Benefits? Loads of 'em came with Jesus

 

No matter who you are, or what you've done, God loves you, and God is fond of you. Jesus came to earth with a large goody bag of benefits for all. God is good!

The lake of fire does NOT last "forever AND ever"

 

"Forever and ever" is NOT the duration of the lake of fire, though many popular bible translations hide this peace-giving truth.

God has good in store for the worst supernatural being and the worst human being. His hand is long enough to save them. This means His hand is long enough to save all. And that's exactly what He'll do, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

Do Jesus' words concerning Judas' birth disprove universal salvation?

 

Many who deny Jesus' saving of all will point to Jesus' words concerning Judas as evidence that "the Savior of the world" won't actually save the world. Why don't you see for yourself what the Scriptures teach.

All of Satan's Acts Will Be Completely Undone By Jesus

1 John 3:8 shows us clearly one reason why Jesus came to earth:

Yet he who is doing sin is of the Adversary, for from the beginning is the Adversary sinning. For this was the Son of God manifested, that He should be annulling the acts of the Adversary.

Is that not great news?

How to know if your Jesus is too damn tiny

There are various sizes of Jesuses in the world today. Most are just too damn tiny to accomplish the big projects God has begun. But the true Jesus - the Biggest Jesus - has the power, wisdom and love to finish all of God's work.

The good news of Jesus and how it benefits you

The salvation of all is good news. But it's not thē good news of Jesus. Thē good news of Jesus causes the salvation of all. Someone can believe in the salvation of all while at the same time not believing thē good news of Jesus. So what is thē good news?

Jesus' foundational work

Let's face it, the true Jesus is awesome. But there are many knockoff versions of Jesus available on the open market. And these non-Jesuses are gladly received by religious people, "For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough" (2 Corinthians 11:4 - English Standard Version - ESV).

For centuries the Christian religion has been peddling the hottest versions of Jesus that look great on t-shirts and get butts in the pews (with their checkbooks, of course). All of us have probably had a very distorted image of Jesus at some point in our lives, and some of us have paid a lot of money for a knockoff Jesus. None of us see Him perfectly yet. But the clearer you see Him, the more impressed your are with Who the true Jesus really is.

He's done amazing things on our behalf. Things that cost Him comfort, energy, time ... even His life. The real Jesus is a doer, not a hoper. Why would He, the One having all authority in heaven and earth, have to hope for anything when He can simply do it (Matthew 28:18)?

At the heart of God's relationship with mankind are Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. God's dealings with mankind spring from these actions Jesus accomplished nearly 2000 years ago.

The former chief sinner, the apostle Paul, tells us the simple truths that he first believed (and are necessary for anyone to believe) to experience salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (italics and bold are mine),

Now I am making known to you, brethren, the evangel (good news) which I bring to you, which also you accepted, in which also you stand, ² through which also you are saved, if you are retaining what I said in bringing the evangel to you, outside and except you believe feignedly (not truly; fake belief). ³ For I give over to you among the first what also I accepted, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, ⁴ and that He was entombed, and that He has been roused the third day according to the scriptures ...
—Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT)

Due to false religious tradition's distortions of Jesus through the centuries, the three bold statements above should be broken into four parts.

1. Christ died
2. Christ died for our sins
3. Christ was entombed
4. Christ was roused

1. Christ died: Jesus literally died on the cross. He was not alive in some other form for three days floating around in heaven or hell.

2. Christ died for our sins: "Lo! the Lamb of God Which is taking away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 - CLNT). Jesus took the world's sin to the grave and rose triumphantly without it. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15 - CLNT). He took care of mankind's sin problem on the cross. He took the totality of the world's sin upon Himself. He dealt with our sin on the cross so that we don't have to deal with it. Mankind has always been powerless against sin, He conquered it for us.

3. Christ was entombed: He was simply laid in a tomb, dead. Believe it.

4. Christ was roused: You've probably heard this so much that it doesn't even phase you anymore. Be phased by it. Jesus rose from the dead! If this would happen at a funeral you were attending, you'd lose your shit (this would constitute "being phased"). He is now alive at the right hand of His Father: Acts 2:32–33, 5:31, 7:55–56. The living, post-resurrection Jesus said to the apostle John, "Do not fear! I am the First and the Last, ¹⁸ and the Living One: and I became dead, and lo! living am I for the eons of the eons. (Amen!) And I have the keys of death and of the unseen ... ." (Revelation 1:17–18 - CLNT).

