God in His Word shows us over and over the glories of His plans for eternity for all. God sent His Son to be the payment for our sins. Our sins are paid for, and if we reject His life boat of salvation, we will not spend eternity in heaven. Our shepherd like all good shepherds does not want His followers to stray into eternal death.
In the year 33 AD, my sins, your sins and the sins of the whole world were nailed to the cross in Jesus Christ, and not one single thing can be done by you or me to change that. We do have the opportunity to refuse that gift, but there is not one iota of that fulfillment dependent upon me or you or anything we do. The very act of repentance comes after the opening of the heart by God and the fulfillment of salvation is God’s working, as Jesus Christ died in 33 AD almost 2,000 years ago. Jesus died “once for all”[1], not each time someone repents.
God also in His Mercy lays out His message of His truth that sets us free. God shows us what the fall brought upon mankind, the strayed thinking, the distractions of this world that take our focus away from His redeeming of us through the willingness to die for those He loves. Jesus is the Word, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Every aspect of life, and God’s revelation of who and what we are, empowers our journey to life eternal.
That narrow way in which we live, currently must be understood, and is the meat by which we survive the journey. God through Paul says this specifically, that it is the meat of the Word that gives understanding as needed to survive the trip through this world. Again, the Truth that sets us Free.
Drawing our focus away from the journey to eternity is the narrow way, and how the devil works to restrict that way every day. Misquoting God’s Word is one of the tools of satan. We so often hear it said that “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth” the Lord Jesus, is all that is needed, but satan leaves out the rest of the Word, “and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation[2].” Clearly there must be an opening of the heart.
God warns us, Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Clearly a warning that must be heeded! That belief in the heart is faith as a little child who surrenders their entire being to Jesus, God’s Word!
Right from the Garden of Eden satan has used the promotion of self and the placing self as the authority in one’s life to cast doubt about God and His goals or plan. We see Eve saying to herself, “yeah that seems reasonable, just look at that fruit, why would God forbid the eating of it?” and this is from the mind of a person before sin!
God shows us that faith and the journey comes right down to the circumcision of the heart, where man does not resist the opening up of the heart, to actually place God at the center of one’s life, ahead of what is reasonable according to our brain.
Read God’s Word where all the examples are given to identify for us in these last times what an open or closed heart is all about.
Solomon the most blessed on earth with wealth and wisdom closed his heart to God’s plan by being honoring of the idols and false religions of his many wives, thereby shutting out God’s warning to protect himself and avoid strange women. And unless there was a turning around on his death bed he is frying in hell, he rejected God’s plan.
Another example of stumbling is when the Israelites were facing the plague of snakes and God told Moses to hold up a brass snake, that all who looked upon it would be saved, an example of the result of taking one’s eyes off of the journey and focusing on the distractions of this world.
In our world today we have more distractions in media and film and pleasure seeking that takes our attention away from focusing on God’s plan. And our governments have been multiplying the expenses and inflation rates to take our focus on spending more time working to survive, making this world the focus of our lives.
On top of that satan has promoted thoughts in the hearts of men to proclaim their rendition of God’s Word. For instance even the KJV (which is the most reliable translation today, as it consistently translates each word as found the same way) has fallacies in the translation of God’s Word by establishing a hierarchy giving authority to pastors as leaders instead of servants. But the biggest error is the translating of Greek word “ἑντολα” as commandment(s) when the correct translation is “orders”. The word commandment(s) appears 456 times in the KJV this way when it should read as orders. And the words “ten Commandments” appears three times in the KJV and the Greek words are ten “sayings” or ten “words” and has no reference to commandment. God says in His Word that the law, “ten sayings written on stone” (or commandments) are done away, and put in its place[3] law.
Romans 3:27- 4:10 “Where is boasting then? It is eliminated. By what law? of works? Nay: but by law of faith. 28] Therefore we conclude that a man is declared righteous by faith without deeds of law. 29] Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30] Seeing one is God, which will declare righteous circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through the faith. 31] Do we then abolish law through the faith? Not so, but we put in its place law. 4:1) What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2] For if Abraham is declared righteous forth from works, he hath a boast; but not before God. 3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him unto righteousness. 4] Now to him that worketh is the wage not credited according to unmerited favor, but according to debt. 5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that declares righteous the ungodly, his faith is credited unto righteousness. 6] Even as David also describeth the happiness of the man, unto whom God credits righteousness without works, 7] Happy are they whose lawlessness’s are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8] Happy is man to whom the Lord will no-way charge sin.
9] Is this happiness then upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was credited to Abraham unto righteousness. 10] How was it then credited? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11] And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be credited unto them also: 12] And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, being uncircumcised.
2000 years ago during the life of our Lord on earth, God clearly shows how then and in the previous past, many people surrendered their being to the hierarchy of the Sanhedrin (church), and God also shows us how this thinking is from the devil. Over and over displayed right in His Word, the deceit is shown.
Today when we look in God’s Word, He shows us a litany of truth and through this gives us the tools to identify truth and lies around us. The biggest lie of our day is the false prophets telling the world it doesn’t matter where you go to church, just go. The opposite is true; where two or three are gathered in my name there am I in the midst of them. You don’t find truth (fruit) on a thorn bush.
“Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10) And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12) Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
Our prayer for all is that God “the shepherd” opens the hearts of all, that none would refuse salvation, and that the heart of a child like faith that takes all God’s truth in, is part of each of our lives.
[1] Hebrews 10:10
[2] Romans 10:9-10
[3] 1Corinthians 13:10, 15:56, 2Corinthians 3:6-14, Galatians 2:16, 3:10-14, 4:10,
atmite 
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