Matthew 7-I thought I was saved...

All of my life I thought I was saved.  I attended Sunday School as a kid, went to church as an adult, publicly confessed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, that Jesus forgave my sins if I repented, asked him for forgiveness of sins in prayer, etc...I even got baptized at thirteen years old, after making a conscientious decision to do so in order to demonstrate to God the sincerity of my beliefs.  So, maybe I was saved...

But, until I was much older, I had not studied the Bible in depth. Oh, I think I read it twice during middle age, tried to understand it, but skimmed over it to the extent that I don't think I really grasped its messages like I should have. I didn't start to read the Bible on a daily basis, as a devotional, until I was 63 years old, and diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. 

A diagnosis of colon cancer prompted me to engage in a deep study of the Bible and to apply its messages to what was left of my physical life on earth.  I was devoted enough apparently that one of my first thoughts following my diagnosis was to begin to regularly study the Bible, and I was determined to understand it at greater depths, more than I had ever committed to before. I remembered from my lessons at church, that the Word of God was the pathway to reconciling my relationship with God.  

During this time, I discovered that my spiritual commitment was sincere, but in the final analysis, probably lacking most of my life, maybe even lip service with respect to my keeping a commitment to the commandments given the disciples after Jesus was raised from physical death.  

Life has a way of distracting us from what we should be doing, and Satan strives to divert our attention away from your sincere commitments to God and Jesus, and he attempts to lead us down a sinful and destructive path, one the World encourages.  Remember, it is Satan's goal to lead you down a path that will result in your spiritual destruction.  Remember that your spirit is the true essence of your being, and not your physical body, or your existence upon this earth.  

I began to realize that a committed daily study of the Bible was necessary.  I discovered  Bible commentaries, written to present the messages of the Bible in a more detailed way. They provided translations of the original languages that the Bible was written in, and a deeper understanding of the cultures of the day, which was helpful in order to apply the meaning of the scriptures to my own present day existence.

So, over the last few years, I was able to more deeply understand the true meaning of the scriptures, and what is required of us to be saved in order to be certain about my position with God. Don't wait like I did. Many people die a sudden death and aren't given the opportunity to reconcile their commitments to God, and Jesus.   

I've been blessed with the opportunity of time, as I deal with cancer, chemotherapy, etc...to gain a better, more productive understanding of what God expects through a devotional commitment in whatever time I have left, according to God's will.  It may sound silly, but the cancer has been a blessing in this way, and hopefully it has resulted in fruit of the spirit that God desires of us.

Don't wait!  Anyone can die at any age, young or old.  But, if you want to be absolutely sure of where you stand, make the devotional commitment right now, and mean it, so you're sure to understand what's expected of you in order to produce the result God expects of you in this physical life.

If you are young, temptations are huge to engage in behaviors that are sin in God's eyes, behaviors the world does not condemn.  If you engage in behaviors contrary to the World of God, then remember your commitment to God and Jesus. Realize, that in the flesh, you can't achieve perfection, which requires you to ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness, and engage in sincere repentance when you stumble in sin.  

Matthew 7:13-15

"13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.…"