"I command you-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
Lonliness....it's a feeling that every human being has felt at one point in their lives. There is no feeling that is as dreadful as lonliness because it comes in different ways. When we break up with our boyfriend/girlfriend, when we don't have many friends or even when we feel like no one understands us, it's easy to feel alone and like no one cares about you. Honestly, I've felt alone my entire life. I felt like no matter how hard I tried to make friends or find my worth in something, I felt like an outcast. I have a fake leg, and bad vision, and out of all my brothers and sisters, I am the only one with a fake leg. I understand that many times, we feel alone simply because there is no one there to say "I get it. I've been there, and you're not alone." Lonliness can lead to depression, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and possibly voilent behavior towards others.
We were not created to be lonely, and the truth is that we are NOT alone. God promised us in Joshua 1:9 and Hebrews 13:5 that He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. So why do we feel so alone? The reason we feel alone is because we left God. It's that simple. It's like when you turn 18, and you move out the house to get your own place. When you spend the first night at your new place, you begin to feel alone. Why? You left the place where you were comfortable, and that's what sin did: It separated us from God. Many times in life, we struggle to find out who we are and what our purpose is in life. This constant search makes us feel alone when we don't have the answers we want or need and we begin to think "Maybe I don't have a purpose" "Maybe I was an accident" "I am a nobody, no one cares about me" My friend, God cares about you and is with you every step of the way.
I've tried to find my purpose by going to college, having a girlfriend, etc. but after the relationships kept failing, and I got put on Academic Suspension....I found myself crying in the middle of the night, asking God "Where Are You?" "Why am i so alone?"....God showed me Joshua 1:9 and I was amazed because it was the first time in my life that someone had promised to NEVER leave me. My mom left when I was a toddler, I've lost many friends over the years, and it took it's toll on me. I used to be depressed, suicidal, and angry because I felt alone until I gave my life to Jesus Christ. However, those feelings try to come back but I remind myself of the promises God made to me that He would never leave me.
You are never alone because God promised he wouldn't leave you but you can't really experience a closeness with Him until you accept His Son, Jesus Christ. Why is this important? It's important because once you accept Christ, you will be directly connected to God, and you can begin your relationship with Him. Sinners are people who live in sin everyday, and is separated from God. When you accept Jesus Christ, God will send His Holy Spirit to comfort you and to help you. In order to accept Christ, you must admit that you are a sinner, confess that Jesus was God in human form and died for your sins, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved (Read Romans 10:9-10). However, you must understand that the feelings will try to come back but now that you have Christ with you, you can battle those feelings with HIS WORD (The Bible).
You will continue to feel alone if you try to fill that void with people, things, money, etc. I know this from personal experience. Jesus Christ is the ONLY one that can transform your life, give you joy, and take away your lonliness and pain. Jesus loves you and promised that He wouldn't leave you. Accept His Promise and accept Him. Be blessed
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
God DOES NOT send you to Hell
"I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Everyone of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done. (15) Anyone whose name wasn't written in the book of life was thrown into the fire." -Revelation 20:12, 15 (CEV)
When facing questions concerning Christianity, there is only one question that everyone asks and very few give an answers, which is "If God is such a loving God, why does He send people to Hell?" The answer to this question is that He doesn't but DO NOT take my word for it, let's check out what the Bible says about this question. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT) is a great place to start, and it says, "But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. (9) The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want ANYONE to perish, so he is giving more time for EVERYONE to repent." Verse 9 clearly tells us that God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell but He's giving us time to repent and be saved. So if God doesn't send us to Hell, who does?
