Blessing or curse?
If you are somehow still not certain that there is a God, consider these two options:
If I am right, you stand nothing to lose but this debate, in seeking a personal relationship with God and the peace that only He provides Then upon your death which is very certain, you will gain eternal life in heaven.
On the other hand, if you are wrong, and after your death which again is very certain, what you stand to lose is your soul for eternity, that is no end, condemed forever in what God refered to as “a lake of fire with gnashing of teeth.”
Now on it’s face alone, doesn’t that feel like a pretty bad gamble to be wrong, not to mention a horrificly self condemming choice?
Remember, “God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.” But He gave us free will to choose, Blessing or curse.
That is a very serious option, I would submit the most serious in our life time.
Would you agree it is serious enough that we should back up for a moment and consider your own admission to God’s Commandments on the previous page?
By your own admission, you are;
– a liar,
– a thief
– an adulterer
You also may have acknowledge useing or abusing the Lord’s name for no reason,
which if you recall is the one sin God emphasized, “Will not go unpunished!”
We know from God’s own words that keeping His commands is considered righteousness, so conversely willfully disobeying or breaking the commands of the Lord is unrighteousness (sin).}
The Apostle Paul wrote;
“Do you not know, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not deceive yourself!”
{Paul elaborated}
“No fornicator, idolater, adulterer, effeminate, abuser of themself, nor thieves or covetous nor drunkards or slanderers, or extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
{Those are Paul’s words, not mine. I am not judging you. For I know not only am I subject to the same commands and destined to face the same judgment for my own thoughts and actions, but if we judge others God warned He will judge us by the same measure we use.
I choose simply to follow His commands each day of my life, atleast to the best of my ability and I know, that He knows, if I am or not.
Now I don’t know you, but God does. I don’t want you to go to hell, and neither does He. In fact 2nd Peter chapter 3 Peter says,
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his
promise, as some understand slowness.”
“He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.”
{God is by definition Perfect, Holy, the Greatest Being, and the Highest Good.
The holy dichotomy, or catch 22 here is, because God is perfect, and because He is holy, there are three things He cannot do;
First; He cannot lie, because according to His Word in Titus 1:2, “He does not lie.”
Second; God cannot change, as He tells us in His own Words in Malachi 3:6 “For I the LORD do not change.”
Third He cannot allow unrepentant sinners into heaven. Jesus tells us in John 3:3-6 “Very trruly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again,” “unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”
{To be born again simply means to show remorse for your sins against God,
to ask Him for forgiveness,
To accept His son Jesus into your heart.
and believe that Jesus already paid your sin debt in full and mine, when He was crucified on the cross.
You must BELIEVE in Him, that He rose again on the 3rd day and sits at the right hand of God our Father.
Live your life the best you can, by God’s rules which He graciously provided us.}
Then the Holy Spirit will dwell within you. It “will help you in your weakness, when you don’t know what to pray, will intercede with groanings to deep for words.” Romans 8:26
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will recieve the gift of the holy spirit.” Acts 2:3
{Thertefore, if God cannot lie, and He can not change and begin to lie, then He also cannot change and allow unrepentant sinners into heaven.}
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.
The heavens will pass away with a roar;
the elements will be destroyed by fire,
and the Earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”
In 2nd Peter 2:11 he made an appeal,
“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.”
Peter advised, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,
and you will recieve the gift of the holy spirit.” Acts 2:38
“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come, like a theif in the night.” 1 Thess.5:2
“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new Heaven and a new Earth, the home of righteousness.”
“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
Now that you know God, and you are aware of His truth, what can you do?
The answer is simple, begin by seeking Wisdom, then gain understanding through and in the Living word of God, the Bible.
Referred to as the “Living word” because it not only has life, but God’s word plants a seed that produces growth and new life through the Holy Spirit to those who meditate upon it.
The Bible is our life instruction manual, where God placed all the answers we need to help us lead not just a happy life, but a joyful life.He even tells us,
“Listen, my child, accept what I say, and then your years of life will be many”. Psalm 4:10
{and}
“Get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget my words or turn away from them”. Psalm 4:5
James instructs us in “1:21”
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and wickedness and receive with humility the implanted word (the Bible) which is able to save your soul”.
James followed that with a stern warning in verse:22;
“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself, do what it says!”
Understand that our God is righteous, holy, and just and that by His nature despises sin. He is also a God who keeps His promises.
He cannot just overlook sin or accept certain degrees of it. Sin CANNOT remain in the presence of God because sin is the antithesis of His holy nature. He despises sin because he loves us, and sin separates us from Him.
Have you ever prayed to God and just felt like there was no one there listening? Then as you read the following, listen to His word, absorb it in your heart and open your mind to understand.
“But your iniquities, have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear”. Isaiah 59:2
“Your wrongdoings have kept these things (blessings) away. Your sins have withheld good from you.
Jeremiah 5:25
Do you understand, that God loves you?
It was because of His love that He gave you, and me, all people the freedom to choose His way, or the wrong way.
And if you haven’t heard, God gives us an eternal choice that He couldn’t have made any clearer to understand, He said
“Behold I set before you today, a blessing and a curse, you will be blessed if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,
or,
you will be cursed if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today”. Deuteronomy 11:26-28
Regardless of “beliefs” or disbelief, whether you accept the scripture as God’s implanted word or not, we can all agree on one certainty, we are going to die.
Be it in 60 years or by this day’s end, for every one of us, there is no escaping death.
Listen to what God said;
“Just as each person is appointed a time to die once, then after death, to face judgment”. Hebrews 9:27
“As surely as I live says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God”, “then each of us will stand before God and give an account of Our Lives”. Psalm 14:11-12
So if you were to die admittedly guilty of the commands we listed earlier, by God’s standards would you be going to heaven or hell?
Given overwhelming cause to believe that there is a God who created all, who loves us, and knowing our death is certain followed by His judgment, Mathew 25:46
“then the righteous will go on to eternal life in heaven” which the Bible describes as a glorious and holy dwelling of the Lord, “Then the accursed will depart to eternal (never-ending) punishment”. The Bible describes hell as weeping, gnashing of teeth, darkness, burning flames, and everlasting punishment”.
Whether you die tonight or at 110 years old, wouldn’t you like to know when you stand before God that you are going to heaven?
Of course, I don’t know you but, I know that I don’t want you to go to hell, and neither does God. He said, “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so repent, and live”. Ezekiel 18:32
Which path do you choose?
Remember,
Sin crushes, enslave, and destroys Humanity but it vanishes away into nothingness at the smallest touch of God’s holiness.