Opening his mouth Peter said, “I most certainly understand that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
Acts 10:34-35
God is in the business of building bridges so that all men, women and children can come to know and worship Him. Jesus came for all of us, and we are all welcome to ask Him to be our Lord, Master and Savior, and to be welcomed into the family of God.
Come and be welcomed.
In this same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:17-20
Before Jesus came, only the high priest could enter into the part of the temple behind the veil where God resided. Men could not approach God, but had to rely on the priests to act as a mediator between them and God. People would bring their offerings to the temple to be sacrificed in order to receive forgiveness.
Jesus changed that. Through Jesus we have a direct audience with God.
God fulfilled His promise to make a way for all people when He sent His Son, Jesus, to die once and for all sinful men and women. This being done, all that is left for us to do is to receive this great gift of salvation and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, Master and Savior.
Jesus is the anchor of our souls.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all….
1 Timothy 2:5-6
While some people quibble about whether or not there is a God, we stand firm; our God is the one and only God. There are no others.
One God and one Savior, hallelujah!
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you should suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
1 Peter 3:17
It is sad to say, but there are people who will torment us for doing what is right.
I worked for a business that had no time clock and used the honor system for employee time keeping. I took heat because I was at my desk at 8:00 when the business opened. Another employee told me that “on time meant in the parking lot.” I found that amusing because every day the bosses asked me, the lowly receptionist, where their employees were at 8:00. I would smile and say, “In the parking lot.”
Sometimes expectations of honor lead to dishonor and unfortunately for my critics, I was not as confident about my importance to the company as they were, and, therefore, was on time.
There are many people who have suffered more for doing great things which were right, than I have for doing small things, and I admire them for their courage.
What is important is that no matter what happens to us personally for doing what is right, we should do what is right.
Do the right thing and take the heat.
Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2
Let us be kind to those who most need it: the sad, the grieving, the social outcast, the stinky kid and the grouchy neighbor. It is in showing hospitality that we show God’s love to the world.
And, perhaps entertain angels.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14
The heart of the Gospel is that no one is too bad to be forgiven by God. Jesus died once and for all. When we come to Jesus and ask Him into our lives, He wipes clean our lives. There is no sin which remains. Jesus rescued us from our ungodly ways and restored us to our proper place as sons and daughters of God.
Jesus is our Lord, Master and Savior.
So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.
It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed.
Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”
Kings 18:27-30
You don't have to yell when you come to God with your requests. He is right their listening to you.
And, like God did for Elijah, He will do for you.
Have faith.
