If you have been taught that being a Christian when Jesus returns you are going to receive a reward and everything will be great from then on you may want to study the Bible further. Matthew 7:21 – 23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.”

Have you not been taught: all you have to do to become a Christian and go to heaven is accept Christ as your Lord and you will be saved? My intent is not to frighten anyone but to point out that much is expected. Christianity is not just about making a commitment and then living life the same as you may have always lived as the world lives. It requires repentance, a change in one’s heart and attitude, a lifetime of service and living by the teachings that Christ came to share what God’s Will was for each of us. If you believe that we can set our own standards to live by you have not studied your Bible.

Revelation 20:11 – 15 – “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

II Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

It talks about books. Most know that if your name is not in the “Book of Life” you will be thrown into the lake of fire at the time of judgment. There is a second book called the “Book of Deeds”. Scripture says your deeds are being kept tract of and there is continual writing taking place. As we are being judged the “Book of Deeds” will be opened. Every one whose name is in the Book of Life will receive their just reward from out of the Book of Deeds. We know that works will not save us but it indicates our relationship with Jesus Christ. We will be rewarded by how we handled our gifts, opportunities, responsibilities and were we accountable to God’s standards and rules?

If you believe that God’s gracious gift of salvation frees us from faithful service and obedience we may be mistaken. We must live each day realizing that what we say and do is being eternally recorded. Rev. 20:13b says: “each person was judged according to what he had done.”

We all have different temperaments and personalities. Some have gifts of preaching, teaching and healing. Many of us do not have these gifts. We will not be judged on something we do not have. If our background and temperament leaves us shy, fearful with little confidence we will be judged on what we have. God is loving and just. He expects nothing more than our best. Not all of us are seven feet tall and capable of being a professional basketball player. I would assume that our relationship with Christ and a humble, servant’s heart will get us adequate rewards. What Christ requires of me is probably different from what He will require of you. However, if you know, (and you can) that the Holy Spirit is in you, God promises us that our name is in the “Book of Life” and there is a recorder going on keeping an account of our actions. Not to condemn us but to reward us. When Christ told us our sins would be forgiven, those are deleted from the recording. I believe that just the good we do as Christians is what will be played at the Day of Judgment. If Christ recognizes us as one of His family we will hear nothing but the good. Let’s make sure that there are not an extreme number of deletions, of our sins, from that recorder.

We have two deferring theological beliefs. Can you lose your salvation or once saved, you will always be saved. These two beliefs are probably the most contested disagreements and can separate Christians and cause division in the church. Another may be: is it necessary to speak in tongues when receiving the Holy Spirit?

Could we be misleading people when we state that if they will say this prayer: I accept Jesus Christ as Lord, I ask for forgiveness, repent of my sins and I invite the Holy Spirit into my life? It doesn’t take much more than that but is everyone who says these words saved? Let us look at the following parable.

Mark 4:15 – 20 – “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

It is my belief that in three of the above illustrations in the above parable, if they received salvation, they lost it. I base that on a number of different Scriptures, especially: James 4:14 & 17 – “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

April, approximately 900 went up to the front of our church and confessed that they had received salvation. Were they all saved and did they receive the Holy Spirit? Only God knows! Of the four options in the above parable the first quickly lost it or never received salvation. The person who received salvation with joy, when trouble came they gave up. The third may have been living a Christian life for years when lust and temptation came along, they gave up their salvation. The last group was Christ followers to the end. Some believe once saved they may do most anything and still be saved. I believe this is going to the edge and is really questionable.

Matthew 7:21 tells me it isn’t so much about what I believe but how I live. I have mentioned previously that one of the greatest gifts I have received is contentment. Christ gives to me everything I need. Philippians 4:13 – “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” We must learn to be pleased with what God has allowed us to have. We must not allow what we do not have to be something that we must have. We must not envy what others have that we don’t. We must be careful to give God thanks for everything we have. This does not preclude us from having nice things, a good job, home, cars and others items. However, contentment means these material things are not must haves! I always remember the man given the five talents who made ten and his master said, good and faithful servant. To the man given one talent and buried it made the master angry. He took talent and gave it to the man who had made ten. Contentment does not mean laziness! We must do our very best in every endeavor and material things are only byproducts of our labor.

In the parable of the seed and soils I do not believe the first three ever found salvation or if they did, they gave it up to live as the world lives. The fourth grew and produced through obedience and doing God’s will and was the only one to find contentment in Christ. Now you be the judge. Did everyone in the parable find salvation and are all going to heaven?

I happened to turn on the radio and heard a lady talking about the benefits of having an IGS. I am thinking is this something like you put in your car and it gives you directions. She goes on to tell that it is kind of like having “gut feelings” or sensing something is about to happen before it happens. I have had a number of times feelings that I should do or not do something and it has saved my life or it caused large financial losses. As I keep listening I am wondering if she is talking about one’s conscience”. Or, maybe she is talking about our spirit. She continues to tell a number of stories how a person, using their IGS was able to do things that were very unusual. In most cases it was life saving, financial rewards or improved life-time experiences. Since having missed most of the program I go to my computer and look up Internal Guidance System and this is what I learn:

“The Internal Guidance System or “IGS” is a reliable, sensory based “secondary operating system” – an alternative to being controlled by our mind, our ego and thought patterns, a personal life compass and a trusted companion that can help us attune to divine guidance, be in alignment with our higher purpose and act in the world from a place of personal power, courage and integrity.” Wow! I knew I had a personal life compass but I thought it was the Holy Spirit. Before receiving the Holy Spirit I realized that there was something within that helped me know right from wrong. There were times I had those gut feelings. I just didn’t realize it was called an internal guidance system or a personal life compass.

