Heaven – Auriesville Tubthumper

It Grieved Him at His Heart, Part 2

“And God saw that it was good,” remember that.

The end of chapter one says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Six days in and all is good!

Now there is a heaven and an earth but no man yet to till the ground. We now have the story of Adam and Eve. There were no wild plants or grains growing on the earth so far. There was no rain. What watered the land so far were springs that came forth from the ground. God decided to make man to care for what he had made and so He formed a man from the dust of the ground. Keep in mind he made man in his likeness (like Him). The Lord breathed life into the man’s nostrils which created life and now we have a living person. A man named Adam. God then planted the Garden of Eden and put Adam in the garden. In the center of the garden the Lord placed a tree of life and He also put in a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man was supposed to care and watch over the garden and He gave the man a stern warning, “You can eat of every fruit and tree in the garden except one- He told man that if he were to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would surely die.”

Then the Lord said that it was not good for man to be alone. The Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and then took out one of the man’s ribs and made a woman out of the man’s rib. This process by God is the design of marriage. It is why a man leaves his mother and father and becomes joined to a wife with the two being united as one. (The institution of marriage.)

We have just finished the creation and origin of all things. It took six days to create and one, day seven of rest. We will now go through the stage of corruption.

The woman was convinced by the serpent who was the shrewdest of all the creatures that she should eat from the tree that God had forbidden. She ate some fruit from the forbidden tree and also convinced the man to have some. As soon as they ate it they realized they were naked and saw things they never saw. They hid themselves because they were naked and when God came walking through the garden He could not find them. God was not pleased with this outcome. He then cursed the serpent. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) You might think is about men and women hating snakes but it has a much deeper theological meaning. It could be interpreted this way, “And there will be intense hatred between Satan and Christ. Eventually, Christ will crush the head of Satan, while suffering a heel wound in the process.” This verse is known as the “Proto-Evangel,” the first Gospel.

He said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” Because the man listened to the woman and also ate from the tree the Lord cursed the ground and caused it to be a struggle to grow food from it because now it will have weeds and thistles. The lord declared that now man will sweat in order to eat and live and will one day return to the dust he was made from. This is where we had paradise lost and God’s judgment rendered, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and will need to cultivate the ground to be fed from the dust that he made them. It seems the Lord now have the first of a grieving at His heart. The subtlety of Satan has worked and Adam has sinned. Can you feel it? They were overtaken by the three deadly temptations that many centuries later the apostle John would warn us all to beware of. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Adam has been declared the first human sinner. In actuality, Eve ate first but because Adam was supposed to be the head of the human race he was responsible. (See Romans5:12)

We will now be introduced to God’s redemptive power and His holiness and grace. We see his holiness as he pronounces five judgements. The five judgements were on man, (Gen 3:17) on women, (Gen 3:16) on all of nature, (Gen 3:18) on the serpent, (Gen 3:14) and on the devil. (Gen 3:15) We see His grace, as God deals with sinners. He showed grace as he sought out Adam in Genesis 3:9, “And the Lord God called unto Adam.” This is where God took the first step to reconcile man back to himself. He showed grace in promising them a Savior in Genesis 3:15 as mentioned above. He showed His grace in clothing them. (Gen 3:21) He showed grace in removing them from the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:24) This was an act of mercy and not an act of judgement. If God had not removed them from the Garden it would have been a situation where all of mankind would have eaten from the tree and lived forever in total immorality. The next time we read of the tree of life is not until the end in the first two verses of Revelation 22.

As we get into chapter 4 we know that Eve has given birth to two sons. And we witness the very first murder of mankind and the very first human liar. Yes, man killing man started way back then. This is nothing other than the effects of pure sin. We see the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, and Cain being driven from the blessings of God. Can you feel God’s heart grieving? Remember all the times God said, “It is good.”

Before we move on to condemnation and the Great Flood. I want to mention the ministry of Enoch in Genesis chapter 5. Enoch is one of only two men who walked with God prior to the flood. The other man was Noah who will be introduced next post. We know Enoch walked with God because God apparently had told Enoch that when his son Methuselah died the world would be destroyed by a terrible flood. This might be why Methuselah lived longer than any other human in the history of the world. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old before he died. That was a prophecy of God and the reason Methuselah lived so long may have been because God was not willing that anyone should perish. He was giving sinful mankind as much time as possible to repent. (See 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9)

Enoch was a man of great faith and he preached of God’s second coming centuries before even his first coming took place. He was the first recorded preacher and he was the first of only two humans that got to heaven without physically dying. The other man that was directly taken up to heaven by the Lord is Elijah. He was taken up in a whirlwind. Enoch was taken up by God at the age of 365, he just was not there anymore because God took him.

