What Would Do To Achieve Your Goal?

 

From Commons.Wikipedia

This from 2016, and  I doubt there has been much change.It really isn't a good shot, but it was better than the other dataset I found from 2001. A little concerning are the gray (Not Reported) and the white (Not Applicable) areas. Leprosy is still with us, and basically curable if caught early.

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. (2 Kings 5:1 KJV)

The Pulpit Commentary gives a little background about who Naaman could have been:

Benhadad, [King of Syria at this time] who had been wont in his youth and middle age to lead his armies into the field in person, seems now in his old age to have found it necessary to entrust the command to a general, and to have made Naaman captain of his host. ... Probably he had commanded the Syrian army in some of its encounters with the Assyrians, who at this time, under Shalmaneser II; were threatening the independence of Syria, but did not succeed in subjecting it.

And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. (2 Kings 5:2 KJV)

A child was considered the spoils of war, and moved into slavery. She must have been well treated, because she was concerned about her master's horrible infection of leprosy. Every instance where leprosy is mentioned in the Bible tells of suffering and outcast from society. This little maid in waiting offered a solution that reached the king of Syria, who obviously thought highly of his captain:

And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. (2 Kings 5:3-5 KJV)

I suggest you read the whole story, because there are so many different lessons in this one chapter that I could fill a week of blogs. Read it, see how many you find, but this blog is on what would we do to get what we want. That depends on how important it is. The prophet Naaman went to didn't even see him:

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. (2 Kings 5:9-10 KJV)

We don't have to wonder what Naaman thought:

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:11-12 KJV)

Pick out your least favorite politician, place him in Naaman's place, and imagine his consternation when told to take a bath in a non-important river, in a place he disliked. Imagine his wrath and rage. And imagine the best of friends giving him advice:

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? (2 Kings 5:13 KJV)

An easy solution, no huge undertaking, nothing impossible, all that is lost is a piece of time during the day. Reason won out and Namaan followed directions, became cleansed of his leprosy. When we really want something so badly that we would ... just what would we do to obtain what we want? How far would you travel? How much would you spend to gain your goal? What is your goal? One unnamed little maid is remembered for thousands of years because of her faith in God and His prophet. She spoke of that belief, a king took her word for it and sent a company in belief. 

In the middle of the story, Naaman decided it was well worth his time to believe God and His prophet. Stay in the chapter to read the rest of that story - a gift refused, an opportunity for gain, and the consequences unexpected. God has a lot to show us, but what does He want us to do?

What does God ask of us?

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30 KJV)

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:7-8 KJV)

There pages of verses that I could add here, but I ask that you seek them out in the Bible. Ir's not what a denomination says, it's not what one church says, it is what God has inspired for all of us to read, understand, and believe:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

Read the Bible - there are free apps online for your smart phone, and links on line to read, compare, and study, as in this link for John 3:16-18,

Jesus and the Woman at the Well

 

Last Saturday our ladies at the First Baptist Church of Cottondale (Texas, that is - there are two others, in Florida and Alabama) held the usual Mother/Daughter Banquet before Mothers Day - only this one was a Ladies Luau.

I do have to say that these are always memorable occasions and we have from one to four generations of ladies attending, enjoying great food, seeing an uniquely fitting skit, plus a biblical message applicable for the ages.

Our pastor's wife gave our devotional. It is a well known story, so often referred to as The Woman at the Well, and is found in John's fourth chapter. In the first four verses we learn that the religious Pharisees had learned that more people had been baptized after hearing Jesus than had been baptized by John. We also learned that Jesus had not done any of the baptizing. 