This is thē good news!

If the events contained in thē good news didn't happen, our future is death with no resurrection.

As I said earlier, it's quite possible to believe in the salvation of all while at the same time not believing these foundational truths about Jesus. Some believe God will save all because man is too good or too worthy to be eternally tormented or annihilated. Some believe all will be saved because God is too kind to deal with sin and He'll just ignore it with a toothy smile. Both are wrong and ignore the Scriptures. Those who don't believe thē good news will not experience the salvation Jesus has already accomplished for them. All will be saved only because of Jesus' work for us described here by the apostle Paul.

Jesus' mission couldn't be any clearer. He said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Mankind came to seek and to save the lost" (CLNT). And the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, "... Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ..." (CLNT).

"Did I hear you say 'five billion'?"

His death and resurrection really did accomplish these glorious goals. He has already saved all people through His work nearly 2000 years ago.

It's like Jesus has deposited a gift of five billion dollars into everyone's personal bank account. So everyone is currently a billionaire because of Him. But only those who are told they are billionaires, and believe it, can then experience the billionaire life by tapping into their fat account. If you're not told, or don't believe it when you are told, you won't even attempt to access your money. But those who don't hear or believe will someday experience the billionaire life when they believe, whether in this life or the next. Death doesn't remove the five billion dollars from anyone's bank account. It will remain there so that when Jesus does grant a person belief ¹, they can then enjoy the billionaire life that He bought for them by His death and resurrection.

Some spectacular benefits of Jesus' work

Jesus' work on the cross has so many great benefits, for Him, His Father, and us. Read the Scriptures to discover all of them. We'll look at some here.

Jesus overcomes the results Adam's sin

There are two historic events that tangibly affect all of humanity—one negatively, one positively. Adam's one sin in the garden condemned all people to death and made all people God's sinful enemies. Jesus' one act on the cross caused God to have peace toward the world and delivered all people from sin and death. Adam's one act brought the whole human race down. Jesus' one act lifted the whole human race up. Adam passed death/mortality on to all. Jesus brings immortality for all. Adam = death; Jesus = life (I like simple math). Romans 5:18–19 from the Darby Translation,

so then as [it was] by one offence towards all men to condemnation, so by one righteousness towards all men for justification of life. ¹⁹ For as indeed by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one the many will be constituted righteous.

And a little extra flavor on these same verses from The Message,

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

Jesus is indeed greater than Adam.

The common traditional Christian teaching that Adam condemns all to death and Jesus saves only a small percent of the "all" is a loud lie shouted by Christianity with megawatt amplifiers. And religious people gladly hear it (2 Corinthians 11:4 - see above). Do not believe this Christ-diminishing lie!

God is at peace with the world

2 Corinthians 5:18–21,

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates* us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, ¹⁹ how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. ²⁰ For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ's sake, "Be conciliated to God!" ²¹ For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God's righteousness in Him. (CLNT)

* God is conciliated to the world, meaning He is now at peace toward the world because of Jesus' death and resurrection. God's peace is toward us before our peace is toward Him. He is the Initiator of the peace. When both parties are at peace with each other, we have reconciliation.

God's peace is toward the world through the completed work of Jesus. And this is true whether you believe it or not. Jesus said in Matthew 5:43–45,

You hear that it was declared, 'You shall be loving your associate' and you shall be hating your enemy. ⁴⁴ Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you, ⁴⁵ so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust.

Just as God causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall, God's peace is toward all men—the wicked and the good, the just and the unjust. And it's completely God's doing. Does He need your help to cause the sun to rise or the rain to fall? All these blessings are from the heart of God for all of us. He truly does love His enemies.

Most of humanity, however, are not yet at peace with Him. For the vast majority, peace is currently flowing only one way—from God toward man. Except for those who've been granted belief(the elect), man's peace is not flowing toward God. This is because most have not yet been granted belief and are still locked in stubbornness. All will someday be released from stubbornness and shown mercy ².

"Haters gonna hate."

