Hell? NO!

 Happy Sunday!

" I am amazed that you are turning away so soon from God who, in his LOVE and MERCY, invited you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ; you are already following a different “WAY TO HEAVEN,” which really doesn’t go to heaven at all. For there is NO OTHER WAY than the one we showed you; you are being FOOLED by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ."(Galatians 1:6-7 TLB).

I'm very observant.  I often see things and wonder why it is as it is.  I recently noticed a street called, Brimstone in a nearby subdivision.  When I think of brimstone, I think of the judgement that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament.  I would never expect to see it as a street name in a quiet neighborhood.  But perhaps, it's a subtle reminder that Hell is real and it's a destination we should avoid at all costs.  

Jesus spoke of Hell many times.  In Matthew 25:41-43 He said, "Then I will turn to those on my left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal FIRE prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry and you wouldn’t feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn’t give me anything to drink; a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’(TLB).  Don't miss this!  Jesus said, Hell was not made for humans!  It was prepared for the Devil and his bunch!  But if we refuse Jesus, we will be doomed to a place that was never prepared for us!

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in HELL.  What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more VALUABLE to God than a whole flock of sparrows."(Matthew 10:28-30 NLT)

Jesus said, "Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires TOTAL attention."(Matthew 7:13-14 Message).  The Good News Translation of that same scripture says it this way, "Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to HELL is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to LIFE is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it."

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Happy Sunday!

"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the ONE who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust." (2 Peter 1:3-4 Message)

We become the sons and daughters of God when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. John 1:12 says, "Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them." (The Living Bible)  

Now that we have accepted Jesus three things happened.  

1)  God has Signed for you - Just like we sign for packages or new car leases, God signed for us with the precious blood of Jesus.  1 Peter 1:18-19 says, "God paid a ransom to save you from the impossible road to heaven which your fathers tried to take, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (The Living Bible)

2)  God has Sealed you - You have God's seal of approval!  Not because you are good, but because he is GOOD! Ephesians 1:13-14 says, "It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life." (Message)

3)  God has Delivered you - God delivered you from a life of sin! Galatians 1:3-4 says, "Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we’re in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God’s plan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever! Oh, yes!" (Message)

What's going on in heaven? So glad you asked.  All the focus is on Jesus!  The elders, and the creatures and the angels are all in awe of him.  Revelation 5 says, they worship Jesus continually and fall on their faces in reverence and say "Amen".  Amen means "so let it be".  It's a simple but effective prayer.  Until we get to heaven, we can worship Jesus right here on earth and we can agree with the Word of God and say AMEN.  Amen to health and healing, because the Word says, "by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)  Amen to prosperity and abundance, because the Word says, "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" 2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV)  Amen to faith and wholeness, because the Word says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Yes, and Amen!  Love and prayers, Cynthia

EVIL and UNBELIEVING

 Happy Sunday!

"Well, Moses did a fine job working in God’s house, but he was only a SERVANT; and his work was mostly to ILLUSTRATE and suggest those things that would happen later on. But CHRIST, God’s faithful Son, is in COMPLETE charge of God’s house. And WE Christians are God’s house—HE LIVES IN US! —if we keep up our courage firm to the end, and our joy and our TRUST in the Lord.

And since Christ is so much SUPERIOR, the Holy Spirit warns us to listen to him, to be careful to hear his voice TODAY and not let our hearts become set against him, as the people of Israel did. They steeled themselves against HIS LOVE and complained against him in the desert while he was testing them. But God was PATIENT with them forty years, though they tried his patience sorely; he kept right on doing his mighty miracles for them to SEE.  “But,” God says, “I was very angry with them, for their hearts were always LOOKING somewhere else instead of UP to me, and they NEVER found the paths I wanted them to follow.”

Then God, full of this anger against them, bound himself with an oath that he would never let them come to his place of rest.

BEWARE then of your own hearts, dear brothers, lest you find that they, too, are EVIL and UNBELIEVING and are leading you away from the living God. Speak to each other about these things EVERY day while there is still TIME so that none of you will become hardened against God, being BLINDED by the glamor of sin. For if we are FAITHFUL to the end, trusting God just as we did when we first became Christians, we will SHARE in all that belongs to Christ.

But NOW is the TIME. Never forget the warning, “Today if you hear God’s voice speaking to you, do not harden your hearts against him, as the people of Israel did when they rebelled against him in the desert.”(Hebrews 3:5-15 TLB).

Love and prayers, Cynthia