For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
This verse is the gospel in a nutshell. This verse is like a miniture Bible. All in that 1 verse. I remember hearing and learning that verse in a small church (Southtown Baptist Church) in Des Moines Iowa.
So many people ask --If God loves the world so much then why does he allow all the suffering to go on? War, hate, illnesses, poverty, loneliness, emptiness, mental problem, unemployment. Why doesn't God just stop it all?
Some people are out there saying I just can't take it anymore. The pressures of life are just to great! If there is a God why doesn't he end all of this? Why has God abandon us?
Look! God hasn't abandon us. We've abandon him!
I've even been asked---Do you believe in God?
YES I do believe in God. I Can't prove to anyone that there's a God. I can't take you to some science lab and prove it to you. BUT the Bible teaches us about HIM.
He is the CREATOR! In the beginning God created the HEAVENS and the EARTH. He created the stars in the sky.
He is also a spirit. The Bible says that he is a spirit. And they that WORSHIP him MUST worship HIM in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.
He doesn't have a body like us. He could only be at one place at one time if he had a body like you and I. God is a spirit! He can be EVERYWHERE AT THE SAME TIME.Anywhere in the world all at once! Everywhere on the whole earth at the same time!
God is also UNCHANGING. He says in the Bible---I am the LORD GOD , I change NOT!
The Bible teaches that God is a HOLY GOD. Completely HOLY! He can't even look upon sin.
The Bible also tells that HE is a GOD OF JUDGEMENT. God will bring EVERY work into judgement, every SECRET thing you've ever thought or did. Everything you though that NOBODY ever knew. IT will be brought into the open and HE WILL JUDGE US!!!
The Bible says that God has appointed a day in which He will JUDGE THE WORLD!!!
Just think about that. God has set aside a day that we will all be judged by HIM. The whole world will be under his judgement at that moment that He has chosen. Hey !!!!YOU AND I WILL BE THERE!!!!!
BUT, God is a God of LOVE. Nobody can love you like God. Now that maybe hard to believe. BUT its TRUE!! There is nothing that can COMPARE TO THE LOVE OF GOD! GOD loves YOU.
If there is anything that you take away from this blog today, I want it to be this. GOD LOVES YOU. God is INTERESTED in YOU! God wants to interact with YOU.
All of the hairs on our heads are numbered by GOD. He sees the sparrows fall. He knows ALL about you and He LOVES YOU!! No matter how many sins you have commited or whatever you have done. You may be as low as a person can go. BUT GOD LOVES YOU!!!If God can CHANGE a worthless lump of nothing like me, then He can CHANGE YOU!!! IF you will LET HIM.??
And you can let him today RIGHT NOW!
Yes God is a God of judgement.But REMEMBER that God is a God of LOVE. The Bible says GOD IS LOVE. Ye I have loved thee with a love that's everlasting He tells us. (Book of JEREMIAH)
And for this reason God created man.
Have you ever wondered why you are here? Why God created the human race? And what's the purpose of the human race?
God created you because He is a God of love. And he wanted other creatures in the universe that could choose to love HIM in RETURN!
God created man and put him in the GARDEN OF EDEN. That PERFECT PARADISE! God gave man a CHOICE. God said I want you to have all the fruit of the garden.
BUT! DON'T TOUCH THAT TREE!! Do not eat from that 1 tree.
God was testing man right here. God said if you eat of that tree you will be breaking MY LAW. And you will suffer and you will die. And man broke Gods law. Man chose to rebel against God.
The Bible says in Romans 6 that the wages of sin is DEATH. The Bible says that sin is the breaking of Gods laws.
Have you ever gone against your conscience? If you have, then you've sinned! Have you ever broken any of the TEN COMMANDMENTS? If you have then your a sinner!
Have you ever gone against the lessons from the SERMON ON THE MOUNT? If you have then your a sinner. We have all fallen short of the GLORY, the REQUIREMENTS of God! We are ALL SINNERS BEFORE GOD! And sin comes BETWEEN you and God. Sin comes between you and PEACE. It comes between you and HAPPINESS. It comes between you and your chance of knowing FOR SURE, that if you died today your going to HEAVEN!!! We must remember that we are seperated from God.
But inspite of that HE STILL loves us.
Yes there is a HELL. There is a hell in this life, But there is Also a hell in the life to come. If we CONTINUE to live SEPERATED from GOD. Living inside of you is your SOUL your SPIRIT. That's the part of you that lives FOREVER. That's the part of you that can have FELLOWSHIP with God. That's the part of you that can have that Wonderful EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP with God!
But because you have BROKEN Gods laws you are spiritually DEAD. YOU ARE DEAD TOWARD GOD!!!! And that death WILL continue throughout eternity after your dead of your flesh!
There will be a terrible loneliness in hell. Thats a part of hell. And we can have hell in this life and in the life to come. Its called eternal death.
Words in the NEW TESTAMENT used by CHRIST to describe the PENALTY for sin are -- lost, perish, condemed, punishment, hell.
God saw all the confussion. He saw us stumbling in darkness not knowing what to do with ourselves.We were either BORN on one hand or PHYSICALLY DYING on the other!
But God decided to do something about it,because of HIS love. He could'nt just forgive us. Because he would be breaking his own word. He would'nt be God! He said if you sin YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! You will SUFFER.
