God must come first.
great possessions (Mark 10:22).
Jesus asked, For what shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul? Or what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul (Mark 8:36,37)?
Many people invest so much time and effort
into building a future established on wealth
and material possessions; but in the end, they
cannot take any of that with them. The only
thing they can take into eternity is what resides
in their soul—eternal life through the divine
blood of Jesus or eternal death because of sin.
Surrender All
Members of the Bride of Christ are pilgrims
and strangers in this world, and they are just
passing through. Like Abraham, they are seeking
a heavenly country, a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is
God (Hebrews 11:10). The Bride has clear,
spiritual vision; and as she journeys through
this life, her goal is to do the whole will
of God and lay up for herself treasures in
Heaven. She knows that only what she does
for the Lord in love will last for eternity.
The Bible says, But the mercy of the LORD
is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him, and his righteousness unto
children’s children; To such as keep his
covenant, and to those that remember
his commandments to do them (Psalm
103:17,18).
What is in your eternal soul right now? Is it
filled with sin and things that displease God?
Are you doing or saying anything God would
frown on? Is there one thing in your life today
that hinders you in doing the whole will of
God or keeps you from surrendering all to
Him? If so, that one thing will keep you out of
Heaven; so you need to surrender all and give
your heart to the Lord today. Say the sinner’s
prayer right now, which is located on page 5 of
this magazine.
Some people let personal goals become their
Benjamin. They devote themselves entirely to
their ambitions and never consider God’s divine
will for their lives. Jesus said, He that findeth
his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life
for my sake shall find it (Matthew 10:39).
You take a big risk when you leave God out
of your life’s plans because most of the time,
life will leave you with a broken heart and
unfulfilled goals. Even if a person reaches
their goals and fulfills all of their heart’s
desires and ambitions, would those few years
of satisfaction be worth an eternity in hell?
Jesus said, Not everyone that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
Put Self Down
Jesus made abundant life on Earth and eternal
life in Heaven available to all, but you must
turn loose of all Benjamins and go God’s way.
As for God, his way is perfect (Psalm 18:30).
We don’t know what lies ahead, but God does.
He has a plan for each life, and He has your
best interest in mind; so why not put your trust
in Him?
In Mark’s Gospel, we find a rich, young
ruler asking Jesus what he must do to inherit
eternal life. The young man testified that he
had kept all God’s commandments from his
youth, but Jesus discerned that the young man
had a Benjamin in his life—his love for wealth
was greater than his love for God and His
divine will. Then Jesus beholding him loved
him, and said unto him, One thing thou
lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven: and come, take up
the cross, and follow me (Mark 10:21).
Jesus did not really want the young man to
go and sell everything he had; He just wanted
him to be willing to. Unfortunately, the young
man was not willing, even at the cost of eternity.
And he the young man was sad at that
saying, and went away grieved: for he had
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/ErnestAngleyMinistries