Depending upon your level of belief and faith that may sound strange. Someday however, millions of Christians will experience the very same thing as it is written.

Click here to jump to the next post when we will look at “The Condemnation of all Things.”

God bless you all;

The Tubthumper

Hell Yes It’s Real, Part 1

In the last couple months I have working on a few theological items. Some of the main topics have been Hell, Heaven and Faith along with a few others. I wrote about Hell previously but this time I did some research and pulled the views of some others into my package of thoughts and knowledge.So I think I will work through these items starting with Hell.

In a series of posts I will show how the authoritative words of Jesus Christ and the clarity of the Bible cause us to have no other choice but to believe that Hell is for real.

The subject we are considering is extremely heavy as we look at the reality of Hell. Hell is an awesome thing. Who could ever possibly take it all in? To admit that Hell is real is to say that it is possible you or I or both of us might end up in eternal anguish separated from God and separated from other humans to be tormented in darkness. It is important to know if Hell really exists and it sure would be nice for a lot of people if it didn’t. [1]

There is a very different opinion of Hell now from back at the time when Edwards or Spurgeon were thumping the “Hellfire and Brimstone” from the pulpit. Any discussion regarding Hell today is sure to bring a rash on someone. The doctrine of Hell has never been challenged as much as it is now in our time.[2]

Hell is certainly for real and even Jesus Christ went there. He went to Sheol (Greek Hades) at His death on the cross (Acts 2:27, 31). He visited briefly because He was resurrected on the third day and came back in victory. Because of His resurrection from death Jesus has in His possession “the keys to death and Hades” and He will reign over them (Rev. 1:18). In the end both death and Hades will be cast into the “lake of fire” along with the devil, fallen angels and all the lost sinners (Rev.20:13-15).

The views have changed over time. The doctrine of Hell is almost never addressed in Christian theology today because it is so controversial. You don’t hear any ‘Hellfire and Brimstone’ sermons any more like was part of the ministry of Jonathan Edwards so long ago. Jonathan Edwards was probably more closely associated with the concept of Hell than any other preacher. Many called him sadistic because he concentrated on Hell so often. Jonathan Edwards was a man that truly believed in the reality of Hell. Because he was concerned about the spiritual well-being of his congregation, and he rightly should have, he preached passionately about Hell. He certainly had no desire for any of his people to experience that dreadful place.[3]

The Doctrine of Hell stands alone. Of course Hell is for real. The doctrine stands alone based on the history of Christianity. If you were to take away Hell the entire scope of Christian theology would be altered. Men and women dreamed of going to heaven and they had nightmares about going to Hell. Now days there is distaste for hell and it shows up in the watered down sermons. There cannot be any room for doubt on this. We must make a choice to admit that the endless misery of Hell is real or we need to give up the thought of eternal happiness in heaven.[4]

There is both scientific and biblical evidence that Hell is for real. Evangelical Christians believe the Biblical sources are the only ones truly reliable to determine what our eternal destinies will be like. They (we) want to seek out God’s truth for the answer. Evangelical Christians also believe that Hell is for real and any thought of a postmortem second chance or an afterlife is preposterous. Consequently, evangelicals believe the most horrible fate any human being could ever face is the reality of Hell.[5]

The views have changed over time. Regardless of the issue that people do not want to think seriously about hell, everyone needs to be aware. Human beings need to understand the place that Christ’s death on the cross saved them from. All unbelievers should be warned of the eternal judgment that will become them if they do not turn to God, repent of their sins and find salvation through Jesus Christ.

This is real serious stuff because we are talking about the eternal future and destination of real people. People that you and I know and see every day. People that could spend the rest of eternity in a horrible place. Anyone persistently rejecting the Lord throughout their life can expect to one day face God in judgment and likely get the verdict to be cast into Hell. Hell is for real. Anyone ending up in Hell can never come out again and Hell is frightening beyond any human imagination.

Yes, Hell is for real… join me in the next post as I continue with defining hell and getting into the nitty-gritty dirty details.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

Click here to jump to Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle, Erasing Hell.

[2] R.C. Sproul, Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, angels and Demons.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Timothy Keller et al., Is HELL for Real or does Everyone go to Heaven.

