would humble ourselves, then we would have joy and a lasting joy. Jesus will lift us up. what does it mean to be humble? To humble means to make yourself low. 

 

Just as the original word is used for mountains being brought low in Luke 3:5, and Christ being in the form of God came in the likeness of man in Philippians 2:8.

 Are you desiring to draw nearer to God? How close do you really want to get to Him?

 A closer walk must begin with a preparation of the heart. 


PREPARING YOUR HEART

Jeremiah 4:3 “For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem , Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.”

The Lord is speaking about breaking up the hard ground in your heart, that part where the Word of God isn’t finding root and lodging, where it isn’t flourishing and growing, where it isn’t bearing fruit.  


DRAW NEAR TO GOD IN PRAYER

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

 

Let this verse sink down into your heart, and apply it to your life. You have the responsibility of taking the first step. When you begin to draw near to God, He will automatically draw near to you.  

 
STUDY GOD'S WORD

Isaiah 55:6,7 “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let Him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Besides spending time in prayer, we need to also spend time in the Word: If we take time to read the Bible and to study it, we will find that, all at once, it becomes alive unto us. There will be something about it that draws us, something that enriches our heart. 

One way to draw closer to God is to enlarge our understanding of Him and of His ways. This is very important. Nothing can take the place of reading the Word of God - not even books about the Bible. You need to get into the Bible for yourself - every day! It is food for your soul.  

LAY ASIDE MEANINGLESS THINGS

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” 

Redeem that idle time, giving yourself over to God and earnestly seeking Him. You’ll find yourself enjoying life a lot more if you pull apart from the things of this world, and really give yourself over to God.  

 
KEY SCRIPTURE FOR GETTING CLOSER TO GOD

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  

 

I firmly believe that the Bible has all the answers we need. It has the answers to everything pertaining to life and godliness. If we really want to draw closer to God, all we need do is follow what the Bible has to tell us.  If you want to draw closer to God, you are going to have to do so on His terms - not on your terms.

 

“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  This is what takes the place of conformity. Let your mind be renewed by drawing nigh to God and to His Word.

How to be used by God -Timothy 2:20-21

 I want to speak in this article to all who want to be used of God. I would suspect that deep in every person's heart here there is a desire that God might use them. That is a normal and a proper desire.

There is no thrill like the thrill of being used of God. There is excitement, satisfaction and fulfillment, the consciousness that one has been the instrument in the hands of the Almighty to do some of His work to change the direction of someone's life, perhaps,

 1. To prevent an injury,
2. To resolve an argument,
3. To answer a challenge,
4. To heal a weakness,
5. To rebuke a ruler, or to turn a nation.


I have seen men tremble with a sense of awe as they realized that on a given occasion they were the instrument of God's working.

I can tell you from personal experience that is something that is without compare in this life. It can happen anywhere, anytime.

God works in wonderful ways, not always in very dramatic ways, but in ways we do not anticipate. It can happen to anybody.

Being used of God is not confined to pastors, preachers or teachers. Anybody can be an instrument in God's hands.

In the passage we are looking at this morning from Second Timothy, Chapter 2, beginning with Verse 20, the Apostle Paul describes what it takes to be used of God.

 Timothy 2:20-21 “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. If anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.”

The great question then is to what end, for what purpose is he using you?

"In every house," he says, "there are vessels." That is true of all homes -- we have "vessels for honor," i.e., dishes we eat from, pots and pans we cook in, decorated vases, etc., are all vessels unto honor.

They are not only useful but they are preserved, they are permanent, we want to keep them.

But every house also has "vessels for dishonor" -- we have garbage cans, slop buckets, bedpans, trash barrels, wastebaskets. We do not display them.

They are useful, but they are not presentable. We may even intend to dispose of them, sometimes after only one use. Those are vessels of dishonor.

Application 1- That is the way God sees you. If we want to understand life as it really is, we have to look at each in that way. God sees all of us as useful vessels.

We see that in Verse 21: "If any one purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use." We have no choice of whether we are going to be used of God or not; the choice we have is what God is going to use us for.

Choice determines the way God uses us. God will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without him being willing to be used. 1 Samuel 3:11

Application 2- God does not force us to be used of him; it must always be a willing choice on our part. But we have to do something about it.

…"he must purify himself,"… we are responsible to use the cleansing that has been provided.

Example:- If you have been working on your car or in the yard and your hands are dirty, you go into the bathroom to clean yourself up with soap and water -- you deliberately choose to use the soap and water provided -- when you have done so you say, "I've cleansed myself." It was not you that did the cleansing (it was the soap and water), but you used that which was provided.

