His Decision

This morning was filled with an indescribable stillness that urged me to reflect upon the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross. As I sat in the chill of the morning, I put on a sweater that soon reminded me of Him. And I began to sing by way of the Spirit: “the veil has been torn, the veil has been torn, now I can boldly come to your throne because the veil has been torn.”

Yesterday, I went to visit a local thrift store, and while shopping, I saw an old friend, a Muslim who runs the store. Before I left for the day, while at checkout, I simply asked a question: are you going to celebrate Easter on Sunday? I knew he probably wasn’t, but just a way to start a conversation. He replied: I don’t go to church; I go to mosque. I am Muslim. Then for about enough time to plant a spiritual seed, we began to discuss our beliefs. His main points were that he believes Jesus is a prophet, not a Son. Why does God need a son and why does he only have one? And why are so many people leaving Christianity and becoming Muslim (By the way, my response to this question was, in a calm and levelheaded tone: because they are being deceived.)? He believes life is a test and you must save yourself to get to heaven. We definitely weren’t arguing, just having a conversation. And while I stood on the Word of God and the Truth to share how Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to God, and we in fact need a savior because if it was as simple as to save ourselves, why are people still addicted to porn, why are women still in abusive relationships, why are people still getting drunk and stealing, we need a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, more thought provoking responses came on the drive home lol! So I’ll share them here:

You cannot save yourself. You are merely human. And what type of god makes you suffer to figure out life by yourself. What is the point of serving a god that cannot save, cannot heal, cannot deliver, doesn’t have benefits? That is A FALSE god! Our advantage as Christians is that God is THE judge and OUR Father, and because He loves us, and is love, He made a decision a long time ago redeem us, wash us, cloth us, cover us, lead us, heal us, and yes, save us, BY HIS BLOOD. On this Holy Weekend, know that Jesus IS the Son of God, and the only way to the Father is through Him. Know that the Lord is waiting for you to come to Him so He can show you unfailing love, but it takes faith and repentance. Before the blood of Jesus, there were barriers, like sin, shame, and guilt, standing in the way of His presence. But when we receive Jesus, we trade in the lie that sin has power for the Truth that we are free and raised to life in Christ Jesus.

God did send His Son, His only Son, so that YOU, would have life and life more abundantly. God already made His decision, Jesus made up in His mind, to love you, to wash you, to purify you, to rescue you, to redeem you, to provide for you, and to be your everything. He is so sweet that He made up in His mind, I will see to it that she is saved, that she has rest. Nothing can reverse the decision He made; it is final. The Lord already made His decision: you. What will your decision be?

Hebrews 10:19-22 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.”

Matthew 27:45-54 “At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’ clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Romans 1:3-5 “The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.”

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.””

Hebrews 1:1-4 “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.”

Isaiah 30:18 “So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.”

John 3:16-21 “For this is how God loved the world. He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

And in case you were wondering why we need both His death and resurrection (I had this question when I first came to Christ.):

Romans 4:25 “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God.”

The Bible says God has made the Truth obvious to us (Romans 1:18-23). So, for those that hear and still doubt, we pray mercy to meet them, and for the gift of faith to hit them by the grace of God. After all, my faith is not something to boast about. It too is a gift by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:4-10). So, for those that have seen and heard and still refuse to believe, especially because it doesn’t “make sense”, I pray the Holy Spirit to help them receive the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Lord, don’t let the mercy of the God pass them by. In Jesus name, Amen.