Feeding The Sojourners

 Some years ago, I had the vision of planting a garden, so I could grow enough food for our family, some to sell, and some to give to people who don't have enough to eat. 

We go to a place like a homeless shelter, but it does house people who have no place to live. People in our group make a large meal and serve it to the people who live there. Then we preach the Gospel message to them and minister to the people. 

It would be a cool idea if I could actually grow enough food to make a big salad and bring it down there. Well, that idea never really panned out as I am still learning how to grow food organically, in gardens. 

We get some food here and there. I have tried something new by adding chicken manure to the compost pile and blending it in. Now that I have homemade chicken manure :) I can do that. 

But years ago, in another house, I was able to grow some tomatoes. I put labels around the plants so I knew what kinds of tomatoes were in the pots. 

We had some workers come to trim the trees in the back yard. Most of them didn't speak English. They seemed friendly and probably were hard workers. I do not know if they were American citizens or not. 

The men were there all day. But during the day, I noticed that some of the men were taking tomatoes off the plants. Whatever else was growing, they were also taking off. It wasn't big and obvious, but I could see that was happening. 

At first, there was kind of an irritation on my part. Why are these people stealing my food? I don't have that much to go around, and what I have will pretty much be gone. Should I tell them? Should I just let them take the food from the plants and just ignore it, even though that is stealing?

As I thought about it, my heart began to change. I was very happy that they were getting an education about plants since I put the names of the plants right by them. But I began to see that they were probably hungry men and perhaps this was the only food they would get for a while. 

It was then that I realized, this is what I really did want to do. I was able to feed a few men with some tomatoes and whatever else was growing. It wasn't like they took a ton of food either!

I was able to give them Bibles later on. I probably gave them Spanish language tracts as well, since I think they spoke Spanish. 

I do pray that I will be able to grow lots of food in the future. I hope to be able to bring a salad to the homeless people one day. 

And I pray to be able to give them spiritual food that will nourish their souls as well.

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 23:22 ESV

Homegrown Carrots

 

The Description of the Fate of the Unrepentant

  I just sit here in amazement as I read Scriptures on how people, when being punished by God, have no intention of repenting or turning from their evil ways.

  The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.  They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. Revelation 16:8&9 ESV

  Contrast the attitude of these heart hearted proud God rejectors to a rich man who ends up in hell and wants to get out.

  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’  Luke 16:22-28 ESV

    The point is, I am amazed at how, even when in the torment of being in hell, there are some people who will still not repent and desire a way out.

  The rich man in the story above, wanted out. When he realized there was no way out of hell, he requested that someone tell his brothers about the fate that awaited them. But in the other example from Revelation, those people hated God's authority so much that, even in torment, they were unwilling to change, or to even ask for or desire change.

   Both the rich man and the proud, hard-hearted God haters ended up in hell. People do not end up in hell because they are rich, although riches can keep us from wanting to know God. As with all of us, the rich man and the proud, hard-hearted people ended up in hell because there was no covering for their sin. They did not repent of their sins while living on earth. They closed their hearts to God and refused to open up to Him. They never saw their need for a Savior while living on earth.

  There is hope for us, as long as we have breath. If God is working in our hearts, we can turn to Him in repentance and faith. We can put our trust in Jesus Christ, and His blood will cover over our sins. We will have clean and pure hearts when we turn to Him in repentance and faith. He will never turn us away when we put our trust in Him to save us from our sins.

  Of course, this scenario does compare with people today. We can see politicians who are trying their best to destroy the country, yet, God is working against them. They just keep on with their marching orders from Satan, regardless of what God is doing to oppose them. There is no fear of God in their eyes, whatsoever. They are bent on evil, much like those described in the book of Revelation.

 

Will We Run Out of Resources In 12 Years?

  Years ago, back in the early 70s, I was looking for different places to order tracts from. Many of these companies sent out samples of their tracts. Sometimes, I would just order whatever sounded interesting and useful.

  There was a tract that was in comic form, and in many ways, it seemed like a scare tactic. I think we need to be careful, for on the one hand, we have to warn people about the 'wrath to come'. We need to tell people the Gospel message, so they don't have to spend eternity in hell. But on the other hand, we can so easily spend time using information in such a way that it is scary to people. We do that to get people to respond to whatever the message is that we are giving.

  The tract basically was pointing to the end of the world, and how bad things were going to be. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that in itself. People need to be prepared. But one of the things in this tract that was concerning was how it explained that we would run out of water in 10 years because of some condition going on in the world.

   I was not a very mature person at that time, but I did have enough common sense to ask myself what would happen if we did not run out of water in 10 years, and if other people read the tract, would that discredit the Gospel message?

  It's been forty-some years now since I read the tract, and we haven't run out of water yet. The point is though, that when we write something, it needs to have credibility. It needs to not be written from a wishful thinking viewpoint.

  We are now hearing reports about how we are going to run out of resources in 12 years. Many are predicting that life on earth will be way different 30 years from now. I get emails with people panicking from the concept of the damages of climate change and how we need to stop using things like gas and coal. There are people who believe this story and are preparing everyone to get ready for living in a primitive way again.

  First of all, God knows how many resources we still have available to us. He has provided us up to this point with the resources that we need to live on.

  Second, God calls us to be good stewards with everything we have been given. We are to take care of the earth, in the sense that we are responsible for what we have.

   In early American days, people used to hunt. But the people were wise enough to know that if we killed all the animals off, there would be nothing left for us to eat! So, some rules were made to protect the animals from being hunted at certain times of the year.

  It's true that people today, in many cases, do not do their part in taking care of their environment. They litter and do whatever is easiest for them, instead of cleaning up after themselves and putting garbage in the right places. Plastic bags have been found at the bottom of the depths of the ocean. This is the result of laziness and lack of being responsible people. This is totally wrong.