Let's take another look at Revelation 20:12, which states, "I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Everyone of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done." In this scripture, we know 3 things: We will be judged, God will judge us, and there are books involved. What is contained in these books that are opened? Every deed, thought, and word we ever did in our lives. We will be judged by OUR own actions. Why? Because God is being fair. He's going to judge us based on our actions and not by the Law. If our actions reveal that we lived a holy lifestyle, we will be rewarded but if we lived a sinful lifestyle, we will be punished. Picture this: You're driving 70 mph on a beautiful summer day, windows down, music blasting. You look in your rear view mirror to find a police car with its sirens on behind you. The officer approaches you and tells you that you were going 70 in a 55 mph zone. Who is responsible for the ticket? The cop is simply doing his job.
We cannot blame God for sending people to Hell because He already provided a way to escape Hell through His Precious Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." God did his part by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, but He went even further by giving us more time to repent and be saved from Hell even though we don't deserve it. Jesus is the only way to Heaven, but if you reject Him how can you get there? God does not force us to choose, but we must make that decision. If a person has rejected Jesus Christ, there is NO hope for him on Judgement Day because he rejected the only way to Heaven. We send ourselves to Hell by choosing to reject Christ and live a sinful lifestyle.
God doesn't want to see anyone go to Hell, so He gave His Son to save us. However, when we reject His Son we reject the only way to salvation. Hell was never made for man, it was made for Satan and his angels but Satan doesn't want to be there alone, and is dragging tons of people to Hell everyday. We must all stand before Christ and be judged, and be rewarded or punished ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS. No longer can we blame God for simply giving us the consequences of our actions. Romans 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
It is true that Jesus died for everyone but everyone is not automatically saved. You must accept what Christ did for YOURSELF. You cannot be saved by going to church, having Christian parents, etc. You must accept Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior. If someone wrote you a check for a million dollars, you aren't a millionaire unless you accept the check. God was so desperate to save you from Hell that He gave His own Son to take your place. Romans 10:9 (NLT) says, "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It's that easy: Admit that you're a sinner (Romans 3:23), that Jesus was God in the flesh who died upon the cross for your sins (Philippians 2:6-8), and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:5-6) and you will be saved. Don't reject the only way to be saved from Hell because you will regret it on Judgement Day
P.S. Do not assume that because I post scripture that it is correct, pick up your Bible (or google it) for yourself. I believe the Bible is the ONLY source of true salvation and I want you to know that I am not making this up. Double check EVERY scripture so you will know the truth. Be Blessed
When facing questions concerning Christianity, there is only one question that everyone asks and very few give an answers, which is "If God is such a loving God, why does He send people to Hell?" The answer to this question is that He doesn't but DO NOT take my word for it, let's check out what the Bible says about this question. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT) is a great place to start, and it says, "But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. (9) The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want ANYONE to perish, so he is giving more time for EVERYONE to repent." Verse 9 clearly tells us that God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell but He's giving us time to repent and be saved. So if God doesn't send us to Hell, who does?
Let's take another look at Revelation 20:12, which states, "I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Everyone of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done." In this scripture, we know 3 things: We will be judged, God will judge us, and there are books involved. What is contained in these books that are opened? Every deed, thought, and word we ever did in our lives. We will be judged by OUR own actions. Why? Because God is being fair. He's going to judge us based on our actions and not by the Law. If our actions reveal that we lived a holy lifestyle, we will be rewarded but if we lived a sinful lifestyle, we will be punished. Picture this: You're driving 70 mph on a beautiful summer day, windows down, music blasting. You look in your rear view mirror to find a police car with its sirens on behind you. The officer approaches you and tells you that you were going 70 in a 55 mph zone. Who is responsible for the ticket? The cop is simply doing his job.
We cannot blame God for sending people to Hell because He already provided a way to escape Hell through His Precious Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." God did his part by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, but He went even further by giving us more time to repent and be saved from Hell even though we don't deserve it. Jesus is the only way to Heaven, but if you reject Him how can you get there? God does not force us to choose, but we must make that decision. If a person has rejected Jesus Christ, there is NO hope for him on Judgement Day because he rejected the only way to Heaven. We send ourselves to Hell by choosing to reject Christ and live a sinful lifestyle.
