Luke 1:15b\u00a0<\/b>\u2013\u00a0\u201che will be filled with the Holy Spirit\u00a0even before he is born.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Romans 10:9-10<\/b>\u00a0\u201cIf you declare\u00a0with your mouth, \u201cJesus is Lord,\u201d\u00a0and believe\u00a0in your heart that God raised him from the dead,\u00a0you will be saved.\u00a010\u00a0For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Ephesians 2:8-9\u00a0<\/b>\u201cFor it is by grace\u00a0you have been saved,\u00a0through faith\u2014and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014\u00a09\u00a0not by works,\u00a0so that no one can boast.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Acts 4:12<\/b>\u00a0\u201cSalvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Ezekiel 18:30-32<\/b>\u00a0\u201cTherefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign\u00a0Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.\u00a0Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?\u00a0For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign\u00a0Lord. Repent and live!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Most Christians have heard the term \u201cGod has no grandchildren, only children.\u201d\u00a0 We understand that to mean that every person must come individually to Christ to receive from Him eternal salvation.\u00a0 Most people know that\u00a0John 3:16<\/b>\u00a0tells us that God made a way through Jesus for mankind to be eternally united with Him. However lesser known is\u00a0V18<\/b>\u00a0that follows it\u00a0\u201cWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God\u2019s one and only Son.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0This verse clearly says that \u201cwhoever\u201d believes in Jesus is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned.\u00a0 What this verse actually is saying is that without Jesus as one\u2019s Savior and Lord, everyone is condemned and going to hell (Romans 3:23<\/b>).\u00a0 It is only as the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus is applied to one\u2019s life that one is plucked from the conveyor belt that leads to hell and set on the road that leads the opposite direction to heaven.\u00a0 As\u00a0Romans 10:9-10<\/b>\u00a0reveals, we must believe and assert with the deepest solemnity and passion that Jesus is Lord of all and that He has risen from death.\u00a0 We believe in this with faith to attain heaven, that is, eternal life with God.\u00a0\u00a0 To be saved from the conveyor belt to hell, we must cry out to Jesus, and to Him only, for only He is the Savior, only His name will save (Acts 4:12<\/b>).\u00a0 Family and Friends, this is what God Himself has proclaimed.\u00a0 This is not my thoughts and words.\u00a0 What use would thoughts that were only mine be?\u00a0 No, it is God, who in mercy and love has shown the way to Himself and who has through His Word and confirmed by His Spirit this Truth.\u00a0 God has also asserted that it is the responsibility of all individuals to make their own choice.\u00a0 All must choose either God, through Jesus, or all must choose to reject God by not accepting the work and person of Jesus, His Son.\u00a0 There is no middle ground.\u00a0 One cannot \u201csit-on-the-fence.\u201d\u00a0 One cannot \u201clean-toward-God.\u201d\u00a0 The fence is on the devil\u2019s property line.\u00a0 Jesus said that all are either one hundred percent for Him, or one hundred percent against Him (Matthew 12:30<\/b>).\u00a0 The above verses in\u00a0Ezekiel 18:30-32<\/b>\u00a0support that all must make their own choice and that is a grave, and eternal choice.<\/p>\n
So we see that indeed God has only children and no grandchildren.\u00a0 The faith of Dad or Grandma saves no-one.\u00a0 One\u2019s relationship with God is individual.<\/p>\n
Though some believe in infant baptism, most protestant denominations believe that baptism is for the adult who understands that baptism is a believer\u2019s statement to the world that the believer proclaims himself\/herself as a servant to Jesus.\u00a0 Since an infant is not capable of comprehending what that means, the protestant will state that baptism should wait till the infant has grown to a level of understanding, whether as a child or as an adult.\u00a0 Considering the brevity required in this writing, please allow that simple statement to suffice for the purposes of this writing.\u00a0 Baptism is a choice to be obedient to what the Lord has called His followers to do (Matthew 28:19-20<\/b>).\u00a0 Also, forgiveness of God through Jesus is a gift and therefore it is upon man to make the choice to either accept the gift or reject the gift.\u00a0 It is the decision of all, individuals that decides their eternity.<\/p>\n
We also know that the Holy Spirit only lives within the believer (John 14:16-17<\/b>).\u00a0 It is a sign from God, a guarantee that the believer belongs to God (Ephesians 1:13, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2:18<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a02 Corinthians 1:22<\/b>\u00a0states that the Holy Spirit is a down payment, a beginning, of the fulfillment to all the promises that God has given to his children.<\/p>\n
Being a Christian is an individual and conscious choice and only a believer has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Let us now consider\u00a0Luke 1:15b<\/b>.\u00a0 Since it is only purposefully that one becomes a Christian, and only a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, how it that John the Baptist had the Holy Spirit within since he was in the womb. \u00a0He certainly did not have the reasoning ability in the womb to make that decision, yet in the womb he was set aside by God and given the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Family, it is good for us to remember that God is God and no other is.\u00a0 We cannot understand how everything is and therefore cannot explain everything.\u00a0 Some things we know \u201care,\u201d but do not know \u201chow.\u201d\u00a0 Those things, since we know the goodness and love of our God, since we know His innate qualities by the witness of His Word and His Spirit, we accept by faith.\u00a0 God is under no compulsion to explain all His ways, but we are commanded to live by faith.<\/p>\n
Not as an indisputable fact, but offered as a thought, it would seem the answer can be found from\u00a0Romans 8:29\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Romans 11:2<\/b>.\u00a0 Who God foreknew, He predestined.\u00a0 Since God knows a man\u2019s heart before his birth we know that before we are born God is already working on our behalf to prepare us for His kingdom.\u00a0 He is preparing us to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and He is preparing us for ministry.\u00a0 It would seem that the answer to the Holy Spirit filling John while He was yet in his mother\u2019s womb is that God was preparing John for his ministry.\u00a0 Really that is not so complicated.\u00a0 In fact, it is very wonderful.\u00a0 God knew us before the existence of the universe (Ephesians 1:4<\/b>).\u00a0 He loved us before all of creation was created.\u00a0 He had a plan for our lives before we were conceived.\u00a0 A plan to bless us and prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11<\/b>). \u00a0He leads us that we would seek Him with all our heart and when we do, we would find Him (Jeremiah 29:12-13<\/b>).\u00a0 Oh the riches of the wisdom of God!\u00a0 How great He is!\u00a0 He knows all and He is all-powerful.\u00a0 We are convinced that He by whom we exist (Colossians 1:16-17<\/b>) is able to keep us in all ways (2 Timothy 1:12<\/b>).\u00a0 Jesus has prepared us to be with Him forever, He has prepared a place for in His Father\u2019s house, His eyes are on us and He loves us.\u00a0 Family, God has got a plan and He knows how to bring it about.\u00a0 We are safe.\u00a0 We are free and God continues to guide and enable us.\u00a0 God will bring us home!\u00a0 Yes, He is good and He loves us.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Luke 1:15b\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201che will be filled with the Holy Spirit\u00a0even before he is born.\u201d Romans 10:9-10\u00a0\u201cIf you declare\u00a0with your mouth, \u201cJesus is Lord,\u201d\u00a0and believe\u00a0in your heart that God raised him from the dead,\u00a0you will be saved.\u00a010\u00a0For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1863,129,1841,705,1969,100,106,2506,101,94,17,10,2036],"class_list":["post-1230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-colossians","tag-corinthians","tag-ephesians","tag-ezekiel","tag-galatians","tag-john","tag-luke","tag-luke-jeremiah","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-psalm","tag-romans","tag-timothy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1231,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}