A {Jewish} leader asked Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that continues forever?" (ERV)
Full Text
Key Thought
Can you think of a more important question than this? I can think of several that are equally important, but they all ultimately come down to the same basic issue: am I tied into God in a way that assures me of life forever with him? So, are you? Are you confident in that life with Christ forever? God wants us to be? Now whether the religious leader's motives were perfectly pure or not is really not relevant to our asking the same question. We can ask it from a pure and undefiled heart, seeking to honor and glorify him. When we do, we can know where we stand and with whom we stand.
Today's Prayer
Father, I know many people want to live forever simply to prolong their lives and to escape their fear of nothingness or eternal punishment. While those issues are of importance, dear Father, I long to be with you -- to know you, to be able to see you face to face, to honor you and praise you with your angels. You have blessed me so graciously with your grace. You paid the price for my sins at incredible cost to yourself. I long, dear Father, to stand before your throne and tell you through eternity how magnificent and precious you are to me. In Jesus' name I praise and honor you Almighty God. Amen.
I write this letter to you people who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now. We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), then God cares about what we say. God listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us the things that we ask from him. 1 John 5:13-15 (ERV)
"I tell you the truth. If a person hears what I say and believes in the One (God) who sent me, that person has life forever. That person will not be judged guilty. He has already left death and has entered into life. I tell you the truth. An {important} time is coming. That time is already here. People that are dead {in sin} will hear the voice of the Son of God. And the people that {accept the things they} hear {from the Son} will have life {forever}. Life comes from the Father (God) himself. So the Father has also allowed the Son (Jesus) to give life. And the Father has given the Son the power to judge all people. Why? Because that Son is the Son of Man. Don't be surprised at this. A time is coming when all people that are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. Then they will come out of their graves. The people that did good in this life will rise and have life forever. But the people that did evil will rise to be judged guilty. John 5:24-29 (ERV)
When the people heard this, they felt very, very sorry. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" Peter said to them, "Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people that are far away. It is for every person that the Lord our God calls to himself." Peter warned them with many other words; he begged them, "Save yourselves from the evil of the people that live now!" Then those people who accepted (believed) what Peter said were baptized. On that day about 3,000 people were added to the group of believers. {The believers continued to meet together.} They used their time to learn the teaching of the apostles. The believers shared with each other. They ate together and prayed together. Acts 2:37-42 (ERV)
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