  Thirdly, there are places that replant trees that have been taken down. This is a great idea. It will help us to have paper and wood in the future (as well as Christmas trees!).

  The whole Climate Change narrative is just not accurate. It is a scare tactic to make us become overly concerned for something that isn't going to happen.

  We can mark this day, and in 12 years from now, let's see how much of this Climate Change scare tactic has come to pass.

  Let's be credible in the predictions we make.

The Moralist

As I feed upon God's word and His thoughts, I realize that in a certain context, there are three groups of people. There are those who know the Lord and are saved from their sins, there are those who are unrepentant, and have turned their backs on God, and there are those who have a good moral standing and would call themselves Christians possibly, and think that they are saved. It is this last group that concerns me. I call these people, 'moralists'.

I do not condemn these people. And I actually admire their zeal for the truth and integrity. They stand up for what they know is true. They have an almost perfect sense of justice. They seem to see into the spiritual realm like anyone who has the mind of Christ. But I am concerned. And they don't necessarily seem arrogant.

I care about these people and don't want them to miss having a relationship with the true and living God.

It is easy to see where a person who lies or slanders, or is immoral, stands in their relationship to their spirituality. You know when a person is on the wrong side of eternity. If they had eyes to see, they would be able to see their sins clearly and repent of them. But with a moralist, it is different.

Often, I listen to or see moralists. I wonder how many of them sit in our churches every Sunday and have no clue of their need for a Savior? I wonder how many of them are in our families or our neighbors? What's even more concerning is, how we might just assume they know the Lord, just like we do.

Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the love that these people have for the truth. My concern is that if you were to ask them questions concerning the Gospel message, they would admit to believing that they are good people (not sinful). They don't see their sinful condition before a Holy, pure God, who they will stand before, one day. If you were to ask them if they believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins, they would answer in the affirmative. Yet, do they really see their need for salvation?

These moralists take a strong stand against abortion. They see it as murder. They fight for religious freedom in our country. They see each person as a human being created in the image of God. They see through the lies and deception of evil people. On the outside, they look perfect. And I am concerned.

Moralists are in our churches, social arenas, and in the media. They blend in with the rest of us who are fighting for the truth. I thank God for their stand and fighting for the truth. But I would be very sad if these people miss the boat when it comes to responding to the Gospel message.

May God help all of us to see Him more clearly and may God convict the moralist of his or her sins and reveal to them their need for a Savior.

In Honor of and Recognition of African American Moms

 I have the privilege of talking with people on the sidewalks and at outdoor events, and getting to know some of them. There are all kinds of people out there with different personalities and communication skills. Some are pleasant to talk to. Others aren't. But there is one group of people that I enjoy meeting and conversing with.

  When I am out ministering the Gospel message, I really enjoy talking with young African American men. These young men are very polite and respectful. When I observe them, it is obvious that there was someone who took the time to train these young men and brought them up to be respectful adults. Almost every time I meet African American young man, I see the respect he has been taught to have for others.

  I want to commend the African American moms out there. You have done a great job in raising your children. Many times I have seen a mom or grandmother with several little children, or children of all ages who are with them. I have seen the mother, aunt, or grandmother intervene when the child does something wrong. You can tell there is a lot of love in these families.

  These moms and grandmothers take their responsibility seriously. The rest of us could learn a lot from them. Many of these mothers are single parents. They have to do the job of two parents, and that is extremely hard. I so appreciate what I have seen when I observe these families. They have learned to work through hardships and not run away from hard work.

  Moms and grandmoms in African American families, keep up the good work! We need you and your families in our society today. You are a building block in our communities. Do not listen to the lies of the devil and do not give up in doing good! Do not be discouraged!

   When I was little, my grandparents lived next door to an African American family. The mom had four grown children and was raising her two little granddaughters. This lady was the nicest lady and she and my grandmother were very good friends. The lady next door was a single parent now as her husband left her. When I was pregnant with my first child, she sent me a gift. I also found out at that time that she was raising her great grandchildren. God bless that lady for everything she poured into her grandchildren and great grandchildren. On a good note, her husband returned home and they lived the rest of their lives together.

  I have always been impressed with my grandparent's neighbor. I just want to thank these people for the way they have taken the road that is not easy, but in spite of the hardships, they have pressed on.

  Thank you African American families for your example and your perseverance through the difficult times in life. We respect you and may you continue to press on with what God has called you to do.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 ESV

Why Were the Seven Sons of Sceva Overcome By The Demons They Exorcised?

There are lots of interesting events that are recorded in the Bible. One of them is the story of  a Jewish high priest named Sceva, who had seven sons who practiced exorcism.

Exorcism is the practice of expelling demons from people who are possessed by the demon(s). It is a common practice around the world and throughout Bible times.

In this story, from the book of Acts, we read about some people who practiced exorcism at a skilled level. Let's see what happened to them.

"And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.  Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily."

Demons Beat Up Sons of Sceva -
 Credit - Sweet Publishing/FreeBibleImages.org

The seven sons of Sceva got beat up by the demons! I thought we were supposed to have all authority over the demons. What gives?

The Bible is very clear that everything is subject to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When a person comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her Savior, that person becomes a new creature in Christ. Old things are passed away and everything becomes new. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit dwells in those who belong to Christ. They are given power over the Enemy of their souls. Nothing can harm them. Anything that happens to them has to first, pass through God's safety net, for He will absolutely protect them. 

What happened with the seven sons of Sceva is simply this; Jesus Christ was not their Lord and Savior. At least, at that time He wasn't. They were skilled in the Jewish way of thinking and had some excellent teaching, but the Holy Spirit did not dwell in them, for they did not know Him. 

