May 23, 2021 … We Must Choose …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021- Day 143 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Keith Matter singing … I Believe In Jesus … poignantly singing of his belief that Jesus is LORD !! 

Praying you believe this too !! 

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Highlight Passage: Luke 16:31 [ESV] …  

31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” 

…Jesus tells of Abraham speaking from heaven to Lazarus in Hades, relating the truth about accepting the Messiah in faith during our lifetime.        

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Highlight Passage [Context]: … Luke 16:19-31 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus relates a parable showing that those following Him must choose in this life Whom they believe in; because once one dies it is too late.   

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Reference Passage: … John 6:47, 8:24 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

… Jesus declares clearly that we must make a choice in this life to believe in Him as LORD.          

Reference Passage: … John 14:6  [ESV] …  

6 Jesus said to [His disciples], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.   

… Jesus clearly tells His disciples (and us) that choosing Him as Messiah and Lord is the only way to heaven. 

Reference Passage: … Romans 10:9-13 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Paul, clearly teaches what we must choose in this life to be saved by God’s grace for eternity. 

Reference Passage: … Hebrews 11: 6  [ESV] … USE THIS LINK … 

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. . 

… God’s word shows that we must believe that Christ is LORD and that He rewards (with Heaven) those who seek after His salvation in faith.   

 

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, AT THIS LINK  … tells of how the Soviets used the return of their first astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, to claim that there was no god in space.  But making such a claim illustrates how we must make a choice in this life what - and in WHOM - we believe.  

And that’s what Jesus was illustrating in his parable to the Pharisees about the “rich man” in Hades and the poor man, Lazarus, in heaven, (see highlight passage) showing that after we die it’s too late for us to be relieved by God or to help others avoid an eternal hell.  In our lives, Jesus showed His disciples and His followers that we must choose to believe and follow Jesus as LORD in this life to be saved (see Scriptures above) from eternal hell. 

And I’m praying that all reading with me here have made the choice sung by Keith Matten in the linked song.  Because if you have surrendered, … in faith, … to Jesus as Lord/Savior, we will be sharing eternity together.  But if not, your fate will be that of the rich man spoken of by Jesus in His Luke 16 parable. 

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for sealing my eternity to be with You, Lord, because of my faith in You as my LORD.  

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to share a belief that Jesus is LORD, … insuring our eternity to be with You forever.  … Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.