God doesn't want to see anyone go to Hell, so He gave His Son to save us. However, when we reject His Son we reject the only way to salvation. Hell was never made for man, it was made for Satan and his angels but Satan doesn't want to be there alone, and is dragging tons of people to Hell everyday. We must all stand before Christ and be judged, and be rewarded or punished ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS. No longer can we blame God for simply giving us the consequences of our actions. Romans 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
It is true that Jesus died for everyone but everyone is not automatically saved. You must accept what Christ did for YOURSELF. You cannot be saved by going to church, having Christian parents, etc. You must accept Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior. If someone wrote you a check for a million dollars, you aren't a millionaire unless you accept the check. God was so desperate to save you from Hell that He gave His own Son to take your place. Romans 10:9 (NLT) says, "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It's that easy: Admit that you're a sinner (Romans 3:23), that Jesus was God in the flesh who died upon the cross for your sins (Philippians 2:6-8), and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:5-6) and you will be saved. Don't reject the only way to be saved from Hell because you will regret it on Judgement Day
P.S. Do not assume that because I post scripture that it is correct, pick up your Bible (or google it) for yourself. I believe the Bible is the ONLY source of true salvation and I want you to know that I am not making this up. Double check EVERY scripture so you will know the truth. Be Blessed
Witness Through Action
"You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God) through what he does and not alone through faith [through works of obedience as well as by what he believes.]" -James 2:24 (AMP)
This scripture contains the number 1 characteristic of a true Christian: he obeys God with his actions and not just his words or beliefs. In modern times, millions call themselves Christians but on Monday-Saturday, they cuss, smoke, drink, party, fornicate like it's cool. Then our unsaved friends are looking at us saying, "If this is how that Jesus thing works then I'm good because I do that now. I don't need Jesus." Now, not only have we caused someone to turn away from Christ but our light has been dimmed. It's not surprising to find problems like these in the church today, from the scandals to the cover-up, millions of proclaimed "Christians" are just going through the motions without sincere motives. I used to be one of them. I went to church on Sunday, sang songs, played the instrument, could read the scriptures, could say some "Christian Cliches" and I was "saved", but Monday-Saturday, I was listening to Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, etc. I was looking at pornography, and cussing, and doing whatever I wanted to do.
This scripture says that a man is made right with God by WHAT HE DOES AND NOT ONLY THROUGH FAITH. Anyone can say "I'm a Christian and I'm going to heaven" but what does their lifestyle say? Does their lifestyle say "Jesus Christ gets the glory" or does it say "I'm just faking like I know Jesus, I'm living to satisfy my desires"? This is a very serious problem in the church because the World is looking at us to give them answers but all they see is a reflection. Think about it like this: You're a little kid, you ask your Daddy "Is it alright to hit girls?" He answers "No, a man should never put his hands on a woman unless it's self-defense"....You leave to play, and come back in to see your mom and dad arguing, and your mom is being beat on by your dad....How would that make you feel? Would you hate him? Would you lose your trust and respect for him? This is exactly what is happening with the Church...For centuries, we've been talking about how Jesus can change lives but yet your friends don't even know you're a Christian. We preach about how Jesus can save you from Hell, but we living the same way a sinner does. When does it stop? What will it take? Do you hate God?
Let's take a look at Romans 2:1, 3-4 (CEV), which states, "Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is NO EXCUSE for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. (3) Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? (4) You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him." This hits right at home, when you accuse others of doing the exact same thing you're doing, you become a hypocrite. Hypocrites will NOT make it into heaven, they will say "Jesus, my precious Lord" and Jesus will say "I don't even know who you are...Get away from me" and will be cast into Hell for all eternity.
Christians are to live holy lives, so that God may receive glory from them but too often are we seeing Satan get the glory. The World is tired of the lies, hypocrisy and falseness and they want to see power, action, results. Jesus never bragged about being the Messiah, he simply LIVED it and those that believed were saved and those that did not were condemned. Actions speak louder than words, so what is your life saying?
