Dear Friend,
I realize this will likely have you unfriending me on Facebook and elsewhere but please hear me out first.
If I truly believed in a real place called hell then what kind of person would I be to not warn you? If your house was on fire I surely would pull you from the flames even if it hurt your feelings. This is not a matter of a temporal home though but a matter of eternal significance which holds much more weight.
I am praying for you. My prayers are not focused on the temporary but are messaged a concern for the future, for eternity.
I have such a concern for you at this time so please take this only in the context that I desire the utmost good for you.
Our family ministry mindset is based on Genesis 50:21a “Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones…” The Hebrew word for “nourish” is kuwl (cool). K.U.W.L. for us is “Keeping” “u” “Ill” “Longer”. Not only do we address the physical needs but the spiritual as well. Sooner or later the body dies. The Bible tells us “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27. This and the remainder of the Bible tell us that career success, self-gratification and any other success or fulfillment in this life is meaningless in the scope of eternity. We do not want to miss that point because according to God’s council all physically healthy people die eventually and depending on what they do with their lives dictate where they will spend eternity. So we desire to help people become spiritually healthy over physically healthy.
I believe that you may have spent some time in church and that you may have even read the Bible for yourself to some degree so the following should not be too much of a surprise or maybe it will. The urgency on my end to tell you these things is hard to convey in writing. The problem these days is that too many churches gloss over some of these things and for sake of not offending people they tend to avoid the hard hitting issues such as confronting sinners who are headed for the literal flames of hell.
Again, please take everything here to heart knowing that I love you and only want what is best for you.
If your time to die was today, do you know where you would spend eternity? Are you like most people these days and believe that if you are good enough as per your standard of what is good is or what the average standard of good may be then perhaps you may get into heaven?
These are all honest questions everyone should be asking themselves. If you are going to be honest with yourself, then you need to hear what the Bible says in regards to this issue. It is God’s final authority that matters here, not our own.
So where will you spend eternity? God says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Hell) Revelation 21:8. And Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. The word 'ALL' includes myself and you as well.
Some people create their own standard of what good is but the Bible has already given us the only standard that counts towards eternity. God gave us His moral law, His standard that every person has to meet. This standard is the Ten Commandments. God gave them to us to be a mirror and a schoolmaster for us to know if we have sinned. Paul said that if it was not for the law he would not know what sin was (Romans 7:7).
So lets take a look at God’s law (Exodus 20) if you will, and see how you stack up. Remember you just have to fail one of these questions to be a sinner.
1. Have you ever told a lie? The Ten Commandments tell us that I should not lie and this includes even what the world excuses as little “white lies”. Any untruth is a lie regardless of motive or context. What do we call people who tell lies? We call them liars. How many murders does one have to commit to be a murderer? One is all it takes. If you have told just one lie, then God sees you as a liar. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).
2. Have you ever stolen anything regardless of worth? (An idea, a pen, didn't give your employer your best effort at work, etc.). Anyone who steals is called a thief.
3. Have you ever taken the name of the Lord in vain? This is using God's name for any reason other than worship, prayer, or any other activity that brings Him glory. People these days tend to use His name as a cuss word. This is a blasphemous use of his name. One who does this is a blasphemer.
4. Have you ever hated anyone? Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 that hatred is the same as murder. God’s standard is indeed higher than our own but it is just and true. If you hated anyone then you would be a murderer per God’s standard.
5. Have you ever had sexual thoughts about someone? In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said that this is committing adultery in your heart. According to God It is no different from actually committing the physical act. The Bible says that adulterers and fornicators (those who have had sex before or outside of marriage) will not enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9).
Now being honest, can you admit that you are a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, a murderer and an adulterer at heart? For me the answer is yes to all of these. I am guilty of breaking these. Keep in mind that we have only looked at 5 of the Ten Commandments.
If God were to judge you by His standard, the Ten Commandments, would you be guilty or innocent? Would you deserve to go to Heaven or to Hell? Does the fact that you have sinned against God concern you? It should. We have all angered Him by our sin. Because of this the Bible says His wrath abides on you (John 3:36), and that you are an enemy of God in your mind by your wicked works (Colossians 1:21).