Most of the world hates Jesus and His Father. Jesus says to His followers in John 15 (italics are mine),

¹⁸ If the world is hating you, know that it has hated Me first before you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would be fond of its own. Now, seeing that you are not of the world, but I choose you out of the world, therefore the world is hating you. ²⁰ Remember the word which I said to you, "A slave is not greater than his lord." If Me they persecute, you they will be persecuting also. If My word they keep, yours also will they be keeping. ²¹ But all these things will they be doing to you because of My name, seeing that they are not acquainted with Him Who sends Me. ²² If I came not and speak to them, they had no sin. Yet now they have no pretense concerning their sin. ²³ He who is hating Me is hating My Father also. ²⁴ If I do not the works among them which no other one does, they had no sin. Yet now they have seen also, and they have hated Me as well as My Father, ²⁵ but it is that the word written in their law may be fulfilled, that they hate Me gratuitously (for no reason). (CLNT)

Jesus tells us in John 3:19–20 one reason why the world hates Him and His Father,

Now this is the judging: that the light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their acts were wicked. ²⁰ For everyone who is committing bad things is hating the light and is not coming to the light, lest his acts may be exposed. (CLNT)

Mankind loves the darkness and hates the light. He tries to hide from God like Adam did in the garden after he sinned.

In addition to man loving darkness, another reason I believe man hates God and Jesus is because they're being presented damaging, distorted images of Them. The Christian religion teaches that the God of love will either eternally torment or annihilate His enemies when He could very easily save them from sin and death. This makes God out to be a monster to be feared, not a Father to be loved. And it presents Jesus as a failed Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). They teach (often without even being aware they're doing it) that His work on the cross didn't overcome all the results of Adam's sin. The unbelieving world hates these versions of God and His Son. They are disgusted that a God of love would eternally torment or annihilate billions of people that He brought into existence.

False representations of God and Jesus damage Their good names in the eyes of those whom God loves and whom Jesus died for. The Israelites have misrepresented God for thousands of years, and Christianity joined them centuries ago. This ongoing, damaging distortion of God's good name affects the rest of the world negatively, "For because of you the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations" (Romans 2:24 - CLNT). Unbelievers blaspheme God (speak ill of Him, slander Him and take Him lightly) because they don't take seriously the distorted version of God that religion (Jewish or Christian) proclaims to them. They think, "If God is like Christians say He is, we want nothing to do with Him." And they remain in darkness, living like poor men, unaware of their billionaire status.

There's nothing in the true God or the true Jesus that deserves the world's hatred and blasphemy. Just as Jesus says in John 15:25 (see above), "they hate me (for no reason)."

God will eventually remove man's love for the darkness, and the distorted images of Himself and Jesus. His will will be done: "[God our Savior] wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4 - CLNT). Don't skip over the "come into a realization of the truth" part. Then peace will not only flow from God to all men (the current state), but from all men to God—full reconciliation (the future state).

Our call to the unbelieving world is this from 2 Corinthians 5:20, "For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ's sake, 'Be conciliated to God!'" In other words, "Be at peace with God because He is at peace with you."

God is currently applying the benefits of Jesus' work to those chosen to believe in this age (the elect). He will do it later in the coming ages for the rest of humanity. Those chosen by God to believe in this age aren't the only ones that will believe and enjoy salvation, they are the first ones to believe and enjoy salvation.

♩♪♫ "The future's so bright ... " ♬♭♪

We won't see and experience the full results of Jesus' death and resurrection until He returns to the earth to reign in the coming ages (Luke 1:33; Ephesians 2:7). Then we will know for sure that the results are caused by Him, not us.

If we saw the full results of His work right now, while He is out of our sight in heaven, man would take the all the credit for himself. Donald Trump would probably be first in line to pat himself on the back. The rest of the world would be right behind him, ignoring God and His Son, and glorifying man for all of his great accomplishments. Modern medicine would steal the credit for man becoming immortal.

Even though we don't yet see it, the full results of Jesus' work will be fully realized. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 4:17, "... the God Who is vivifying the dead and calling what is not as if it were" (CLNT). And we see in Hebrews 2:8, "'All dost Thou subject underneath his feet.' For in the subjection of all to him, He leaves nothing unsubject to him. Yet now we are not as yet seeing all subject to him" (CLNT).

God knows the full results of what happened on the cross. And the end (yet to be fully realized by His entire creation) is as good as done to Him. He knows it will happen because He and His Son are going to do it. The completion of His plans depends only on Him and His Son. It does not depend one bit on man's input or effort. When man tries to help God in these things, failure is the result.

God knows that the future reign of Jesus will be so successful that it will one day come to an end—He will finish the job: "For [Jesus] must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25 - CLNT). We need to see, by faith, this end reality that God is working toward, and not be deceived by the distorted false reality that spews from the mind of man—especially religious man.