We have a responsibility to use the redemption that has been provided in Jesus Christ, to lay hold of his provision for the forgiveness of sin.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (l John 1:9.

You can go into a bathroom with dirty hands and there is soap and water there, but if you refuse to use them you will come out just as dirty as you went in. You cannot blame the bathroom for that. You are to blame.

You can come to church and hear the truth of the Word of God, but if you do not apply it to yourself it does you no good.

You cannot blame God because he did not give you all the good things he promises to those who come to him, if you have not come to him. Even as a Christian you cannot expect to be used of God in beautiful and wonderful ways unless you are willing to purify yourself and use the instruments he has provided.

Everybody wants to be used of God if he is a Christian, but you cannot be used of God for good purposes unless you are willing to say "No" first.

You must say "No" to the wrong before God will say "Yes" to the right. You cannot go on living like you have always done and expect God to use you. He cannot, he will not, until there is a cleansing.

…"If any one purifies himself ... “he will be, a vessel unto honor, ready for any good work." He will be "consecrated."
Finally, he is "ready for any good work." He becomes adaptable; God can use him in many different ways.

All this hangs on your willingness to turn away from the wrongful attitudes, philosophies and actions of life.

This is the proper interpretation, and it is proved by the way Paul specifically applies this to Timothy. In Verse 22 he says,

Application 3:- You never start with wanting to be used by God; you have to start with refusing to be used by the wrong.

If you want God to make you an effective instrument of his working in this world throughout your life, that is where you have to start.

If you have not learned to say "No," if you drift along with whatever the crowd is doing, you will never be an instrument used by God for noble purposes.

You have to say "No" to unbelief and "Yes" to faith.

What is the foundation of your New Year's resolutions?

As we enter New Year 2015, on what foundation do you build your live on? We are told in Ephesians:

“You are . . . fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:9

Obviously from this verse, the ultimate foundation on which to build our lives is Jesus. We build our lives on Jesus because this sinful world does bring problems and death, and we need the forgiveness and life that only come through Jesus.

According to Ephesians, God builds us on Jesus through the apostles and prophets, through his word. So, using Scripture through worship and personal devotions is a way to build our lives as children of God.

In addition, we build relationships with others when we spend time with someone and when we talk and share with them. Our relationship with God is also built when we spend time with our Lord through prayer.

So, as we begin the new year and seek new opportunities and blessings, there are some simple practices we can follow that can build us up.

Are you regular in worship with God’s people? One person reminded me on Christmas Eve that God’s word tells us, “Let us not give up meeting together.” Hebrews 10:25

When God’s people gather around the word and sacraments in worship we are pointed to Jesus, and we are built up in Jesus who is the cornerstone of our faith. We are built up for lives that receive health and blessings in this world of sin and death. That is why I like another verse that talks about worship even more. Psalm 122:1 says, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”

Since we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, on the word of God, will you take time for Bible class and a regular devotional life in the coming year? Regular, personal time in God’s word also helps build our faith in Jesus.

Since we hope to face a new year with the love and blessings of our Lord, will you be regular in your conversations with the Lord? Will you go to him in praise and thanks, with your fears and your hopes? Will you go to him for yourself and others? Prayer builds our relationship with Jesus.

Perhaps you have made resolutions for this year. Why not consider these three habits of faith: faithfulness in worship, faithfulness in Bible study and devotional life, and faithfulness in prayer? These may not sound life changing. But, these behaviors will build us up on a firm foundation on Christ Jesus.

In Jesus we will know the blessings of God’s love in this year, even in the midst of this world’s trials.

I pray your Christmas brought you peace and joy and love through worship and through family time as you again received the gift of God’s love in Jesus.

I pray that in the year 2015, you may build on this gift of Christ Jesus as God reveals him in the prophets and apostles, as we find him in God’s word and through prayer.

Heaven is for real movie review

May of us have read books that have been reproduced into movies. This is one movie you would be interested in after reading the book, HEAVEN IS FOR REAL a bestselling book by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. For me I saw the movie first and then read the book. Both the book and the movie are extremely powerful in that in the end, both answer our own questions regarding life and the life-after.
The most important question this movie answers is where it is we go when we die. We may not be part of a pastor's family, coincidentally I happen to be a pastor myself and have answered this question many times in my calling. Most of us have never had a near-death experience, but we go about our lives doing much like the pastor Burpo’s family the main focus in the movie, going about their daily life as a family until the unexplainable happens.

