God
saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this;
it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have
done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9
Jesus was threatened
with being stoned by the Jewish people as He taught at the Temple. He had been
telling those people about His Father and His followers, using the analogy of sheep. The
sheep follow their shepherd.
Jesus said, "At my Father's direction I have
done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?" John 10:32
If the good things that Jesus did were not a “reward”
then how could anything that we do be rewarded in God’s eyes?
Work as much
as you like and give as much money as you can to please other people and to try
to please God. It still won’t get you to heaven. Not the first, second or the
third level of heaven. The whole idea of levels of heaven is an idea that has
been introduced into our religious theology to create division and possibly
take our focus off of the Heavenly home of God. The first heaven can be considered to be the
sky where we see birds flying—and where we also travel in airplanes. The second
heaven could be considered to be the vast universe that we view in the night
sky—filled with stars and planets that are what we call outer space.
Paul
mentioned the third heaven, as spiritual realm, in one of his letters to the
Corinthians.
This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I
will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught
up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of
my body, I don't know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my
body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise
and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things
no human is allowed to tell. 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 (underlined for emphasis)
We must be
pure to enter Heaven. Yet the only way to this spiritual realm—heaven—where the
heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reign is explained by Jesus…
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God
raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we
have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you,
pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 1 Peter 1:3-4
 |
| Do you have a white robe? |
We can’t do
enough good to cleanse ourselves. Only the blood of Jesus can wash us clean and
clothe us in white robes. No sin is allowed in heaven—only the pure will be
allowed there.
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count,
from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the
throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm
branches in their hands. Revelation
7:9
Will you be
found one day—wearing a white robe and standing before the Throne of the Lamb
of God—Jesus, our Messiah?
Prayer ~ Jesus—I
rejoice and praise You—for just as You told the woman at the well..."I am
the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after
dying." John 11:25. I believe. Open the eyes and hearts of those who hear
of You and are hesitant or just don’t believe. Although we are told we share in
Your suffering…we claim the promise that we may share in Your glory, too. Glory
be to God the Father…and His plan for mankind.
Daily
Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 1-2
© 2019 Text and
Photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
www.blueletterbible.org/dailyreading
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