Good morning everyone! I told you yesterday of a woman and her daughter that we met at the IHOP. Well, I was tell the woman, Cathy about a little story I call "The Chairs". It is a little story about our walk with Jesus and our salvation. Are you saved? Are you sure? Let's examine ourselves. I know this will be a little longer devotion today but, please read on. Let's dig into the good stuff!
Bible verse: 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
Salvation, true salvation. What is it? If you are truly saved do you not desire to live as a Christian? This passage that apostle John wrote is so important. All believers everywhere should think about this book of five chapters. If you wander away from God were you truly saved. If you wander away and stay away are you truly saved. Being a Christian. some people call themselves Christians, yet live the life of a lost person. There are some people who have the best intentions, but come up lacking. Have you ever asked yourself what your main reason is for being a Christian? Some people go to church because it is a family tradition. Some go for the social or business contacts. Some go out of habit. if the main reason for being a Christian is not a Christ center and based reason. I believe you will be found lacking. I know when I came to know Christ as my Savoir. My life as I knew it changed. My outlook on life changed. I desire to be with Christians more and more. I desire to attend church. I don't feel like it is a chore or a burden to go to church. I missed last Sunday and it bothered me. I don't find excuses to miss a service here or there. I desire to be more Christlike everyday.
If someone is truly saved how can they wander or walk away from such a gift? If you had something so valuable that money could not buy it, would you let it out of your sight? I think not. Well, why would we take our eyes off of God? Why would we want to wander from being close to him?
A friend of mine told me a story and I would like to share it with you. This story is about 4 chairs and a cross. See, the four chairs are sitting next to the cross. The cross is God and the chairs are where we are in the walk of our life. The first chair is close to the cross. This one represents someone who is very close to God and going to heaven. the next chair is someone who is saved, but has been backsliding a bit. But, still going to heaven. The fourth chair is someone that is 100% lost and knows it. They know that they are lost and choose not to accept God. Wait your saying "what about the third chair". Well, this is the worst chair. This is the chair of a lost person that thinks they are saved. This is a very dangerous place to be. They say "yeah, I'm saved" with a matter of fact demeanor. But, they never live their life as if they are. These people still desire to live in the darkness. In 1 John 2:9 John says "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
Do you know someone who says they are saved and yet do not live the life of a Christian. I do, and it really scares me. This person is close to me and I worry for them. I pray that God will open the eyes of their heart. Hopefully, it won't be too late. We never know when our ticket will be punched. We should never waste time. We should never forget what Christ did for us. We should hold on tight to the word of God and remember how important it is to grow as a Christian. You can't get saved and then sit back and enjoy the ride. We must grow in knowledge of the Lord to grow stronger in the Lord. We shouldn't just grow stronger, we should share and teach this knowledge to others. We must never forget who we are as Christians.Because Christ lives in us and we live in Christ. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless.
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