Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine

grandboys at the cabin

"I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." (Isaiah 46:4)

Two of my grown children have told me, recently, that Matthew 7:21-23 freaks them out:

"Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord! will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name." But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws." 

How tragic the Day will be for those who think they've earned their way to heaven but have missed the boat!

According to The Moody Bible Commentary: Matthew 7:21-23 is the third warning, directed to those who claim to be part of Jesus' community but who are not. No one is allowed admission into the kingdom on the basis of the good deeds he has performed, no matter how spectacular they might be. Entering the kingdom only happens when one has the kind of righteousness grounded in Christ that surpasses the Pharisees'; when, like a child, one depends on the Lord for entrance; when one recognizes that entering is possible only when God effects it, and one enters only through Jesus—the Narrow Way.

Beloved, are you trusting that Jesus is your only ticket to heaven? Then rest assured, no one can snatch you away from Him (John 10:28). "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)