Category: Accepting Christ is your choice

Who was He?


greatest-man-in-history

Jesus is the person which the title speaks of, do you know Him? Does He know you? He died to pay the price of our sins, so that we could come to God with a clean slate which was washed in His blood. We cannot add to what He did and we shouldn’t try to because HE did everything needed for us to have eternal life!

All we have to do is believe and submit our lives to Him, humble ourselves to Him and learn from the Word of God so that we can tell others about Him! He is my Savior, won’t you let Him be yours too?

The day of His birth…


Most of us celebrate our birthdays, although many seem to worry about them as the numbers get bigger. Why worry about a number? It just means that God has given you another year, another day to live and enjoy your life here with friends and family! Yes, there are some who feel as if their life would be better if they didn’t have so many birthdays piled one on top of another, but let me ask this question: Without killing yourself, what can you do about the march of time and another birthday?

Blunt answer: nothing

God gives us the air that we breathe and the food that we eat throughout our lives, so what will you do with another day, another week or month or even another year? Will you glorify Him in your days, telling others about His grace and His mercy?

This is one of the jobs that we are all supposed to be engaged in, particularly if you are a follower of Christ. Why do we walk as though we don’t know Jesus? Are there some who do this? Yes, there are some who only come to church on holidays or weddings or funerals, what good does it do for you to come at these times? Do you truly listen to the message or did you come to be seen and be in the community?

If you are doing this for your personal gain, it is no good at all for your spiritual well-being. Like the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Temple:

Luke 18:9-14 King James Version 

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Jesus’ day of birth is celebrated in December not because that is when He was born but because it was easy to get pagans to celebrate a day that they already celebrated. Jesus was likely born sometime between the middle of September and October, in any case we do celebrate Him by giving gifts to each other, just as He was the ultimate gift to us. He came not to bring a kingdom down or to begin His reign as Lord and King, but to shed His blood as a perfect sacrifice for ALL of our sins! He died for the whole WORLD, not just for the Jewish nation but for all of the people on Earth and His sacrifice was necessary for us to be able to atone for our sins.

God loves us because that is what His Word says! He is not a liar nor a cheat, yet some people seem to feel cheated by Him because He doesn’t magically provide all of their needs or their desires. He provides for exactly what you need, WHEN you need it. Not more than you need or less, yet that is why many people don’t like Christianity. They seem to expect God to provide for them because He owes them something. God doesn’t owe you anything at all! If you are blessed by Him with riches and wisdom be thankful for it and help those who don’t have what you have been blessed with, as much as you can without offending them.

Why do I say this? Because many people don’t like charity. They don’t want you to give them something and to some it is insulting that you would even think of helping them. But, if they truly needed it I don’t believe the offer would be turned away. It is the same with salvation. It doesn’t cost us anything and we don’t have to do anything to get it. Sometimes it is because of this that people don’t see the value of coming to church and accepting Jesus as their Savior.

Life is moving too fast!


Has anyone else noticed that this year has flown by? I know, while the “candidates” were campaigning  it seemed like it would NEVER end! That is how it felt to me anyway. Yes, life does move quickly and the older we get, we notice it more. While you are working it seems that life flows by like a swift stream. Every day goes by, you come home, have something to eat, watch a little TV, take a shower and go to bed, get up and begin again. Hopefully, you don’t work the night shift because when I worked that shift I went to work at 9:30 pm, worked all night in the hospital lab, got off work at 7:30 am. Drove home, got as much sleep as possible and then ate something, took a shower, and went back again.

These schedules don’t allow for much family time, or me time, they just run on and on and on until you finally quit or something else happens in your life.

God did not intend for us to work like this, but our society demands it because there is no equality in our lives any more. What do I mean by this? I mean e-quality, emotional quality of life. If you are married and have children there are plenty of emotions in your home already. But, are they quality emotions like love,kindness, patience and truthfulness?

This is something which we are missing out on these days because of all the electronic distractions that are in the home. We have smartphones, tablets, Kindles, computers, laptops, game systems (small and PC sized), when do you find the time to sleep and pay attention to the people around you who are supposed to be your family? This needs to be fixed but how? Throwing out all of the electronic gadgets won’t work, that only creates animosity and bitter feelings between those involved. There should be some moderation in their use, but I don’t know how to get this message across.

