“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:21-23)
Membership in a church is not a ticket to heaven.
Baptism doesn’t guarantee access, either.
You need to know Jesus. You need to follow him.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.(John 1:1-4)
John identifies this Word with Jesus. Jesus is the source of life. To turn away from him is death.
He can hear you. Ask him to come to your life. Then, read about his life and what he said (recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), meditate on his words and build your life around them. Talk to him daily and learn to listen to him. For he speaks to everyone, most people are just too distracted or think it is their own inner voice. But remember - not every thought is from him. He will never contradict himself, so only what aligns with the Bible can be trusted.
Continue reading the Bible. Put aside any assumptions you may have of the texts. Approach them with humility and openness - if they don’t sound like 21st century, it is because they weren’t written in the 21st century.
Find other Jesus followers. If you don’t know where, ask Jesus to help you. It may be a church or it may be a group of people gathering in a café or in a home.
If you have questions, drop me a line here.
May the love of Jesus lead you.
Photo by Jordan on Unsplash