We don't know whether any of the sons of Sceva ever came to know the Lord or not, but they didn't have the power of God in them to overcome the demons that were in the people they were exorcising. They used Jesus' name in exorcism, which was correct, but, if the Holy Spirit is not dwelling in a person, that person is at risk for a physical attack from the Enemy. 

Many people profess to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, but have never put their trust in Him in order to have their sins atoned for. Many of these people go to church on Sunday and know the difference between right and wrong, and they make right decisions in life. They also trust in God for important things like deciding where they should live or what job they should take. They do have a trust in God, but have never come to the place where they have turned away from their sins and trusted in what Jesus did for them, while He was on the Cross. 

We need to ask ourselves if we really do know the Lord, or do we really trust in our own goodness to be saved from our sins? If we graded ourselves on a scale of 1-10, how well would we grade ourselves on keeping the Commandments? If we break even just 1 Commandment, that is enough for God to send us to hell, forever, to pay for that sin. 

If you are not sure that you ever placed your trust in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul, you can do that right now. We repent of our sins, (turn away from selfishness) and believe that Jesus died for every sin we have committed or ever will commit. That doesn't mean its ok to sin. But the devil is tricky and he always tempts us with sinning and sometimes, takes us off guard, and we fall into sin. When that happens, we turn back to God and ask Him to help us not to sin again. God will pick us up and we will walk with Him again, and He promises to cleanse us from all sin, when we are in Christ. 

"If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new". 2 Corinthians 5:17

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 ESV

No good deeds we do will ever atone for our sin. Good works do not cancel out the bad things we have done. Only Jesus' blood that He shed on the Cross will cleanse us from our sins. 

"If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:6,7 ESV

God promises to cleanse us from sin, when we turn from sin to Him. God doesn't lie. Trust in Him today. 

If you have questions or are concerned about this matter, please write in the comments or send a message to me. Also, check out the other blog pages that I put together.

https://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com 

Https://test4gp.wordpress.com

My Story - My 'His Story'

I thought I would take a little time to write out 'my story'. It's kind of late, and I am running out of time, so I have to make it brief.

I will start my story at the age of 3. One day, I wondered some things. This was serious. How did I get here? Why am I here? What was this all about? When did I get here?

My mom proceeded to explain the facts of life as best as she could to a 3 year old.

She also taught me the 10 Commandments. Oh boy, now I knew I was in trouble. There was a time when I outright lied. What could I do to fix this problem? What does it mean if I broke a commandment?

Now, at the age of 7, sitting in class one day, out of nowhere seemingly, the thought came to my mind, there is no limit to God. Another thought that tied in with that one was, 'God never had a beginning'. If you can pinpoint a time in History past, God was before that. He never had a beginning point. He also is uncreated. My mind was blown.

Another time, in second grade, I did something stupid. I made some kind of remark about God, that wasn't nice. A boy in the class looked at me and commented. You know how it is when someone puts their hand over their mouth and makes that ummm noise? Almost like, 'I'm telling' when you've done something bad?

Well, I felt bad. I felt terrible. I knew I had sinned, again, but didn't know how to fix it. I even asked some people but no one knew how to help. At night, I asked my older friend. She said to me, 'Why don't you pray for forgiveness?' I thought that was a good idea, so I did just that.

When I was 9, I was afraid I was an atheist. It was hard to believe that God was there when you couldn't see Him. I felt guilty and yet, I wanted to believe He existed. At some point, I figured out that He must be there if I felt guilty about what I was thinking.

Because of being bullied around in school, in the years of 4-7th grade, I got tired of kids calling the shots, so I rebelled. I rebelled against authority and eventually, I became a bully. By the time I was 15, I learned how to physically fight with people (don't laugh. I know I am small!). I was tired of being bullied around, so, I turned to other things to make myself powerful and hopefully likable.

My life was taking a direction that was not good. I was considering taking drugs and doing the typical bad stuff kids my age did. Fortunately, I had enough common sense to always be careful in life and not do anything I would regret later on. But would my desire for power and recognition be greater than my common sense?

During my 9th grade year in school, my grandmother passed away from cancer. I only got to see her once or twice a year since we moved far away. I continued on my self willed path, but then something unusual happened.

During the summer between 9th and 10th grade, God began to speak to my heart. For a while, I just tried to ignore it. I thought it would go away. Was it just my overactive imagination working overtime again?

We took a vacation up North, and I thought for sure the voice inside me would go away. I really did fear God, but I wanted to do my own thing too. At least first, if I could. But the voice was still there, and it was there long after vacation was over.

Months went by, and the voice never stopped. At this point, I was careful to avoid listening to any religious programs or anything around me that would remind me of God....just in case. What was God trying to say anyway?

What I think God was trying to tell me was that there was something I needed to know. Of course, by this time, I am wondering about heaven and hell, and where I would go.

A couple of years before this, a friend was over and she and my mom were having a conversation. I felt very uncomfortable with what they were talking about. Don't even remember the details of this conversation, but it was something about if God didn't do a particular thing, we would all end up going to hell. I was really troubled about this (I never told this to my friend), and I remembered this conversation she had with my mom. It didn't seem fair to me that God would send people to hell. And that I could go there too. I just thought that would be impossible.

Sometimes, I used to think something like this, 'If God loved me as much as everyone says He does, then He won't send me to hell. He doesn't send people to Hell that He loves." At least that made sense to me. But what was this voice trying to get me to understand?

It would be several months of hearing this voice and knowing that God wanted me to know something, before I started meeting people who would make a difference in my life.

