HEAVEN IS FOR THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi
Luke 18:21  "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. NIV  
      This young man's claims to being faithful in keeping the laws of Moses were obviously untrue and despite his deceitfulness in business and his hypocritical worship Jesus' love for him never seized. God loves sinners(John3:16) .
      No human being regardless of how pious he or she may claim to be can keep the commandments. Those folks who derive joy from intimidating others with their religious achievements while claiming to keep the commandments have simply devised ingenious ways to conceal their lies which eventually will be brought to the open Eccl 7:20”There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” this includes the Bishops, Reverends,Apostles, General Overseers, Prophets , Monks,Imams etc.That is why we need a saviour : a guarantor to our salvation. Religion cannot guarantee a person's salvation because it has no cure for a guilty conscience.
     Jesus tested the young religious businessman in the area of priorities: God is to be put above all in our lives at all times  Ex 20:3 NIV , and also on love and covetousness, the law says "Thou shall not covet..." (Ex. 20:17). Very often we are shown tough love by our lord through life’s circumstances whenever we position ourselves above correction. This was what informed Jesus' answer to the businessman when He told him to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to poor (Vs21).He had no love for the poor. Religious acts of kindness are often aimed at massaging the ego and to quench the embers of a guilty conscience. 
        Jesus' answer was not intended to embarrass the young man or make him poor, but it was an act of love and intended for his own good.He was ruled by money instead of  God and it had to be dethroned before he could  have a meaningful relationship with Jesus . He lacked the only ingredient for salvation: faith ( a total reliance on God) without which no man can please God. He had more confidence in his wisdom than in the gift of grace through Christ . So many people are making the same error today. They have more confidence in there religious devotion instead of God..Those claiming to be good are living in denial. We cannot be saved until we acknowledge our errors.  An individual must acknowledge his or her sins to enjoy the gift of salvation .
     A gift is of no value until received likewise God  has provided a one way ticket for the salvation of mankind, everyone  has been justified freely by God's grace. That does not mean everyone is saved.   Grace alone cannot save a person. Although the price has been paid for the sins of the whole world, only those who receive it by faith will benefit from the salvation that Jesus freely  offers . 
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me of my sins against you , I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation, I receive him as lord and saviour and receive grace and overwhelming peace in the midst of crisis in Jesus name. Amen.
Free prayer/counseling +2348098536911,+2348035536911, email:michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
Pics credit : pixabay / Adian voicu



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BREAK EVIL FAMILY PATTERNS

Image
 By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  Titus 1:12 -14 "One of themselves,   even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians   are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.  This  witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply,  that they may be sound in the faith;  Not giving  heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of  men, that turn from the truth."       The church in Crete was in disarray and the apostle assigned Titus to go and put things in order . On investigation it was discovered the church suffered from a vicious cycle of evil family  patterns. They were not enjoying the fruits of the salvation experience . An example of evil family patterns is that of King David who defiled Uriah's wife ,murdered him and his son Absalom murdered his brother Amnon (2Sam13) dethroned him and defiled his concubines openly (2Samuel16). His son Amnon defiled his sister Tamar (2Sam.13) and so on yet David was the anointed of the Lord.     Many christians suffer evil family patterns ( repeated d
Read more

CONSEQUENCES OF LACK OF FAITH

Image
By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi " Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God." Hebrews 3:12 NLTBible  ' Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”John 20:27 NLTBible     Faith is the guarantee of the manifestation an unseen reality . It is the reason behind the hope we have in God and the fulfilment of his promises. It is the substance ( title deed) of things hoped for ,the evidence of things not seen (Hebrew 11:1) .The Bible warns against not having faith in God. Lack of faith is equal to calling God a liar and untrustworthy. This type of reasoning turns us into enemy's of God.    The gospel is so much under attack by the activities of faithless religionists . They plan to replace the holy scripture with humanistic dogma. The danger in this is the relative approach t
Read more

COMMON CAUSES OF DISUNITY.

Image
 By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi "Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following."Acts 20:30 NLT   "An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin." Proverbs 29:22 NLTBible        Disunity is defined as : disagreement and conflict within a group. It is the greatest hindrance to the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Disunity creates an avenue for Satan to promote sin.       The causes of disunity are not farfetched ,they include : Unhealthy Crave for power or self- promotion. Whenever there is an unhealthy pursuit of influence in a family or group it results in resistance. Self-promotion gives birth to unfair practices and injustices. In Numbers 12: 1-15  Moses' sister Miriam and Aaron rebelled against him desiring to rule by force and in Numbers 16 :1-35 Korah led an insurrection against Moses desiring to be part of leadership. In both cases ,God was not pleased with the rebels
Read more