Last time, we looked at an amazing promise of Scripture from Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Having understood that verse, however, it may be a little confusing to read Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” He pictures people pleading to get into heaven but being denied entrance. They call Jesus “Lord” and can even point to some good works that they have done in Jesus’ name (v. 22), but Jesus casts them out saying that He never knew them (v. 23). It seems that they came close to salvation, but not close enough. What were they missing? They lacked what so many ‘almost Christians’ lack today: repentance and relationship. Let me explain.
When someone understands what the Bible calls “good news,” they usually respond with hesitation. The gospel message that Jesus bore the consequences of our sins at the cross sounds like good news, but a little too good to be true. When people hear that all they have to do to receive Jesus’ free gift of salvation is believe in Him, it feels a little like one of those emails telling us that we’ve received an inheritance from a wealthy benefactor. Sure, we have! Click, delete. The problem is that the words we use to describe our response to God are often heard without any context and they’re robbed of their meaning and impact as a result. I’d like to consider one of the key passages that describes how a person can respond to the gospel.
What if a classic novel could help you see the message of the Bible more clearly? One unforgettable story by Charles Dickens opened my eyes to understand Jesus in a way I didn’t expect.
We all have things we know we should think about but keep putting off. Some of them don’t matter much in the long run, but others have lasting consequences. What if the thing you’re avoiding now is the most important of all?
A visit to a Japanese home taught me something surprising about heaven. Just as a host sets the rules for entering their house, God sets the terms for entering His kingdom. Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast reveals what keeps people out.
When tragedy strikes, we ask tough questions: Does God care? Why does suffering exist? The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis provides deep answers, revealing God's love, the deception of sin, and His ultimate plan to restore what was lost.
If you were to draw close to Jesus, how do you think He would change you? There was a time when I would have answered that question very differently. I figured He would rob my fun. I feared He would be controlling. I worried that He would come with guilt and pressure. Instead, what I came to experience was rest. One of the first verses of the Bible that I ever read was Jesus’ invitation to rest in Matthew 11:28-30.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
At first, I didn’t understand how this promise worked or whether it was true. But it was one of those statements that was so bold that it was either false and put Jesus on the level of a con artist, or it was true and shattered everything I assumed about who Jesus really was. I’d like to share what I’ve come to experience of the truth of Jesus’ invitation.
I enjoy Christmas. I like to listen to Christmas songs. I watch my share of Christmas movies. I get out to enjoy the Christmas markets. And I’m sitting by my Christmas tree as I write this. But I think I know why it makes so many people miserable. To see why, you may not have to look any further than your Christmas playlist. Consider the Christmas message of this year’s most popular Christmas songs. What you’ll see is that what started off as a holiday to celebrate a religion became a holiday celebrated as a religion. Let me explain.
I shared last week about some of the lessons I learned at Dr. Gendi’s, “How to Love Your Muslim Neighbour Seminar.” One of the things that really helped was being walked through what the Qur’an teaches about Jesus. While I knew that the Qur’an holds Jesus in high regard, I was not prepared for how much it describes of His life. Most Christians would be surprised to learn all that it says about Him. Even still, it is just as significant what it doesn’t say about Jesus. Let me share with you what I learned.
For many people, Easter has become a time for eggs and chocolate, but Christians claim that there’s more to it than that. At this point, you can’t help but think that they’re just excited about it because it’s THEIR religious holiday. But every religion has its holidays. If it’s not your religion, surely you can just enjoy the long weekend and move on, right? That’s the way I used to feel about Easter. I’ve come to believe that Easter should matter to everyone, regardless of their religious background. Let me explain why.
