OceanSide church of Christ
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WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
Wayne
Rodgers
To
whom do you give credit for where you are now? We can certainly think of
at least one person that has helped us get to where we are. For some it
may be a parent or grandparent, or it may be a preacher, a teacher, or a close
friend. Whoever this person is, there was something that you could not
accomplish that they could. They had something to offer you that you maybe
could not attain on your own. And in some way, they gave you just the help
you needed to reach your goal. God be thanked for those great
individuals!
But
what about the future? Where are you going? We should be always thinking
about where we are going. We are taught to make goals and then to reach
for them. We are told to make a plan, or else, we are planning to
fail. Our goal for the future ultimately should be heaven, but we have no
way of reaching heaven without help. Jeremiah says that it “is not in
man that walketh to direct his own steps.”(Jer. 10:25). So, Christ
offers that help (Heb. 2:9; 4:15). God has planned great things for us,
and offered something that we could not achieve on our
own.
God
has made a way for us to reach our goal, for it is His goal as well. In 2 Peter
3:9, he says that he is “not willing that any should perish, but that all
come to repentance.” God does not want us to fail; therefore, He has a
plan to help achieve our goal. Jesus Christ is the plan. He is the
way. Our goal to get to heaven can only be attained by the help and
direction of Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The inspired writer of Acts
records: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts
4:12). There’s no better plan than that which God has planned. If we
do not follow it, then we will fail to reach our goal. We must obey Christ
and his plan for salvation which is referred to as the Gospel (1 Corinthians
15:1-4). We must continue following His plan for worship and Christian
living (John 4:23-24; Col. 3:17; Rom. 12:1-2).
God’s
plan for saving man includes: first hearing the word of God, which produces
faith (Rom. 10:17), believing in Jesus Christ as God’s only Son (Mk. 16:16; John
8:24), repenting of sin (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 17:30, 31), confessing our belief in
Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:32,33; Rom. 10:10), and being immersed in water for the
remission of sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:37-39; 22:16). In this way man
obeys the gospel (1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Thes. 1:7-9), and the Lord adds them to the
church (Acts 2:47). In the great love and wisdom of God, an individual can
be saved from sin and live a faithful life and fulfill the need to worship the
Creator as He desires.
As
you think back and remember how you got where you are today, consider yet where
you are going and how you will get there. If you follow Jesus through His
Word, you can have heaven as your home. Without Him, you will be lost
eternally. Make your plans today to follow Jesus Christ, who has come to
seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).