The Big Result

The following shows us the end goal of God's work through the ages. It will be done. 1 Corinthians 15:20–28,

Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing. ²¹ For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. ²² For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified. ²³ Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ's in His presence; ²⁴ thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy is being abolished: death. ²⁷ For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him. ²⁸ Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all. (CLNT)

God will be All in all. And the all really is all, see verse 27.

"So what do I do now?"

"Believe in Jesus and the finished work that He did for you. And enjoy your five billion dollars!"

Sincerely,
Wes

 
P.S. This post was inspired by some videos by my friend Martin Zender. You can watch them on YouTube. If you're in a hurry, you can watch them at 1.25 or 1.5 speed.

• The Salvation of All is Not the Gospel 
• God Is At Peace With The World 
• Salvation as a Done Deal 
• Whether You Believe Or Not 
• The Psychology Behind "Whether You Believe Or Not"

---

1 "for to you it is graciously granted, for Christ's sake, not only to be believing on Him, but to be suffering for His sake also" (Philippians 1:29 - CLNT).^↩

2 "For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all" (Romans 11:32 - CLNT).^↩

While I'm gone ...

Zender

I've been gone for awhile, and will remain so for a bit more.

But I want you to learn when you come here, so I'm linking you to some great teaching by my friend Martin Zender on Romans 3:21-24. I've learned a lot from Martin, hopefully you will too.

Roman 3:21-23

More on Romans 3:21-23

Romans 3:21-24

Zender Newsletter archives  Martin's website

Look at what you CAN'T see

We see and feel them all around us—troubles, afflictions, tribulations, pressures—and they're usually right in our face. That's why they get the bulk of our attention.

But it's what we can't see that deserves our attention. These are the things God tells us to focus on. Why? Because they're so bloody good!

The following is a mash-up of 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 using a few Bible versions,

For the momentary lightness of our afflictions, troubles, tribulations and pressures is producing for us a transcendently transcendent eonian weight of glory, ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eonian.

Some things to note:

• Though the afflictions of life can feel like boulders on your shoulders, when compared to the future weight of glory, they are in reality momentary and light. But we must look on the heavy duty unseen to see the relative smallness of our afflictions.

• All this stuff we're suffering through produces something for us, "a transcendently transcendent eonian weight of glory" (v.17). In the Greek transcendently transcendent is hyperbolen eis hyperbolen. Hyperbolen means: a throwing beyond, excess, superiority. And it's used twice here. We're looking at a weight of glory that is beyond the beyond. Even though we can't grasp the full greatness of this, we can know that it is indeed great, great enough for us to focus on the future weight of glory and not the current crap in our face.

• Eonion means lasting for the age(s). It's contrasted with the momentariness of our afflictions and pressures.

And suffering produces other good things in us, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance" (Romans 5:3 - NIV). And James 1:2–4 in the NIV,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Perseverance, maturity, completeness—God installs these qualities in us on the assembly line of suffering.

Everybody hurts

Jesus blazed the trail for us in the suffering department. And He suffered to the point of death. Hebrews 2:10 says, "Everything was made for God and by God. It seemed good to him that Jesus' life should be made complete, by going through the hard things that happened to him" (Worldwide English New Testament). 

Whether we like it or not, suffering completes us.  We can usually see the truth of this after the suffering is over. But while we're in the center of it we're usually blind to God's intended result. This is where we need to see the unseen with the eyes of faith.

And if it makes you feel any better, realize that ALL people suffer—rich, poor, short, tall, attractive, ugly, skinny, not skinny, Kardashian, non-Kardashian. Everybody you see today (and everyday) has something in their life that hurts.

I'm often lifted in my spirit when I see someone suffering far worse than me. I don't get joy in their suffering. But when I see someone persevering through great suffering, it gives me hope and proof that it can be done. I'm inspired by their ability to smile and live life with joy despite great affliction. And humanity is full of stories of people who've suffered greatly and come out of it better people than before the suffering began.

Suffering completed Jesus. But I'm sure He kept smiling. Not a fake smile. A joyful smile that came from focusing on the end result of His afflictions.

Even God suffers as He patiently endures the waywardness of His creation. But He knows the end that He will eventually create for all.

