Our Footsteps: A Great Inheritance

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A Great Inheritance

I have often thought that an unexpected inheritance would be a cool thing to receive someday. It might help to pay some bills or buy a few extras. It would be kind of nice!

This morning I found myself reading from Colossians chapter 1, and the Apostle Paul reminded me that I am already qualified to share in an entirely different and infinitely better inheritance! Not jewels, gold or legal tender, but rather an inheritance that is "imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven" for me (1 Peter 1:4). Some other parts of that inheritance I am experiencing already. Colossians 1:13 states matter-of-factly that I have been delivered from the domain of darkness and have been transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. It goes on to say in verse 14, that I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Is there any worldly inheritance that can do that??!! Any worldly inheritance that I would ever receive might well be squandered on things that will either be broken or in the garage-sale pile in 2 years.

My tremendous responsibility and weighty challenge is not to squander this spiritual inheritance that has been lavished upon me. I think this responsibility and challenge also extends to anyone else that has been delivered from darkness and who is sharing in the inheritance of the saints.

Are we living up to the challenge?
Mark

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I Believe...

1). I believe that there is one God. I believe God consists of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2). I believe that God is holy, righteous, loving, and just.
3). I believe that mankind is separated from God by sin; that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin.
4). I believe that, because of sin, man is condemned. Because of God’s utter hatred for sin, there is an eternal conscious punishment in hell for all those who do not come to God on His terms, dealing with their sin.
5). I believe that confessing our sins and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to properly deal with the sin that has infected everyone. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross; reconciliation by substitution. There is nothing we can do to add to the finished work of Christ.
6). I believe in the security of the believer, that once he is truly born-again, there is nothing that would cause him to lose his salvation.
7). I believe that upon the death of a true believer in Christ, that he is ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord, where he will live in everlasting joy in Heaven, experiencing eternal fellowship with God.
8). I believe in believer’s baptism by immersion. I don’t believe baptism is necessary for salvation, but it is a beautiful outward profession of an inward possession.
9). I believe in a literal 6-day creation where God created the heavens and the earth and then rested on the seventh day.
10). I believe that the words written in the Bible are truth. I believe that the Bible is inerrant in its parts and in its whole. I believe that the 66 books that make up the canon of scripture make the Bible complete and that God inspired the words written therein. The things that were written down in the Bible are sufficient for every need we have. Not only is God’s Word sufficient, but it is far superior to any other method of handling the problems that man faces, since He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.