Who of us can say we are not guilty of breaking any of these Commandments? This is what the Bible means when it says, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). You are guilty of sinning against God Himself, and, because you have a conscience, (con-with, science-knowledge) you have sinned "with knowledge."
James 2:10 says, “for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all”. It’s like this. You are hanging from a helicopter 10,000 feet in the air by a chain that has ten links in it. It would take but one link to break to cause you to fall to your death. That is the closest I can get to equating the spiritual concept within our physical world. God’s standard is pure and high and let’s face it, it is unattainable. Death (permanent separation from God) is eminent and required.
Perhaps you think God is good and because of his goodness He will overlook your sins. But if you knew of a human judge who turned a blind eye to the crimes of a guilty rapist would you describe him as a "good" judge? No. That would be a corrupt judge. God is not a corrupt judge. He will punish all the rapists, murderers, liars and thieves. But he won't stop there. He will also punish all liars, the lustful, adulterers, idolaters, and blasphemers, (Revelation 21:8). The place of eternal punishment is Hell. But because God is rich in mercy and compassion, he has provided a way for you to be forgiven. He has invited you to come to Him for a full pardon and to receive the free gift of Eternal Life. You cannot earn it, and you do not deserve it, but God is offering it to you as proof of His love for you.
Imagine you are standing in front of an earthly judge, guilty of multiple serious crimes. All the evidence has been presented and there is no doubt about your guilt. Your apologies and good works cannot erase your crimes; therefore you must be punished. The fine for your crime is $1 Billion or life imprisonment, but you don't have two pennies to your name. The judge is about to pass sentence when someone you don't even know steps into the court room and pays your fine for you. The court accepts the money and declares that you are free to go. The law has been satisfied, your debt has been paid in full, and the stranger's sacrifice was a demonstration of his love for you.
That's what God did for you around 2000 years ago. The Bible says that the God of the Universe became a man (Jesus Christ), and suffered and died on the cross for your sins and mine so that we could be set free. It's as simple as this—we broke the Law, and Jesus paid our fine. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
Do you see God's great love for you and the price He paid for us all? Do you see your need for His forgiveness? Then it makes sense to do what He commands and "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).
You must turn away from sin and turn to God.
Have nothing to do with sin, and surrender your life to the only One who can save you.
Jesus died to set you free, and then he rose from the dead to be your Lord.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
If you will confess and forsake your sins (repent) and trust in Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, God will forgive you and you'll pass from death to life.
If you are not sure how to pray, read Psalm 51 and make your prayer like the Psalmist’s.
What does it mean to "put your faith in Jesus Christ?" It means to personally trust in Jesus the same way you'd trust in a parachute if you had to jump 25,000 feet out of an airplane. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute; you would put it on! In the same way, the Bible says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ..." and you will be saved. There are millions of people who "believe" Jesus exists... but they have not put on the Saviour—there's a BIG difference. And the difference will be obvious when you "jump" through the door of death.
Today, with all your heart—turn away from sin, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Please don't put it off till later. You may die today and then it will be too late. Please repent and trust Christ today. God will transform you from the inside out. You will think and feel differently as you learn to trust and obey Him. God will give you new strength to live right and love Him above all else. Read your Bible daily and obey His Word. You can trust God. He loves you and will always be faithful. If you've decided to reject the gift of forgiveness and you die in your sins, then there is no hope for you. The wrath of God abides on you and you will spend eternity in Hell. Please take the time to consider your sins and that God is willing to forgive you if you repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ and follow Christ as Lord.
As I stated earlier all true believers who are saved had to confront the exact same thing I have laid out here for you. I had to realize that my standard of goodness could not save me and only when I realized that I was a wretched sinner in light of God’s holy standard did I submit myself to Him and accepted fully what He had already done for me on the cross. It’s a daily walk in the service of the Lord now and realizing how finite our existence is here on earth in light of His overall plan I want every second to count for His Kingdom. It’s a serious thing when you realize that you are dealing with the one true living God.
I will not promise a perfect life but I will promise that God can carry us through all the evil and bad things that this world throws at us. He truly provides the peace that passes all understanding.
You can be free from the bondage of sin and you can partake in a life that has eternal significance. Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”. John 8:36.
Friend, I thank you for taking the time to read through this and want you to know I am praying for you.