Delayed gratification

These are dirty words in our everything-is-at-our-fingertips world. But we don't get to choose the lifespan of our suffering. Suffering to some degree will be with us from cradle to grave. And the afflictions we now face will make the "eonian weight of glory" that much more special through the principle of contrast. Our joy then will be enhanced when contrasted with the suffering we've gone through to obtain the end result.

But we don't always have to wait 'til the next life to enjoy the end of suffering. A mother can joyfully hold her fresh new baby after months of carrying the child and going through the excruciating pain of childbirth. A graduating student can get their diploma or degree after years of going through the hardships of school. And there are millions of other victories to be gained in this life, but most of them come after some kind of suffering.

We are told in the Bible to look to Jesus (Who, by the way, we can't literally see). He's our example. He lived 2 Corinthians 4:17–18. Hebrews 12:2 tells us,

We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.

                                                                               Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Jesus knew His mission that brought Him to earth wasn't going to be easy. He knew He would be hated by the world that He created. He knew He was going to die for His enemies as they mocked and scoffed at Him. BUT ... He could also see the joy waiting for Him when His momentary troubles were over.

Was it worth it? Yes! He's no longer on the cross, He's "sitting at the right side of God’s throne!"

You haven't seen or heard ...

1 Corinthians 2:7–16 from the Concordant Literal New Testament (I know this is a long quote, but drink it in, it's powerful),

but we are speaking God's wisdom in a secret, wisdom which has been concealed, which God designates before -- before the eons, for our glory, ⁸ which not one of the chief men of this eon knows, for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, according as it is written, That which the eye did not perceive, and the ear did not hear, and to which the heart of man did not ascend -- whatever God makes ready for those who are loving Him. ¹⁰ Yet to us God reveals them through His spirit, for the spirit is searching all, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For is any of humanity acquainted with that which is human except the spirit of humanity which is in it? Thus also, that which is of God no one knows, except the spirit of God. ¹² Now we obtained, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we may be perceiving that which is being graciously given to us by God, ¹³ which we are speaking also, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, matching spiritual blessings with spiritual words. ¹⁴ Now the soulish man is not receiving those things which are of the spirit of God, for they are stupidity to him, and he is not able to know them, seeing that they are spiritually examined. ¹⁵ Now he who is spiritual is, indeed, examining all, yet he is being examined by no one. ¹⁶ For who knew the mind of the Lord? Who will be deducing from Him? Yet we have the mind of Christ.

That's the key to this whole thing, "have the mind of Christ!" When we know God and His Son, we have the mind of Christ in us. We can see things from God's perspective, not just our limited human point of view. Suffering is all around us, but with the mind of Christ—God's Spirit in you—you can see beyond the in-your-face afflictions in life to the joy that is waiting for you.

If you don't know Jesus, call on His name now. Get the mind of Christ today.

Sincerely,
Wes

"Is Tom Brady content yet?"

In 2005 Tom Brady - at that time the 30-year-old winner of 3 Super Bowls - made some surprising statements to 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft.



His three Super Bowl wins came in his first five years in the NFL. That's pretty good.

Since 2005, Brady has lost two Super Bowls and won another. That's 4 trips to the top of the mountain! Maybe he's getting bored.

If Tom's still lacking contentment after winning 4 Super Bowls, will winning more rings do the trick? How many will it take - five ... six ... one for each finger? I don't think so. Eating sand will never satisfy a guy who's made to eat steak. And eating more sand will never change this fact (though it may lead to some incredibly clean bowels).

Though Brady makes a lot of money, it doesn't seem to be his driving force. He's not even one of the top ten highest paid NFL quarterbacks. He's currently #12, in your program and on the pay scale.

Hmmm ... I can't decide whose hair is more magnificent.

Contentment enhancers

Tom now has something he didn't have back in '05 - a Brady Bunch. He's married to a rich Brazilian supermodel with a cool German-looking name, Gisele Bündchen (go ahead, say it out loud, it's fun - Ju-zel Boond-chin!). The Bunch also has three kids and an extra mommy of the oldest son.

Maybe marriage and kids have answered the question Tom didn't have the answer for in 2005. Obviously marriage and kids can surpass any satisfaction and contentment gained from career accomplishments. But even the depth of satisfaction that can come from having your own bunch can fall short of fulfilling our greatest need.

Our greatest need

I heard the story of a man who spent his whole life striving to climb to the top of the success ladder. One day, late in his life, he finally made it. "This is what I've always dreamed of," he thought to himself. He looked around with pride in his life-long accomplishment. Then, in an instant, the happy feeling was gone. He barely had time to enjoy it. With a heavy weight in his chest, he looked around and realized that he'd set his ladder against the wrong wall. Crappers.