Why am I complaining about this? Because it happens not just in my home but I am sure it happens in millions of other homes as well. Attention spans have dropped to the point of seconds not minutes like it was during my years growing up. If something isn’t solved in the first fifteen seconds or so, they move on to the next level or game and maybe they will try again later. If that doesn’t work, many of them just trash it and move on to the next game system they have.

Yes, life moves at the speed of attention spans. Today it may be said that five to ten minutes are the top-tier of attention that you may get. After that, minds wander in all kinds of directions but the subject matter that you may be teaching or preaching on. If you home school, the span of attention is a little better, but not by much. Particularly if they LOVE to play games, hand-held and console type.

But God loves each and every one of us, game players included, and He can use our talents and our gifts IF we will let Him. Please seek Him out as your Savior before the day comes when you don’t have a choice but to stand before Him. Your life here is your time given to learn of Him, get to know Him and seek Him earnestly for your own salvation. If you don’t use this time for this, then your eternal destination will be much different and far worse than you can imagine.

The Blessed Life


Psalm 1

1.Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2.But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4.The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5.Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6.For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Blessed is a state of satisfaction, joy and happiness in the circumstances of your life. It is usually the state of a man who lives in obedience and faith in God.

The Hebrew word for law is torah, which encompasses more than just “law”, it is more closely related to teaching or instruction. So, it is a revelation of God’s will for His people rather than a list of legislative material or judicial decisions.

The image of the righteous as flourishing trees is a common metaphor in the Old Testament. Bearing fruit is an extension of the metaphor and refers to the product of faith in God and the spiritual life of the individual.

In the fourth verse, the life of the godly and the ungodly are contrasted by the reference to the chaff. Chaff which is a useless byproduct of threshing wheat is in contrast to the fruit of the previous verse.

The ungodly are carried away by the wind, being separated from that which is useful and valuable, even separated from God.

In verse five, stand gives the idea of being able to survive or remain after the judgment.

In verse six, the summary shows what is anticipated for those who follow the two ways; God’s protection for the righteous and disaster for the ungodly.

In this sermon/study of Psalm 1, it is easy to see what is important for those of us who decide to follow God and His laws and His wisdom. The blessings of God are the expectation or the reward which will be given to those who delight themselves in Him. In today’s society, many people think that these “blessings” will be in the form of money or other tangible things such as cars, homes, etc.

In God’s economy, obedience to Him can reward us with things such as these if He desires to give them to us and if we are willing to use them for His glory and His Kingdom. The big part that many people miss is that they look for these things NOW!! We tend toward being very impatient when looking for a blessing or reward from God.

God may reward you during your lifetime, or your actual reward may be your eternal life in Heaven and your dwelling place there. Your reward is completely up to God because He is in control ultimately. He is the rewarder and your Creator, so your rewards are entirely in His hands and under His decisions.

This psalm was written to show us and anyone else who reads it, that wisdom comes from God and true wisdom comes from seeking Him out in your life. I am not speaking of your so-called “life” here, paying bills, going to work, having a relationship with your spouse and your children.

I am speaking of your Life in Christ, the Life that you receive from Him when you give your heart to Him and accept Him as your Savior. Seeking Him out in the Word of God and learning about Him through reading it and studying it. Yes, it takes a few minutes every day, but so does reading a newspaper. If you need to learn something about Jesus and His Father, the Bible is the only place to find truthful information. Reading a magazine about flower arrangements or gardening takes a few minutes, sometimes more, but if you want to know how to do those things it is necessary to learn from the source.

If you want to be successful in being a Christian and a follower of Jesus, then you need to read and study His teachings in the New Testament and learn about His Father’s ways by reading and studying the Old Testament. That is a lot of study and reading isn’t it? If you have a college education you had to read and study those subjects while in college didn’t you?