We had to suffer. We had to die so Gods word could be kept!
But God looked down from HEAVEN and saw us in all of our darkness stumbling with all of our problems. Fighting, difficulties, wars. But God is to big and we are to small. We look like little ants crawling around on this planet.
So what could God do?
Well he decided to do something about it! GOD BECAME A MAN! AND THAT MAN IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!
He was born of the Virgin Mary. And He came for ONE REASON. He came to SAVE YOU AND ME!!!!!!!! To save the WORLD. And HE came TO DIE.
He is the only man that was born JUST TO DIE. He took our sins on the cross.The Romans took him outside of Jerusalem and NAILED HIM TO THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS!! And HE shed HIS BLOOD! And in that terrible moment while HE was hanging there, He said-----MY GOD MY GOD why have you forsaken me? And at that terrible moment,that agonizing moment He was showing us that HE had taken our sins for us.That HE was willing to die for us.
HE became guilty of your ADULTRY, of all the sex sins commited. All the jealousy, envy, fighting, killing, murders that we read about in the news every day or hear on the television. He was made to be sin for us.The LORD GOD laid it all on HIM KING JESUS!!!!!
Think about that. HE took our sins for US.
Now what do we have to do? WE have to REPENT of OUR sins. All through the NEW TESTAMENT the prophets said---REPENT!!!!!!REPENT!!!!! The first sermon Jesus ever preached was to REPENT. What does repent mean?
Repent means --- that you CONFESS to GOD that you have sinned AGAINST HIM AND HIS LAWS. That you WANT and HAVE TURNED FROM YOUR SINS. That you'll let God have HIS way in your LIFE. And that your ready to follow HIM and SERVE HIM for the REST of your life!
And if you'll just come to the CROSS TODAY, there is a way. If you'll come by the way of the CROSS! The ONLY way home is to COME TO THE CROSS! The cross of CHRIST DIRECTS LOST PEOPLE TO THEIR ETERNAL HOME!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!
Listen!! HE didn't stay on the cross. He didn't just hang there and then it was all over. NO SIR!! God RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD!!!! The Bible doesn't tell you about a dead CHRIST, it tells you about A LIVING CHRIST JESUS!!
And the living Jesus Christ can come INTO YOUR HEART by the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD!!! And make you a NEW PERSON!Give you a new outlook on life.Take away the loneliness and all the sins that you've commited . He will WIPE AWAY ALL YOUR SINS!! So that when GOD sees you, HE never sees the sin. BECAUSE YOU ARE THEN JUSTIFIED IN HIS SITE. PRAISE GOD!!
And then the Bible says that Jesus Christ is coming BACK again. We will see Him coming from the clouds with GREAT POWER AND GLORY.And HE will then ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM! Nothing in your life or mine wins --EXCEPT CHRIST JESUS! And some day very soon HE is going to RULE THE WORLD!
But today HE wants to RULE YOUR HEART. HE wants to come into your home, family community, into our country. HE wants to be KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS!!
What does God require of you? Repentence. HEY!!!! HE commands ALL men to repent. In the Bible---Acts17 God commands ALL MEN EVERYWHERE TO REPENT. IT'S NOT AN OPTION. IT'S A COMMAND!!!
So think about it real good. Have you repented of your sins?Are you really sure that you have? Because if you haven't repented you'll NEVER see the inside of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. Then there's FAITH. For by GRACE are ye saved by Faith and not of works least any man should boast. You'll never ever be able to work your way to HEAVEN. You have to come by FAITH in CHRIST. And you come by the GRACE OF GOD!
Grace means---its something you don't deserve, ya can't work for it. You come by GRACE through HIM! That's how you must come, by simple child like faith.
You may be saying, those are such simple things. Well Jesus spoke with such simplicity about spiritual things that the children heard HIM gladly. And we're to make it simple!
Its a plain truth that it's to be PROCAIMED in simplicity.
All of you today that are willing to say -- I repent of my sins. I recieve Christ as my SAVIOR. I want to follow HIM. I want to dedicate myself to HIM. I want to come to you OH GOD! I've strayed away from you . I'm confused and lost. And I want you Jesus Christ to be first in my life. I want you GOD to forgive me of my sins. If anyone reading this is ready and willing to give your HEART to Jesus right now, Then just do this.
Get on your knees. Bow your head and close your eyes. And say this simple prayer---- I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sins. I'm willing right now to turn from my sins. I recieve Christ as my Savior. I confess HIM as LORD. From this moment on I want to follow HIM. And serve him. In the fellowship of HIS church. In CHRIST name. AMEN.
If you've said this prayer and really mean it, then you've just been SAVED by the GRACE and LOVE of God.
From this moment on you should always ask yourself, before you act on anything. What would Jesus do? Read your Bible every day. Spend time every day praying (your personal time with God) to the Lord God. Develop that sweet, wonderful relationship with Jesus. Go to him when your troubled. And always go to him in thanks for the blessings that he has and will place in your life. Praise his Holy name. Go to church and recieve His word and praise Him in song. Do these things always for HIM. Put him first above all things! And He will bless you in ways you never could have imagined. Place all your trust in OUR LORD GOD.
*** Words From Our Mentors***
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