A man can make it to the top of the ladder, even the top of the mountain. But there's something way above these two high points in life. You knew I'd get to it eventually, so here it is: God. Yeah, He's our greatest need, our ultimate goal. What's higher than Him? What else in life is more worthy of our attention and devotion than Him?

You see, God knows that He is our ultimate goal, so He diminishes anything else that we would chase after in place of Him. Yeah, He lets us go on these wild-goose chases as we chase success, fame, money, Super Bowl rings and an innumerable array of things. He may even let us chase our whole life. He may allow us to chase and never attain that which we think will satisfy us. But if we do grab it (whatever "it" is), God will ensure that the joy will be short-lived.

Absentee Child

We've all heard about absentee fathers - the ones who aren't there for their offspring either physically or emotionally or both. Based on the events leading up to this year's Super Bowl, it's clear that Tom has a great relationship with his earthly father.

An earthly father's presence in his child's life is essential. When the father's gone, there's a huge void that only the father can fill.

But how big of a void exists when your heavenly Father, your Creator, is absent from your life? Is He absent because He left you, or because you've unknowingly (or knowingly) turned your back on Him while you're busy chasing your dreams that don't include Him? Are you an absentee child? Is Tom Brady an absentee child? In fact, we are all absentee children in some way until we come to our heavenly Father.

Acts 17:26-27,

From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.

He's so close, and yet so far away if our focus is on other things - even good things - that just can't satisfy and bring contentment like Jesus can. Are you and Tom Brady seeking Him and reaching out for Him?

Tom Brady's just like us

I don't know what Tom Brady knows about Jesus. I don't know if Tom Brady knows Jesus. I don't know if his Brazilian supermodel wife knows Jesus. I know she asks people to pray for Tom to win Super Bowls, so she must think Someone is out there hearing those prayers. But praying to win the big game and knowing God are two different things.

I'm no Tom Brady. I can't pull off the magnificent hair thing ... or the 4 Super Bowl thing. But I can match Tom in this - I'm human and so is he (except on the field, there he's a machine!). I've asked the same question Tom Brady asked in the video (but with different words) - "Is this all there is to my life?" I asked this question in my early twenties. Tom waited til he was thirty. Maybe you've asked this question. If you haven't done it yet, you will. You can read my story here.

Learn from Tom

One lesson you can hopefully take away from Tom Brady's experience is this: reaching the mountaintop of a career or some other endeavor will not provide lasting contentment. It may not even provide enough contentment to last to the end of the day that you reach the summit.

There are innumerable mountains that we can spend our valuable time climbing in this life. And none of them reach as high as Jesus. But the cool thing is this - you don't need to climb a mountain to get to Jesus. He has to come to you, because you can't get to where He is on your own. Believe in Him and call on His name - He'll show up.

Learn from me

Maybe you can learn something from my life. I hope you can learn that true, lasting contentment can only come when you have a relationship with your heavenly Father. Nothing in my life brings me happiness and contentment like my relationship with Jesus and my heavenly Father. And I have an awesome family that makes me as happy as they possibly can. I love them with all my heart. But even they can't take the place of God in my life. And they don't have to. I can have both, just like Tom Brady can have all his Super Bowl rings, his Brady Bunch and Jesus. He just needs to realize that Jesus is #1. But even if you have nothing in life, you can still have Jesus.

Jesus said this to a group of religious people in John 5:39-40,

"Search the scriptures, for in them you are supposing you have life eonian, and those are they which are testifying concerning Me, 40 and not willing are you to come to Me that you may have life." (Concordant Literal New Testament)

The mountaintop for these people was knowing the Scriptures. But they didn't realize that the Scriptures they idolized pointed them to Jesus. And they refused to believe in Him and come to Him. So they didn't receive the eonion life only He could give them. They had life, but they didn't have The Life that came by knowing Jesus.

Jesus spoke this to His Father in John 17:3,

"Now it is eonian life that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him Whom Thou dost commission, Jesus Christ." (CLNT)

The Life is knowing Jesus and and His Father. Tom Brady has a life that is probably envied by millions. But does he have The Life? I don't know.

I have The Life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even magnificent hair.

Sincerely,

Wes

P.S. - The story of the prodigal son (or absentee child) is the story of each one of us.

