BEULAH BAPTIST CHURCH

Pro-choice

Only Two Main Categories

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” Matthew 25:31-33 (NASB)

Last night we watched Super Bowl XLVIII. It was billed as a matchup like none other. It was the Denver Broncos versus the Seattle Seahawks. But you also could look at this matchup another way, it was the best offense in the league versus the best defense in the league. With that kind of billing, everyone expected a tremendous game of skill. However when the smoke cleared, the Seahawks crushed the Broncos 43 to 8. It was a decisive victory which left absolutely no room for debate. There was but one winner and one loser.

Matthew records during the passion week of Christ many parables that he taught. One such parable comes from Matthew the 25th chapter beginning in verse 31 and following where he speaks about the judgment. Jesus used parables by taking things from everyday life to illustrate deeper spiritual meanings. This parable was told to illustrate the final judgment. There are three main characters: the Son of Man who is the King, the sheep who are his righteous followers, and the goats who are the unrighteous, non-followers of Christ.

The first principle that I see as I study this passage is that there are only two choices made. When it is all said and done, the King divides his subjects into two groups and two groups only: the sheep and the goats, the righteous and the unrighteous, the winners and the losers. If in the very the end of our lives there are only two choices that will be made, it would seem prudent for us to choose which group we would want to be in while we still have time to affect the outcome. Just as the Denver Broncos tried as hard as they could to affect the outcome of the game, once the final whistle blew there were no more plays to run, there were no more options to take, the game was over.

The simple truth is that while we are on this earth we make decisions every day. We choose the path we will follow. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB) We truly get to choose the path we will take. Some paths will take us closer in our relationship with God and other paths will take us further away from our relationship with God. Which one will you choose?

Today’s prayer

Dear Lord,

There are so many choices in our world today sometimes it gets confusing. Thank you Lord for making the choices much simpler. Help me to view everything in life from these two main categories. Please give me the strength and the courage to choose the narrow way, to choose the righteous path, to choose life! I humbly ask this in the precious name of Jesus, amen.

SACRED?

The Abundant Life

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (NASB)

The abundant life. Everybody strives to get it. However, it just might be important to find how just what means. In our society, the vast majority of people view “the abundant life” as being successful. It would be have enough money (whatever that means), living in the perfect house, driving a fancy car, etc. In other words, as people would say today, Living Large! This is contrary to what Jesus taught. He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 (HCSB) The abundant life is not nor has it ever been about possessions or success.

Life comes only from God! We read in Genesis, the book of beginnings, where “… the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 (HCSB) God is the giver of life, the only One who can give life! Abundant life come when we yield to His purpose for our existence and follow Him! Jesus said, “… I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (NASB)

God, the Creator of the universe, has given us the two greatest gifts that we could ever get. God gave us life! The opportunity to explore this world of creation, the opportunity to create with our hands, the opportunity to love, and the opportunity to be loved. Throughout this journey, sin entered into the world. Instead of enjoying this gift of life by honoring God, we perverted it. The Apostle Paul writes, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator …” Romans 1:25 (NASB)

The second gift He gave was a “new life”. Paul writes, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14 (NASB) The abundant life can only be found in Jesus Christ! Allow Him to live in you and through you today.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the marvelous gift of life. You are my creator and my redeemer. I will praise You this day in all that I do. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.