If you didn’t learn from those books, then you couldn’t pass the tests to get your degree. If you really want to know Jesus and His Father, then you need to study the Word of God. Not only to learn some passages or to remember some of the Psalms or a few passages from Matthew, but to understand the requirements of being a child of God. The only real requirement of God which can’t be negotiated or bargained away is obedience.

God required it of Solomon, David, Saul, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Adam too. All of them failed at some point in their obedience, but they came before God, admitted it and asked forgiveness for it at some point. We all fail, but Jesus paid the price for each of us because the price of sin (failure) is death or being far from God Himself.

Why would that be a punishment? Because, when you are exposed to the perfect, Holy and whole Love that God is, then you realize that you don’t measure up without Jesus. If you stand before Him without Jesus, you will know how unworthy you really are. How bad would that look to us today? Think of a wedding chapel. Decorated all in white from top to bottom. Everyone is required to wear a white robe or clothes to be admitted to the celebration. Someone arrives, who is a friend of the groom, but they look as if they rolled around in the mud of a pig pen before coming. Can they come in? Will they be admitted dressed as they are? No! Because they may have had white on, but now it is filthy and they can’t change in time right? Wrong! If they repent and the Groom forgives them, then a fresh garment will be provided, after a short bath of course, and they can attend.

That robe is the covering blood of Christ which cleanses all sin (the bath), making us acceptable and holy before a Holy God. When we stand at our judgement and our life’s decisions, wrong or right, sinful or not, are brought forth. If you are covered by the blood of Christ, the consequences are taken care of by Him and He is your advocate before God. Your debt has been paid in full by Jesus and you are part of the family of God.

Please, make sure that your heart is right with Him before that day comes because afterward is not the time to make a decision which should’ve been made during your life here. When this life is over, you will stand before God. Pray that you don’t stand there alone.

What?


I hear this a lot! If I had said that to my father, I would’ve paid for it and I doubt I would’ve said it again!

It seems that in today’s world, many people are saying the same thing in reference to God and His Word and the so-called “rules” that are preached in the pulpit of many churches today. Why do I say many and not all? Because there are many preachers who are not preaching from His Word like they are supposed to.

There are no “rules” in Christianity to keep, other than the Commandments of our Lord. We are not required to study His Word a certain number of hours a day, we aren’t required to wear certain clothes, we aren’t required to do anything. But, consider this: God sent His only begotten Son to give His life as a sinless offering for all of our sins. Then, He was raised from the grave on the third day and appeared to many people until just before the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to His disciples.

God didn’t have to do this, but it was His plan from the beginning where He mentioned this:  “I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).

That “seed of the woman” was Jesus Christ!

rules-for-christian-living-1024x613The reason that I said that there are no “rules” in Christianity is because once you accept Jesus as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living inside your heart. When that happens, you begin being changed from the inside and you want to do those things which so many people call restrictions or rules. You are changed from the person that you were into a new creation in Christ!

Before I truly accepted Jesus as my Savior, I still liked to smoke a cigarette once in a while, now I don’t have the craving to do so. A long time ago, I drank whiskey almost every weekend along with smoking illegal drugs like marijuana. That was more than 37 years ago, I don’t want to do those things anymore. I still have cravings sometimes for a smoke or a beer but God says that He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able to bear, and He is true to His Word!

Why do some preachers preach messages which don’t go by God’s Word today? Oh, they use some passages from it, but the message doesn’t necessarily follow the meaning of those passages sometimes. Understand now, I am not picking on preachers in general, there are just a few who have done this. Some of them you have heard of in the news, some are local to me in the area that I live. My point is that if you are truly called to be a preacher for God’s Kingdom, you need to preach from His Word.

I know that some of what I write I don’t include a scripture every time, it is just the “wisdom” that I have learned from reading the Bible for the past ten or fifteen years from Genesis to Revelation. Each time that I read through it, I find something new that I didn’t understand before or maybe the Holy Spirit reveals to me something that He didn’t the last time.

That is the kind of study that God wants from His adopted children. There isn’t a rule that you have to do it, but how else are you going to get to know God if you don’t learn His voice which is revealed in Scripture? Does that make me a “super Christian”? No, just a forgiven and redeemed one! God loves the whole world, which is why He sent His Son into it so that He could live a sinless life and be the blameless, spotless, Lamb of God which would take away the sins of the world!