At the beginning of my Sophomore year, while at a dance place my friend and I used to attend, I felt led to meet a young man standing at a big round table. I gave him my phone number at the end of the evening. He called the next day and set up a date. This was the first divine appointment I had.

I had just broken up with a boy at the time I went on my first date with this young man I met at the dance place. Before we went out on this date though, he wouldn't tell me what it was he was taking me to. But he did say I would like it because it has music. All I could think of was, 'I hope this isn't something religious'. Maybe it was a trap from God for me to find out what it was He wanted me to know. Did I really want to know what that was? I don't think I was ready to hear the Good NewsI  yet.

He takes me to this place, where he tells me I will like it because it has music there. Sure enough, it was some kind of religious meeting (It was a Young Life meeting, at a church building). Part of me felt trapped, but part of me also found it interesting. I saw kids there who I knew, and some of them were pulling out cigarettes and lighting them up. This is going to be an interesting meeting, I can tell.

There was very little I understood of the supposed threatening message that I would hear. But, I ended up liking the boy, and we continued to date. In fact, we went out on several dates and got to know each other very well.

One night, when he was visiting, he asked me if I were a Christian, to which I replied that I was. I assumed a Christian was someone who was not Jewish, Muslim, or Atheist. Another time, he asked me about baptism. I was sprinkled as a baby, and that was called 'baptism'. He disagreed. I was perplexed. What does baptism have to do with anything anyway?

I still had this inner knowing that there was something God wanted me to know. But I still could not figure out what it was. My boyfriend and I had more discussions about baptism, and finally, we decided to talk to his pastor about it.

We went to visit the pastor at his church building. He explained baptism to me. I had no idea what he was talking about. But then, he took a little booklet called 'The 4 Spiritual Laws' and read it to me. When the pastor got to the end, there was a prayer. He asked me if I had ever prayed anything like that before. The lights began to come on for me. Suddenly, I realized that there was something about all this that had to do with a relationship with God. I was terrified.

I took the booklet home and read through it often. It explained the Gospel message throughout it. I tried to understand it but it was hard. But I continued to read through it and believed that maybe it would answer the question of whatever it was God wanted me to know.

One thing I realized, is that I never prayed a prayer like that in my life. It was an afternoon, a couple of months after I received this booklet, that I decided to try to pray that prayer. I don't know if I really understood the Gospel message at that point, but I tried to pray the prayer at the back of the booklet.

We had moved to another house, and now I was going to a new high school. In the home room class, there was a girl who sat in the desk behind me. She was very bold about her faith in God. She talked about Jesus as if He were right there with us. I had never heard such a thing as this. It was very intriguing. One day, the girl asked me if I were a Christian. I remembered that I prayed the prayer in the back of the booklet, so I said 'yes'. But did I really understand the Gospel message yet? I'm not sure.

God continued to work in my heart, and now that I was dating someone who seemed to know about this God Who was speaking to my heart, it helped me to let go of my rebellion and arrogance. I didn't have the need to go out and prove myself to others and bully people around anymore. For a while, it was a battle though, because originally, I was determined to do just that. But now, I was much more ready to give all that up.

In the new high school I was at, I met an old friend from elementary school who also was in my mom's Boy Scout group when I was 10. This young man also went astray in his teenage years, but now I met him again, and he was different. He was excited because of what the Lord had done for him. He was so zealous for his new faith, and he gave me tracts to start to give out to others. This was the first time I ever saw a tract, and I thought they were cool. But still, I just wasn't there yet.

The day did come when the message of the Gospel connected in my heart. With all my new Christian friends that God sent my way, I was able to get the help I needed when I had questions. Somehow, not sure when, the Gospel message made sense to me, and I responded. God helped me understand that I was in rebellion to Him, and that He sent His Son to die for my sins, so I wouldn't have to spend eternity in hell, paying for my sins. Now I could be reconciled to God, and have a relationship with Him. I understood that I could come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And, now I was a new creature in Christ, a born again person.

Anyway, that is basically my story, and when my life began to change drastically. It's been many years later, and God is still faithful to me, and now my family. I married the man who was my boyfriend that I met at the dance place. God has continued to lead us as a family, and also placed us in a church where we are able to function in the body of Christ.

I don't know what would have happened had I not responded to the Gospel call on my life. Maybe I would have died early in life. Whatever would have happened, I am glad to have traded in that life for the abundant life that I am now living.

For anyone who is interested, I have a blog page that explains the Gospel message more clearly. The link is https://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com. Feel free to visit there and if you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Why Moralists Are Not Saved

Today I want to talk about the two different types of people who misunderstand who they are or who others are, and our great need for salvation.

I have been listening to many programs, some political and right on in their understanding of a Christian worldview. I'm not going to name and names, but if you listen to some of these guys, you would be convinced that they are true believers in Jesus Christ. They have a good understanding of what is happening in the world today. They are pro-life, and also support Christians who are being violated because of their convictions of right and wrong on issues they are facing today.

These people even know the Scriptures. But do they see their own need for a Savior? It doesn't appear so. That doesn't mean we throw these people out of our lives or disregard anything they say. It would be a different story if they were taking a stand for Jesus Christ and being violated for that. That would help us to have a clue to know where these people stand spiritually.

One of the guys addressed his audience. He told them that they were good people. He was making a reference to someone or something which was threatening his listeners about how bad they were or that the listeners were going to hell. I didn't catch that part, but the man believed his audience was good enough to go to heaven.

I believe these people are called, 'moralists'. They have a good justice system and they can separate truth from error when it comes to moral issues. I have also seen some Jewish men who are doing the same thing. They are very high morally and they actually stand up for the rights of the Christians who are being violated for their beliefs.

They seem to differ from the Pharisees in that they don't appear to have a false righteousness that they have made for themselves. They identify themselves as Christians, but they have not come to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior yet.

