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

A Greater LOVE

A Greater LOVE

Is love on your mind this week? Are you giddy just thinking about how you’ll express your love to a special someone? Or are you discouraged and lonely because there is no special someone?

If the latter best describes you, take heart and be assured that romantic love is not even the highest level of love. It’s often temporary and can leave a person with a painful hole in their heart.

Jesus brought a greater love to mankind when He gave Himself on the cross.

In Paul’s letters to first century churches he gave instructions on how church members should behave in general and how they should treat one another.

He told the Ephesians, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Ephesians 4:1-7 – NKJV) .

Verses 2-3 in the New Life Version state: Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that. ³ Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace.

It takes effort to live in unity as a couple, a family, a church community, or any organization. When we decide not to be hard on others, we are bearing with one another in love. This is a choice.

Note that after Paul’s listing of instructions, he reminded his readers that God gives us each grace. Paul knew they (and we) cannot accomplish the directives in the previous verses without the gift of grace that comes to us from God, by His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Through God’s grace to us, we’re forgiven and accepted into His Kingdom. His grace in us gives us power to bear with one another in love, following Christ’s example. Allowing God’s grace to work in us is a choice.     

In the 5^th chapter of Ephesians, Paul told the followers of Jesus to walk in love after the example of Christ Himself. This is agape, the God kind of love.

After listing several Christ-like attributes in his letter to the Colossians Paul  wrote, And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity (Colossians 3:14).

Can you see it—love the perfect bond of unity? Love is the superglue which holds a marriage together; holds a family together; holds a church community together; even holds a business together. What other entities can you list which are held together with the bond of love? 

When asked what the greatest commandment is, “Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, HEAR O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” ³¹The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31).

 

 

Three things will last forever−faith, hope, and love−and the greatest of these is love.  

1 Corinthians 13:13

 

Let’s ask God to give us grace to love the way Jesus loved,

letting agape love rule in our hearts and be evident in our actions.

©Connie Wohlford 2016

 

 

 

 

Can you trust your Bible? (2)

“Risikili” – Part 5 – Can you trust your Bible? (2)

We continue with RiSiKiLi−

                       You know− Read it, study it, know it, live it.

As we continue with the theme of the value of God’s Word and figuring out the plan of God for ourselves, I’m posting the remaining Bible attributes listed by Bible Scholar/Pastor/Teacher Jack Hayford.

We must be able to trust God and His Word if we want to know His design for our lives and be able to verify that the plan in fact does line up with His Word, the Bible. Here is the rest of Pastor Hayford’s list extolling the truth and value of Scripture. (If you missed 1-5, just take a look at my last post – June 25, 2015.)

Pastor Hayford continued: 

THE ESSENTIAL PLACE AND POWER OF GOD’S WORD*

6.  The Regenerating Power of God’s Word

The Word of God regenerates new spiritual life where man has, by nature, died spiritually.  

For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23 NASV).

7.  The Authority of God’s Word over Our Lives

As ‘spiritual’ people we are to refuse the ‘natural’ inclinations of fallen man, giving place instead to hearing and yielding to the authority of God’s own Word. 

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands. ⁹¹ They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants (Psalm 119:89-91 NASV).

8.  God’s Word and Our Soul’s Nourishment

Spiritual survival is not possible for long without feeding upon the Word of God. 

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV).

9.  God’s Word and Practical, Fruitful Living    

The regular application of the Word of God is the pathway to success and prosperity in living.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105 NKJV).

10. True Spiritual Growth Requires God’s Word 

True spiritual growth requires the Word of God, which makes spiritual maturity genuine.

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. ² I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? ⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (1 Cor. 3: 1-5 NKJV). 

11. Loving God’s Word As Jesus Follower

To follow Jesus and to know God, a continuing requirement of steadfast commitment to hearing, heeding, and studying the Bible is necessary.  

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21 NKJV).

12. God’s Word: Purifier unto Holy Living

The Bible shows us Christ’s likeness so that we can be ordered and shaped into that image.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:23-25).

13. God’s Word, Evangelism, and Expansion

The spreading of God’s Word and the fulfillment of our personal potential come by the Word of God.     

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater (Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV).

14. God’s Word: Read It! Study it! Memorize it! 

God’s Word is the only conclusive source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding concerning ultimate realities waiting to liberate and enrich those who will pursue its wealth.    

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15 NKJV).  

 

 

 

 

 

If you do not have revelation of these things, I implore you to ask God to help you receive this truth into your spirit− that it will be Ramah Word to you.  And ask Him to put into your spiritual belly a hunger for God’s Word that cannot be satisfied. He wants to do that and you will benefit in ways you could never have imagined.  

As said by Pastor Hayford, “There is no such thing as health or growth in Christian living apart from a clear priority on the place of the Bible in the life of the individual or the group. The Scriptures are the conclusive standard for our faith, morals, and practical living and are the nourishment for our rising to strength in faith, holiness in living, and effectiveness in service. The Holy Spirit who comes to fill us is the same Person who has given us the Book to guide and sustain us.”* 

*Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson, Page xii 

Note to readers: As you consider the points mentioned by Pastor Hayford, other readers and I would love for you to comment on how you’ve experienced having one of the 14 Bible attributes help you personally. Feel free to comment below. God bless you as you glean many blessings from the Word of God. Thanks for stopping by.