The offer of redemption is available to each of us, regardless of race, color, or nationality. It doesn’t depend upon your religion or your willingness to be a missionary and there are no requirements of denying yourself of food or water or anything that is available to you. The only part of you that God wants is your heart and your obedience to Him. When He calls you, answer Him. If He leads you to go somewhere to be a missionary, go without question.

This is the God that led Moses through the wilderness and helped him to defeat Pharaoh and release Israel from bondage. God also went with them through the wilderness and fed them manna and gave them and their animals water from the Rock (a type of Jesus). All of this is there to be learned. Sixty six books in the Bible tell the story of God’s love for mankind and show you the Savior Who was to come and Who did come to die for your sins. He will come again, only this time He will be King of Kings and Judge the whole world, those who haven’t accepted Him as their Lord.

What? Is an expression of surprise and sometimes frustration, but it is also used disrespectfully as well. What should you do? If you have felt His call, a small voice or a touch in your heart telling you that you need Him, don’t push Him away. Don’t run like Jonah did, because God is everywhere and He can find you. If He has something for you to do, it means that nobody else can do it….just you! Think about it while you can.

One more year


Today is my birthday. Wow!

When I was growing up, I never thought I would get this far. But, God has given me some more years to live and to serve Him. I’m not sure if my service to Him is doing much good these days, but if He is keeping me around then something that I have written or said may be touching someone’s heart. Likely it is because of His influence, my words and my writing can’t be that persuasive.

We all have an opportunity to serve God and to see if there is a gift that He has given to us to use for His glory. God does give each of us gifts and talents to use for His Kingdom, sometimes it takes us a while to find them or to figure out what to do with them.

One more birthday…what does that mean? I have been on this Earth for over five decades and I have known Jesus as my Savior for at least fifteen of those years. I have also been a pastor in His service for the past five years, learning and praying and reading His Word and watching the news and the things happening in our world.

I say these things not to brag about anything that I have done in my life because there is nothing that I have done which has been an accomplishment to be bragged about! I have been reading and watching the outcome in all of the world which things match up with God’s prophecies about this time, and these things are happening every day. Some of them are small and do not gain the attention of the media, especially with a Presidential election to cover.

Yes, God’s prophecies are coming to pass and it seems that some are doing so at a much more rapid pace than they have in the past. It is a sign of the age of the church and of the gentile nations coming to a close. When will this happen? The Bible is not specific enough for that, but I don’t believe that we will be waiting very much longer.

I pray that many of you who read this will be in prayer for our country and for yourselves because, when that day comes that Jesus comes for His church, His Bride, the option to choose to follow Jesus will still be available but it will be harder and more costly. Seek His wisdom and His will for your life, for your eternal life depends upon it. God doesn’t want any to perish, but the choice is yours. Choose Life!

Politically correct or wrong?


Every day we hear negative things being said about people in our society and by the political machine which has been going on for about 1 1/2 years or so. What good does all of this sniping and complaining do? None of it does anything positive for the country nor does it make each candidate look any better in the eyes of the voters.

Can we do anything about it? No, probably not, particularly because we live in such a “politically correct” society, not just in America but the entire world seems bent on not hurting people’s feelings. Yet, they are perfectly fine with killing babies in and out of the womb, and it doesn’t matter if someone kills himself or herself by being blown up by a bomb so that they can kill many people in the process.

Many of those who are being killed are Christians and they are being killed because of their faith in Jesus! This is only going to get worse. Politicians are talking about how they will do away with ISIS because of their terrorism toward us and Israel, but they have no clue how to go about it. I am sure that many of you who will read this will wonder why I am adding to the pile of negative junk in the media. My reason is that there is Hope!

Being PC in this world just shows that our ignorance is showing and that everyone can see it. Why? Because everything that is on the news these days is backwards and out of touch with the majority who believe one way while the ones who are crying or whining about some injustice make up only one to three percent of the population. Just as in a schoolroom full of children, one who is crying will get far more attention than 40 who are not, that is our society today.