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. (John 4:1-3 KJV)

The fourth verse sets an interesting stage:

And he must needs go through Samaria. (John 4:4 KJV)

The Bible mentions Samaria several times. The Samaritans worshipped the same God as the Judeans, but were located in the northern kingdom of Israel, separated from Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship. Oxford Bibliographies has a page on Samaria that includes:

'The name “Samaria” was applied to the region when the city of Samaria became the capital of the northern Israelite kingdom under King Omri in the 9th century BCE. In the biblical period, the majority of the population in the region were Yahweh worshipers (even after the Assyrian conquest in the late 8th century BCE), just as the Judeans to the south of them. Those Yahweh worshipers of the region of Samaria who eventually rejected Jerusalem and its temple as sacred centers are the Samaritans. For them, Mount Gerizim in the vicinity of ancient Shechem (modern Tell Balatah, near Nablus) and the temple on it became the focus of religious life.'

Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan, but the woman at the well was a real person, and they had an interesting exchange. Samaria was on the way from Judea to Galilee, and along the way they stopped for food and water at Jacob's well - yes, the Jacob who was renamed Israel, who had twelve sons:

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4:5-9 KJV)

As I understand the culture at the time, it was not unusual for a man to ask a woman to do something for him, but unusual for a woman to not only answer the man, but to question him. Just as strange was His answer to her:

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10 KJV)

Do you know that "gift of God" that Jesus referenced? Following their discussion the woman did, described who she thought He was, and He confirmed it:

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:25-26 KJV)

If you know that same Jesus, you know that He is the gift of God. Paul knew it when he wrote the church at Corinth:

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. (2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV)

We cannot say what the townspeople said at the end of this story:

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:42 KJV)

Moses and multiple writers in the Old Testament wrote of Him, for the woman at the well knew those stories. We read of Him through others. Here we read John's story. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, James, and Jude give us more of Him, but still second hand to us. 

Please do your own reading, but also join groups such as our ladies at the celebratory Luau. There are many churches that use the Bible for their doctrine, their lesson, and as the inspired Word of God that convinced us as Jesus did the woman at the well. 

A Reason For Reading in Context

 

I've done a couple of blogs  on the reason my readers should not take my word for it that what I copy from the Bible and insert here is God's message. It has to be "taken in context." As Google's AI explains:

Context is the situation in which something occurs or exists, and it can help explain it. For example, "It is important to see all the fighting and bloodshed in his plays in historical context". 

Context can also refer to the parts of a written or spoken statement that come before or after a specific word or passage, and usually affect its meaning or effect. For example, "You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context".

Let me sshare an example that occurred today. It happened in a prayer group of scattered people, with one person in the group, whose husband is experiencing serious health problems, certainly in need of prayer from believers in God's ability to help His children. The group utilizes a social media that allows them to cross time zones and international boundaries to join in specific prayers. That's a blessing in so many ways.

One sincere believer wrote to "name and claim" a specific verse that she believed carried a promise from God:

Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. (Job 22:27-28 KJV)

That does sound good, doesn't it? It's easy from these two verses to assume God is speaking to Job, telling Job that all he has to do is pray, giving a decree of what he wants, and it will happen. That is taking it out of context.

Job's story is about tragedies he endured, costing him his family and all he had worked for his entire life. He was left sitting in ashes, with four friends who came to keep him company, and to convince him of his sinfulness for God to have punished him so strongly. The person speaking in verses 27-28 is introduced in verse 1, and continues well beyond verse 28. The chapter heading is: Eliphaz Speaks: Job's Wickedness Is Great:

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect? Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? (Job 22:1-5 KJV)

I really wouldn't want a friend such as Eliphaz to tell me how deeply I have failed God, even ignoring widows in need or breaking an orphan's arm. In veres 27-28, Eliphaz is encouraging Job to pray for God's mercy, God will hear when Job prays then pays for what he has done wrong. Job then can ask God for something good and expect it to happen. 

Trust me, bad things happen to very good people. They are inexplicable, beyond making sense out of what is happening. There are many tragedies we will not understand in this world, but a good deal of them simply occur because we live in an imperfect fallen world that does have active evil doers. Job was a good man. Get to know him at least in the first chapters of his book.

