Ripples Ministry

The notice comes. It is nailed to the door of a house that a family once called home. “Foreclosed” it may read and everyone is aware that something has gone terribly wrong.

If you talk to the family, they may feign surprise. They may cry about the unfairness of it all. They may act as though they never saw this coming. But in truth, this has taken a great deal of time and there were many warnings along the way.

This time we are looking at Matthew Chapter 721-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This is one of those difficult things we read in the bible. It is important to remember that it is there because God loves us. It is a warning that we do not fall into this trap.

Foreclosure in the magnitude that we have seen recently in our country probably most often boils down to our greed and short-sighted thinking. Spiritual foreclosure can happen in exactly the same way.

It happens like this – I see a house I cannot afford and decide to buy it based on false promises of the future. For instance – “Don’t worry about it. In a few years it will be worth so much more, you can just take money out and refinance and you will be a wealthy person!” We buy into the lie that the future always gets better and we don’t need to consider the responsibilities of today.

We do this with Christ. We agree to become part of the “Christian Club” so we can have all the benefits of membership, but we never take the costs into account.

If you buy a house, never work, never make a payment, never maintain it – then, my friend, you are not a homeowner… you are a squatter and will be evicted! You cannot expect to be a Christian and never fellowship, seldom go to church, don’t read the bible, pray only when you are in trouble and expect victory in Christ. You may just find that in the end there is a spiritual foreclosure of sorts and Christ says “depart from me!” I can think of no greater sadness than to hear those words.

Don’t get me wrong. You works do not save you. But if there is not a change in your life, then you must evaluate whether or not your conversion is real. When you become a homeowner, you care for it, work hard to make your payments and you live there. Have you been living in your faith?

Just as foreclosure comes with warning after warning before they take your home away, you do not walk away from Christ usually all at once. You miss church here you don’t read the bible there. Eventually, you find you no longer live at the same address as the body of Christ. God will speak to you, send you spiritual warnings that you are in danger of foreclosure – but it is never too late until it is too late.

Perhaps you find your life in turmoil right now. You are homeless, so to speak, outside of God’s will and He is speaking to you right now. Do not wait until you stand before Him and you find you have no home in heaven. Listen to His voice today. Live in your faith and be transformed. God is a gracious landlord. He has already paid the price for your home in Heaven. However, do not think it is without cost here.

Make a payment today on your spiritual future and get on your knees in prayer and seek God’s will in your life. Then do it! Don’t let such a wonderful thing slip through your hands. God will give you all you need to do the things He has called you to.

And maybe today you have never accepted a place in the kingdom of God but He is speaking to your heart right now. In the book of John Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Today is the day to get your spiritual house in order. Today is the day of salvation! Don’t wait any longer.

And if you are unsure how to enter into the family of God – then click on the “Answer For This Life” tab at the top of the page.

If I can join you in prayer feel free to e-mail me!

Blessings Upon Blessings

Tim