According to Scripture, we have an enemy who
wants us to become so upset at, or apathetic towards, our Maker that we don't take the time
to get to know the One who LOVES us more than anyone. But we
also have another enemy who may even be worse: we ourselves. For
it is we who very often really WANT to Play God, and be our own
God. And so we become so preoccupied with ourselves and our
own Pleasure, and FUN, and Continual seeking of Entertainment, that we
don't take the time to Get to Know our Own Creator in a Personal way
-- and perhaps even die in our sins, having never repented of our selfishness, and having never come to know
the true and living God at all.
Yes folks, in my opinion, our worst enemy
is often ourselves. For we are the ones, who, more than anyone,
decide what we do with our spare time, and who we select to be our
close friends -- who, in turn, influence what we do with our spare
time...
Therefore, in the final analysis, it is WE
ourselves, who, more than anyone CONTROL THE DESTINY OF OUR LIVES --
which is also why our Creator will be judging each of us individually
-- and weighing everything we have ever said or done, and even what we
refused to do, either because of our fear, or selfishness, or our
anger at those who we think are wrong, or simply because we don't want
to give God the reigns of our lives. I.E. Because of our own
Pride, or Selfishness, or Stubbornness, and/or our desire to "Get
More" (Money, Power, and/or Pleasure, or whatever it is that we
WANT and do
with our free time).
And so we Ignore Him, and anyone and
everyone He sends our way -- till the day we die. But then
we won't be able to Ignore Him anymore. For then we will NEED
Him and His Power to save us More than we ever imagined. But then it will BE TOO LATE. For
God will NOT compromise His
Integrity, nor His standards, in order to Give His Greatest Gift to someone who doesn't Love Him,
or to someone who, in this life, refused His repeated
"knocking" (at the door of their hearts - Rev. 3:20), and
who refused to Repent of
their selfish ways and to seek to know God and His ways.
Luke 13:1-5; John 8:24; Rom. 10:13.
And if you are reading this, and thinking
to yourself: "I'll let God into my life TOMORROW, or NEXT YEAR,
or perhaps I'll wait till I'm on my death bed, when I'm 90 years old,
and THEN I'll let Him in.
"Why
Wait?" Why risk your own
soul for temporary pleasures?
Why not allow the One who Loves you more
than anyone, who is able to give you the Gift of Immortality right now
(in this life). For
that is worth a LOT MORE than all the fortunes of Bill Gates, and
indeed More than of the whole world.
For not even Bill Gates can purchase Eternal Life
for Himself or his Wife, or any of this Children. But God, who
Loves us more than we will ever Know, Gives it away for almost nothing
-- not to just anybody, but to those who are willing to agree with the
truth (that we are sinners in NEED of salvation), and to acknowledge
(both privately and publicly) who He is, and to call upon His Son,
Jesus Christ, for forgiveness. And He, for His part, WILL INDEED
COME INTO OUR LIVES (just as He said He would -- in Rev. 3:20, and
John 6:37, and 14:23-24) and save us from ourselves and from the
penalty of our own rebelliousness.
Otherwise we will be on our own, on the day of
Judgment, and instead of being our Advocate and Helper and Savior,
Jesus will have no other option, but to be our Judge: who will be
forced to judge us according to our own works. And if
that is the case, then, according to the Scriptures, we will fall
short of God's standard of Perfection (Rom. 3:20-23; 10:4) -- meaning that God will not
save us, simply because we refused, during our life on Earth, to
repent and humble ourselves before Him like a little child (Matt.
18:3).
For that is exactly what I, myself, HAD to do (over 27
years ago) in order to maintain a Clear Conscience with my
Maker. And I am also VERY GLAD I did, and that I have, little by
little, allowed Him to have more and more control over my life.
For when God is in Control, we can "relax and sit back, and enjoy
the Ride." I also say that figuratively. Because,
God's "relaxing" Plan for us may be to become Missionaries
in Timbucktoo, or to go to Law School and become a Lawyer (perhaps for
the American Center for Law and Justice), or for us to donate our time
and efforts at a Homeless Shelter. Or for us to take our elderly
parents into our own Home, and to do our best to care for them.
Or to do the same with a Homeless person who really does WANT help,
and who wants to change their predicament and become responsible and
productive members of society. (See Isaiah 58 for more on this).
However, we also NEED to realize that we
are doing such selfless Deeds, Not to "Earn" our own
Salvation -- that is given to us as a Gift (Eph. 1:13-14, 2:8-9) --
but because we already have it, and because we simply WANT to obey God
in whatever He wants us to do, and go wherever He wants to go.
I
Want to Know More