Also know there are promises spoken by God where He is specifically identified as the speaker. Our lesson in last Sunday's sermon from Habakkuk was such a promise - to allow Israel to fall to the Chaldeans:

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. (Habakkuk 1:5-6 KJV)

God kept his word there and Jerusalem fell, the people taken into captivity. For what life was like there, read the book of Daniel, a young man who purposed in his heart to do what God expects. Does God allowing Israel to be captive mean God is vengeful? Actually, He is just. Israel turned away from Him, forgot Him, ignored Him. The Chaldeans served as a reminder that from people given much, much is required.

To know God in context, the entire Bible is necessary. Don't treat is a buffet where only the gifts are shown. Remember that there are responsibilities, and communication is one. Search the Bible for God's interaction with mankind, not for verses that appear to fit the moment, especially when they are easily shown to be out of context. Open the book with a prayer that God's Holy Spirit will provide what you need.

 

Inevitable

 

That's a screen capture of a template document available free to use in Word for a single person's will. I'm using it as an example to be certain my hand-written will (just as legal) has all the right legal information. I need to do this even though my husband and I have a simple and conjoint will done almost twenty years ago. Things change. But needing a will is inevitable because death is inevitable.

One of my past hobbys was genealogy - a deep look into family history. I've blogged on that several times, and have a link to a website I used for several years, leaving it up in case someone searches. My parents, their siblings, their parents, their siblings, and all generations previous, died. All humans have in the past and continue to do so today. We've lost extended family in our generation, and within my children's. Dear friends have passed, too.

A will simple lays out what I want done with my real and personal property - my name on a deed is real property, my wedding ring is personal. There are specific people I would like to have what I have now.

That goes for knowledge and faith. That's nothing new - Beloved Husband's grandfather mentioned such in his will. The legalese pages were properly written, then he added:

January 21, 1932

To my dear family survivors; the greatest asset I can hand down to you is to commend you to the Lord Jesus Christ whom I have tried to serve from childhood. He is the only rock or foundation you can safely build or rely upon and you should love Him with all your Might.

In writing my will I could have made disposition of various small things but I recall that at various times I have given some of the children things, therefore after I have passed away I desire that whenever any child says I gave them certain things to let that be final. Any other personal things of mine let my beloved ones select time about, but reverse the old order of things, having the youngest select first, and then up the line instead of down the line.

M T Blickensderfer

That first paragraph reminds me of verses that means a great deal to me:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:1-3 KJV)

All religious beliefs can be taught, from childhood or later, but every individual has the ultimate responsibility to choose which one to accept as willed by a deity. MT made a personal choice to include Jesus Christ as Lord in his own life. He felt sufficiently strong about it to include what he had shown them in life in his last words to them. John knew how MT felt:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 1:4 KJV)

John's reference is to brothers and sisters in Christ. Both MT and I felt the same about our children. And others that we know can benefit from the love of God Jesus taught, the Apostles who saw/heard Him wrote about, and the people we know who serve Him in our world today.

I cannot prove to anyone what I accept on faith, but I read Hebrews chapter 11 and I can see faith lived in people who carried it through millennia. A study of historial references confirm a great deal of both the Old and New Testament, but it still comes down to faith:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Christians cannot be truthful in boasting of their works. There is a marvelous combination:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:17-19 KJV)

Neither fear nor dwell on any inevitable event. Be aware, and understand your obligations - one of which is leaving a will. It will help your family, as anyone whose loved one died without a will can explain.

"One may edify another"

 

Jerusalem Gate, Stephanstor, Zwischen, 1900 (Wiki Commons)

There is good information from Paul as he writes a letter to each church, that is inspired by God for Christians - without time nor geographic limitations. One I've been thinking about for some time is in Romans 5, and a conclusion is reached after an example, and before more:

For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. (Romans 14:18-19 KJV)

Before we get into what these "things wherewith" are, let's clarify what "edify" means. As usual, I go back to the Greek, where Strong's Concordance has been a help to me in comparing what we think a word means, and how it is defined in use. You can get your own look at Strong's Concordance on the internet. I've checked multiple times, and the e-Sword app on my phone offers the same information. Here's the meaning of "edify" as used biblically:

G3629: οἰκοδομή

pronounced: oikodomē ((oy-kod-om-ay'))

Feminine (abstraction) of a compound of G3624 and the base of G1430; architecture, that is, (concretely) a structure; figuratively confirmation: - building, edify (-ication, -ing).