P.P.S. - Here are some other Scriptures that relate to this post that will help you:

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15 - NIV)

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21 - NIV)

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who is drinking of this water will be thirsting again,
14 yet whoever may be drinking of the water which I shall be giving him, shall under no circumstances be thirsting for the eon, but the water which I shall be giving him will become in him a spring of water, welling up into life eonian." (John 4:13-14 - CLNT)

"Verily, verily, I am saying to you that he who is hearing My word and believing Him Who sends Me, has life eonian and is not coming into judging, but has proceeded out of death into life." (John 5:24 - CLNT)

Jesus, then, said to them, "I am the Bread of life. He who is coming to Me should under no circumstances be hungering, and he who is believing in Me will under no circumstances ever be thirsting." (John 6:35 - CLNT)

[Jesus said] "The thief is not coming except that he should be stealing and sacrificing and destroying. I came that they may have life eonian, and have it superabundantly." (John 10:10 -CLNT)

Jesus is saying to him, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one is coming to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6 - CLNT)

The ultimate purpose of the Bible

 

Some people beat the Bible. Some thump it. Some read it. Some ignore it. Some believe it. Some scoff at it. Some treat it like an idol. Some twist it. Some follow it. Some try to debunk it. Some use it as a good luck charm. Some misquote it. Some quote it correctly. Some use it to promote their ultimate purpose. Etc. ...

What is the Bible's ultimate purpose in our lives? Does it even have a purpose? 

What do you do with the Bible? What should you do with the Bible?

Jesus said to His future killers ...

Some Jewish leaders were giving Jesus a hard time, and wanted to kill Him, because He'd healed a man on the Sabbath and was calling God His Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus said to them,

"You have never heard [God's] voice nor seen His form, ³⁸ nor does His word dwell in you, for you do not believe the One He sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to Me to have life." (John 5)

In verses 39-40 Jesus reveals to them, and to us, the ultimate purpose of the Bible (Scriptures).

The Bible testifies about Jesus. But filling our head full of facts about Jesus isn't its ultimate purpose. The truth the Bible reveals to us about Jesus is given by God to help us come to Jesus so we can have life. Not just the physical life you are currently experiencing, but spiritual life from God - spiritual life you can only get from Jesus.

You can dissect the Bible your whole life. But if you refuse to come to Jesus to have life, you've missed out on the ultimate purpose of the Bible.

God's goal for us is to know the Bible and know Jesus. If we only know the Bible, like Jesus' future killers, we have this ...
 

Knowledge puffs you up with pride ... (1 Corinthians 8:1 - NCV/New Century Version)

And where does pride get you? The Bible says,

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. (James 4:6 - NIV)

Stuck in the womb ...

The spiritual life that Jesus gives us when we come to Him is like a brand new birth. It's a fresh start. It's a new beginning that transforms and transfers sinners, who are all former enemies of God, into His family as His adopted children.

Those puffed up with knowledge get stuck in the womb.

And this new birth is absolutely essential to experiencing the life Jesus gives.

Jesus said in John 3:3 to Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader,

“I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (CJB - Complete Jewish Bible)

Like a baby leaving the cramped darkness of the the womb and coming into the spacious freedom in the light outside, the sinner is transferred by Jesus from the kingdom of darkness (a "womb," if you will) - where they are encompassed and enslaved by sin -  into the freedom of the kingdom of light.

In the same way that a baby knows only the womb, those without Jesus aren't aware that they are living in a confined dark place. It's all they've ever known. Satan has blinded them so they think the life they are living is the only available option. They've never experienced life outside the restrictions of sin and darkness. They are, in a sense, dead to the reality of life in the light, and all that comes with it.

Like a baby eventually outgrowing the womb and having to exit, a sinner will outgrow darkness and sin. The dark womb of sin will no longer be satisfactory. Sin and all of its consequences wear out their welcome and are no longer attractive. The individual must have room to grow. Through the drawing of God, the sinner begins to seek new surroundings and a new life - the sinner begins to seek after God.

... but not stuck forever

Eventually - whether in this life or the next - the sinner is carried out of the dark and into the freedom of light by Jesus. Jesus said,

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself." This He said, signifying by what death He would die. (John 12:32-33)

Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross. The completion of the first part of His statement guarantees the completion of the second part - drawing all to Himself. The word draw in this passage literally means to drag. The same Greek word is used in reference to a fisherman dragging to land his net full of fish (see John 21:11).

