How to Get to Heaven by Larry Refsland
"Don’t leave home without it!” I’m not talking about your American Express card; I’m talking about your map! If you’re going on a trip to a place you’ve never gone before, it’s a good idea to bring along a map. Or you’ll be stopping every so often to ask directions, and you know how embarrassing that can be! Speaking of asking for directions, do you know how to get to Heaven from your town? I’m serious! Some people think the road to heaven is found by doing good deeds. Others would say you take the highway of “trusting your church” to get you there. But, according to the Bible, there is only one road to heaven and that is the person of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death.” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). The Bible makes clear the point that the way to Heaven is by accepting the free gift of God’s grace by faith. In Romans 10:9 it says if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. In order to say truthfully that Jesus is Lord, you must turn over to Him your life and ask him to lead you the rest of your life. He will lead you to Heaven. You’ll never make it there on your own ability or merit. You must become a follower of Jesus Christ. So go ahead, get out your roadmap to eternity, the Bible, and check the directions. You can get on the right road today by asking him to lead you. Have a safe and joyful journey. Parent Rules by Larry Refsland
“Don’t smoke, don’t chew, and don’t go with girls that do!” That’s the kind of advice I got as a teenager from my mom and other adults. It seemed like every time I turned around, I was breaking one of the many rules I grew up with. When I married and had kids of my own, we tried to give a more hopeful approach to parenting. My wife and I have tried to raise our kids with only two rules. In fact, these are the same rules we use for children in our church as well. Rule #1: Don’t do something that will hurt yourself. Rule #2: Don’t do something that will hurt someone else. When you boil the Ten Commandments down to its basic premise, you get these two rules. You know, Jesus also reduced the rules and laws of the Bible to two commands. In Mark 12:30-32, he says, first love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. That’s not too complicated, is it? See, God’s not into rules! He’s into a relationship. That relationship has been initiated by His love for you and me. His command is for us to respond to that love and let that love be reflected in our actions toward others. How difficult is that? About as difficult as diving into a big bowl of ice cream with your favorite topping! When we realize God’s plan is to help us and not to hurt us, we are more willing to accept and respond to His love. So remember, keep it simple—two rules for parenting, two rules for a relationship with God that lead to life! Friday the 13th by Larry Refsland
Black cats crossing your path, walking under ladders, being careful not to step on a crack lest you break your mother’s back! These are all superstitions to most people. But everyone has some kinds of fears. In fact, superstitions are founded in fear. Some fears, however, are healthy. I have a healthy fear of electricity. It makes me cautious around wiring projects. When I was a kid, I had an unhealthy fear of chickens! Yeah, that’s right! Go ahead and laugh! I even had nightmares about them. After almost being forced to help catch chickens at my uncle’s chicken ranch, I gradually outgrew my unhealthy fear of them. Fear can be a powerful force. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God did not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of a sound mind.” One of the most repeated phrases in the Bible are these words of God to his people, “Fear not!” God would have us trust Him with our worst fears. Psalm 27, King David wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” It goes with these encouraging words, “for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle, and set me high upon a rock.” Remember, “perfect love drives out fear”, and God loves you perfectly (1 John 4:18). He loves you more than life itself. He will keep you safe even in the valley of the shadow of death. Call upon Him for peace and safety—He will be sure to answer you. Then you will say with King David, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Have you ever watched a skilled potter form a hunk of clay into a pot or a jar? Fascinating to watch, the potter uses his or her hands to shape and mold the clay until it becomes something useful and attractive. Around and around goes the wheel, every turn giving the potter an opportunity to make another unique feature in the raw material. It’s important for the clay to be flexible. Once it hardens, its shape can’t be changed.