Wait! What G3624 and G1430 mean:

G3624: οἶκος

Pronounced: oikos (oy'-kos)

Of uncertain affinity; a dwelling (more or less extensive, literally or figuratively); by implication a family (more or less related, literally or figuratively): - home, house (-hold), temple.

G1430: δῶμα

Pronounced: dōma (do'-mah)

From δέμο demō (to build); properly an edifice, that is, (specifically) a roof: - housetop.

Sometimes edifying is just lifting up a friend. A note can do that for years. I just ran across one from my dear friend of close to 30 years, though our lives have changed and we may not see each other for five or so. In 1998 Empee gave me a gift she knew I would love, use, and retain:  Forgotten English, Jeffrey Kacirk, "A Merry Guide to Antiquated Words." 

Words are important. They all have meaning. When we use them, we select them based on what we want the person hearing (or reading) to know. In our current era, some people are changing the meaning of words. But Empee's words in the note have deep meaning to me:

"I think of you as a precious thread in my life, everlasting, at that."

We are everlasting friends.  Both of us. While we spent a dozen or so years in the same company, I reached retirement and she found greater opportunities for her skills. We not only live in different cities, but in non-adjacent counties in the same state. That will change one day, for we shall be in the same country:

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16 KJV)

As co-workers - for a while the same title on the same project - we had enough in common to enjoy spending time together. Once we exchanged information on our relationships with Christ, we knew the bond would be unbroken. I so often pray for people I've found to be close to accepting God's plan of salvation simply because I would love to see them (literally) forever.

There are also people I've met that it was obvious there was a need for Christ in their lives. It's not judgmental to see a person living with a soul-rending sadness, or with deep-rooted bitterness, or even with raging hatred, and know the eternal answer for them is accepting the love of God to restore them to what they could be. I'd love to spend eternity with them, too.

It truly is simple, as explained in Romans. You can use the "Roman Road" any time one asks:

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30b KJV)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)

Before that verse, Paul does a good job explaining why all have sinned by drawing scenes from life. No one escapes from sinfulness except innocent children. Too soon we find ourselves envious, desiring and/or taking what seems right in our own mind. So often, it isn't.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

The same choice faces every one ever born on this planet, choose between death and eternal life.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 KJV)

Jesus said so in John 3:16-18, while He was discussing questions from Nicodemus.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 KJV)

In fact, Romans 10:8-17 is outstanding!! But this is a good summation of the Road:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 KJV)

Once done, we have help along that strait and narrow way:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 KJV)

Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet

 
Jeremiah - by Michelangelo - The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), 

distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. (Jeremiah 5:1 KJV)

Five chapters in, out of 52 - not really ten percent, and I can understand from this one verse why Jeremiah was called The Weeping Prophet. He had a message from God to the people of his nation - a previously divided nation that broke into two separate pieces. He knew the truth of God as well as the stubborness of his countrymen. The Lord knew it, too, and mentioned it to Moses:

And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: (Exodus 32:9 KJV)

Eleven uses later in the Bible, we again read "stiffnecked" when Stephen faces those who will not listen:

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51 KJV)

May I explain that stiffneckness is not confined to any single segment of humanity? At any given time, that could be applied to me. But Jeremiah wrote God's words, not his own when he used the term:

But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. (Jeremiah 17:23 KJV)

We do not listen, we do not hear, we do not read what prophets have told us. Peter mentioned this:

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. (Acts 3:22-23 KJV)

Humans are no different today from many of the people who faced Moses, Jeremiah, Stephen, and Peter, not only ignoring their message, but never anticipating consequences. 

