9
Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God’s Kingdom. Do not fool
yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or
homosexual perverts 10
or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are
thieves—none of these will possess God’s Kingdom. 11
Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been
dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and
by the Spirit of our God.
Thoughts:
Do you ever stop and ponder if you are truly saved and destined
for heaven’s portals one day to be with Jesus? Perhaps your parents reminds you
of a time that you made a public profession, or was baptized, but questions
have arisen in your mind about your salvation because you, personally, don’t
recall making a decision to accept Jesus as Lord of your life? Friends, I want
to help you clarify that in your mind today in light of these highlighted
verses. First of all, do you recall the day you graduated from high school?
What about the day you got married? I bet by now you are wondering if I am
being ridiculous with you, because these are important dates that everyone
remembers. But that’s my point, these important dates are remembered because
there was a specific time that your life changed. Friends, neither of these
dates are anywhere near as important as the day that you may have said no to
this world and its evil ways, and yes to Jesus and all the glories of heaven.
This is a decision where your life changes forever, because through the power
of the Holy Spirit that takes up residence in your life at the time of
salvation, you leave behind the sins of this world, such as those mentioned in
these verses by Paul to the Corinthian church, and you march to a different
Master, a righteous Leader and Lord, who changes you from the inside out and
leads you in the path of righteousness – right living according to God’s terms
in His Word. Secondly, I want to draw the attention of those who may have
accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, yet in reading these verses this morning
you are guilty of some of these sins. Friends, this is not an all-inclusive
list of sins, these are just the ones Paul saw happening among the Corinthian
church members. But think of it this way, all unrighteousness is sin; every
actual sin, committed with design, and not repented of, shuts out the kingdom
of heaven, for no sin is allowed there. We cannot hope to sow to the flesh, and
reap everlasting life. Only the blood of Christ, and our desire to cleanse
ourselves of sin, can take away all guilt. All who are made righteous in the
sight of God, are made holy by the grace of God. If you are still struggling
with the idea of whether you are secure in the kingdom of God, please use the
information in the footnote to seek help. This is important enough that One Man
gave His life to help you secure your eternal destiny, so please don’t delay!
Prayer:
Lord, I acknowledge that Your Word is very timely, appropriate
and pointed – because only You know what we need, when we need it and why we
need it. I believe that this is needed to help us recognize our sin, cleanse us
of our sin, and redirect our more righteous lives to serving You as clean,
strong, non-hypocritical servants before our lost family and friends. We just
can’t be effective if we live just like them, accept the same sinful actions as
they do and share in the same gossip rings that they participate in. We must
represent You in spite of what appears to be acceptable to them, for we are a ‘New’
and a ‘Holy’ creation serving an awesome and sinless God. As You have opened
our eyes in Scripture today, please tender our hearts to right decisions to
seek Your forgiveness of our sin and to lives our lives acceptable to You and
usable by You. Thank You for speaking to my heart today Lord, may Your perfect
will also be accomplished in the lives of my readers today, is my humble and
sincere prayer that I ask in Your name alone, dear Jesus, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been
challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak
with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or
encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words
underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote
the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to
read or pray.
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