{"id":35211,"date":"2023-04-01T03:30:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T10:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35211"},"modified":"2023-03-30T17:12:25","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T00:12:25","slug":"april-1-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/04\/01\/april-1-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"April 1, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Good Enough?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cFor by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.\u201d <\/em>Ephesians 2:8<\/p>\n

My adult son was talking about a celebrity. \u201cAnd Mom,\u201d he said with satisfaction, \u201cI think he\u02bcs a Christian!\u201d This comment was meant to give credence and reliability to things the celebrity said and did.<\/p>\n

My son\u02bcs wife overheard his comment, and responded, \u201cI think it\u02bcs funny you said that, because I think most people are Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

My son looked lost, so I replied to her, \u201cWhat he meant is that this man follows Christ. He shares his faith with others. He loves people. He doesn\u02bct just believe in God. Perhaps most people believe in God, but they don\u02bct all follow Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u02bct know my daughter-in-law believed most people are Christians. Perhaps to her, there is nothing that distinguishes a believer from a non-believer. There is no difference between them. Most people are \u201cgood\u201d and so they are \u201cChristians.\u201d<\/p>\n

It reminded me of the time I was first going to meet my future husband\u2019s parents. We were both believers, and I asked him, \u201cAre they Christians?\u201d<\/p>\n

He answered in all seriousness, \u201cThey are Americans; to them, it is the same thing.\u201d And I might add, they also think, \u201cBeing an American is good enough.\u201d I have often talked to people who believe that since our nation was founded on Christian principles, it follows that everyone that lives in America is Christian.<\/p>\n

But we know it is not \u201cgood enough\u201d to be an American. It is not \u201cgood enough\u201d to have believing parents. It is not \u201cgood enough\u201d to go to church. In fact, there is only one way to be saved. Acts 16:30-31 says, \u201cAnd he… said, <\/em>\u02bb<\/em>Sirs, what must I do to be saved?<\/em>\u02bc<\/em> So they said, <\/em>\u02bb<\/em>Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…<\/em>\u02bc<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We cannot ride the coattails of our parents, our church, or our country. We each must come ALONE before the throne of God and make things right with Him. There should then be a noticeable difference about us, something that distinguishes us from everyone else. \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new\u201d <\/em>(2 Corinthians 5:17).<\/p>\n

Lord, we ask You to produce in us the fruit that will show others that we follow You. In Jesus<\/em>\u02bc<\/em> Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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