This past week I visited with a Pastor I met over two decades ago as a new Youth Minister. This time we both lamented over another young man (Dubgee) who followed a possible path of growth sharing God's message. Then, it was if Paul's experience was repeated:

For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, (2 Timothy 4:10a KJV)

Even while serving congregations, Dubgee loved this present world, and it's attention. In many ways, most of us do, giving in to touches of attention, a bit of envy, a desire for something "different" that we can't find the right words to explain. Leaving his Pastoral obligations, this present world offered positions where people paid attention, gave accolades, and a moneyed future was presented as possible. 

Paul doesn't describe Demas' present world, but leaving God's work does present problems -  and a descent that can be described in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Dubgee ignored what he earlier gave as sermons to a congregation. Today, in his present world, he no longer has steady employment, a home of his own, his wife, nor his children. Consequenses for moving from a relationship with Jesus as savior was described by Peter as:

For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. (Acts 8:23 KJV)

Pray for those who, as people did millenia ago and still do today, ignore God's instructions and the consequences for doing so. Listen to the men sent to share God's instructive love that can keep us on the narrow way to the strait gate. The way may seem winding and slow to us, but the consequences of remaining faith filled are God's promises of eternal life in an eternal home. Otherwise, He will not force anyone to keep them from their consequences - eternal separation from Himself and His love.

The choice is available every day of life. As Jeremiah and Jesus did, we weep and lament:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37 KJV)

The Holiest Day for Christians

 

Christ Crucified, by Michelangelo

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew during Passover's Last Supper who would betray Him, and what would happen during the following day for Him and the man who betrayed Him. He knew the shame coming, the pain, the total desolation, the feeling of abandonment. He also knew what was to come after the cross. He knew about Sunday morning, and endured knowing the joy that was to be His:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 KJV)

Which for me, remembering the resurrection, makes Easter the most Holy day in Christiandom. Christmas began the physical life of the man who would spend thirty-three years here, the crucifixion was as He said, the finish, but the resurrection was the proof Jesus' own words:

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:32 KJV)

There are too many people that do not see the resurrection as reality - they believe the stories of Jesus' death are valid, but not the facts displayed by the disciples over the next forty days:

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: (Acts 1:1-3 KJV)

Faith in Jesus' life is necessary for living with Him after ours here:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV)

A blood sacrifice had been necessary from the earliest biblical writings, and a blood sacrifice was completed:

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:8 KJV)

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Mattthew 26:28)

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14:24)

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:20)

Now that we know the sequence of events, and we've studied the Bible, commentaries, postings such as this, we all have made a decision. As a teen I publicly told a congregation that I believe the Bible's history of Judiasm and Christianity. I know of the Law, and the fulfillment of the Law in Christ. Most people do - a large number of those have neglected to give their views on salvation. Yet the Spirit inspired a better question that I can:

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; 

which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and 

was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 

God also bearing them witness, 

both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4 KJV)

Yes - all of the above scriptures were taken from different books of the Bible. Dear Reader, you cannot know whether they were taken out of context, or that they fit across chapters and books to tell a wonderous story, until you learn more and more about God, the inspiration for all the scriptures.

From Genesis through Revelation, the Bible has a single theme - God exists and has a plan for mankind that is eternal. Come, read, question, learn, and do not escape by neglecting so great salvation.

It is part of the Good News, the gospel that Jesus preached:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23 KJV)

The Greek word translated as "gospel" by Strong's is G2098:

εὐαγγέλιον

euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on)

From the same as G2097; a good message, that is, the gospel: - gospel.

 G2097 is:

εὐαγγελίζω
euaggelizō (yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo)
From G2095 and G32; to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel: - declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).

I'll leave it up to you to look further into G2095 and G32. However, I caution those who disparage evangelism or evangelists. Jesus was one sharing the good news, just as the angels at His birth and at the empty tomb following the resurrection. Basically, it's what I do here, too - sharing the news that Jesus is Christ, the Messiah for whom Jews awaited through Old Testament prophecies, confirmed when in the Synagogue Jesus said:

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4:17-21 KJV)