You will NEVER be good enough to go to Heaven, and neither will I

I'm not saying that we won't be going to Heaven. I'm just saying that no one is ever going to be good enough to make it there.

I've seen a lot of posts lately where people are speaking out about the way that Christians should treat others -- whether they are also Christian or not. And obviously, a Christian should know how to act toward others -- after all, we had the greatest example who ever walked the Earth. The only man good enough to get into Heaven on his own merit. So, there must be a problem, right?

First of all, we need to all realize that just because a person goes to church, that doesn't make him/her a Christian. And, just because a person believes that God exists doesn't mean that he/she has put faith in God. (You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.) If a person is a Christian, you should see the fruits of the Spirit in their life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) bearing witness that he/she is in fact a child of God.

But sadly, even true Christians do bad things. Sometimes we're mean and selfish and worse. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the distractions of the world and carried away by emotions. We lose focus, and we forget what's important. Every so often we need to get re-focused. 

So here's the thing, there's really only two things that Christians need to be "doing." Jesus summed it up in response to the Pharisees who wanted to hold everyone to the letter of the law. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” If we, as Christians, are "doing" these two things then everything else will fall into place.

Love God with everything that you've got. Hold others in the same regard that you hold yourself. Simple. Perfect.

If your focus is always on God and your biggest concern is that others will have the same happiness, the same blessings and the same love that you enjoy then your actions will follow suit and you won't have to worry about whether or not you've been good enough -- you won't have to live in fear of punishment or Hell. We are not granted access into Heaven by what we do or what we don't do. We are not condemned to death or Hell because of what we do or don't do. Do you understand why? Because we can never be good enough! There is nothing we can do to right all of the wrongs we have done.

If it was up to us to earn our way into Heaven, then Heaven surely would be empty. How could you even keep score of the good things you've done versus the bad? How can you place a value on a tear, on a broken heart, on a broken spirit. Oh yeah! You'd better believe it -- we've all caused others that kind of pain and worse! And we never even know the full repercussions of our sins. Remember the ripple effect?

Thank GOD that my salvation isn't dependent upon what I do, or how good I am! By grace, God restores us into eternal life. Jesus Christ did the only thing that could ever be done to get us into Heaven by laying down His perfect life as a sacrifice to purchase God's mercy for those who love the Lord.

So, just love God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. Don't stress about being good enough -- something you'll never be. Let go of the guilt when you make a mistake and draw closer to God to avoid making that mistake again. And most importantly, please don't ever let the actions of a Christian behaving badly or a person who doesn't really know or love God keep you from having a personal relationship with God and loving other people.

The Battle Within: the Still Small Voice vs. the World

I think the hardest battle we fight is the battle within -- and that battle seems to be getting more and more complicated as time goes on, the older we get and the more 'connected' we become via TV, radio and interactive media.

Most people say that they are born with that "little voice" inside them that tells them basically what is right and what is wrong. But for many people, what they hear from that voice doesn't always match up with what they read in the Bible or what their pastor tells them. Why?

The first question should be, what is that voice and where is it coming from? Well, for the most part that voice is shaped by the things you bring into you (what you consume) -- it doesn't originate from within you. So whatever you spend your time consuming is what you're feeding that voice and we've all heard the cliche, "You are what you eat." 

Now, for the "Why?" Why is it that something you feel so deeply in the core of your inner being, what that little voice within you screams so loudly, is sometimes at odds with what you're told is God's will? Well, that's up to you to figure out! It is possible that what you're being told is God's will may be incorrect. Sure! There are false teachers and false prophets who profess to believe in and preach the God of the Bible running rampant throughout the world today. If something that you hear doesn't sound right to you -- look it up. Find out for yourself!

If you see a scripture quoted, go to that chapter and read the whole chapter to get the context of the scripture. If your Bible has textual footnotes read them because they often help you better understand the audience the scripture was originally intended for and what other events were going on at the time it was written. But I urge you to seek understanding with an open mind and the intention of finding the truth.

If you find that you just can't reconcile what you're reading in the Bible with your image of what a(n) _______ God would do or say, then consider that may be creating an internalized idea (image) of what God is to you based upon your beliefs, which up til now have been shaped only by what you've consumed. In short, you're filtering God through your very limited perspective and experience.

Is it possible that the little voice inside is really coming from God? Sure it is! And the way to find out if it's God or if it's just your own emotions is to compare what it's telling you against scripture. When God speaks to you, it always lines up with scripture. Always.

To truly know and understand God, you're going to have to read the Bible. In Romans 12, Paul tells us "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." You're going to need to renew your mind because, to be honest, we've all been conformed to this world. It would be nearly impossible to exist in this day and time and not be conformed to the world when we stay so connected to it through our TVs, radios, computers and phones.

Become like the Bereans -- examine the scripture for yourself and find out the truth.

Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Timeless

Here's another thought that I've been trying to wrap my brain around for the last couple of months:

God is not subject to time!

The implications of this are mind blowing to me. Maybe I'm just a little slower on the uptake than most, but to me this concept reveals so much.

• Since God is not subject to time (after all, God is subject to nothing!) then He sees you in your entirety. Not just who you used to be and who you are at this moment, but He also sees you at the end of your life! Therefore, nothing you do is unexpected or even disappointing to God because He already sees past that action -- He already knows the you who came through that situation.
• Being able to see you and the person you are at the end of your life even from the moment you are conceived -- this is how He can work out His will for your good; it's exactly how 'all things work together for my good.'
• At some point in our lives, we all walk through something that we absolutely know can not be something that God willed for us -- I think often these are the times when we've made a poor choice and are having to deal with the repercussions, but rest assured that this was already seen and planned for; and sometimes we walk through things that we just don't understand, situations that are not a result of some poor choice we made -- it would be so much easier to deal with that situation if we could only see it from God's perspective ... if we could only see how many lives were brought closer to Him because of our walk during that time -- this is where faith comes in.

Have you ever thought about this before? What other profound implications should be considered about the timeless, never changing nature of the Great I Am?

Judge not, lest ye be judged ...

Matthew 7 (New International Version)

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you"

What if we oversimplify this warning from God? I think that I've been oversimplifying it my entire life, telling myself that I'm doing what I've been asked to do just because I don't mentally convict people and tell them that they're 'hell-bound.' But this morning, I felt like I received a more full understanding of this command.

In reading Ezekiel 22, I came to understand that when we 'judge' a person or a people, then we've already resigned from any obligation in dealing with them. We've already made up our minds about their fate.

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, 4 you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.  ... 30 “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

It is impossible to be neutral. Even a conscientious decision to 'stay out of something' or to not become involved was still a decision you acted upon. Are we cutting people off from God's love when we choose to do nothing? I think that's what we're being told here.

Is God still looking for those who will stand in the gap on behalf of those we know and should love with His own unconditional love -- love with out judgement? I think He is.