Colton their 4 year old son became ill had an emergency appendectomy surgery at which time he went to the actual heaven. Heaven is for Real is based on the true story of Colton who experienced heaven. This 4 year old experienced a divine appointment that not only changed the pastor’s family view of life after death but could change the way you and I could view life here after.

Colton claims that there were angels singing to him, and that he floated above the operating table and could see himself. He claims that he saw his mom on the phone and his dad angrily praying (in separate rooms). Later, he mentions meeting Jesus and sitting on His lap, as well as encountering his mis-carried little sister and his great-grandfather. He says that everyone in heaven is young, and there are many animals present too. Heaven is a lot like earth, the little boy he narrates, except more colorful and more beautiful.  This 4 year old boy claims that he saw the Son of God riding a horse

Heaven is for real has an agenda spelled out as faith-based film, with a moral to counteract septic’s notion of heaven.  Many of the experiences we have heard or read about, the person’s in these experiences actually die. But Colton was just under some really good anesthesia during surgery. After recovery from this surgery Colton returns home changed by the experience something that left is family bewildered. He knows things about his family that nobody has told him. Two good examples are when Colton narrates where is father was praying for him in the hospital chapel, and his mother in a different room, at the hospital’s waiting area, on the phone calling family, friends and church members requesting that they pray for her son.  When asked how this is possible, Colton insists that Jesus informed him on these matters. This young boy has knowledge that leaves his father’s without words to explain these possibilities.

There is noticeable disagreement between church pastor Todd and his wife Sonja as to whether Colton’s story is really true. Todd is being consumed by his son’s story and what it spiritually means. At some point Sonja demands that Todd focus on life instead of the afterlife. Like most of us would do or feel, Sonja felt that Colton’s experience is taking away family time and energy.

 Out of despair and distress Todd the pastor, visits a counselor who is not a Christian. What is interesting is that the counselor offers a scientific explanation contrary to Todd’s expectations. Todd is seen leaving the counselor’s office more frustrated than when he came in.

The climax of the movie surfaces when Todd begins to question his own faith upon realizing Colton may indeed have visited heaven.  Even when we may want to focus in Colton’s experience of heaven, “Heaven is for Real” also highlights Todd’s dilemma of not being able explaining his son’s experience. The pastor’s faith is wearing out.  Colton’s experience becomes so controversial among Todd’s congregants to a point of him almost being replaced as a pastor of the church. We see a search committee seeking explanation from Todd why this issue is taking a lot of his energy and time, which he should be devoting to the pastoral oversight of the church. Todd however kept his position as the pastor to the Wesleyan church.

This is a family oriented movie that is highly recommended. However interpretations depend with one’s own faith and belief about heaven. Is Heaven real? For me it is.

 

 

 

The Business Of Faith Healing

I believe in miracles but not fake miracle workers that have been on news lately.  The Bible is clear in James chapter 5 that it is the prayer of faith which heals the sick, not the fake pretense of a false prophet asking for payment to “perform miracles of healing to those seeking them! However we have some pure legitimate men and women of God working in the vineyard of His and He is using them to reveal him by healing through miracles.
 
I would categorize any fake miracle worker who comes along to be the antichrist. The False Prophet and the antichrist will be empowered by Satan to work fake miracles and deceive a lost world, and or the very vulnerable in matters of faith. Unfortunately most of these groups of persons are struggling financially and more likely than not socially. That being said therefore, the fake “miracle  working prophet” takes advantage of the vulnerability of the sick by having them pay for the “miracle” much less amount of money than they would pay for in a clinical setting. But the word of God is clear on healing Isaiah 53:4-5   

The truth is fake healers are like parasites preying on the weak and sick. When the human spirit and body have been devastated by an illness it leaves a person vulnerable. Many people go to faith healers because all other means of a cure have failed. They look at a miracle as their last chance to get their health back. Fake healers understand this human weakness and they use it to get what they want, money and favors of all sorts.

The faith healing business is nothing more than a money embezzlement scam, one of many pitfalls surrounding the church today.  It is high time Christians start rebuking the real sickness afflicting the church as fake healers, false prophets. Christians should watch out that they will not continue to be deceived. Luke 21:8   

Put faith healers to the test and they will fail every time. There is a big difference between saying and doing.  Fake faith healers point to testimonials to support their claims, but testimonials are a dime a dozen. A good example is what happened in Kenya recently where the self-styled “Prophet,” Kanyari stole thousands of local currency from his “miracle receivers” in pretense that he will provided healing, or their business will be expended, marriages restored after planting a seed in his wallet. Don’t get me wrong seed planting is biblical. Psalm 126:6

 A true faith healer could march into a hospital, where you find people in need of miracles, and empty the beds. A true faith healer will wait for miracle receivers at the church alter and join them as they receive their potion.  A true faith healer will not couch his miracle receivers on what to say in their testimonies. A true faith healer would not ask for any amount of money in order to perform miracles on them. If they do, they are liars and evil prophets.  Real miracles can't be faked, and we have so many of them happening every day from men and women God is using for His glory.

