Jesus is the Only Way

Jesus is the Only Way                           

Does it surprise you to hear news reports stating or implying that people who claim to be Christian say they believe Jesus is not the only way to get to Heaven?

I’ve been hearing that a lot lately and find it troubling. To believe such a thing is the very antithesis of true Bible teachings. I tend to think that folks who believe this have not read the Bible very much and possibly sit under unsound teaching.

This kind of heresy does not surprise nor alarm God, which should give us some relief. Such beliefs have always existed.

Jesus Himself, declared His deity, stating, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NASB); “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b NASB).

The truth is, there is only one option to be reconciled to Father God and get to Heaven. Jesus expressed that clearly when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 16:6 NLT). 

Art by Maggie Turner

Jesus claimed to be God and the only way to Eternal Life. He gave no other option. It is only through faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross that our sins can be removed and we can receive salvation. 










People who don’t believe in God and don’t believe in Bible truth cannot be expected to accept Jesus’ claims. But for people who call themselves Christians—followers of Jesus—we have to scratch our heads and wonder, How can this be?

 
Perhaps they’re a fan, not a follower; don’t read the Bible; listen to bad teaching; or make it up to help them feel better.

In his popular book, Mere Christianity*, C.S. Lewis wrote, 

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher; he'd either be a lunatic -- on a level with a man who says he's a poached egg -- or else he'd be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse."
"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
So, Jesus was either a madman, a liar, a myth, or He really was—and is—the Son of God, Savior of Mankind, and the only way to get to Heaven when we die.  
We, who are true followers of Christ, need to pray that the truth of Jesus and God’s Word will be made known. We know Truth will prevail in the end, but I hurt for those who fall for demonic schemes. 

Have you heard such false notions? Your thoughts are welcome.
(Disrespectful, inappropriate comments will be deleted.)

*C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Harper Collins Publishers, 1952

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Mix the Word with Faith and Trust God <> Part 2 - Unexpected Intelligence Agent

Mix the Word with Faith and Trust God <> Part 2 of 3 

Unexpected Intelligence Agent

In the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11 is often dubbed the “roll call of faith.” It describes several people, in the Bible, who are commended for their faith. If you haven’t read it for a while, I highly recommend you do and be encouraged.

One of my favorite people honored for her faith is a woman named Rahab. She was an Ammonite who lived in the city of Jericho. Rahab began to trust God just on hearing about Him.

She had heard about the God of Israel and the mighty things He was doing for His people. We’re introduced to Rahab in the second chapter of Joshua. 

For the Israelites, the forty years of wandering was finished. Moses was gone, and Joshua was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. The very first city to conquer was Jericho. So, Joshua sent two spies into the city to scope things out.

The spies went to the home of Rahab for lodging. She was a prostitute. Our first thought would likely be, “How unseemly! —that they would go to such a place.”

But…think about it. Men would come and go from her place consistently. And over-riding that fact, God knew the heart of Rahab and He had already handpicked her to enter into His plan. 

She had heard about Yahweh, the God of Israel, believed in Him and trusted Him. So, Rahab agreed to hide them in her home.

She said, “for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death” (Joshua 2:11c-13 KJV).

“So the men answered her, ‘Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you’” (Joshua 2:14 NKJV).

When the authorities came, looking for the Israelites, she hid them and told the pursuers, “They went that-a-way. Hurry, go catch them!” So, they left.

The spies promised to spare Rahab and her family. Then when the walls of Jericho came tumblin down, she and her household were rescued from destruction. 

Like Rahab, because we have put our trust in the God of Israel and His Son, Jesus, we have been rescued from destruction. 

It excites me to know the story of Rahab does not end here. In her ensuing story, we see a beautiful picture of God’s redeeming power. 

Was it not enough that the lives of Rahab and her family were spared? No—not where God was concerned. God is so good and His grace so amazing! Rahab went on to marry an Israelite named Salmon and her name turns up in the genealogy of Jesus, our Savior.

Salmon and Rahab were the parents of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, who married Ruth. Their son was Obed, who was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the most famous and beloved king of Israel.

As we continue through the descendants of David, we come to Jesus Himself. So, Rahab, the former prostitute, is in the family tree of our Lord. 

Here we see redemption. Rahab put her trust in God and was saved. The people we read about in Scripture didn’t have a Bible like we do today. 

They had the Word of God as it was given to Moses and as they witnessed God do mighty works. Rahab heard the Word of the Lord second hand and believed. She mixed the Word with faith and made a decision to put her trust in God. 

We must remember, God knows more than we do. He knows every minute detail of every thing and every one. He knows what the outcome should be. And He’s trustworthy.

Bottom Line:

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them: but the word that they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2 NKJV).

In other words—They heard the Word preached, but it did not benefit them because they didn’t mix it with faith. So, when we mix God’s Word with our faith we have what we need to trust God. 