The other group is similar, but, they would believe that Jesus died for good people. What I mean is, that Jesus didn't die for the Hitlers and such evil people. Only those who aren't that bad can be saved. They would think of themselves as not that bad, and they believe that Jesus died for their weaknesses and mistakes. They too, do not see their need for a Savior.

What do these people need? They need to see God with their spiritual eyes. We can know all about God, but we need to see God as holy and all-powerful, as well as majestic. If that doesn't happen, we will not see our sinful condition.

What else do they need? They need to have a work of God done in their hearts. They need to have a conviction of sin for them to see their need for a Savior.

It is good that people have a sense of right and wrong, and good and evil. It is good that people can separate the truth from the lies. But it can also keep people in deception, unless God opens their eyes and they see Him for who He is, and as a result, see their need for a Savior.

So, what should we do? We need to be aware of the fact that knowing the difference between right and wrong does not mean a person is saved necessarily. Many people do fear the Lord, but they haven't come to the place where they have responded to Him.

When we come across these people, put them on our prayer lists. Pray that God will use their understanding of good and evil, and right and wrong, to help them understand that they need to be saved from their sins. They fear God and they have wisdom, but they don't know Him yet and we need to pray for God to reveal Himself to them and have mercy on their souls.

Life Goes By Really Fast - Then It Is Permanently Over

  I have clear memories of playing with Colorforms and my little record player. Some of the toys I played with actually gave me shocks (like my record player and my Easy Bake Ovens)! I remember watching Lassie on our black and white television set.

  But today, I am looking back, not just on memories that I had as a child, but memories of my grandchildren.

  I was thinking of the times when my mom's cousin would come over and stay with us. I had to be only about 4 or 5. My mom's cousin was 11. My mom would have been around 25 back then. To think that my mom is in her 80s (good for her!) and her cousin is in her 60s. Where did the time go?

  When I was 9, I went to my aunt's wedding. Ten years later, my aunt would be my maid of honor in my wedding. Now I have been married most of my life. And my aunt and uncle are now in their 70s.

  All of my grandparents are deceased. Most of my aunts and uncles are gone. Some of my cousins are even gone. This is a sad part of life. No more parties or family gatherings. Most of the people who were there, aren't here anymore.

Here is what the Bible has to say about the brevity of life:

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. "

James 4:13,14 ESV

Here it is put another way:

"There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more."

This is from the Ghost of Christmas Present, Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Friends, we only get a certain amount of 'time' to live on earth. Are we making an impact for the kingdom of God? Or are we using our blessings to enrich ourselves?

Here is a little poem. Not sure who wrote it:

Tis only one life, t'will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.

Once we are gone, there is no more returning to earth. The Bible says that we have an appointment with death. Then after that the judgment.

We live in time. We die, and go into eternity. Eternity never ends. Each of us will spend eternity in one of 2 places; heaven or hell. 

Those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, will spend eternity with God, in heaven. Those who try to be good enough for heaven will never make it. Unless a person repents of his or her sins, and turns to God, believing in (trusting in) Jesus Christ, the person will spend eternity in a place of torment called hell. 

Between heaven and hell is a huge gap that no one can cross over. Once a person enters eternity, there is no switching back and forth. Those in heaven will stay in heaven. Those in hell will stay in hell. 

The Good News is that everyone reading this can respond to God, right now. We don't have to wait until we die to find out where we can spend eternity. If God is at work in our hearts, we can trust in Him, today, at this moment. 

For more information on salvation and knowing God, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com

We Are Either The Scent Of Life Or The Scent Of Death To Those Around Us

I have a funny story of something that happened today. Let me go back and explain first, the context of this story.

I have been using essential oils for the past couple of years. One of the most popular blend of essential oils is called 'Thieves' or '4 Thieves'. One company names it 'On Guard'. Well, I make my own blend of this and put it in a dropper bottle I keep in my purse.

Many times, I have put this oil on, and people will smell it and find it attractive. A lot of times, people come up to me and tell me that I smell really good.

A couple of weeks ago, I put some of this oil on my hands. When I got outside, I gave some tracts to a couple of young men and they loved the scent on the tracts! Later on that week, I went to a store and put some on my hands. A lady who was sitting nearby in a motorized chair was so intrigued by the scent. She finally identified me as the person wearing the scent and wanted more information on it.

That is the kind of response I usually get from people when I use the scent on my hands.

But today, I had a surprise. We were at the doctor's office, waiting for my mom's appointment. I put some oil on my hands. Some lady came out of the door and started sniffing. "What's that smell?' she asked while crinkling up her nose. While she still had a sour face, she said, 'It smells like pumpkin pie'. This lady's expression indicated that she was everything but happy about the wonderful scent I had just used on my hands. The lady then took a seat next to another woman and the conversation about this 'smell' continued. Finally, the lady got up and walked to the other side of the room and sat down there!

This reminds me so much of what the Bible says when it talks of us being an aroma of Christ. Here is what the Bible says about this subject:
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life." 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Berean Study Bible

When we are around others who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and have trusted in Him for their salvation, we are like a fragrance that is delightful to be around. But when we are around those who have a hardened heart, then the aroma is like death to those around us. It is not pleasant to them when we are around these people. 

Are people who are coming to know the Lord, attracted to us? Do we smell like sweet perfume to them, spiritually speaking? Or does our presence around people bring to their attention the condition of their spirits, which are dead?

Whenever Paul preached the Gospel message, he got three different responses. One response was that people were convicted of their need of a Savior and repented of their sins. Another response was that the hearers were interested and wanted more information. The last type of response was that of people hardening their hearts against God. 