I was unable to determine if this was a new age religion or a person making a living selling books and giving seminars. I have been outlining I & II Timothy and Titus for my Bible study group and the apostle Paul tells Timothy and the Church at Ephesus to be aware of false teachers. But many of us are very gullible. Scripture says in the last days many believers will become deceived.

I have had opportunities to buy land or invest in companies that had I done so would have made me wealthy. My research and my gut told me not to do so. Others did and became multi-millionaires. What was wrong with my internal guidance system? Did their IGS just work better than mine? Just think, if I had made the right decisions I would not be doing what I am now doing. I would no longer be in business investing for clients and I would not be writing this blog. Chances are I would be visiting different countries and finding new ways of being entertained.

If God planned out my life I wonder why He chose the course that I have followed. If I had made different choices would it have given me more faith, joy and peace than I now have? Maybe if I had taken that seminar and used the IGS rather than the Holy Spirit for guidance I would be much more financially well-off. Well sometimes in life there are times we have to make decisions. Who are we willing to let control our lives: the Holy Spirit or that Internal Guidance System that can make us richer and give us personal power, courage and integrity? Maybe it might be best to use the IGS if you want to live as the world lives. However, if eternity, forever and ever is important, you probably ought to be obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and chose God’s will. You be the judge!

Jeremiah 29:11 – 13 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

You have probably heard it said: What we think about eternity will determine how we live today. The Old Testament prophets predicted the first arrival of the Messiah. Everything they foretold came to pass to fulfill God’s plan. This is why I believe what the Bible teaches about Christ’s second return will be exactly as predicted.

We are told that heaven is a temporary holding place for the souls of believers until Jesus returns. After 1000 years on this earth with Christ, we will be transported to a new heaven and a new earth that is indescribable and beautiful. There we will live with God and Christ as the angels have lived for ever.

Matthew 24:4 – 25 warns us to let no one deceive us. We will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation. There will be famines and earthquakes. We will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death. We will be hated by all nations because of our belief in Christ. There will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and will never be equaled again. There will be false prophets. They will perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the strongest and most faithful Christians. II Peter 3:17 – “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”

I Thessalonians 4:16 – 18 – “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (This has been called the rapture.) I Corinthians 15:52 – “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (We are told we will have an imperishable body, will become immortal and will have the mind of Christ.”) 1 John 3.2b – “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he 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.’”

God says He is making everything new. Those who are victorious will inherit all these blessings and He will be their God and we will be His children. Those who do not accept Christ as their Savior will spend eternity separated from God.

As we read on there are far greater promises. I don’t know about you but there is nothing I would trade here on this earth for the promises of the future and life after death. How much are we willing to sacrifice in order to live a pure and holy life? How important is it to live as the world lives if it means missing heaven? Is living a disciplined life, saved, totally surrendered, having repented and committed to Christ worth forever and ever?

Ministers may preach 100 sermons annually for over 40 years. I asked my family if I should continue blogging and they suggested I continue. So we will go on. My goal was to blog twice a week or 102 blogs in a year. Over this past year there have been approximately 5,000 hits or about 95 per week. One year ago, I could not have imagined that I would be writing the following blog.

Being an investment advisor since 1987 I have had a glimpse of what creates needs in most people. If I were to ask 100 people what their main need was, I probably would get 85% to respond that it was financial. If you were to ask any city, state or our government what their greatest need was, they would have to say finances. If I were to ask: “Where do you think Satan might attack most individuals to bring us down”? The answer might be financial.

If I were to ask why are you having financial problems? Many would reply: “I do not make enough”. The real answer is: “I spend more than I make”. We see a number who have come from foreign countries, where they had hardly anything, within years they became financially independent. Their needs are much less than the needs of most Americans. Therefore, they are more inclined to save and invest because they always had excess money at the end of each month.

Let’s assume you may be one of those who are having real financial problems. You are praying constantly for God to meet your need. You realize that it doesn’t seem God is answering your prayers. Is God punishing you for not being a good steward by not answering your prayers or is He doing what may be best for you? Sometimes it takes a crisis in our lives before we change our behavior. Assume that God meets your needs and bails you out. How long might it be before you get back into the same financial mess?

We found out when credit was easy, people were borrowing on their homes to pay off their credit cards. Once their debts were paid off they began charging again just like before. Did they learn anything at all? They learned that they owed more on their homes than they are now worth.

Does anyone ever remember buying a new car on credit and having the Holy Spirit try to suggest you buy a used one? You ignored Him and went ahead and made the purchase. How many of us realize that this is exactly what Satan wants us to do? Are we at our best when we are stressed out because of debt?

What the world is going through right now might be the best thing that could have happened. Recent news says that Moody’s is warning that the Treasury’s AAA rating is in jeopardy. We are told there could be a possible run on our dollar and that we may be headed for hyperinflation. The rumor is that there will be a national sales tax coming soon. There is a possibility that they will raise the retirement age on Social Security. Most are aware of the financial condition of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. (PIG-IS)

When all of this is in place, hopefully Christians will realize the need for prayer. We are going the opposite direction our Christian founders had envisioned. We had better get our personal finances under control and ask God to help us focus on living according to His will.