He Gives Life

 Act 17:28,25
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;..seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things..

He is all in all. With our whole being we make Him Lord of our Life. We live because He lives and provides us with all that is needed to survive on earth, and life beyond the grave. No one holds their own destiny. We make choices that determine our destiny, but our life is ultimately in the hands of God. The breath we take daily is given to us by our Creator, who determines when we will take our last. We live each day thinking there will always be a tomorrow, but out of nowhere, like vapor, it is gone. A tragic accident, a heart attack, or cancer makes its way into our life, and we are now counting the days. We don’t hold the number of days, we can only hold on to Christ who is our life, even in death He is our substance and our being. 
As my wife and I walked around the cemetery on the mountain side of Morrison to start making arrangements for our burial place, I was made aware of the certainty of death and the unpredictability of life. Gravestone markers of people of all ages. I wondered how many knew Jesus. Did they have eternal life that only Jesus can give?
 There are many teachings out in the world that give false hope. Paul faced this in Athens, where images of false gods were erected throughout the land. He acknowledged that they had been blinded to the truth, but He preached Jesus, and admonished them to repent. We still live in a day of many false gods. We who are born of God, and have life in Christ, have the answer to the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and life, and He alone can take that which is dead and give it life and life everlasting.  

For Us, Against Us

 Mark 9:40
 For he that is not against us is on our part.

All doctrine is not critical to having eternal life. The Doctrine of the Church concerning Jesus Christ, who He is, and why He came to earth is essential to salvation. There are other teachings that are important and hinge on the person of Christ, but it is important to know that knowing Jesus to be God and coming to save sinners through His death and resurrection is crucial and essential to our beliefs and eternal salvation. “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers” (Titus 1:9). A church that does not hold to this sound doctrine, is not part of the universal church of Jesus Christ that encompasses all who believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior of the heart. They are against sound doctrine and people should be warned of their false teachings. God has a plan for each believer to fulfill the mission of the gospel of Christ. The world is filled with churches that seek to fulfill that mission. As believers, we desire to fellowship with those who are like-minded and share the same core values. Therefore, we may choose to attend and be a part of a particular church. If you don’t agree with those core values, then it is probably best to find a place where you can be effective in ministry to do what God has called you to do. We are too close to the end days and Jesus will soon be returning. We have kingdom work that needs to be done. We don’t have time to be fussing over non-essential doctrine. He that is not against us is on our side.

Every Knee Shall Bow

 Philippians 2:10,11
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;;; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He is exalted above every name. There will come a day when every knee will bow to Jesus. There is a coming day when every nation, every religion, every atheist will confess that He is the Lord and the true God and Savior of this world. It is not arrogance and self-righteousness that Christians hold this truth to be self-evident. It is the absolute and undeniable truth that Jesus is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He will return to earth some day to receive His church, all that is washed and covered in His blood. He will set up His Kingdom and there will be no end to His reign.

All things

Colossians 1:17, 18b And he is before all things, and by him all things consist…. that in all things he might have the preeminence.

The existence of all things starts with God. He is the first and the last, He holds the world in his hand and by Him all things are made known. As the creator of heaven and earth, He was there to spin the universe, the galaxies into existence. Who is man to think he can make his own way to salvation? Christ, the God-man came to this world to provide a way of salvation, and through Him, and Him alone can we be made reconciled to God the Father. Jesus, the one and only one who is able to save us from sin. Because He is God, He has the power to forgive sins, He is Lord of lords and there is not equal to Him. Other religions may claim their righteousness, but unless they come under the authority of Christ, they will be lost. He is the preeminence, surpassing all others in His power and authority. He is God, and He is my Lord and Savior.

Jesus is Lord

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Philip 2:10a That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

We will either bow the knee now of our own choice and give our lives to God, or someday we will bow the knee realizing that He is Lord and we have lived our lives in vain glory. It will be an undeniable fact, for every eye shall see that He is God and His glory will rule the world and the world after. Only God knows the hearts of people and can determine if they have bowed the knee willingly. But it is clear that when all is said and done, Jesus will be seen as Lord of All. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Let us not wait for the fearful dreaded day when it is too late. Let us now bow the knee, and give our hearts and lives to the one who has given His life for us. Let us confess that Jesus is Lord, and make Him ruler of our hearts.

Bow The Knee

Phil 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Many see Christianity as an arrogant religion. Those who claim the Name of Christ proclaim that Jesus is the only way to have have eternal life, in other words, get to heaven. Such teaching flies in the face of those that think that there are many ways to have eternal life after death. That the path to heaven is made possible by having faith in what you believe, and to follow its teachings. Jesus, says, “I am the way, the truth, and life, and no mans comes to the Father except through me.” This declaration of Christ has portrayed the followers of Christ as bigots. Not willing to accept or tolerant the belief that obtaining eternal can be achieve by other means other than through Christ. It is the foundation truth of Christianity that Jesus is God, who came in the flesh and dwelt among us. He being fully God and fully man died for the sins of humanity that we might have access to the Father. I stand not in judgement of others who claim otherwise, but to believe in Jesus, is to believe that what He is is truth. Ultimately, every religion will bow the knee and acknowledge that He is Lord, and the only way to have eternal life.