God will use His spiritual forceps (and biceps) to drag you out of the spiritually dark womb and into His kingdom of light. God will use love, kindness, power, consequences, judgment and whatever else He needs to use to drag you into His family. And once you're there, you'll thank Him for it.

The way is too narrow for fat heads

Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, "the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life."

God, Who opposes of the proud, refuses to deliver big-headed people from the darkness of the spiritual womb. They must first be humbled, and their heads shrunk. And this will happen, one way or another.

"... whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted." (Matthew 23:12)

Humble yourself, or be humbled by God. Then your head can fit through the narrow way that leads to life. 

Let's be honest - the dark side can be fun

I've lived in the darkness of the spiritual womb and in the light. 23 years on the dark side, 24 in the light.

I'd be lying if I said sin wasn't fun. Some of it is. But some sin being fun doesn't make any sin right.

The fun meter can't be our only measuring device in life. From my experience, and the experience of millions of others, sin eventually wears you down and loses its shine. But while the shine remains, even if it has dulled considerably, we don't want to leave the darkness.

This leads us to another reason Jesus gives as to why some stay in the womb of darkness.

"This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil. Anybody who does wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear his deeds may be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21 - PHILLIPS)

Some refuse to come into the light because they prefer the darkness. Satan offers a lot of attention-getting stuff to keep us in his dark kingdom. He keeps us from the light until God breaks into our life and opens our eyes and mind to see the truth of the awesomeness of the light. Until then, some quite enjoy the dark.

Who has power over you?   

We humans tend to think we have unhindered free will, and that no one tells us what to do.

When Jesus humbled Saul, the fat-headed Pharisee, and brought him into the light, He gave him this mission,

"I send you to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God Himself, so that they may know forgiveness of their sins and take their place with all those who are made holy by their faith in Me." (Acts 26:18 - PHILLIPS)

Those in the darkness Saul was sent to probably didn't think they were under "the power of Satan," but they were.

As Chief Deceiver, Satan doesn't want you to think he's even real. If he can anonymously have power over you, and keep you believing you are the one calling the shots in your life, then he's got you right where he wants you - in the dark and under his control.

Do you want to be under Satan's power or God's? There is no third option.

Satan isn't your friend. He wants to keep you from God and all that God has for you. He does this through deception.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4 - NIV)

BUT, here is the remedy,

... the holy Scriptures, which can open the mind to the salvation which comes through believing in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15 - PHILLIPS)

For we must never forget that He rescued us from the power of darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of His beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:13 - PHILLIPS)

God uses the Bible to open our minds to the truth of Jesus, Who can give us life and rescue us from the power of darkness.

More important purposes of the Bible for you

Once a person comes to Jesus and gets life, they should continue to read, study and interact with the Bible. Unless you're a perfect person, you'll need to be in the Bible your entire life to continue growing.

The Bible is used by God for our ongoing transformation into the likeness of Jesus. 

Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, The Message)

My experience is that when God uses the Bible to expose my rebellion or correct my mistakes, He does it gently. Though the truth He sometimes reveals to me hits hard, I don't feel beat up. That's because His ultimate goal for me is good. And His motive for correcting me is His supernatural love for me.
 
The Bible goes where no blade has gone before - to the very depths of our soul. 

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Do you realize that when you read the Bible you are reading the only living book on the planet? It's not just ink on paper in your hands. It's the living, supernatural words of Almighty God right in front of you.

Here's how God uses the Bible in my life. I'll read a passage in the Bible that I've read dozens of times before. But on this occasion something jumps out of the words that I've never seen before. The words on the page didn't magically change. God opens my mind to understand the Scriptures in a deeper way. He uses ancient words to reveal new things to me as He chooses - as He sees that I'm ready for deeper understanding as I grow. I also believe that these "growth spurts" wouldn't happen if I ignored God's words in the Bible.

We grow in our relationship with Jesus as we live day by day with Him. Talk with Him, study His words in the Bible, do what He says. As we do what He says He blesses us. And when He blesses us and we experience His work in our lives, our faith and knowledge grow.

... you should grow in grace and in your knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18 - PHILLIPS)   

Never stop growing.

Sincerely,
Wes

P.S. If you don't already know Jesus, what are you waiting for? Call out to Him today - right now. You'll be amazed at life in the light of Jesus' kingdom.