We are in no way responsible for the conditions of people's hearts. But, we are responsible for representing Jesus Christ in such a way that people will see Him for who He is, as He lives in us. When people truly see Jesus Christ in us, we will get the same kinds of responses that Paul had. But if we are not abiding in Christ, there will not be the aroma of Christ in us that will affect those around us. 

Playing The Ignorance Game With God

"Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains."

This is from John 9:39-41 ESV. 

When I was a child, one of the clever things I did was to make it a point to not ask my mom for permission to do something, if what I wanted to do was in question of right or wrong. That way, when I did something without her permission, and if it would have been something that she would have said 'no' to, I would reason that I just didn't know it was wrong. In a sense, I would not be accountable for the wrong action. I would have played ignorance in it. I would have been blind in my wrong doing and therefore not accountable.

It would be like my saying to my mom "Well, you didn't say I couldn't do this" because she didn't say I couldn't do that particular thing, because I never asked.

I think sometimes we play that game with God. Some of us would rather not know what God says about His boundaries, simply because we don't want to give account of those things we want to hold onto. 

But, regardless of our intentions, we are still accountable. If there is a question of what we want to do as being right or wrong, then we know the possibility of it being wrong is there. If we can carry out an activity and are 100% sure that it is ok with God to do this, then we are probably on safe ground. But deep down inside all of us is a conscience, and our conscience works 24/7. There are some things we intuitively know whether they are right or wrong. 

As soon as I blamed my baby brother for the spilled milk that I poured onto the floor, I knew I had done wrong. My conscience told me that I was overstepping my boundaries. And I was only 3 at the time. 

We will not be able to play the ignorance game with God. We can shun His word and reject His rules, but we all know some things concerning right and wrong, and we know we have violated them at times.

That's why we need a Savior.

All Of Us Belong To The Same Race

All of us belong to the same race, but we all come from different nationalities.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
Genesis 1:27, 28

"And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him."
Acts 17:26, 27 ESV


We are all in this together. Let's get along and stop fighting. The Bible tells us that we are to love one another.
In the Bible, there is only one race, the human race. Different shades of skin doesn't mean we aren't related to each other.
We are all very much related to each other, and for those who know the Lord, we are all together in the family of God as well as in the human race. 

It's time to stop fighting and separating ourselves from each other. In places where someone is hating another because of skin color, that is never justified. It is wrong to do that and if someone has done a crime, that person doesn't represent everyone in that group. We need to be careful to penalize the bad guys and not everyone who is associated with the bad guy because of job description or skin color. 

Our common enemy is the devil and he wants us to be divided with each other. He is setting us against each other. We need to stop listening to his voice and in unison, we need to work together using the spiritual weapons against him, not people.

Salvation Is The Free Gift Of God That Will Cost You Everything

Do we really believe in Jesus, and if so, are we willing to pay the price for our belief?

In years past, it was *easy* to believe in Jesus. There was no cost involved. In our country, we were free to believe in whoever or whatever we wanted to. No one challenged what we professed to believe in.

But today it is different. For if one really believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that belief system entails more than mental assent and agreement.

For example, a woman in the state of Washington, believes that the Bible is true, and that God means what He says. She believes marriage is made up of one man and one woman. When a customer who was gay, asked if she would provide the flowers for his wedding, she said that she could not do that in good conscience. The ACLU came after her and the state of Washington is suing her because of her conviction. She will likely lose her business that she had built for many years. But she is remaining faithful to her convictions, even though it is costing her dearly.

Another example is Chick-Fil-A. The head guy of Chick-Fil-A wrote a statement saying that he believes marriage is made up of one man and one woman. The Gay community went nuts and now this man is accused of hate crimes. As far as I know, he stayed true to his belief system in spite of all the opposition.

But what about the rest of us? Will we stay true to our convictions? Do we even have convictions, or do we just kind of go with the flow?

If we call ourselves Christians, then that should mean that we not only believe in Jesus, but that we believe in everything Jesus said and stood for.

Are we trying to change the word of God to accommodate our desires? Do we even know what the Bible says, and if we find out, will we still be true to Jesus?

“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money." Matthew 6:24 HCSB

Encouragement, Edification, Or, Flattery?

Do you think that sometimes, when we encourage others, that we might be using flattery? I have wondered what the difference is between flattery and encouragement.

Flattery is sometimes referred to as 'buttering up' someone. The motive is to get the recipient to respond in such a way as to get what you want from them. It's kind of like bribery.

The reason why I am thinking about this so much now, is due to the fact that I have received criticism from some of my Facebook friends concerning my posts.

I posted my complaint about this to my friends, and one of them had a great point. He recommended that we encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."(ESV).

Encouragement and edification go hand in hand. We encourage one another and build one another up to help the body of Christ. The goal is for the church to be healthy. There must be spiritually healthy people to make up a healthy church.

The world uses flattery to gain friends. The world uses money to win people to themselves. The motive isn't based on love and wanting the best for others.

But flattery looks a lot like encouragement. That is why I am concerned. I want to be an encourager to people, but I don't want to be flattering them. How can I know the difference?

First of all, I will pray that God makes me an encourager. I want to think of others and encourage them to grow and develop in the areas where God has given them strengths.

Encourage means to give support, confidence, and hope to someone. Edify means to build up morally or spiritually. Note: Sometimes, people take a word out of context and use it in a wrong way, that ends up with a wrong meaning. An example of this is the word 'edify'. Some would erroneously teach that this is associated with building up someone's ego. That is definitely not what the Bible is talking about when it talks about edifying or building up. 

For the church to be 'edified', those who are in the body of Christ need to be edified. Encouragement helps people to be edified. Discouragement keeps people from growing spiritually and will keep the church from being spiritually healthy. Discouragement is a tool of the devil. We need to be aware of his tactics.

