"If God is responsible for all this heartache [i.e. hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, earthquakes, crippling diseases, endless suffering, and unspeakable pain], that presents an interesting dilemma. If God is an “all-loving” Father figure, as we are told, we seem to have three choices:
1) God blew it when He made everything (He’s creative but incompetent); 2) God is a tyrant, who gets His kicks from seeing kids die of leukemia; 3) something between God and man is radically wrong. These are our choices ... and those who take time to consider the evidence will lean toward number three. Something between man and God is radically wrong, and the Bible tells us what it is. There is a war going on. We are told that mankind is an enemy of God in his mind through wicked works (Colossians 1:21). That’s not too hard to see. Man is continually committing violent acts such as murder and rape, lying, stealing, etc., as the daily news confirms. He uses God’s name as a curse word, while Mother Nature gets the glory for His creation—unless there’s a horrible disaster; then man calls that “an act of God.” An applicable acronym for WAR is We Are Right. Any country going to war does so because it has the conviction that it is in the right. However, a quick look at God’s Law [Ten Commandments] shows us who is right and who is wrong. We, not God, are the guilty party. If we want His blessing back on our nation and in our lives, we must make peace with Him, and that is possible only through faith in Jesus Christ." Ray Comfort. The School of Biblical Evangelism (Lesson 2). I witness to people every day, whether through tracks, or talking, or giving. God gives me what I need. I may have much now, but a short time ago, I had nothing; nothing but His word and witnessing to the homeless and those around me whom I was apart of. In times of nothing, I prayed, and I witnessed; In times of extra, I prayed and I witnessed. God gives, and He takes away, but the things of this world are of no concern to me; I concern myself with things above, and not of of this world. In my highs, I praised God. In my lows, I praised God. He has been high, and He has been low. Jesus Christ testifies to this. In His life, in His death on the cross, and even more in His ascending to Heaven. He came from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, becoming one of us, those who hated Him, despised Him, crucified Him. But our killing Him, and His death, could not hold him. Oh how he triumphed!! For our sins, Jesus did this, so that we may have eternal life. A life without end. A life with our Father, who loved us so much, that He gave His only Son. For us! Those who killed Him with our sins. Jesus paid for our sins, willingly, gladly, because God willed it. Because God so loved us, He gave His only Son, to die in our place, for our transgressions, to bring us...to Him. And now, through Jesus Christ's work on earth... it is finished. Believe on Him, repent and believe, and eternal life..... is yours.
"There is somebody in the world whom you have to bring to Christ. I do not know where he is, or who he is; but you had better look out for him." ~ Charles Spurgeon, Sermon #2315 - on Philippians 3:12
Philippians 3:12-14 ~ "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I thank God that someone shared the Gospel with me. They did not simply "live the Gospel" or witness merely in their physical actions in the hopes that people would be saved through their silence. They did as commanded by Jesus and preached the gospel with words in love. I saw that they actually thought of the Gospel as "good news," which needed to be heard by others. How often do we share every other detail of our lives in countless conversations without sharing the most important thing that has changed our lives, Jesus Christ? If we think that the "lost" people we come in contact with will one day be judged for their sins, as it is written in Hebrews 9:27 "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment," we must verbally share what has been given to us. The gift which we have received from others is NOT meant for us to unwrap, place in the closet, and enjoy only for our own sake. The gift which God has given us is a gift that is meant to be given to others so that God may work in their lives also. This is the gift given 2,000 years ago through Jesus Christ that has been handed down through the ages. Please give the gift that you have received to those that you come in contact with each and every day. "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You" (Psalms 51:12-13). Everyone is commanded, by the One who created everything, to repent [turn away from sin and unto God], because He has set a day, which He will judge everyone; justice will finally be served to everyone for all their crimes. This is a very good thing!
