New Harmony

People get lost everyday. Someone misses his exit. A husband and wife argue about stopping for directions. Rescue teams search in the mountains to find a hunter who didn’t come back.
The problem with being lost is the inability to get where you wanted to go. A Native American guide reportedly said to his hunting party, “I’m not lost, the village is lost.” Surviving in the wilderness was no problem to him, he just couldn’t locate the rest of the clan. The question is not, “Are you comfortable with your situation right now?” The question is, “Do you know where you are going?”

Life is a journey from birth to death. No matter what you believe about it, you will eventually face the reality of what now lies beyond this life. There is no way to slow down or turn back. Moment by moment, day by day, we get closer to the end of our road.
Some people won’t look at a map, check a compass or ask for directions. They are sure they can find their desired destination by their own sense of direction and dead reckoning. This might work if the only penalty for mistakes is missing a flight or the need to backtrack a few miles. But what if the penalty for error is death? The Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12).

While some people are convinced they can find their way without assistance, no sane person believes that every road leads to the same place. Yet some people claim that every spiritual path leads to heaven.
Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus claimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

God has equipped humans with a sense of direction called the conscience. People have a sense of “right and wrong.” According to God’s word, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Most people would agree that they have sometimes violated even their own sense of right and wrong. They admit, “Nobody’s perfect.”
Our problem is that God IS perfect. He is “holy” -- completely perfect in character, power, and every attribute. Fellowship with God requires matching God’s holiness, “because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1Peter 1:16). Failure to be holy separates people from God and ultimately results in God’s judgment. “...your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2). “The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20). “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23).

If you make one wrong turn you will never arrive at your goal, even if you follow the rest of the directions perfectly. In the same way nothing we can do changes the fact that we are sinners. We are polluted by sin in our past even if we never sin again. But to go to heaven, we must be sinless.
The Bible’s answer is the work of Jesus Christ. He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” (1Pet. 2:24). “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Cor. 5:21).

    Some people can’t bring themselves to ask for directions. They are sure they can make it on their own. That can be dangerous. Many people who are lost in the wilderness perish because they won’t stop and wait to be rescued.
    Your good works can’t save you from your sins. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Religious observance of do’s and don’ts can’t get you to heaven. “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20).
    The only way to heaven is Jesus Christ and His offering for sin. “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” (Rom. 3:21-22).

What can you do? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved...” (Acts 16:31). “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.“ (Romans 10:13). Jesus said, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37).

Life is a journey. Do you know where you are going? Have you made any wrong turns? Are you really going where you want to go? What are you counting on to make you right with God? Call on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. He alone can rescue you and lead you safely home.

Bubba Bass and the Minnow

    Bubba Bass was a noted lunker. He was a big fish in a big pond and he liked to throw his weight around. In his watery kingdom Bubba was at the top of the food chain. He consumed fish and frogs, dragonflies and ducklings, minnows and mice. Anything in or on the water was likely to vanish suddenly, leaving only a ripple and Bubba’s smirking smile to mark its passing.
    Bubba would lurk in the shadows until his next meal came into range. Then with an awesome burst of power he would suck it into his maw and turn away with a snap.
    Imagine Bubba’s delight when a fat minnow swam slowly past his trap one sunny afternoon. Was it careless or crazy to make itself such easy prey? No matter -- this minnow was Bubba’s meat! With a flip of his tail he slipped out of hiding and bit down on his victim.
    Imagine Bubba’s rage when the minnow bit him back! Sharp hooks cut into Bubba’s lip. Powerful forces pulled against him. When he dove to the bottom, the minnow still fought. When he leapt into the air the minnow stayed with him!
    Imagine Bubba’s despair when, finally exhausted, he was scooped up into the world of air -- no longer the predator, but now himself the hapless prey, flopping feebly, unable to escape. Defeated and dying.

    The Bible says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14,15).
    Everybody has taken the bait... “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means that everyone, including you, find yourself on the hook. Some fight it. Some resign themselves to it. The end is always the same. You are being reeled in to your death. (This isn’t catch and release.) “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
    According to the Bible there is only one hope. Jesus Christ came to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Those who turn to him are saved from the power and penalty of their sin. They are born again with new life that is eternal. They will be able to cease their sinful ways and look forward to a life of divine fulfillment.
    “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth...” (James 1:16-18).
    Are you still on the hook, or have you been delivered by the power of Jesus Christ? He descended to our world, took the penalty for our selfish sins by suffering death in our place. Finally He displayed His victory by His resurrection from the dead.
    Don’t wait until it is too late. Call on Jesus to save you while you have the opportunity!
1. Confess Your Sins
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1John 1:8-10).
2. Believe Jesus Died For You
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.” (1Pet. 2:24).
3. Call On Him To Save You
“...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9).
For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Rom. 10:13).

Perfect Golf

    The object of golf is to move the little white ball down the course and into a hole in the ground in as few strokes as possible. There are eighteen holes. Each hole is different, from about 100 yards to over 500 yards, up-hill or down-hill, straight or dog-legs to the left or right. Any hole may have an assortment of hazards to get around or over on the way to the hole – lakes, sand traps, hills, trees and rocks.
Golfers enjoy the exquisite impossibility of the task. No matter how well we do, we might have done better – or worse. Most of us are happy with some shots and unhappy with others.
    What if your life depended on playing a perfect game – eighteen holes in one?! Impossible you say? But this is exactly like the task you face if you expect to get into heaven by being good enough to please God.
God is infinite and perfect. In speaking of His goodness, the Bible says, This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1John 1:5). God’s perfect goodness and separation from anything evil is called “holiness.” If you want to be accepted by God you must measure up to His perfect holiness. God says, “…be holy; for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44). The Bible says, Pursue … holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: (Hebrews 12:14).
    Is such perfection possible? Many people have hit a hole in one. Some people have hit several. A few people have hit more than one in a single round. Has anyone ever made 18 holes in one in every round they ever played?
Only one man has ever lived a completely sinless life. Everyone else has sinned, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23). For all of us sinners, …the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23).
“No way! This isn’t even like golf,” you say. “Nobody expects you to get 18 holes in one. Nobody can do that. Par golf would be great for most of us!”
    What if you only had to play as well as the best player in the world? Would that make you happy?
    What if you only had to be the best in your clubhouse? What if you only had to make par every time you played?

    Many people really do expect entrance to heaven to be like golf, but they mean golf like most people play it. We use par golf as a reference point, but we really play against our own average game and use our handicap to compare our play to other people. Even then, we forgive ourselves freely, take a mulligan here, a free drop there, and a gimme whenever we can.
Some people think that if they are happy with their level of goodness God should be happy with it too. They evidently believe that God has lower standards for heaven than the PGA has for a Master’s Tournament!
    God’s standard is holiness – perfect righteousness. If you have ever missed that standard you are disqualified. But God has provided a way for you to be qualified.
    God became a man who lived without sinning, but who died for sin as a substitute for those sinners who put their trust in Him. Jesus Christ made the way for us to be qualified for heaven. [Jesus] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness. (1Peter 2:24). God… made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Corinthians 5:21).
    Can you get into heaven by your own goodness? You have a better chance of hitting a thousand consecutive holes in one. There is only one way you can be admitted to heaven. Jesus said it,

    I am the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6). If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9).

    What are you waiting for?

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New Harmony Baptist Church Of Caldwell, Ohio