Monday 8 January 2018

An Inheritance

An Inheritance
The apostle Peter writes,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Peter speaking to believers in Christ Jesus tells us that God through Jesus Christ has “given us new birth into a living hope...”. That He has given us “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade...”
Jesus himself said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21.
Question. Where is your treasure?
This world we live in is finite. It had a beginning and it will have an end. As does our lives. Our lives begin at conception and end a hand full of years later. As a result all we have inherited from others or accumulated on our own is left behind. All our possessions “but dust in the wind” if you will.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states,
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”Ecclesiastes 2:10,11.
Ecclesiastes gives this advice as relevant to day as the day it was written.
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes12:13,14.
The apostle Paul speaking to the Athenians said of Jesus,
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30,31
Do you believe in God? Do you have a healthy respect for God? Have you accepted Jesus as your Saviour?
If you were to pass into eternity today and called to stand before God. Would you meet Jesus as your Saviour or your judge?
C. S. Lewis said,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” C.S. Lewis.
Jesus did indeed die for you. In doing so God has offered you and each individual who would believe in Him a living hope. As the apostle Peter said,
“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you...”1Peter 1:3a,4.
Please think about it.

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