[5] Edward William Fudge, and Petersen, Two Views of Hell.

[6] Sproul, Unseen Realities.

What’s the Cost of Happiness, P2

The Cost of Happiness, part 2.

Inflation numbers are out on covetousness and the news isn’t good.

This is all about us and our neighbors. We are not to covet what our neighbors have and all people are our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Can you hear it, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, it is that of “our neighbors” that we are to leave alone because it is theirs. It is the things of our neighbors we are not to lust after. To covet means to lust for, so do not covet what God has given to your neighbors.

Our Lord warns us with a parable about a rich man who was very foolish. He was trying to pile up the wealth to stay ahead of the Jones’ but what he didn’t know was that his life was to end that very night and he was focusing on the wrong thing. From Luke 12:16-21: “The ground of a certain man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

So that covers it: Covetousness makes us treasure up for ourselves things on earth for which we will have no need. Then we don’t lay up any treasure in heaven toward God. Covetousness deceives us regarding our values. We place more emphasis on ‘things’ and miss the blessings of living for Christ and for others (our neighbors).

What about happiness? There is no other real source of happiness but God; and he is able abundantly, and willing to impart consolation to his people. As it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”

Happiness, joy and satisfaction depend on what we do and how we respond to things around us and what life dishes our way. The truth is that it is not possible for human relationships or material items to fulfill all of one’s needs. There is only one source of fulfillment and satisfaction which is a relationship with Jesus, God’s Son, the Anointed One. He is and has all that we will ever need.

Don’t let the “keep up with the Jones’ mentality of our culture distract you from the source of true happiness. “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, Philippians 4:12-13.

Happiness comes as we put our focus on the Lord. ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”, Deuteronomy 6:5.

God is the source for all good things. ^“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, Godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness”, 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

It is good to have enough to keep ourselves out of poverty. And prosperity is a desirable thing. We cannot give without having something to give and I believe that the more we give the more we receive. It is balance we need. Do not lose focus on where the true wealth comes from.

Happiness does not come by gratifying our own desires but by bringing gratification to the Lord and fulfilling his desires. And as the Lord’s requirements are met, our needs will be taken care of, just like He promised in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God Bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a bunch of losers?

Are we just a bunch of Losers?

As the “Church” are we failing? Are we just a bunch of losers? This will be a series of several posts on the state of the church and what is happening. As I began writing the content led me to first “What is the Church?” After that I wanted to look at what the Bible teaches “the church” should look like, what happens to us by relating two parables and then it led to an evaluation based on the way Jesus evaluated the church in Revelation chapter 2.

Please strap your seat-belts on and ride with me as we begin with Part 1:

Are we Americans first and Christians second or are we Christians first and Americans second? What do you think of when someone mentions the ‘the Church’. If you think it is some organization in the next county or some building up the street, then think again. The church, my friend, is you and it is Me. The church is a group of people. It is the believing souls that follow Christ.

“‘Church’ might be a denomination, a building, or an organized group of believers, but THE Church consists of followers of Jesus Christ who have been saved by grace through faith in him—the ‘body of Christ’. Instead of pointing fingers and saying the ‘church’ has failed at this or that, we might want to pause and take a hard look at ourselves first. Is the church failing us or are we failing the church?” – G.S. West.

The church is failing because we want to be like the world. To completely believe in the Gospel will destroy our lives as Americans. We have all compromised what we have been taught. We have all forsaken the word of God. We are a bunch of two faced hypocrites! I use that strong language because it is true. We are supposed to be different. The Bible says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”. It also says that we would easily be recognized by our fruit.

What has happened is that we have been watered down so far that we cannot be picked out of the crowd any longer. If we all were in God’s word and in prayer each day as we are commanded something amazing would happen. We would be so profoundly different from everyone else that the world would have to sit up and take notice. What if preachers today expounded God’s word from what was written instead of making up their own? A few still hold to Gospel but most do not. What I see are preachers that only talk about the pleasantries involved and somehow skip the issue of sin and the wrath of God. There are so many false teachers out there now it is frightening. We have all bought into the health and wealth philosophy in some extent if not wholly and it cannot be denied. We have done it without even being completely aware it happened. It has been like the story of how you can boil a frog. If you try to put a frog in hot water to kill him he will just jump out quickly to safety. If you want it done you must put the frog in a pot of cold water and let him swim around and get comfortable. Then turn up the heat slowly and bring the water to a boil while the frog is sleeping. And that’s it, he’s cooked! And yes, we are cooked! We have all been slowly boiled into the world.