Every 10 years, in the United States alone, there are 200,000+ murders. About 100,000[half] of these murderers are never brought to “justice.” The “long arm of the law” may not be able to find these people, but God will, and because He has a time set that they will finally be punished for their crimes, justice will, indeed, be served. Not only for these crimes will justice be served, but for all crimes against God. All crimes? What are these? God has given us His “Ten Commandments” as the standard from which everyone will be judged. Most everyone has surely at least heard of them, even if by name only. God has produced these ten laws to show everyone if they will be innocent or guilty at their time of judgment. So, if God judges you by this standard, will you be found guiltless before the Judge? Have you ever looked in the mirror of “God’s Standard” to see if you will be innocent or guilty? Perhaps not. One reason may be you have thought, “God doesn’t exist” or “what gives God the right to judge me?” God doesn’t exist? Sure He does. You know that God exists the same way that you know that a painting must have a painter, or a building must have a builder. The same is true for this planet, sun, moon, and the stars above: Creation has a Creator. What gives God the right to judge me? God is, indeed, deserving to be the Heavenly Judge, but the answer that He is Holy, He has never sinned, or broken His own Law, will not somehow convince you that He “deserves” to punish those who have broken His Law, if you don’t firstly recognize that God is sovereign over all of what He created. Ignoring a judge on earth during a trial, because you think that he is not worthy to judge you, or imagining that he doesn’t exist, will not, by any means, make that judge and his sentence upon you simply go away; Justice will still be served by the judge, and you will still be sentenced accordingly for your crimes. So what makes you think that you will be able to use that defense in Heaven against God and win? Now that you have learned that you shall, one day after you die, stand in front of the Holy God to be judged and be without excuse, there is the most important question ever asked being presented for you to ponder: If God judges you according to the Ten Commandments, will you go to Heaven or Hell? If you said “Heaven,” you are like most people and assume that “God is forgiving, He’ll know that I am good person, and let me into Heaven.” Think about this for a minute: do you think that argument would work against a judge on earth during your trial? You say to the judge, “Judge, I know that I committed the crimes, but I believe that you are a good and just judge, and therefore, you will let me go.” The judge will say, “You are correct. I am a good and just judge, and therefore, I will make sure that your crimes are punished.” Did you expect that answer? Of course you did, because if a judge just let people go because he felt like it, that judge wouldn’t be “good” or “just,” he would be removed from his position for being a “bad” and “unjust” judge; he would be a hypocrite. When you see that an earthly judge will not let you go, why do you think that a good and just God will let you go free on your Heavenly judgment day? God alone is good and just. He is also Holy [without sin], and because He is a good and just, He will see to it that everyone is brought to justice before Him on their Judgment Day. So, maybe right now you are thinking that you haven’t done anything “that bad,” to be deserving of Hell: “I’m a good person. I’ll be able to pass a test with only ten rules to follow.” Well then, let’s go through some of the Ten Commandments to allow you to do a “simulated-judgment” before the real one happens, so you can know right now if you will be innocent or guilty, because the most important question you should be asking yourself is this: “After I die, and I am judged, will I go to Heaven or Hell?” Ask yourself these questions to see if you are a “good person,”
Have you ever used God’s name as a cuss word [blasphemed]? Have you ever committed murder; Jesus said that “whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment [regarding murder].” Have you ever coveted [desired] something that belongs to someone else? Have you always honored and obeyed your parents? Have you always kept the Sabbath Day holy? Have you ever made up a god other than the one true God? Have you always loved God with all your heart, soul, and strength? If you have said yes to any of the above questions, God sees you as having broken His law, and the Bible warns that if you are guilty, you will end up in Hell. There is good news for you though, because that is not His will for you. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on the cross for you. You broke God’s law, but Jesus paid your fine. That means that God can legally dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Then Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. Please repent (turn from sin) right now and trust in Jesus alone. Go somewhere private and talk with God; pray, confess your sins, and proclaim to Him that Jesus alone is your Lord and Savior. God will grant you the gift of everlasting life. He will give you a new heart with new desires, and you will long to do the things that please Him. Then read your Bible daily, obey it, and seek out a truly Biblical Church, praying to God that He would guide you along your new path. Just as if you were about to jump out of a plane, you would want a parachute, and trust in it to save your life, so should your trust be in Jesus. There is nothing that you can do or work to “earn” salvation, because it is a free gift from God [He is holding out the parachute, it’s free, grab it]. Reach out in faith and take what God is offering you. As Jesus said, “Except you repent, you all shall likewise perish.” |
Mission StatementEncouraging those in a world full of "bad news" with the "good news" of Jesus Christ “To do everything I can to advance the Kingdom of God by making the Great Commission my daily mission.”
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