One day very soon, Jesus is going to come back and take His church home. It will not matter whether you believe in Him or not, those of us who have given our hearts and our lives to Him will be taken up and away from here. Some say this is going to happen before the “anti-Christ” shows up, but I believe that we will be present during part of the Tribulation.

God will try us all by the fire of Satan’s wrath to be sure of those who believe in Jesus. Many will fall away from the faith, many will abandon their religious background and the church that they grew up in. The things which are happening right now are what Jesus spoke of as being the birth pains before the event which will rock the whole world to its core. Please seek Jesus in your life, in your Bible and your church while there is still time. We have the way to eternal life and it is belief in Jesus but if you refuse, then you only have yourself to blame.

I bring this up because it is my job to do so. I was called by God to be a pastor so I am doing the best that I can while I can to tell as many as possible about Jesus and His offer of salvation. Do I get any points for doing this? No, unless you accept Jesus as your Savior. Then, I will get to meet you in eternity and I will gain a brother or sister in Christ! Don’t turn away from Jesus while there is still time to ask Him to heal your broken heart or your relationships! He made the entire cosmos with His Word, so I believe He can do anything that you ask of Him, especially forgiving you and bringing salvation into your heart.

I had considered a picture or image for this post, but I realized that any image about political correctness would be wrong for the message that I try to give people here. Thank you for reading.

Love, where did it come from?


I know, there are going to be people wondering about my sanity now. Trust me, I know where I am going with this.

The honest answer to that question is very simple: It came from God! He wouldn’t have made our world the way that He did if He didn’t love us, all of us! God made the universe itself so that we could look out and see what an awesome God we serve! Why am I putting so many exclamation marks in these sentences? Because the point that I am making needs to be emphasized so people will notice it.

God put all of the planets together in our solar system in the order that they are because of His love for us. How or rather why do I say this? Because Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus are all out past the asteroid belt and they scoop up or influence any comet or other body so our planet doesn’t get slammed like the moon or Mercury.

I know that our planet has been hit in the past by meteors which have done some serious damage, but not to the extent of wiping humanity off the face of the Earth. Love came to us through the acts and the intent of God because He loved us before He created Earth. In His Word there are many references to His love for us and we should be able to see it in everything around us every day! If you can’t then there is something wrong.

Why do I say this? It is because of the questions and the angry outbursts which will come after this hurricane. So many people killed and put out of their homes by a storm which moved so slow, couldn’t God stop it? Yes, He could have, but what will come out of this storm? People helping people who have been made homeless, people helping those who are injured by the debris or by walls falling, food and shelter will be given and provided by people who didn’t have to do anything but they were moved with compassion to do something.

What is it that makes us be compassionate in times like this? It is because we are made in the image of God, all of us can see the needs of those who need help and if we can help, we should. Satan has a temporary claim on the rulership of this world, but his time is growing shorter by the day. He knows this and he is trying to cause as much pain and suffering in this world as he can. Not so much to punish us, but to make people question whether God cares for us or not!

God loves us, all of us. It is because of His love that many of us are still here, and those who have been killed by these storms or earthquakes or wars are casualties of Satan’s hatred for humanity! Give your life to Jesus and follow Him because when you look at the signs all around us and the prophecies in God’s Word, you can see that there isn’t much time left for this world before He comes! Amen.

The Lord is….


Good always and in all ways He is good! The title of this piece is the first three words of the 23rd Psalm which I would think most people know at least part of. I am going to write it here and give some exposition on it in my limited way. Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy toward us today. You are the Creator and our Redeemer and I praise you for all that you have done for us and what is coming in the future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

The Lord is my Shepherd;

I shall not want.