Do you know the parable of the “Rich Fool” or the parable of the “Rich Young Ruler”? Both of them serve as good examples of where we have come. And the fix we are in. The parables are great so read them all. The Rich Fool parable can be found in Luke chapter 12 starting at verse 13. Just prior to the parable on the Rich Fool Jesus was cautioning against covetousness. The text shows Jesus teaching about being ready for the redeemer. This parable is the very first of five parables about the second coming of Jesus the Christ. He was preaching to the multitude, probably in Jerusalem because it was in the last month of His ministry. Jesus was addressing the crowd and He was teaching. The crowd heard about the hypocrisy of the Pharisee’s. They also heard about the Fear of God and the need to confess Him before men. They heard of the urgency of the time and that possessions are not as important as Godliness. Jesus was warning against greed and materialism. The Rich Fool was trying to store up his mast harvest to be able to eat, drink and be merry. What Jesus knew that the fool didn’t is that it was the last day of the fool’s life. He would die that night. He drew a parallel between the rich fool that met an untimely death and those that store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God. The point being: Spiritual wealth far exceeds material wealth in value. In verse 20 he was called a fool. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus directly called anyone a fool. The rich fool was called that because he was totally self-centered. The personal pronouns of “me, mine, and I” are used 12 times in this short parable by the fool. It is a very telling point of reference.

Then we have the “Rich Young Ruler” found in Luke 18:18-30. Let us look in verse 22, “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” This guy wanted to be in the Kingdom. He wanted to be saved. But he couldn’t unless he sold all the riches he had. When he heard those things he became very sad for he was very rich.

With us it is not that we are all rich even though we are better off than the rest of the world. What our problem is absolutely is the way we have come to live. In order to completely follow Jesus we would need to surrender how we live, how we work, how we love, how we communicate and I could go on and on. Every ounce of our lives would need to be surrendered or “sold” to completely follow Jesus.

We are all unwilling to take that step. Aren’t we?

Click here to jump to Part 2 as we reflect on the hearts of the two rich guys…

Can you define the “Kingdom of God”?

Part 1 of 2 parts.

Recently I was asked to explain the “Kingdom of God” in a page or so of writing. Let me start by saying this subject is certain to illicit much more than a page of comment. This is a subject we all are concentrating on and is the very basis for why we are here and why we believe. I hope all of us are part of the “Kingdom of God”. I will purposefully try to keep this on the simple reasoning and avoid getting into eschatological reasoning.

Because I have been saved by grace for more than 40 years I have been referring to the Kingdom of God for almost as many. In the Old Testament God is the King of the Universe and He is referenced as the King of Israel in Exodus 19: 4-6 and Deuteronomy 33:4, 5. During that period his kingdom took on a present tense relationship with His people. After the birth of Jesus and the crowning of our human king the relationship became a future tense and no longer was a matter of the present. The future tense kingdom was described as “the supernatural, universal, everlasting reign of the God of heaven which will overthrow and replace the great world monarchies”.

The phrase, “the kingdom of God,” is found in all four of the Gospels. The phrase is also in found in Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy. The kingdom of heaven is used in Matthew and from what I know most biblical scholars agree that these phrases can be used synonymously. Heaven is looked at as God’s abode in the way we look at earth as our abode. We are all to aspire to join our king in his kingdom which is in heaven through discipleship.

“The primary imagery which biblical writers used for God was that of a divine King (e.g. 1 Sam 8:7). Alongside the basic conviction that God is the supreme King is the belief that he reigns over creation as his kingdom (Pss 47:1-9; 83:18; Dan 4:25-26; 5:21). In this general sense then, God has always been the sovereign reigning King who rules in heaven over all things (Pss 103:19; 113:5; Matt 5:34; Eph 1:20; Col 1:16; Heb 12:2; Rev 7:15).”

I found this to be descriptive as we work to unravel the mystery of the kingdom, “Our Lord repeatedly speaks of the kingdom as a state of things lying altogether above the sphere of earthly and natural life, being so different from the natural conditions that it could not be evolved from the latter by any gradual process (cf. Matt. 8:11, 13:43; Mark 14:25; Luke 13:20, 29, 22:16, 29, 30). According to Luke 17:20, He declared that the kingdom does not come with observation, but is among or within men. And Luke 16:16 makes the kingdom begin from the days of John the Baptist and immediately succeed the law and the prophets as the comprehensive name for the Old Testament dispensation. Both the present reality and the organic-spiritual character of the kingdom are most clearly taught in the great kingdom parables (Matt. 13; Mark 4; Luke 8).