So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Acts 16:40 ESV

God's Boundaries Do Not Indicate Hate

Any good parent knows that when their children are born and as they start to grow up and develop, boundaries have to be formed to protect the child.

Sometimes, children hate the fact that parents put boundaries around their children. Think of this scenario: a child sees some candy that he wants. He lets his parents know that he wants the candy. They tell him he is not allowed to have that candy. At least at that moment, the candy is not permitted. So, the child throws a temper tantrum and tells the parents that they 'hate' him. They hate him because they have placed a boundary around him and he wants to go beyond that boundary, but because of his age and lack of power, he concludes that his parents 'hate' him.

Now, maybe it is simply because he is using manipulation. He is immature and doesn't understand the reasons why a parent would say 'no' to candy, especially since it is a strong desire for him to have that candy right now.

People are very much like that. We intuitively know that there is a God who is bigger than us. Normal people have a conscience that tells what is right and wrong. Even very young children have some idea of what is right and wrong.

Whether we like it or not, God has placed boundaries around us. When we go outside those boundaries, we become trespassers. Problem is, by our own sinful nature, we are always going outside of God's boundaries. When we do that, it is called, 'sin'.

Many do not like to be inside God's boundaries. Some of these people try to deny God's existence. Others put down the word of God, as if it were a fairy tale. God says that His word will stand forever. His boundaries will never change.

In our culture today, we have many who think they are free from God's laws (boundaries). They want everyone to think that people who still believe in God's boundaries are people of hate. Now, this is a stretch. Believing God is true and His word is still effective does not mean a person hates. But people are insistent that those who hold God's word in high honor, and believe what He says is true, are people of hate.

How are we supposed to look at that? For one, it is a form of manipulation. We can't manipulate God. We can't twist God's arm to make Him change His standards. God will always be God. He is on the throne and what He says is still effective today, and will always be true.

Does God hate? God hates sin. Does God hate us? The Bible says that God loved us so much, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life. In fact, God loved us even when we are sinners (see Romans 5:8).

God loves us enough to give us a way out of hell. God's love does not change His boundaries. He does not make exceptions for anyone who breaks them. But the remedy to resolve this problem is found in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

People want to believe that God is all-loving and all-forgiving, meaning that we can still continue to live in sin without being penalized. That won't work though. God gives us a way out. We must choose to get out of our sins. We must respond to God. We come to God on His terms, not ours.

Are We Supposed To Judge?

Are We Supposed To Judge?

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."
Matthew 7:1,2 ESV

One of the biggest objections we get when sharing our faith comes from using this verse. But let's look a little deeper into this passage.

The passage tells us to not judge. Let's look at this in context.

First, let's take an example of a real life situation. Let's say a person goes to a doctor, and the doctor gives his diagnosis. The person has such and such a disease, and, there is only one cure for it, a specific type of medicine.

What if the sick person goes home angry because he thinks the doctor has judged him. The doctor made a judgment call on what was physically wrong with him. Then he prescribed the cure for this sickness, which was another judgment call.

Was the doctor wrong in giving a diagnosis and prescribing the medicine that will help him get well?

We make judgment calls all day. Some of our judgments are off. Sometimes, we make mistakes. But some things are clear cut.

If we run a red light, and hear the sirens screaming behind us, are the cops 'judging' us for running the red light? Or could it be that we did something wrong that was clear-cut, not just someone's opinion?

This part of judging comes partly from Postmodern thinking. If one person has one truth for him, and another person has another truth for her, and if these truths do not agree, then the only conclusion we have, is that each person decides for himself or herself what is truth.

If we think like this, there can be no outside boundaries that are common to everyone. It's hard to decide what is true or not, if truth is different for each person.

Let's look at the end of the Scriptural passage. "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Vs. 7:5

This verse actually, in an indirect way, is telling us to judge. The only thing it is asking is that we judge ourselves first, before we judge other people. That way, our judgment of the other person will be fair.

When we see God in His glory and splendor, we don't see ourselves as great as we think we are. When we see how small we are before a holy God, we see others who are sinners as objects of mercy, instead of people to make fun of and put down because of their sins. We see sin as a spiritual disease, not as a measurement to compare ourselves with how well we are doing compared to others. 

"We are just beggars, telling other beggars where to find bread".

"We are sinners, telling other sinners where to find salvation".

I know the diagnosis is serious, but,
I don't want to judge you, so, I will
not prescribe any kind of medication.
I don't want you to accuse me of
judging you.

When The Last Person Comes To Christ, Jesus Will Return

I don't know how long it will be before God's says 'enough' and the world as we know it, comes to an end.

The first time God judged the world, He destroyed it through a global flood. The next time He destroys it, it will be through fire, according to the Bible.

While we look forward to the Lord returning to earth, we mourn and grieve, knowing that many will experience God's wrath for eternity.

This is exactly why it is taking a very long time. One day, God will destroy the earth completely, and everyone on it will be destroyed as well. But God is patient and not willing that anyone will perish. He wants all to come to repentance and faith. He wants every person who will, to come to Him and be reconciled back to Him.

He will take whatever time is necessary for those who will come to know Him to respond. Some may not even be born yet.

When that last person comes to Christ, the end will come. The question is, will we go with Jesus when He returns to earth, or will we be destroyed and face God in eternal judgment?

This world is so evil right now. God has every right to come and destroy it all.
We need to be ready, because it could be any moment when God will return to earth to collect those who are His, and destroy the earth in order to bring the New Heaven and New Earth.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. People are quick to note that God is not willing that any should perish, but, they leave off the last part about repentance.

Don't Judge Other People?

