Vazquez Counseling

John 1:1-18 declares:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (New King James Version)

Our LORD Jesus came into the world that we might have Life and that it would be an Abundant Life. We see in these verses that Jesus is the reason that everything exists. He is the Word through Whom our Blessed Father created everything.

Jesus was there at the beginning of it all; moreover, He is God. Jesus pre-existed in Eternity Past with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Being of the same essence as the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus came to Earth with all authority, given to Him by the Father. Jesus is the promised KING, first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles.

John the Apostle declares that for those of us who receive Him, Jesus gave the right to become children of God. There is a basic Truth that people often refuse to believe, to their detriment. While Jesus is LORD of all, He gently invites us to participate in His Kingdom. Jesus will not force anyone to follow Him. If anyone rejects Him, it will be of their own volition. God the Father is absolutely just, and He will not condemn anyone without giving them every chance to repent and join with Him.

There is only one unforgivable sin, one that will lead an unrepentant sinner straight to Hell, and that is a completely stubborn refusal to submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Many people believe that one requirement by God is unjustified. I would ask them one question, though, if a person utterly rejects God, would it not make perfect sense that at the end of their lives our LORD would give them exactly what they wanted, that is, separation from Him for Eternity? God will never force anyone to be His disciple.

When Jesus walked amongst us, He was the best Rabbi of that time. Some rabbis in Jewish culture during that time had a better following than others. The Rabbinical idea was not unique to the Jewish Nation. Teachers in other cultures, such as those in the Greek culture, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, also had followers from among their people.

A review of the Gospels reveals that Jesus selected and called all of his disciples to Him. Religion fails, as it is man’s attempt to get to God, whereas a true relationship with God is always initiated by Him.

Salvation is God’s handiwork. It is He Who chose us before time began. While God is the One Who regenerates our hearts, the Word of God is clear that the means of salvation is the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is the story of how our LORD Jesus saved us. He came willingly to Earth, walked amongst us, and lived a perfect Life. Then, at the request of His Father, Jesus willingly went to the Cross, where He died as the Perfect Lamb of God, paying the penalty for our sins that we could never pay on our own. Then, the Holy Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead after three days, thus proving that He is our Messiah, and through His resurrection also guaranteeing us Eternal Life.

The Bible teaches that if you repent of your sins, and you believe in the Gospel of our LORD Jesus, placing your faith and complete trust in Him, you will be saved. It’s a simple message, one that a small child could understand.

If you are reading this blog today, and you have not placed your faith in Christ, you are not here by accident, but rather, God is tugging at your heart, freely offering you His salvation. Choose this day whom you will serve, our Blessed LORD, who loves you very much, or the enemy of our souls, whose only goal is the destruction of humanity. God is not some control freak who does not want you to have fun. Quite the contrary, He wants you to be free from sin, and He wants you with Him in Eternity. Amen.