Fake modern day faith healers do not have any supernatural power. They are like magicians putting on a performance before a television screen to lure many to believe that they are performing miracles.  Magic is not real, it is based on illusions. The same is fake true of faith healers today.  They act out well-practiced and staged magic tricks for a fee or what they like to call "love gifts or seed planting."

Jesus never instructed His disciples to take up "love gifts” in exchange to the many miracles he provided to those in need. Matthew 10:9-10

Scripture commands us to test all things to see if they are of God-  1 Thessalonians 5:21. Test fake faith healers, their false claims of miraculous healing, and their false teachings and there is no doubt that they are fake healers. Matthew 7:22-23

The Role of the Church

Church is not a building or an institution, but it is people. Because church is people, we have the choice to either do smart things or stupid things. If we do smart things, more people can be led to Christ in the church. Leading people to Christ is a simple way of describing why the church exists, which is the church’s primary mission.

In this article I want to point a few things the church must do in order for it to carry on this mission:

1. Be intentionally multigenerational

Youth are not the church of tomorrow; they are part of the church today. I have heard time and again most people refer to youth as the church of tomorrow. But if the youth is involved in the duties and operations of the church today, then they are the church of now.

We must provide the resources necessary to reach them now. Quality leaders, authentic compassion and giving them a voice in the ministry process will result in young people who connect with the church. This include budgeting for programs that the church is planning for the youth

Smart church must invest in young people. But they also respect older people. Those who have paid the price to help get us where we are now need to know that they are treasured. A caring church value people even if when they appear to no longer be active. Churches value all generations.

During my time in full time ministry, about 23 year to the date, I have seen so many church with many programs and big budgets but not a percentage of the budget is allotted the youth. What a shame!

2. Stay off of bandwagons

We always have something to learn from others who are succeeding but trendiness and fads can spoil ministry. It appears that God blesses different methods at different times but He doesn’t run out of ideas. Imagination and creativity are spiritual gifts. See 1 Corinthians 12. Don’t spend a lot of time and energy trying to be another church. Be original, innovative, and fresh. The more the church become the church that was founded after Christ, than more souls will be won to Him.

I hope you believe in the old-fashioned way of saving souls. Everything appears to be shaken nowadays, and shifted from the old foundations. It seems that we are to evolve out of men the good that is already in them.

We all believe that we must go to soul-winning, desiring in God's name to see all things made new. This old creature is dead and corrupt, and must be buried; and the sooner the better. Jesus has come that there may be a passing away of the old things, and a making of all things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

3. Be real

Do everything with authenticity. Operate with impeccable integrity. Own up to mistakes. Repent often. Be transparent. Smart churches are not manipulative or condescending or disrespectful of people. Yesterday a friend of mine shared her reasons as to why she does not attend the church she was a member since its foundation. She says that the minister one day announced from the pulpit that he had a dream in which two people from his church will die within days. According to my friend, the pastor went into details of describing the make and type of vehicle those he (pastor) dreamt about drive. This is manipulative and disrespectful.

4. Perfect grace

Make room at the table for sinners, Romans 3:23. Don’t demand perfection. Practice forgiveness and model second chances for all are sinners, 1 John 1:8. Every church should know that the ground at the foot of the cross is level, and there the Grace abounds.

5. Reach as many people as possible

It’s OK to have a “targeted people” based on demographics. But a church modeled under Christ does eliminate people because they don’t fit the in. There is no specialty in churches to call for elimination of people who are different or doesn’t fit. Jesus doesn’t eliminate these people – neither should we.

6. Act outside of the local church

Look at some churches weekly programs and you will understand the mission of that particular church; Pot luck after service, fund raiser for the new building, outing for church couples. Note nothing mentions ministry of outreach in the neighborhood. Smart church do ministry in the neighborhood.  They minister with a global mindset. They know how to connect with people outside of their immediate circle. It’s a big world and God is doing amazing things. Smart churches don’t want to miss that. Matthew 28:19

7. Promote justice

Don’t tolerate the mistreatment of the innocent. Stand up for victims. Speak out on behalf of the marginalized. Churches should act as part of the solution to society’s ills. Jesus is our good example. How we respond to injustice is a good barometer of our spiritual health and maturity as well. How we respond to little injustices is a good gauge of how we will respond to bigger ones. See Matthew 14:1-12.