Just as the clay forms in the hands of the potter, the Lord is shaping us. He is the potter; we are the clay. He is forming us into a vessel with a special purpose. Just as a potter has an end product in mind as he starts to work the clay, so God has an end product in his mind for each of us. He’s making us into something he can use. The key is to stay flexible! I used to have a sign in my office that said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” Remembering that we are the clay means we don’t resist the shaping process God is taking us through. The clay doesn’t ask the potter, “Why did you make me like this?” We, as human clay, simply trust God, the Potter, to lovingly shape our lives. When we resist him, we are hardened and inflexible. We are saying, “We know better than the Potter.” I encourage you to yield to the Potter’s hand today. Everyday is like a turn of the Potter’s wheel. He has a plan and purpose for you. It is a better plan than we could possibly attain on our own. Without him, you are just a lump of clay. With him, you become a one-of-a-kind vessel with purpose and strength. Have you ever pulled on a stray thread and unraveled half of your sweater? It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. Just give it a little tug and things will be fine. Then suddenly the ordered whole becomes a tangled mess, and it seems impossible to put it back. The same thing can happen in our lives. The smallest mistake can sometimes turn out to unravel our whole life! Trying to fix it on our own, we make matters worse.
God has woven the fabric of our lives together. He is the one who made us and designed us. When a part of our life is out of order, we can be tempted to ignore it, deny it, or try to fix it ourselves. These methods are sure to just make the problem bigger. To fix a stray thread, I go to someone that knows something about needles and thread. The sooner I get professional help, the less damage has to be repaired. In the same way, when we see something wrong in our life we go to the one who created life. The sooner we come to Him, the less damage has to be repaired. The loose thread could be trouble in our home, or a physical problem or a financial need. Before it becomes a crisis, take it to God. He is able to mend the brokenhearted and repair any damage in our life. Not only does he make the repairs, he comforts us in our pain or loss. A daily time with the Lord helps keep our lives from unraveling. He is the Master Tailor and wants to help us keep our life in order. No repair is too small and no damage is too great for him to make it as good as new! May I ask a personal question? What’s the condition of your Bible? Do you have one of those big Family Bibles at your house? Lots of folks have one. They look great on the coffee table or on a special stand. The problem with them is that they rarely get used. Nobody actually reads them. That kind of Bible is more for decoration, like the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine setting just so on your end table.
There’s nothing wrong with these Bibles—it’s one way to silently witness to your faith, and they can serve as a reminder to look to God for help to life’s questions. But the Bibles I like to see are the well-worn ones with lots of highlighting and personal notes written in the margins. Someone said, “If your Bible’s falling apart, you probably aren’t!” I believe that to be true! The Bible is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It is not an outdated book of myths and fables, but the living, active, ever-relevant Word of God. Here’s a challenge for the week: Spend some time everyday reading the Bible. See if it does speak to you and if it helps you. If you don’t have a clue on where to begin, let me suggest the Gospel of John. If you don’t have a Bible, there are plenty of places to get them—even online for free! I’ll be glad to give you one too. Become a student of the Word. It is the manual for life and the living record of God’s plan for successful living. Have an awesome day! “Trust me.” “Take my word for it.” Have you ever heard these statements? You had a legitimate question, but the answer you got was, “Just trust me.” A lot of people rely only on what other people tell them to be true. Some people depend upon their pastor or priest to tell them what the Bible says. Even though I have a lot of confidence that a clergy person can help us get truth from the Bible and understand it, no one should ever use them as their only source of Biblical truth. I can’t stress enough the value of personal time spent reading the Word of God, the Bible.
The scriptures challenge each of us as individuals to “study to show yourselves approved, a workmen that correctly handles the word of truth.” I encourage you: don’t take my word for it! Check it out for yourselves. Otherwise you will be apt to believe something that may not be true. II Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is a gift from God to us, a gift to be used and applied. Of course you’re not going to understand everything you read. I know I don’t. But God will give you wisdom to understand what you need for the circumstances of your life. Certainly, ask questions of your pastor. He or she will be thrilled to know you’ve been reading the Word. Be a man or woman of the Word. It will change your life because it is the power of God unto salvation. |
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