Christian Benefits

Whether you are a Christian or not,

it is helpful to know what Christian benefits are, and are not.

You might be surprised.

Many people incorrectly think that Christians

have health, wealth, no problems, and an easy life. — NOT!

God does not promise any of these to Christians.

If you think you should accept Jesus for the gifts you will get,

you would be disappointed.

I have been reading the book “Jesus > Religion” by Jefferson Bethke.

The book has a section on this topic of Christian gifts,

which has me thinking…

God does promise Christians God’s love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Those are huge promises!

God also promises us to share with Jesus His inheritance in Heaven,

and eternal life with Him.

Amazing!  That is “Good News”, as the Bible says.

God does also promise Christians to rest in Him,

which is good because we all tend to be too busy and tired all the time.

God gives us the gift of keeping Sabbath as a day of rest.

This is a much better gift than you might think.

Just start taking your Sundays as a day of rest.

If you do, you will be amazed at the peace and rest and contentment you will find.

In Acts Chapter 2, verse 38, Apostle Peter tells us,

if you repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,

you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We also then benefit from the Fruit of the Spirit,

which come from the Holy Spirit,

and grow as we mature as a Christian.

These fruit are —

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

humility (also called gentleness), and self-control.

By now, you should be realizing that the benefits of being a Christian are top notch!

By now, you probably also noticed that God does not promise things —

not cars, big house, nice clothes, not money, nor fame.

Some of these things might be given, and also can be taken away.

The author of “Jesus > Religion” says that

1 thing that cannot be taken away from a Christian is —

           your identity in Christ as a child of God!

The Apostle Paul, (in Romans Chapter 8, verse 38) tells us another–

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Where else on earth are we guaranteed to be loved?

Guaranteed love is found only in the heart of Jesus Christ for one of His followers.

Right now I am a bit overwhelmed by these promises from God.

I had to stop and catch my breath, and blink the tears away, and thank God for loving us.

Thank you God for forgiving us, and for all you do give us every day.

Your generosity, Lord, is overwhelming.

 

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