  One of the biggest objections that vocally appears when we are sharing the Gospel message with someone is that person telling us to not judge her, or him.

Here are Jesus' words on judging; “Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5 ESV

What is He saying? Here He is calling people 'hypocrites' because they have a log in their eyes.

What does it mean to 'judge'? In this case, it means to pronounce a judgment on someone else. It also involves the expectation to receive that kind of judgment in return on oneself. It is a form of looking down on others.

God has standards. No one, except the Son of God has kept those standards. Everyone else has failed them. The rules have been broken by us. And we reap the consequences for our wrongdoing.

In the passage above, a tendency we might have would be to see someone else who is in sin, and place condemnation on him or her. The problem is, we have our own sin issues that we have to deal with first, before we point out the sins of others.

But notice at the end of the passage. We are instructed to take the log out of our own eyes. That means we have to deal with our own sinful hearts before we do anything else. After that, we will be able to see the sins of others, and instead of using their sin against them, we will be able to help them out of their sin.

When people use this as an excuse for rejecting the Gospel, they misunderstand this whole section of Scripture. It is really a mask to protect themselves from hearing the hard truths of the Gospel message. Instead of being honest with themselves and wanting to deal with the sin issues in their hearts, they turn the tables around and accuse the person sharing the Gospel message with them of 'judging' them.

There is a difference between helping people see what God's word says about sin and judgment, and actually personally judging a person for their sins.

On Judgment Day, I am not going to be in front of the person I am talking to about the Gospel message. That person will be standing before God, not me. All I am expected to do is to help people understand what God says in His word. I am not God. I am not better than they are. If they don't see that, then I can't do anything about their response to the Gospel message.

Making people aware of God's standards is not judging them. They are already judged by God.
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." Our job is to tell others what God says about their condition and to offer the hope of the Gospel message. God is the One who does the work in the heart.

Man In Hell Pleads For His Family To Not Go There

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’"

This man did not escape the eternal flames
Photo credit: Arabs for Christ/FreeBibleimages.org

This event was told by Jesus around 2,000 years ago. 

There is a lot we can learn from what happened here. So many things we can learn. 

One is that it is not necessarily wrong to have riches or to be wealthy. But almost always, wealthy people have a hard time understanding their need for God. If they do get the message of the Gospel, they have a hard time responding to it because they will not be willing to part with their riches.

On the other side of the coin, poor people are not automatically added to heaven. But being poor does have a good advantage, for, the poor person does not struggle with having to let go of his riches. He won't be worshiping his money, for he doesn't have much money to worship. That idol struggle will not be there.

Hell lasts forever. Once a person is there, he or she will always be there. It is a terrible place to be and no one should ever take the subject and reality of hell lightly.

People who are in hell cannot cross over to the other side. There is a big gap that is uncrossable between heaven and hell. Those in heaven also will not be able to cross into hell. 

Those in hell are wishing they weren't there, but, they are also wishing that their family members would not be there as well. They would do whatever they can to warn their family members about hell and how to avoid it.

There is one thing we will not have the opportunity to do when we are in heaven. There will be no need to preach the Gospel message and do evangelism, for everyone who is in heaven already knows the Lord. 

We should love people enough to tell them the good news of the Gospel. If we ourselves are saved, it would seem like our hearts would want everyone to come into a relationship with God through the Cross of Jesus Christ. If that desire is not there, something important is missing in our lives. 

Many professing Christians think that anyone who believes the facts about Jesus is a true Christian. But there is more to it than that. Some seem to think that God is all loving and wouldn't send anyone to hell. While God is love, according to what the Bible teaches, God is also just. He does love. He loves us so much that He gave His only Son to live a perfect life, and die a horrible death to pay for our sins. We must repent of wrongdoing and selfishness, and trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross, 2,000 years ago. He not only died to take our punishment, but He also rose from the dead on the third day after he was killed.

If we could obey the commandments perfectly, we could go to heaven. But even with one sin that had been committed during our lifetime, that sin would send us to hell. We can look at the commandments and see how we have failed. Looking at the commandments reveals the condition of our hearts. 

No good work that we could do can take away any of our sins. Even if we lived a life where we continually serve people, we would still have to pay for our sins, even if we only commit sin occasionally. 

But we commit sin on a regular basis. That's why we need a Savior. We need someone who can cleanse our hearts from sin. But we also need a new heart that will produce good fruit. If we repent, and trust in Jesus as our Savior from sin, God gives us a new heart, and also the power to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Life has many choices. Eternity has only 2! 

http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com

http://test4gp.wordpress.com

God Is Sovereign Over Global Warming And Overpopulation

God calls the stars by name
“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” Psalm 147:4 ESV

God knows the number of hairs on your head.
“But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30 ESV

There are at least 6 billion people on earth today.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 ESV

God holds all things together

“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16,17 ESV

Sometimes, we worry about the earth being overcrowded, or that there are too many people here. God knows the dilemma. He has a way of working through this situation. His ways are higher than ours.

People worry a lot about global warming and its affect on us. But many forget that God is still on His throne. In fact, God will always be on His throne. He has this thing all figured out already.

We can either trust Him and ask for His wisdom, or we can try to solve the problems on our own. Either way, God commands us not to murder.

We are only on this planet for a short time. Then each of us goes to one of two places; heaven or hell.

Jesus will be reigning in Heaven. Hell will be a Lake of Fire to punish those who do not trust in God, and haven’t repented of their sins and turned to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

God is sovereign over all the events in the world. God was kind to send Jesus to pay for our sins by His death on the Cross.

Our response is to turn to Him and trust in what He did for us on the Cross to pay for our sins.

Out of the 6,000+ billion people on earth today, all will die.

Life has many choices. Eternity has only 2!

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