8. Release people into ministry

The church should encourage people to practice their spiritual gifts. Empower people. Entrust people with responsibility.  Ministry oriented church understands that every person and gift is necessary for a fully functioning church. 1 Corinthians 12.  A few years ago I was a guest in a small church a few miles away from my town, and what I learnt about the leadership of that church never leaves my mind to date. The pastor made announcements, did power point, selected songs for the day, anointed the sick, and counted the offerings. WOW! At the end of the day he was like the only gifted member of the church.

9. Be comfortable with not pleasing everyone

Original churches know that they are not for everyone. Let people disagree and let some leave, if necessary. Pursue those God has called you to reach.  Preach the gospel without compromise and don’t be apologetic by stepping people’s toes when you are speaking the truth of the gospel. However, don’t use the gospel to hurt people and make them feel inadequate. This is why I discuss in under C, about not being manipulative or condescending or disrespectful. Don’t use the “word” of God to your advantage.

       J.   Insist that people dream

The church of Chris will spend a lot of energy building up people. Encouraging them to dream again and dream big, to chase the vision that God put in them. “Remember who you wanted to be.” I know so many churches winning souls by the gospel by leading people to realization that they belong to God who has something good for them. Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13.

Know what we’re supposed to do and do it well

What is the end goal of church? Jesus summarized our job description in Matthew 28 by telling us to make disciples; we help people by showing them how to be authentic followers of Jesus. That’s it. If we’re for Him, we’ll focus all of our attention on that task.

Jesus is the STAR that shows us the WAY- John 14:6

In Christmas story, we are reminded of visitors (Wise men) Matthew 2:1-2; 9 -11 from a foreign country (The East) who travelled a long journey. In order to reach their desired destination they needed assistance. They did not have any GPS, road map, or signposts elected by the city of Jerusalem. These men were not looking for a location, but a Person. In order to find Him they would need to travel many miles.

These men were searching for the Savior. But they were not sure of how to find Him. They needed direction. And God provided it. Matthew 2:11

Their desire had been that they might find the Savior, Jesus The Messiah. We read in Matthew 2:1ff that God directed them, and the desire of their hearts was fulfilled. On the very first Christmas those (The wise men) who searched for the Savior found Him. Cf -2 Corinthians 6:2

Thirty three (33) years later Jesus informed the Apostles that He would shortly be leaving them. At the Last Supper He told them He would soon be returning to Heaven. John 14:4

However, Thomas one of the Apostle’s desired destination was heaven, but he did not know how to get there- John 14:5.  Thomas was pleading with the Lord to show them the way. He needed direction. And the Lord provided it. John14:4 –6. Jesus was explaining to Thomas that the only way to Heaven was through a personal relationship with Him.

Today, two thousand years later, most people are no different than Thomas. Their desired destination is Heaven. But they are not sure of how to get there. Some are depending upon being religious, and are doing their best to lead a good life, going to church, many times a week, tilting weekly. Others believe that by being sincere, giving to charity and being honest, they may arrive in heaven some day. Many more are hoping that pilgrimages to holy places or prayers will help them make the journey to heaven. But none of these things can save us. Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8- 9

Some people think they are not too bad and that they are better than others. But according to the Scriptures we are ALL sinners Romans 3: 22:23. It is biblical that those who die in their sins will spend eternity suffering in Hell- Matthew 25:41

The Scriptures make is very clear that there is only ONE way by which sinners can get to Heaven, and that is through faith in Christ. John 6:14

The Lord suffered and died at Calvary as a Substitute for all who will repent of their sins and trust Him as Savior. On the cross He paid in full the penalty for the guilt of their sins- John 19:28-30. He has provided for us sinners the gift of eternal life. This is something we could never earn or merit through religious exercises or good works.

Perhaps like many others the desire of your heart is to get to Heaven. But you are not sure of how to get there. It may be that you have been travelling in the wrong direction. You may be on the wrong road. You may even be at cross-roads in your life and are not sure which way to turn. The Sign is just ahead of you that says:  "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Take care which direction you take. The Word of God is like a signpost. The WORD will point you in the right direction. The WORD will ‘SHOW YOU THE WAY’. The WORD will point you to Jesus. He is the ONLY way to Heaven. Why not turn to Him right now in repentance, asking Him to forgive you and trust Him to save you. DO NOT DELAY, for your journey may soon come to an end. 2 Corinthians 6:2