Those few words mean a lot to Christians and believers alike because He is our Shepherd, leading us through our problems day by day. He provides for us in ways that we may not see with our eyes or even be able to touch with our hands. His desire is for us to be secure in Him, regardless of our situation, whether it is in poverty or with much wealth we are rich in blessings and our eternal home is sure.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

The next verse is a calm assurance that we are provided for in our life. He will give us strength and a peace that we can get through whatever life may throw in our path because He is with us, no matter what happens. With Jesus as your Shepherd, guiding your life and following Him every day, there is nothing to fear.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the

paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

God restores our soul by His power when we come to Him and ask His forgiveness for our sins and the lifestyle which went with them. Following Him will take us through life with an attitude of righteousness, not a haughty “I am better than you” kind, but a calm and peaceful way to live that others may want it. God loves each of us dearly.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

God is our Creator and is all powerful, so there is nothing to fear when we are walking with Him. He will defend us and take care of us and our needs. He will place angels around you and your family to keep the evil one away from you. His rod and staff will keep us safe in times of trouble, no matter where the trouble may come from.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Even when you feel like you are surrounded by enemies, God is with you. He will give you comfort and rest with His Presence and heal you from your afflictions, whatever they may be. He will make sure that you are blessed in ways that you cannot see, but you will feel as if you are being filled to the brim with blessings and love.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Living and walking with Jesus will give you a spirit of mercy toward others because of His presence in your life. If you truly walk with Him daily, you will be a better person because of it and others will see it. Maybe they will even ask you what gives you the peace that you seem to have, even in times of trouble. That is when you should tell them about Jesus! Because it is He and the Holy Spirit Who gives you this spirit and the peace which goes with it. The reward of a life lived with Him is according to His Word, “in the house of the Lord forever”, Jesus said that there are many mansions in His Father’s house and He went to prepare a place for us. If He went to prepare a place for us, then He will come again to receive us, the church, up to His house! Where we will dwell with Him forever, Amen.

Was God created?


It seems to be a very silly question, yet many people seem to be asking this very thing. It sounds almost like the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Was God created? The point is when you try to answer it, there is no answer except God.

It seems that this is a question that is asked by people who, for whatever reason, don’t believe in God. Rather, they think of Him as being a created being rather than the Creator! Our concept of God comes from the Bible, it doesn’t come from the church or the opinion of some pastor or other theologians. The very first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning, God…”, God is there before the beginning and He will be there whenever it is time to come to an end of the universe.

Some people like to think that God is like us and that is false. We are created in His image and the only way that He can be like us is if we make Him that way. This is idolatry, because we are making Him in an image of us, an image which makes us comfortable with His being, with His ways because when we make God in our image we see Him as being like us.

God was not made, He just is, and He lives in a universe which is parallel with this one, but outside of time and our vision as well. This is the reason that our natural vision, which is limited to this “plane” so to speak, cannot see the spiritual forces around us. If we could we would most likely be frightened most of the time! After all, looking outside to see a demon hiding in a bush or one flying overhead would be enough to send plenty of people to church I would think.

The “realm” which God and all other beings like angels and demons are free to move about in, is here with us every day yet it is outside of our limited vision. We can’t see it unless God allows us to see it, which is probably a very good thing. Although, I believe if people could see the things in and around us everywhere, there would be such a massive revival of faith in God until it would undo much of the work of Satan in just a few weeks or months.

God is the Creator and it is He who created all of the beings, both human and angelic, whether they are fallen angels or humans who disavow belief in God, and it is because of this that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for mankind. It is not God Who condemns us to an eternity in hell, it is us! Each of us has a decision to make in life and that one very important decision is whether to believe in Jesus as our Savior or not. If you happen to end up with the “not’s” who don’t believe or don’t want to believe in Him, then you will be placed in hell with the angels who rebelled against God so long ago.

It is YOU who determines your eternal home, not God. It is your choice, your sins, your refusal to believe in Jesus and the atonement which is freely given IF you believe in Him which will send your eternal soul to hell and the lake of fire! God did not create hell for humanity, but if you decide that you don’t want Jesus then you are in the same camp as those angels who didn’t want to serve God, and you will get the same punishment!

Why do I bring this up today? Because many people need to hear this it seems. If only because of so many choosing to leave the church because they don’t want to believe in a god who would send people to hell, when the reality and truth of the matter is that it is YOU who determines your eternity, by your own choice! God doesn’t send you to hell, you just end up there because of your choice in this life to not follow Him.