Tonight the goats were in the barn, but I wanted to give them some cornstalks in their outside feeder. Oh, how they love cornstalks and chomp them down hungrily! But even though I called and called to them and thumped a cornstalk on the fence to get their attention, either they didn’t hear me calling them or they were ignoring me. I was going to have to go to them.
So I went into the barn with a cornstalk and waved it and asked them if they wanted some cornstalks. They did, of course! They came eagerly to the inside feeder and looked at me. Now I had their full attention. However, they were going to have the cornstalks on MY terms, not theirs, because I wasn’t bringing all those stalks into the barn.
Have you ever been offered something you would really, really love? God is offering you a home in heaven. What would be a better place to live than heaven? The Bible tells us that heaven has a beautiful city with a street of gold. The walls of the city have beautiful, precious stones in their foundations. It also tells us that in heaven there is no more crying, no more pain, no more sad feelings, no more death and no more sin! But the very best part of heaven is that Jesus Himself is there! He’s the One who loves you so much He died for you!
Wouldn’t you love to be in heaven? You can be, but since it belongs to God, you will only be allowed into heaven on HIS terms. And since there isn’t any sin in heaven, you must be washed clean of every single sin. Any ideas you might have about earning your way into heaven simply will not work. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift, but you have to follow God’s terms to receive it.
If the hungry goats wanted those cornstalks, they had to follow my terms. As I went out of the barn, they watched me closely. So far so good. So I ran to the outside feeder, still holding the cornstalk. Then it clicked in their goat brains—Aha! We must go out there to get them! So the little herd came bounding through their pen, around the corner into the pasture, and over to the feeder where I was waiting. CORNSTALKS FOR EVERYONE! And they tore into them with great eagerness.
Are you willing to follow God’s terms to be allowed into heaven? It means you must be very sorry about your sins and believe that His Son Jesus paid the price for them when He died on Calvary’s cross. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Your sins will be gone forever, and the door will be wide open with a wonderful welcome for you to live in heaven with Jesus, the Saviour of sinners.
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
MEMORY VERSE: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
ML-09/16/2012