Sincerely,
Your Friend, John
I realize this will likely have you unfriending me on Facebook and elsewhere but please hear me out first.
If I truly believed in a real place called hell then what kind of person would I be to not warn you? If your house was on fire I surely would pull you from the flames even if it hurt your feelings. This is not a matter of a temporal home though but a matter of eternal significance which holds much more weight.
I am praying for you. My prayers are not focused on the temporary but are messaged a concern for the future, for eternity.
I have such a concern for you at this time so please take this only in the context that I desire the utmost good for you.
Our family ministry mindset is based on Genesis 50:21a “Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones…” The Hebrew word for “nourish” is kuwl (cool). K.U.W.L. for us is “Keeping” “u” “Ill” “Longer”. Not only do we address the physical needs but the spiritual as well. Sooner or later the body dies. The Bible tells us “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27. This and the remainder of the Bible tell us that career success, self-gratification and any other success or fulfillment in this life is meaningless in the scope of eternity. We do not want to miss that point because according to God’s council all physically healthy people die eventually and depending on what they do with their lives dictate where they will spend eternity. So we desire to help people become spiritually healthy over physically healthy.
I believe that you may have spent some time in church and that you may have even read the Bible for yourself to some degree so the following should not be too much of a surprise or maybe it will. The urgency on my end to tell you these things is hard to convey in writing. The problem these days is that too many churches gloss over some of these things and for sake of not offending people they tend to avoid the hard hitting issues such as confronting sinners who are headed for the literal flames of hell.
Again, please take everything here to heart knowing that I love you and only want what is best for you.
If your time to die was today, do you know where you would spend eternity? Are you like most people these days and believe that if you are good enough as per your standard of what is good is or what the average standard of good may be then perhaps you may get into heaven?
These are all honest questions everyone should be asking themselves. If you are going to be honest with yourself, then you need to hear what the Bible says in regards to this issue. It is God’s final authority that matters here, not our own.
So where will you spend eternity? God says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Hell) Revelation 21:8. And Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. The word 'ALL' includes myself and you as well.
Some people create their own standard of what good is but the Bible has already given us the only standard that counts towards eternity. God gave us His moral law, His standard that every person has to meet. This standard is the Ten Commandments. God gave them to us to be a mirror and a schoolmaster for us to know if we have sinned. Paul said that if it was not for the law he would not know what sin was (Romans 7:7).
So lets take a look at God’s law (Exodus 20) if you will, and see how you stack up. Remember you just have to fail one of these questions to be a sinner.
1. Have you ever told a lie? The Ten Commandments tell us that I should not lie and this includes even what the world excuses as little “white lies”. Any untruth is a lie regardless of motive or context. What do we call people who tell lies? We call them liars. How many murders does one have to commit to be a murderer? One is all it takes. If you have told just one lie, then God sees you as a liar. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).
2. Have you ever stolen anything regardless of worth? (An idea, a pen, didn't give your employer your best effort at work, etc.). Anyone who steals is called a thief.
3. Have you ever taken the name of the Lord in vain? This is using God's name for any reason other than worship, prayer, or any other activity that brings Him glory. People these days tend to use His name as a cuss word. This is a blasphemous use of his name. One who does this is a blasphemer.
4. Have you ever hated anyone? Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 that hatred is the same as murder. God’s standard is indeed higher than our own but it is just and true. If you hated anyone then you would be a murderer per God’s standard.
5. Have you ever had sexual thoughts about someone? In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said that this is committing adultery in your heart. According to God It is no different from actually committing the physical act. The Bible says that adulterers and fornicators (those who have had sex before or outside of marriage) will not enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9).
Now being honest, can you admit that you are a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, a murderer and an adulterer at heart? For me the answer is yes to all of these. I am guilty of breaking these. Keep in mind that we have only looked at 5 of the Ten Commandments.
If God were to judge you by His standard, the Ten Commandments, would you be guilty or innocent? Would you deserve to go to Heaven or to Hell? Does the fact that you have sinned against God concern you? It should. We have all angered Him by our sin. Because of this the Bible says His wrath abides on you (John 3:36), and that you are an enemy of God in your mind by your wicked works (Colossians 1:21).
Who of us can say we are not guilty of breaking any of these Commandments? This is what the Bible means when it says, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). You are guilty of sinning against God Himself, and, because you have a conscience, (con-with, science-knowledge) you have sinned "with knowledge."
James 2:10 says, “for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all”. It’s like this. You are hanging from a helicopter 10,000 feet in the air by a chain that has ten links in it. It would take but one link to break to cause you to fall to your death. That is the closest I can get to equating the spiritual concept within our physical world. God’s standard is pure and high and let’s face it, it is unattainable. Death (permanent separation from God) is eminent and required.
Perhaps you think God is good and because of his goodness He will overlook your sins. But if you knew of a human judge who turned a blind eye to the crimes of a guilty rapist would you describe him as a "good" judge? No. That would be a corrupt judge. God is not a corrupt judge. He will punish all the rapists, murderers, liars and thieves. But he won't stop there. He will also punish all liars, the lustful, adulterers, idolaters, and blasphemers, (Revelation 21:8). The place of eternal punishment is Hell. But because God is rich in mercy and compassion, he has provided a way for you to be forgiven. He has invited you to come to Him for a full pardon and to receive the free gift of Eternal Life. You cannot earn it, and you do not deserve it, but God is offering it to you as proof of His love for you.
Imagine you are standing in front of an earthly judge, guilty of multiple serious crimes. All the evidence has been presented and there is no doubt about your guilt. Your apologies and good works cannot erase your crimes; therefore you must be punished. The fine for your crime is $1 Billion or life imprisonment, but you don't have two pennies to your name. The judge is about to pass sentence when someone you don't even know steps into the court room and pays your fine for you. The court accepts the money and declares that you are free to go. The law has been satisfied, your debt has been paid in full, and the stranger's sacrifice was a demonstration of his love for you.
That's what God did for you around 2000 years ago. The Bible says that the God of the Universe became a man (Jesus Christ), and suffered and died on the cross for your sins and mine so that we could be set free. It's as simple as this—we broke the Law, and Jesus paid our fine. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
Do you see God's great love for you and the price He paid for us all? Do you see your need for His forgiveness? Then it makes sense to do what He commands and "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).
You must turn away from sin and turn to God.
Have nothing to do with sin, and surrender your life to the only One who can save you.
Jesus died to set you free, and then he rose from the dead to be your Lord.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
If you will confess and forsake your sins (repent) and trust in Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, God will forgive you and you'll pass from death to life.
If you are not sure how to pray, read Psalm 51 and make your prayer like the Psalmist’s.
What does it mean to "put your faith in Jesus Christ?" It means to personally trust in Jesus the same way you'd trust in a parachute if you had to jump 25,000 feet out of an airplane. You wouldn't just "believe" in the parachute; you would put it on! In the same way, the Bible says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ..." and you will be saved. There are millions of people who "believe" Jesus exists... but they have not put on the Saviour—there's a BIG difference. And the difference will be obvious when you "jump" through the door of death.
Today, with all your heart—turn away from sin, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Please don't put it off till later. You may die today and then it will be too late. Please repent and trust Christ today. God will transform you from the inside out. You will think and feel differently as you learn to trust and obey Him. God will give you new strength to live right and love Him above all else. Read your Bible daily and obey His Word. You can trust God. He loves you and will always be faithful. If you've decided to reject the gift of forgiveness and you die in your sins, then there is no hope for you. The wrath of God abides on you and you will spend eternity in Hell. Please take the time to consider your sins and that God is willing to forgive you if you repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ and follow Christ as Lord.
As I stated earlier all true believers who are saved had to confront the exact same thing I have laid out here for you. I had to realize that my standard of goodness could not save me and only when I realized that I was a wretched sinner in light of God’s holy standard did I submit myself to Him and accepted fully what He had already done for me on the cross. It’s a daily walk in the service of the Lord now and realizing how finite our existence is here on earth in light of His overall plan I want every second to count for His Kingdom. It’s a serious thing when you realize that you are dealing with the one true living God.
I will not promise a perfect life but I will promise that God can carry us through all the evil and bad things that this world throws at us. He truly provides the peace that passes all understanding.
You can be free from the bondage of sin and you can partake in a life that has eternal significance. Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed”. John 8:36.
Friend, I thank you for taking the time to read through this and want you to know I am praying for you.
Sincerely,
Your Friend, John
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