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What Are The Benefits Of Salvation -- God's Service
by Bobby Bruno God Uses Me To Accomplish His Purposes And Plans There is a reason you are alive. There is a reason why God created you to live in this day and age. God does not make anything He doesn't use. Everything God has created has a purpose for existing. For example, He has given us trees for oxygen and beauty; He as given us animals for companionship and food; He has placed the stars and the planets in the sky so we could see His majesty and power; he has given us birds, bees, flowers, oceans, and animals so we could see the depth of His creativity and glory; He has given us the sky and atmosphere to keep in the oxygen and heat, and to keep out the harsh effects of the sun and universe outside the earth. Everything He has made serves a purpose for our protection, our enjoyment, and His glory. Scripture even says that all one has to do is look at creation to see that God exists and is in full control of everything He has made (Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" NIV). You are a product of His love and workmanship. We build things to make our lives better. He creates us to make this world a better place, one person at a time. God has given you a way to show others who He is and how much He loves everyone. We are to be His light in a world that is slowly growing darker. Jesus did what He could when He was here on earth, but He has left it up to us, in His power, to continue what He had started two thousand years ago. But what is it that He wants us to do for Him on this earth? Since He is God, and since He created everything, can't He fix it all with one wave of His hand? Yes, He could, but how would that help us to know that He loves us? If parents did everything for their children, the children would never grow up to be functional adults, able to take care of themselves. For example, I just watched an old sitcom from the sixties that dealt with a rich couple whose maid quit. Because of it they had to learn how to cook for themselves, and didn't even know how to break an egg properly. One could deduce from this that their parents were also rich and relied on another to do everything for them and their kids, whereby none of them were truly functioning adults. If God did everything for us, we would never grow into the kind of people He created us to be. Sin has turned us into dysfunctional people incapable of growing without a fully functional parent to show us the way. God is that parent, and when we accept His Son, Jesus Christ, we become His children and are part of the family of God. When that happens, God expects of us to follow His plan and purpose for which He has created us. But how do we know what His purpose is for our lives, since each person has a different purpose? And what is God's plan anyway? God equips me to do His Will A lot of people are confused about just what God's Will is. What is God's Will for my life? Why did He create me as I am? How do I find out what that Will is? Where do I look? God's Will for humanity can be easily found in the pages of the Bible, if you have the Holy Spirit residing within you to teach you what God is saying to us through His Word. Within all the dates and names, within all the many places and people, within every word that you read in the Bible, the message of God is clear. God's Will clearly shines forth in a wonderful and glorious story of love. What is God's Will? God's Will is to reconcile all of humanity back to Him, as it was before Adam and Eve sinned by eating the apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His Will is to claim us back from an unloving Satan into a life filled with His love, promises, and blessings. God's Will has always been for man to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, and He has spent the last six thousand years trying to woo us back into His loving arms. But how do we find God's purpose for our lives? It's a lot simpler than you may think. There are spiritual gift tests you can take that can pinpoint for you just what your gifts are. I have taken three such tests for confirmation just to make sure. My gifts are Pastoring, Evangelizing, and Teaching, all three of which I am using today in this article that I pass on to you for encouragement and edification. Also, take a good look at what you love to do. Do you love to write, take photographs, or teach? Do you love learning new languages, or learning about people and cultures from other countries? Do you love to travel? There are so many different hobbies we have that could be used to the Glory of God. What you love doing the most is what God has created in you to do. God didn't want cookie-cutter people, so He created us all to have different likes and interests. I love playing guitar and drums as much as I love writing, but they weren't what I wanted to do with my life. I've always wanted to write and have been writing since I was eleven years old (1969, ugh). God put these talents into me so that, someday, when, and if, I accepted His free gift of salvation, He could use them in whatever way He wanted. Nothing else I do brings me more joy than to write about God and His place in my life, and to share these words with you. If these words of mine can encourage even one person, lift up one person, and, most especially, lead just even one person to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then I will enter Heaven a very happy man, knowing that I have done what God has gifted me to do, and have used it for the purpose for which He designed it to be used. But, remember, His purpose for our lives can only be discovered after you have accepted Jesus into your life, and have been indwelled with His Holy Spirit. As He makes the changes in your heart towards holiness, your purpose will become clearer. Look at what you love doing the most, what brings you the most joy in doing, and find a way to use the gift for the Glory of God and His Will for mankind. As the writer said in Hebrews 13:20: "And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will" (NLT). He will. Now, let's turn our eyes toward Heaven. God Promises Me Heaven God has promised that anyone who believes in his heart that Jesus is the Son of God, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God will be saved, and will be with Him in Heaven throughout eternity (John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (NIV)). Once you are saved, you cannot lose going to Heaven. Heaven is now your true home. This earth is no longer your home. We still have to live here for now, but we are not of this world anymore. When you are saved, you will find that your heart and soul greatly long to be with God in Heaven. You will feel torn apart between having to stay here now and greatly desiring to be home in Heaven where you truly belong. But that is the great hope we have as Christians we will someday get to Heaven to stay forever. I have the right to sit on God's throne with Him But what will we do when we are there? We will worship God in a pure way that we cannot do here. We will sing with the angels of God's glorious love. We will get to rule with Jesus on the new Earth that will be created just for us His children. As Revelation 3:20-21 tells us: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" (NIV). Just as Jesus overcame the world, we will overcome the world when we are raised into Heaven just like he had been two thousand years ago. We will be made rulers over territories and people, something the Bible doesn't go into too much detail about. What Is Heaven Like? There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain But what will Heaven be like? What will we eat? Will it be warm or won't we feel any temperature? Will there be animals in Heaven with us? How many questions do you have about Heaven? Many, I'm sure. Again, the Bible doesn't tell us too much about what Heaven will be like; we'll just have to wait until we get there. In the meantime, one of the verses that tells us some important aspects about Heaven is Revelation 21:1-4: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (NIV). We will live on a new Earth, in a new Heaven empty of sin, sorrow, destruction, and Satan. All the tears we've shed on this planet will be wiped away by the Hand of God. We will live forever in a place that will never know death ever again. We will be perpetually happy and joyful, with not a care in the world ever again. Living on this planet now, we cannot even imagine what awaits us in Heaven. It will be a place where everything we ever thought we knew will be replaced with new thoughts and new experiences. It will be like nothing we've ever experienced before at any time in our entire lives. Dare to dream, if you can, of all the things that we will do and feel in a glorious Heaven where evil, disease, and rude people will no longer exist. Heaven is the one dream that will become a reality for us, God's true children. If you want Heaven, then accept the Son today. You'll never regret it. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved." Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 2,019 Words Bobby Bruno was saved 15 years ago in a way that left him no doubt that Jesus wanted him to reach others with His great and abounding love. He started writing at the age of 12 and hasn't stopped since. He achieved Associates Degree in Biblical Studies from Ohio Christian University in early 2014. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |