Friday, December 23, 2016
I bet these thoughts have invaded your mind more than once: “Am I really saved?” “Am I really a genuine child of God?” “Am I really sure that I will be in Heaven someday?” And here is another question that pops in from time to time: “Who do you think you’re fooling?” I seriously doubt that anyone who is reading this blog can honestly say that these thoughts have never crossed their mind, and I suspect that the devil plays a part when these thoughts come to us. In fact, he started the ball rolling back in the Garden of Eden when he attempted to get Eve to doubt God’s commands by asking: “Did God say that you should not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Gen. 3:1) Up to this point, Eve knew that God did not say that. She knew that what He really said was that they could eat of every tree in the Garden, except one. The serpent, just like he still does today, did not give up that easy. He got her to believe the lie that she wasn’t going to die if she ate from that forbidden tree and that God just told them that because He knew that once they did, their eyes would be opened and then they would know good and evil, just like Him. The thought of reaching that plateau plus the delicious looking fruit from that tree was too much for her to resist. You know the rest.
Right after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River and hearing His Father say from Heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, He was led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Satan, knowing that Jesus was thirsty and hungry because he had just fasted forty days and forty nights, posed this first question to Him: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:3) Satan never succeeded in getting Jesus to give in to the temptation but the truth is that if he tried to plant seeds of doubt in the Son of God Himself, he will try it with you and me as well. If he asked Jesus “are you really the Son of God?” why would he not ask you and me the same question? Jesus defeated Satan with the truth of God’s word and so can we.
The questions I began this blog with can also be answered by God’s Word. (1) Q: “How do I know I’m saved?” A: Romans 10:13 reads: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If you ever called on Him to save you, you’re saved. (2) Q: “Am I really a child of God?” A: John 1:12 says: “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” If you received Jesus, (opened your heart to Him) you’re a child of God. (3) Q: “How do I know if I’ll be in Heaven someday?” A: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” In Christ, your place in Heaven is guaranteed.
God’s word for Today: (Hebrews 11:6) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