Maybe you're a Lukewarm Christian reading this, and the Holy Spirit is convicting you. You can be forgiven and live a holy life before men. Confess your sins, repent, and God will forgive you. 1 John 1:9 (AMP), says, "If we [freely] admit that we have sinned AND confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His Will in purpose, thought, and action.]" It's not too late to start living a holy life. Stop talking the talk and start WITNESSING THROUGH ACTION. I did it and my life has changed, I'm not perfect but there is someone else depending on our salvation. Remember that Jesus gave HIS life so that we could live ours for His Glory, and that you will be judged for your deeds. Be blessed
This scripture contains the number 1 characteristic of a true Christian: he obeys God with his actions and not just his words or beliefs. In modern times, millions call themselves Christians but on Monday-Saturday, they cuss, smoke, drink, party, fornicate like it's cool. Then our unsaved friends are looking at us saying, "If this is how that Jesus thing works then I'm good because I do that now. I don't need Jesus." Now, not only have we caused someone to turn away from Christ but our light has been dimmed. It's not surprising to find problems like these in the church today, from the scandals to the cover-up, millions of proclaimed "Christians" are just going through the motions without sincere motives. I used to be one of them. I went to church on Sunday, sang songs, played the instrument, could read the scriptures, could say some "Christian Cliches" and I was "saved", but Monday-Saturday, I was listening to Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, etc. I was looking at pornography, and cussing, and doing whatever I wanted to do.
This scripture says that a man is made right with God by WHAT HE DOES AND NOT ONLY THROUGH FAITH. Anyone can say "I'm a Christian and I'm going to heaven" but what does their lifestyle say? Does their lifestyle say "Jesus Christ gets the glory" or does it say "I'm just faking like I know Jesus, I'm living to satisfy my desires"? This is a very serious problem in the church because the World is looking at us to give them answers but all they see is a reflection. Think about it like this: You're a little kid, you ask your Daddy "Is it alright to hit girls?" He answers "No, a man should never put his hands on a woman unless it's self-defense"....You leave to play, and come back in to see your mom and dad arguing, and your mom is being beat on by your dad....How would that make you feel? Would you hate him? Would you lose your trust and respect for him? This is exactly what is happening with the Church...For centuries, we've been talking about how Jesus can change lives but yet your friends don't even know you're a Christian. We preach about how Jesus can save you from Hell, but we living the same way a sinner does. When does it stop? What will it take? Do you hate God?
Let's take a look at Romans 2:1, 3-4 (CEV), which states, "Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is NO EXCUSE for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. (3) Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? (4) You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him." This hits right at home, when you accuse others of doing the exact same thing you're doing, you become a hypocrite. Hypocrites will NOT make it into heaven, they will say "Jesus, my precious Lord" and Jesus will say "I don't even know who you are...Get away from me" and will be cast into Hell for all eternity.
Christians are to live holy lives, so that God may receive glory from them but too often are we seeing Satan get the glory. The World is tired of the lies, hypocrisy and falseness and they want to see power, action, results. Jesus never bragged about being the Messiah, he simply LIVED it and those that believed were saved and those that did not were condemned. Actions speak louder than words, so what is your life saying?
Maybe you're a Lukewarm Christian reading this, and the Holy Spirit is convicting you. You can be forgiven and live a holy life before men. Confess your sins, repent, and God will forgive you. 1 John 1:9 (AMP), says, "If we [freely] admit that we have sinned AND confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His Will in purpose, thought, and action.]" It's not too late to start living a holy life. Stop talking the talk and start WITNESSING THROUGH ACTION. I did it and my life has changed, I'm not perfect but there is someone else depending on our salvation. Remember that Jesus gave HIS life so that we could live ours for His Glory, and that you will be judged for your deeds. Be blessed
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