Myth, 38

~ I Am Entitled ~

Myth  ~  I am entitled to…  a good job…  to a great wife/husband…  to a happy life…  to entrance into heaven! 

Assumptions  ~  1. Life is graded on the curve, and I’m not as bad as the next person.  

2. Life is fair.

The Reality  ~  1. God grades us on the Standard of His sinless Son—Jesus Christ. 

2. Life is not fair!  For instance, Jesus Christ the only One to live a sinless life was brutally treated and died a cruel and painful death.

Scripture  ~  You are entitled to death as a penalty for your sins.  “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.  For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:21-23).  “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man” (Romans 2:1a).  

Closing Comment  ~  For several years now when I am asked, “How are you?” I have refrained from the stock and often meaningless answer of “fine!”  My most frequent answer is “Better than I deserve!”  Any person who is a child of God and understands the reality of the Cross can always reply that way!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Fear God, 163

~ Levi Feared God ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

This Week’s Passage  ~  “‘Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it.  Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant with Levi may continue,’ says the Lord of hosts.  ‘My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared Me and was reverent before My name.  The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips.  He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity” (Malachi 2:3-6).

Fearing God Results in Salvation  ~  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “A wise person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Proverbs 14:16).  This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life which reverences God and seeks to do His will. 

Fearing God Results in Fearlessness  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The answer is: only God.  With the gift of salvation comes responsibility.

Fearing God Results in Witnessing  ~  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

EXTRA: The Unchanging God

~ The Immutability of God ~

“A remarkable implication of Einstein’s theory is that no matter how fast or in which direction we were to travel in an imaginary spaceship, light would always travel past us at the same speed.  Even if we traveled toward a light source at nine-tenths’ the speed of light, any light passing us in either direction would be going by us at 186,000 miles per second relative to us. This is another indication of the absoluteness of the nature of light.”   ~ from the chapter “Immutability” in the eBook “GOD’S NATURE: Sonlight Sunlight” ( https://books2read.com/GodsNature ) by Robert Lloyd Russell.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .