"Hell's Real"

"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom".  Luke 16:23

Several years ago, I was watching a game show and one of the questions was:  If you went to hell, name something that you wish you had taken with you.  Some of the answers were:  water, ice, air conditioner, spouse, booze, books, a bathing suit and computer.  It concerned me that people have such a misconception of hell.  It is no wonder, we are not taught about hell any longer.  When was the last time you heard a sermon on hell?  No one wants to preach about it anymore.  They want to preach about good things and what people want to hear.  If we don't tell people there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, we do them a grave, and eternal, injustice. 

Hell is very real.  It does exist.  There is not a party going on there.  There is no Wi-Fi there.  You don't eat or drink in hell.  You don't socialize.  On the contrary, it is a place of torment beyond your wildest imagination.  It is a place where darkness is dense, the flames of fire are not quenched, the worms that gnaw at you do not die, demons make sport of you, fear encapsulates you, the stench of burning and rotting flesh is always present, it is totally void and absent of peace, there is no sleep and you are totally isolated from anyone else.  It is nothing but eternal torment.

I know this is not a pretty picture.  It is because there is nothing about hell that is pretty.  You might not believe in it.  You might have your own definition of it.  You might think it is a concept and not a real literal place.  But unless you believe what the Bible says about it, you are wrong in your belief and when you die you will face the reality of it.

Jesus warned us about hell while He was on earth.  Why would He warn us if it was not real, if it was only a fairy tale or a figment of the imagination?  Why would He be willing to die, and die such a horrible death, to save you from the eternal torment of hell if it were not real?  Why would He die to make a way for you so you would not have to go there?  The answer is because it is real and He loves you so much that He does not want you to go there.  But the choice is up to you.

Have a great day.  Hell is real and it is a place of eternal torment whether you believe that or not. 
 

Praise Or Complain?

"And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten".  2 Chronicles 20:22

Praise is powerful when it is offered to God.  The Bible tells us that He inhabits the praise of His people.  It tells us that battles are won through praise-- as was the case of the battle recorded above.  Praise is a garment that covers us.  So why don't we do more praising?  Why do we use our mouths to complain, criticize, murmur and curse God and others?  It seems like we use our tongues to do everything but praise the Lord. 

When was the last time you praised the Lord in spite of the situation?  When was the last time you were quicker to complain about it than you were to offer God praise?  We can always find something negative to use our tongues for.  We complain because it is too hot, but when it turns cold, we complain because it is cold.  Why can't we just praise Him for giving us seasons and not complain about it?  Praise shows gratitude and complaining shows the lack of gratitude.

As we have already talked about, if we would learn to be praisers instead of complainers, things would be a lot different in our lives.  We would see changes-- often in the situation, but most definitely in us.  Praise will change us because it will change our perspective because it will change our focus.  Our focus will be on the Lord instead of the situation.  And when it is on the Lord, we will see things differently.

Have a great day.  Are you a praiser or complainer?    

"He Is Still There"

".... I am with you always, even unto the end of the world".  Matthew 28:20b

I woke up this morning with a song playing in my thoughts-- here is the chorus:  "Jesus will still be there, His love will never change sure as the steady rain.  Jesus will still be there when no one else is true, He'll still be loving you. When it looks like you've lost it all and you haven't got a prayer, Jesus will still be there."

Perhaps you are going through a trying time.  Maybe it's the biggest thing you have ever faced in your entire life.  Perhaps you are trying to get past a broken relationship.  Maybe you are in a place of despair because things didn't turn out in your life the way you thought they would.  You may be wondering how you got where you are.  You could be hurting emotionally this morning.  The pain in your life over a loss seems more than you can bear.  You are in a place of confusion and just don't understand the situation you are facing.  Maybe your health is failing.  Maybe you feel forsaken and neglected and like no one cares about you and you are all alone.   

I want to encourage you this morning with the truth that is in the words of that song.  When things look hopeless, when you feel like you have lost everything, when you feel confused, abandoned, like a failure, like no one loves you, like life is more than you can bear, take heart and look up.  Jesus is still there.  He hasn't left you.  You are not alone.  You may have neglected Him.  You may have placed Him at the end of your situation.  You may have given Him the back seat of your life.  You may have even turned your back on Him.  But, He is still there.  He hasn't left or abandoned you.  He doesn't change.  His love for you doesn't change.  He still loves you. 

Acknowledge Him.  Call upon Him.  Invite Him in-- or back in, whatever the case may be.  He is still there and will answer your cry and call.  He still loves you.

Have a great day.  Jesus will still be there.   

"The Couch Or The Table?"

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen".  2 Peter 3:18

I had a dream before I woke up this morning.  In the dream there were a dozen or more women in a house.  We were all in the same room and were getting ready to leave.  A few of us ladies were on one side of the room sitting on the crouch, and the rest of the ladies were on the other side of the room sitting around a table.  Before we started to leave and go our separate ways, I felt a "word" stirring in my heart that I needed to share with the ladies.  The ladies on the couch were waiting to hear it while I was looking up the scripture.  The ladies at the table were also busy looking up scriptures.  I asked if everyone was ready to hear it and the ladies at the table said they needed a little longer.  After waiting on them, they finished and started asking me about angels.  They also presented me with a notebook that had pages of information they had researched about angels.  That was the end of the dream.

After I woke up the Lord gave me understanding of the dream-- this is it:  There were more ladies sitting around the table than there were at the couch.  They were concentrated and focused on angels and getting information about them.  The word the Lord laid on my heart in the dream was- "joy to the world, the Lord has come".  In the dream He gave me the whole "sermon" about His coming and the joy that was attached to it because of the salvation that was now made available to mankind.  The ladies at the table didn't care about that.  They wanted to know about angels.     

 

The point of the dream is that more people are interested in spiritual things and the things of God than they are about God Himself.  They are more interested in learning about angels than they are in learning about Jesus.  They are more interested in the blessings He gives than in Him.  They are more concerned with being religious than having a relationship.  They are more focused on the creation than on the Creator.  They want the gifts He gives more than they want Him.  They want to know about God but don't want to know God.    

 

This may have been a dream, but it is a sad reality.  So now a question, "Which group are you in?".  Are you among the few at the couch who want to know and know about Jesus?  Or with the many around the table trying to figure out kingdom things without focusing on the One who is King of the Kingdom?

 

Have a great day.  Are you one of those who wants to know about spiritual things only, or about God Himself?

 

"Looking In All The Wrong Places"

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".  Matthew 6:19-21

There was a secular song that was written years ago that talked about looking for love in all the wrong places.  Humans tend to do that with all matters of the heart.  We look for love, for peace, for joy, for contentment, for security, for acceptance, and so on in all the wrong places. 

We look for love and acceptance in other people.  We look for security in jobs, organizations and the government.  We look for joy through perfect situations.  We look for peace in our finances and the things we possess.  But those are the wrong places to look and have true and lasting confidence in.  Why?  Because they are temporary.  Relationships can come and go.  People can fall "out" of love as easily as we can fall "in" love.  Our financial status can change overnight-- we could lose our job, the company can go under, the economy can collapse.  The material possessions we have acquired can be gone with one natural disaster, a house fire or even a decline in health.

You can't put your hope in temporary things because they are temporary.  They are affected by present conditions, and they only last a short while.  They are here today and gone tomorrow.  They are easily subject to change.  Therefore, if you want true and lasting love, peace, joy, contentment, and so forth, you need to seek out an eternal source.  That source would be Jesus.  He gives us the true riches our hearts long for.  He is eternal and He gives us eternal riches.  Riches that moths and rust can't destroy and thieves can't steal.  They are not subject to change, to the economy, to time, or to any other condition that would cause them to cease or lose their value.  They are eternal.

Have a great day.  Are you looking to temporary things to give you the satisfaction that only the eternal will give?