In the comment section below, please tell of a situation in which you needed to trust God this week.  Thanks so much.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Fill Your New Year With Optimism Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 3

Fill Your New Year With Optimism

Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism—Part 3

Today’s post concludes my blog series about the seven strategies for attaining optimism. I’m talking about truth-filled hope and an outlook ordained by God that every follower of Jesus can and should attain. 

My previous two posts looked at the first five of the Seven Strategies to Attain Optimism: 1- Let go of the past. 2- Avoid getting hung up on a negative thing or situation. 3- Remember that, for everyone, life has ups and downs. 4- Watch your mouth. 5- Practice gratitude.

Today we’ll consider the last two:

6-  Surround yourself with truth –people, places, things.

Speaking of “fake news”—it doesn’t just exist in politics. We’re surrounded by half-truths, misleading information, exaggerated stories, and our own imaginations. These untruths can flood our minds with worry and wild ideas capable of pulling us down and filling us with stress.

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened,” declared Michel de Montaigne, about 500 years ago. Many of us could say the same ting today.

Photo by Aaron Burden from Unsplash

Experts report that 85%, and some 99%, of things people worry about never really happen. Pause for a moment and consider your own thought life. What thoughts occupy your mind that are not based on facts? 

Where does your imagination wander that does not lift your spirits?

I recommend we draw our thoughts into the truth of God’s Word. There we find the reality our Creator wants us to base our lives upon.

Paul tells us why: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 JKJV).

We need to allow His truth to be a lamp to the feet of our thoughts and a light for the paths we tread in our minds.

Do you believe God and His Word? The psalmist did when he wrote, “The entirety of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgements endures forever” (Psalm 119:160 NKJV).

Before His crucifixion, Jesus knew his followers had to have God’s truth and prayed to the Father: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NKJV). Sanctify meant to set apart. This is huge! God’s truth sets us apart from the world. It’s knowing and living by God’s truth that sets us apart from the world. We’re of another kingdom—God’s Eternal Kingdom.

So, we should look for truth in everything that crosses our paths—people, places, and things.

The better we know God and His Word, the closer will be our relationship with Him. The closer our relationship with Him, the clearer we’ll hear His voice. The clearer we hear His voice, the keener will be our sense of discernment. The keener our sense of discernment, the better will be our ability to know truth when we encounter it—in people, places, and things.

As we surround ourselves with what is right and true, the optimism that fills us will overflow to others. 

7- Remember that God will have His way in the end.

I believe we all get pretty frustrated and angry when we witness injustices, acts of violence, and tragedy. We often feel helpless and forlorn as streaming news broadcasts the horrors of abused children, terrorist acts, natural disasters, and the like.

The tsunami of bad news can bring us into a free fall of pessimism and anxiety. There are many scientific studies focusing on the affects of negative hews and experiences on a person’s well-being. But there is no way to escape bad things.

We need to continually remind ourselves that God knows, God cares, and God loves us with unfailing, unconditional love. As Christ-followers, we have an internal hope that’s like a pilot light.

A pilot light is “a small gas flame … which serves as an ignition source for a more powerful gas burner” (Wikipedia). This pilot light hope never goes out and is always there to ignite the burner that causes hope to rise up and come against a negative event.

When David was greatly distressed because all seemed lost and his men turned against him, he “encouraged himself in the Lord” because he knew his God and within him burned that flicker of hope. That pilot light of internal hope ignited the burner that caused faith and hope to rise up in his spirit (1 Samuel 30:6).

Like David, when life beats up on us and when the world appears to be going in the wrong direction we need to listen to the Holy Spirit and allow our internal hope to ignite the full flame of knowing God will have His way ultimately.

Yes, we may go through some discomfort and heartache along the way. I repeat Jesus words: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). We who are in Christ—those born-again—will be partakers of the awesome Eternal Kingdom He has waiting for us. All hardships and evil will pass away and a glorious future with our Lord and Savior Jesus awaits us.

Just now I read, in its entirety, Revelation 19-22 and was reminded that God will have His way in the end.

Revelation 19 begins, “After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude on heaven, saying ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgements, because…’” (Verses 1-2a).

“Then I saw and angel coming down from heaven and a new earth … And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new …’” (Revelation 21:1a and 4-5).

Rejoice with me in the final passage of God’s Word, “He (Jesus) who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” Revelation 22:20-21).

Let’s be encouraged by the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow optimism to rise up so the world will see Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

 

Every time I read the back of His book I’m blown away by the Ancient of Days—His goodness and greatness—His amazing grace and unfailing love—His breathtaking holiness and perfect justice. In reading these Passages, we’re reminded of God’s cosmic beyond-our-imagination plan. Our God is truly an awesome God. 

I would like to challenge each of us to follow the seven strategies for attaining optimism.  We must remember the bottom line is that ultimately God will have His way and He takes care of His family in the process.

 

Let’s pray: Holy Father, thank You for the hope that resides in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Please help me to be mindful of the reasons I can be optimistic. And help me encourage others as well. I know that with Your Spirit in me, I can beam with optimism even in tough times and be a light in darkness because of Your unfailing love. Thank You, Father. In Jesus name—Amen. 

 

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford