Monday, September 25, 2017
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It was one of those unforgettable, milestone moments for our family. Our firstborn child was holding her firstborn child. Wow! What a moment! And we got to join them in the delivery room just moments after the little guy's arrival. And I knew this presented a shocking development. My wife was a grandmother! Could you believe it? Me, living with a grandmother! Yes, I was living in denial. And then after becoming a grandmother more than once, well finally, I had to accept that disturbing reality. I am a grandfather!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why God Will Never Be a Grandfather."
All through the Bible, God introduces Himself to us as our Father in heaven, but never as our grandfather. God never has been and never will be anyone's grandfather. See, He only has children. He doesn't have any grandchildren.
That might be some very important information for you to consider-eternally important-because you might be one of the many people who could be counting on the faith of their family to qualify them for heaven. If you've got a Christian mom or dad, that might help you know about Jesus. It won't do a thing for you when it comes to knowing Jesus personally though. You can't "osmote" a relationship with Jesus from your Christian parents or your Christian husband or your wife, or from the Christians you've been with your whole life. Unless there's been a personal transaction between you and Jesus to have your sins forgiven, you've never been born into God's family, and you'll never see heaven. God has no grandchildren.
Jesus described the essential qualification for going to heaven when He said, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). A couple of chapters earlier, the Bible describes just how that birthing into God's family takes place. It's in John 1:12, our word for today from the Word of God. Speaking of Jesus, it says, "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
What does it mean to "receive" Christ? Well, it's consciously opening the door of your heart and welcoming Jesus in. So, has there ever been a time when you did that for yourself? This verse talks about "believing in His name." What's that about? When you check out "believe" in the original language of the New Testament, it's clear that it's a lot more than just agreeing with all the facts about Jesus dying for your sin. It's about total trust in Jesus like He's your only hope. "His name" literally means, "Jehovah rescues." That's what He died for-to pay for your sin so you don't have to. To rescue you.
Just picture that you're desperately drowning and Jesus has come like the rescuer. You've got to grab onto Him like He's your only hope. Has there ever been a time when you did that with Jesus? You say, "I'm not sure." Well, if you don't know you have, I'd say you probably haven't. When you've grown up in a Christian home, spent a lot of time in a Christian environment, it's easy to feel like, "Man, I must have picked up Jesus somewhere." Well, no, not unless there's been a time when you consciously put all your trust in Him for yourself and you told Him that. That's when your sins get erased from God's records. That's when you get born into God's family.
It may be God has you listening today so He could whisper to your heart, "Take care of this now. Look, you've known a lot about Me all these years, but you've never known Me. Don't wait another day to begin your personal relationship with Me." You know, you could do that by telling Jesus, "Lord, I've never really pinned all my hopes on You and what You did for me on the cross, but I am today, Jesus. Beginning today, I'm Yours."
You know, on this what could be your Jesus day, this would be a great day for you to go visit our website for a short time. It's ANewStory.com. And there are the things you need to know from God's Word to be sure you belong to Him.
From now on, this date can be your new birthday-your second birthday. The day you got God as your Father. You got Jesus as your Savior-your personal Savior!