Hello, and welcome to Faith is Hope,
I’m Dave
In my last podcast, I talked about Gifts, and how the bible separates them. I was gonna talk about individual gifts and spiritual gifts, but the vise-president made a statement that I have to address.
Our Faith is a Gift.
The vice president made the statement while speaking at an abortion rights conference in Connecticut that “Americans don’t need to abandon their faith to support abortion rights in the united states.” Now I’m not judging anyone. I’ve done things in my past that I truly believed that God would never forgive me for. And thank God, I was wrong. I found that there’s nothing that God can’t and won’t forgive if you just have faith. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not of your own doing, it’s the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9) It is by God’s grace that we’re saved, through our faith. So, what kind of faith in God does a person have if they don’t believe what God has commanded us? I’m not sure but I wouldn’t want to bet eternity on it.
So, why are these people, people who profess to be good Catholics, and Christians, turning around and telling us that our faith, our belief in what God has said, that turning from God’s commandments, turning from the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ, to accept what they’re telling us isn’t abandoning our faith. Are you kidding me? Who or what are these people putting their faith in? Didn’t they learn anything from Adam and Eve?
Why would anyone who claims to know Christ, deceive us, lead us away from God, and straight into the snares of satan? Unless turning from God, to follow them is what they really wanted all of us to do. But isn’t turning from God, to follow them abandoning your faith? Satan lies. He uses chaos, confusion, and deceit to create death and destruction. He did it in the beginning with Adam and Eve, and he’s still doing it. The only difference is now, he’s got world leaders and a whole lot more people working in his corner. Telling us that right is wrong, and wrong is right. That God is evil and that evil is righteous. Well, I hate to spoil the movie for you, but if you don’t have faith in God, you don’t have any faith to abandon. We’re being deceived, and lied to by the world. Look around you. Look at where we are. Now, try to imagine where we’re heading.
I know that we’re all created in the image of God, and in that aspect, we’re all God’s children. But, not all of God’s children have accepted Christ, but God’s patience, and he’s waiting for us, his children who are lost, to come home. But Christ said whoever causes one of these little ones (God’s children) who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (Matthew 18: 6-7) And anyone who lies and deceives these women, to cause that child to stumble, to turn from Christ’s gift of salvation for whatever reason. Cannot even begin to imagine the horror, pain and suffering of the hell that awaits them. I don’t judge or condemn the woman. Maybe she can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe she feels lost and alone, and believes that being pregnant will destroy her life. That abortion is the only thing that’s left. No, I don’t condemn the woman, I condemn the lies and deceit they’re being told, and the harm it causes them.
We all make mistakes, that’s how we learn. And I know that we all fall short of the glory of God. That’s why our faith in God, our faith in his son Jesus Christ, and in the promise of salvation are so important. We must know that when we ask Christ into our lives, our sins are forgiven, and we’ve made new. We’re not born into the same life, but into a life in Christ. We’re not reborn into this world, but into a heavenly world. We cannot truly accept God’s gift of salvation through Christ, and then continue leading a life of sin. Yes, we’re all gonna sin, and God knows that. But God gave us his word in the bible, and Jesus gave us his teachings and examples so that we won’t keep on making the same mistakes. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
I’ve asked this question before and I’ll continue to ask it. You may know Jesus, but does Jesus know you? Because if Jesus doesn’t know you, you need to get up close and personal with him, real quick.
Now, here’s the good news. Jesus accepts everyone, Christ washes away every sin, and when we accept Christ, God welcomes us with open arms. In our eyes, we all think that our way is the right way, but the Lord doesn’t look at things through our eyes, he looks at what’s in our hearts. You can’t earn salvation, that’s why God gives It as a gift. And it’s faith, the knowing that, that gift from God, that gift from the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us on the cross, is because he loves us. And it’s that love that allows us to be with God. The path that God chose for us isn’t the road the world has laid before us. Don’t let yourself be deceived. Don‘t let yourself be led astray. Hold on to God’s word, Christ’s teachings. If you hold on to God, you’re holding on to eternal life with him. If you hold on to the world, you’re holding on to eternal death and damnation without him. And that, that is the definition of hell, to be absent from the presence of God.
Hey I’m Dave – join me next time when I talk about “Trees and their fruit”, and until then, I’ll see you at the Rest Area.