If we are saved by the grace of God and while we are still alive and here on earth we can enjoy the kingdom of grace, (spiritually) however, it is after our physical death and the world death that we will enjoy the kingdom of glory. Here it is spelled out by another bible scholar, “The entire language which Jesus employs in regard to it presupposes that it will bring blessings transcending those of the present stage of the kingdom. All imperfections will be done away with, all enemies vanquished, the wheat and the tares will no longer be permitted to intermingle, the full satisfaction with righteousness and the beatific vision of God will be enjoyed. It is true, our Lord always emphasizes that the heart and essence of the kingdom may be possessed in the present life. But it is plain that He could not have spoken so absolutely of the eschatological crisis as the coming of the kingdom, had not the thought been in his mind that, after all, only the end of the world can bring the full and adequate possession of even those spiritual blessings in which the kernel of the kingdom consists.”

This concept of the “Kingdom of God” is clearly an important one. The Lord clearly made this a central theme of His teaching, therefore, we should conclude that he meant it to be observed as a profound significance.

Continued, Click here to go to Part 2

“The Tubthumper”

Hell, you don’t have to go there!

Part 3 of 3 part series:

God is real. His word is real. His love is real. His working in the world is real. He is real. God is near to any who would have Him. Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

He wants to offer you a relationship not possible with any person. Only God! No one else can offer you forgiveness of sins and eternal life. No one else can offer you a personal relationship with the divine Creator; only the Creator can do that. No one else can offer to touch you at the deepest level of your being and bring healing from heartache and despair. No one else can offer you the unconditional love we all crave. Reach out. He’s waiting for you.

I want to invite you to make Christ your Lord and Savior by repenting of your sins and calling on Him for forgiveness and eternal life, believing that He died for you and rose from the grave. The Bible says that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. That is very good news. Act on the words of God, will you?

The path to Heaven

1. God loves you and wants a personal relationship with you.

God has a wonderful plan for your life now and forever. The central theme of the Bible is God’s love for you and all people. Jesus said, “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).

God’s plan: Jesus said, ” The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10; 17:3).

2. We are all sinful and separated from God.

Because of sin we cannot know God personally or experience His love and plan for our lives. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, (Romans 3:23). Man (Adam) was created to have a relationship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

We are all separated from God because of sin. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Heaven and Hell are real destinations and the ultimate choice is ours. There is a hell…but the good news is we don’t have to go there!

The diagram above illustrates that God is Holy and we are sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows show that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as living a good life, doing good deeds, following philosophies, religions, cults etc. The next point explains the only way to bridge this gulf.

3. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin.

Through Jesus Christ alone we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. “, (Romans 5:8).

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep” (I Corinthians 15:3-6).

Jesus Christ is the only way to God. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

It is not enough just to know the above information. The next point is the most important.

4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

We must receive Jesus Christ by faith (i.e. by trusting or believing) so we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). “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).

We experience a new spiritual birth when we receive Jesus Christ. “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:1-8).

We can receive Jesus Christ by personal invitation. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Jesus Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Jesus to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kind of people He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We must receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of will.

The two circles below represent two kinds of lives, the self-directed life and the Christ-directed life:

Which circle best represents your life? Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

5. How you can receive Jesus Christ right now by prayer and faith:

Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words. He is looking at the attitude of your heart.

The following is a suggested prayer. It is only an example for you. Dear God/Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned. I believe You sent Jesus Christ to save me. I believe Jesus was crucified on the cross, he was buried, raised from the dead, and He ascended into heaven and sat down at Your right hand. I thank You Jesus for taking away my sins forever. I believe Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I am now born again and will have eternal life. Take control of my life and make me the person You want me to be. Thank You God, for forgiving me and giving me everlasting life. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray one like it right now. It need not be the same and should be your own words. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9). If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all wrong doing (1 John 1:9). Jesus said, ” I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

6. How you can grow as a new member of God’s Kingdom.

Talk to God in prayer daily. Matthew 21:22,”And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive”. Mark 11:24,”Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Attend church regularly. Hebrews 10:25,”Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Psalm 122:1,”I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

Read God’s Word, the Bible, often. 2 Timothy 3:16,17,”All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Obey God always. John 14:21,”He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Be a good witness and live for God by your life and words. John 15:8,”Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

Trust God for every detail of your life. 1 Peter 5:7,”Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Trust the Holy Spirit to help you daily. Romans 8:14, ”For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

*The illustrations were not created by me. Thanks go out to the artist whom I am unable to identify.

God bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

Life is but a vapor…

Part 1 of a 3 part series…

This post is about life and death and both are very important. Have you thought about what happens when your body finally ends up at room temperature? It will be sooner than you want.

This post is about Hell.

IT WAS JUST AN ORDINARY DAY!

It was just an ordinary day several years ago when my friend Steve and his wife were leaving for a normal Sunday at church. Steve, along with his wife and two children were driving to church as usual on a normal Sunday morning. They reached an intersection the exact time as another vehicle hurdled through at nearly 100 mph. The impact was sudden, powerful and caused the end to an entire family in an instant. The suspect that was fleeing the police in a high speed chase was virtually unharmed in the crash. The funeral was difficult with Steve in one casket along with his tiny son and his wife in the other casket with her young daughter. Four people were taken away in the blink of an eye on an ordinary Sunday morning. Memorable to say the least!

It was just an ordinary day last year when my friend Aaron (coincidentally in the same family as Steve) went out to prepare firewood to heat his home. When he didn’t come in for supper his wife went out and found him next to the woodpile. He had suffered a heart attack. In the blink of an eye he was gone.

I know, I know, it will never happen to you right? Well, think again… It was just an ordinary bright sunny beautiful day on September 11 when two planes suddenly crashed into the world trade center killing many thousands. When they left home that morning they had no idea they would never return home again. If today is your ordinary day which turns into your last, are you ready?

Hell is what we need to talk about. Heaven is where we all want to end up. But most will not. A loved husband will end up in Hell while his wife goes to Heaven. Beloved wives will end up in Hell and the husband in Heaven. Children of parents will go to Hell and the parent to Heaven. Brother will go to Heaven and sister to Hell. Sister is going to Heaven and brother to Hell. Think about this! Mother goes to Heaven and Father to hell and vise verse. Some of our loved ones are already in Hell. This should cause tears to be shed… Can we let this happen without trying to have us all together in Glory? God Forbid!

You can find the path to Heaven later after my explanation of Hell. The path to heaven is narrow and not easy.

The path to Hell is wide and almost like a greased downhill slide. Take heed and please make a wise choice.

Why am I posting on the subject of Hell? It’s because no one is doing it anymore. Most clergy and churches nowadays won’t touch the subject because it doesn’t make people feel good. Most Christians don’t talk about it much either. Modern church not talking about hell is something I have a hard time understanding due to this one fact. The Bible has much, much more in its pages about hades and hell than it has about heaven. That alone should make you think twice about the subject. Please understand that you and I are no different. With the things I address on this post we are the same. We were all born as mortals in sin. (Romans 3:23-For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God )

No need to post about heaven just yet because heaven is all good and positive with people. It is Hell that needs to be explained. Most people have no idea.

LET ME EXPLAIN HELL:

(Matthew 3;11- I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire) (Romans 2:8- But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath) (2 Thessalonians 1:8- In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ)

It is a place of wrath! God will inflict vengeance on they that do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hell is not a place I would send my worst enemy. And that is the truth. Yes, there is a heaven and there definitely is a hell. For it is written. And this is of grave importance. (No pun intended.)

Most people don’t want this to be true. They suppress the truth. They do not want to answer for what they have done. No excuse. God says there is no excuse.

It’s important to examine your life, death, heaven and hell. How do you live and what happens when you die?

If you are reading this we know you were born so there is life. You likely have a birth certificate. I have some stark news for you if you haven’t heard it yet. You will die. All that’s left to be determined is when your date of death is stamped on the death certificate. It may be today or it may hopefully be another but most don’t expect it when it happens. And for many, when it does, it’s too late.

Nothing on earth is more sobering than a talk about hell. As real as the hope of heaven is, so too is the reality of hell. There will be a moment one day in the future that the only thing about you that will matter is your relationship with God. Your occupation, your good character, your status, sex, or race will mean nothing apart from your standing before God. What will that moment be like for you? Are you just hoping that everything will work out or are you confident in what is ahead for you?

“The Tubthumper”

Part 2 is up…Click here and follow…