Good Works to Get to Heaven?
Can we get to heaven by our good works? Can we earn heaven from a holy God by anything we do here on earth? Let's see.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:4-10
I heard it said on radio last week that "dead people can't work." The verse above says that we are all dead in our sin (spiritually dead and separated from our holy Creator), and we are from day one of life, so how can dead people do any work, let alone good works? We can't. BUT (I love the "buts" in Scripture) . ."God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. . ." by grace. Grace is God's unmerited favor--something He has offered to us while we are still sinners. But just like any gift, we can accept or reject it. Not making that deliberate choice to accept Him is, by default, rejecting Him. Will you make a decision to accept Jesus today as the only means by which you can get to heaven?
Photo Testimonies
We love the smiles on the faces of those who receive new UBO Bibles!
Rachel and her daughter Cassie receive new UBO Bibles in their new residences at Interfaith Family Services.
Teri and her son Zaviar receive new UBO Bibles in their new residences at Interfaith Family Services.
What It's Like at Christmas. . .
Before the blessing of running a nonprofit, I did not want to even think about all the Christmas "to-do's" as early as August, but in this one area, we are already thinking about Christmas. Did you know:
- UBO gave away 7,939 Bibles in 2016 and approximately 50% of the total Bibles we donate is at Christmastime?
- We have already begun work on the expected 4,500 Bibles we will be asked for this Christmas?
- Past Christmas events have shown a greater need and desire for Bibles than the available supply, so we are praying for an even greater supply of Bibles this year?
- We cannot meet the spiritual needs of our communities without you?
Please consider joining us this Christmas season with volunteer hours, financial donations, and of course, plenty of prayer support. Leeann can sign you up to be notified of volunteer opportunities, and thank you, Nancy, for writing and organizing our prayer calendar (below) each month!
A Day in the Life. . .
This was one of the first blogs I wrote and later used for a radio interview I gave in 2014. . .in the early days of UBO. I think it's worth repeating as it gives a look into a possible day in the life of a UBO Bible. Read here.
And if you're interested in the radio interview that inspired the blog, click here.
Please Mark Your Calendars!
North Texas Giving Day is coming September 14th! We would be honored if you would consider giving to Urban Bible Outreach on this day. We take every donated dollar and use it for God's glory and to further the gospel message to those in physical and spiritual need in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex with Bibles and the message of the Romans Road.
Also, please remember to start all of your Amazon purchases at smile.amazon.com by entering UBO and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to UBO! Thank you!
August Prayer Calendar
Please join us in praying for these specifics this month.
Click calendar to open larger
Thank you all!
In Him, Kathryn
Can You Help?
If what we speak about in these newsletters touches your heart and you want to know more about a personal relationship with Christ, click HERE. It is not about being "good enough" to get to heaven. JESUS CHRIST is already good enough!
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