John 8:29
And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I
[Jesus] always do the things that are pleasing to Him [the Father].
This one is simple and straight forward. Jesus always obeys the Father.
Jesus alwayswalks the path the Father desires Him to walk. Jesus is
always 100% and perfectly ion the will of the Father.
This verse also provides an interesting statement on how to be in the
presence of God. Why has the Father not left the Son alone? Because
the Son ALWAYS doesd the things that are pleasing to the Father. Sin
separates us from God. Jesus never sins (everything He does is pleasing
to God), so He is never left alone. He is always in the presence of
the Father.
Sin separates us from God. Sin separates us from Jesus. If we want
to be in the presence of Jesus we need to confess our sin, and repent...
turn away from doing that sin again. BUT... before that...
If you are not trusting Jesus as having paid your penalty in full for
every time you have disobeyed God, then you are separated from Jesus.
At judgment He will say, "I never knew you." (Matthew 7).
This is so important that scripture says that those who believe they
are Christians, are to test themselves to see if they are in the faith.
Have you done that?
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!
Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is
in youunless indeed you fail the test? - 2 Corinthians 13:5
What is the test? That's what the book of 1st John is about. It gives
11 tests. However, the key tests are centered aroiund sin.
Do you hate sin? Is it your desire to know sin so you can identify
it, and then get it out of your life?
Do you see yourself growing in righteousness? What this means is that
you see sins you used to do and you no longer do them. In other words,
there is noticeable progress away from sin. Do things that seemed acceptable
in the past, now seem sinful? Good examples of these include the music
you listen to, and the TV shows and movies you watch. Do you remember
a time when you enjoyed raunchy song lyrics, but now you can't stand
them? That a sign of growing in righteousness. Did you used to watch
R-rated movies, hoping to get a glimpse of some bare skin, but now R-rated
movies don't even ointerest you? That's a sign of growing in righteousness.
All true believers should see this progress in their lives as they grow
to be more like Christ. Often it is two steps forwardand one step backward,
but looking back over the past couple of years there should be noticeable
progress.
Do you love being with other Christians? Do you love reading God's
word? Christians enjoy spending time in fellowship with other Christians.
If you are not growing in Christ, then sin separates you from Jesus.
When you repent and put your trust in Jesus are are born again and Jesus
lives in you... is always with you... and it is through is strength
that you grow to become more like Him.
Visit www.911Christ.com
and take the good person test to find out if you are good enough to
join Jesus in heaven.