Thursday 1/7/15 The Big Trip (22)

Dear Father in Heaven: Praise You for all You do for all of us. Please forgive me of my sins known and unknown. Please be with Dave and Vicki and help them in their struggles. Please be with the family of Joe Fink and comfort them in their time of sorrow. Please, Lord, be with Patsy and Burt and their family as they fight health issues. Thank You, Lord, for children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We are so blessed. Thanks for family and friends. Lord, please help me with the daily message and then please help me to get it dispatched. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters: Yesterday I talked some about people going to heaven and also receiving blessings from God who chose to, for one reason or another, not attend a church. Also about those who send out things and end them by saying something like this, "if you forward this to ten people and send a copy back to me you will receive special blessings from God." Today I want to look at what the Bible tells us is needed to get into heaven. Please pray today for the family of Joseph (Joe) Fink in the parting of Joe. Now to The Big Trip (22).

Thursday: January 7, 2015: The Big Trip (Day Twenty-Two)

Steps to Heaven!

Today, brothers and sisters, it will be laid out differently. So let me get moving with this Plan of Salvation. All scriptures today will be from the New International Version (NIV) Bible unless otherwise stated.

Plan of Salvation:

We are all sinners! Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall  short of the glory of God.

Okay, here it is telling us that we all have failed, we all have sinned, and I bet some of you are glad it is stated like that for it lets us know we are not alone when it comes to messing up before God. In short, to get to Heaven, ALL NEED TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

There is a price for our sin. Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wow, right here in the Bible it tells us that there is a wage for our sin. I don't hear people running around and asking for a raise on this one! That wage is the best you can get for sin. DEATH!! But wait, out of that same scripture we see this GIFT of God, and what is that GIFT? It is eternal life with Jesus Christ, our dear Lord and Savior.

And the Gift, well, it is free; however, it was not cheap, for it cost Jesus His life. Again, it is a free gift to us that cost Jesus His life.

We need to repent: Matthew 9:13 - "But go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

These are the Words of Jesus, my friends, and what it means is the righteous are in good standing, and Jesus was just sent for the sinners. Wait, that sounds like "double talk," but it is not. We saw that ALL have sinned. So Jesus came to call us all since we were sinners. Do you remember the words of John the Baptist? Here is the reminder found in Matthew 3:3 - "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'" And from Mark 1:15 - "The time has come," he said, "The kingdom of God is near. REPENT and believe the Good News!" Okay, there you have it. We must repent of our sins.

God loves you! John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Hang in there with me please, we are almost done, and so far, not one mention of going to church. The Words above tell us that God sent Jesus to save the world, not just you and me. So what is next? Hold on, I must go stir my soup!! I am back and that soup is getting good - "chicken vegetable soup."

Christ paid the price for our sins: Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Here we see God is covering that price we talked about, that wage we talked about, by giving us HIS LIFE. Now it tells us while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Yes, while we were still sinners, you see once we come to Christ and ask to be forgiven of our sins, they are gone, done, dismissed, and He will never bring them up again. (So don't let others bring them up.) I can hear someone right now. Oh, that was back then, back when Jesus walked the earth. It is different now, Pastor Dan, things have changed. Yes, things have changed. In fact, about everything has changed. About everything? Yes, about everything. What has not changed is Jesus Christ. And here it is in the Bible. And this is one, just one, mind you, of my most loved scriptures:

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Now someone should shout amen on that one. Amen means so be it, or you agree to it. Do you get this? Jesus is not one bit different today than He was back when He went to the cross for us. His love is still there. He loves us just as much, and folks, that same love will be here for all the tomorrows we have. And praise be to God we do not know the end date. What else does it say?

Romans 10:9/10 - 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

1 John 5:10/13 - 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, there you have it. I want to point out a few things right now. You do not need to confess yourself, your sins, over to anyone else other than Jesus Christ. This is personal between you and Jesus. Talk to Him, it is called prayer. Do I think church is important? OF COURSE, I do, but is is not needed to get you into heaven. If you want to attend a GOOD BIBLE believing church, I will be glad to help you find one. Now it is time to close, and yes, we are going to confess over to God, just in case no one has ever done this before. Oh, and please talk to God a lot and when you do mess up, talk to Him about it, remembering of course He already knows.

Dear Father in Heaven: I confess I am a sinner, and I ask today that You forgive me of my sins, and according to Your Word, I am confessing today and letting you know that I believe Jesus died on the Cross for me and that God His Father raised Him from the dead. Please, Lord, put my name in the records of loving You. In Jesus' Name, I ask this. Amen.

Okay, go forth and know that if you prayed this in faith, you are saved. And now that you are saved, let others know. And be ready, for if you never confessed before, your life will change. Oh, and this does not mean you will not have troubles along the way, but you will have three helpers, God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit. What a great team to carry you and me. Wow!!! Tomorrow we will be looking into what you should be doing after you are saved.

Love ya. Pastor Dan

And go out singing this, make up your own tune.

I'm Saved, I'm Saved, I love You, Lord.
I'm Saved, I'm Saved, I love You, Lord!