Does our life really matter in the grand scheme of things?

The answer to that question is: “It depends on who you are serving, yourself or God.”

Do you ever feel that life and the living of it is just too hard or stressful? I do. There are days when I wish that a truck would just lose control and end my life right there regardless of whether I am going to work or coming home. But, most days I have my son in the car with me so I don’t pray for anything like that to happen. You do have to be careful about what you ask for, you know. Depression is an awful and deceitful emotion. It creeps up on you gradually, just a little at a time and then one day it hits you like a truck with no brakes!

Depression really does hurt. Especially when our daily grind is unrewarding or when you feel that life and this world are not treating you fairly. If you are not a Christian, days like this can cause all sorts of things to happen and most of them are not good. Being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from days like this.

In fact, it seems to multiply them occasionally. If you haven’t matured enough or if you have other things in your life that you haven’t confessed lately, that is when God gets out His polishing tools and puts you through some trials in order to make you into the Christian that He needs you to be.

He knows the outcome but that doesn’t stop Him from doing what needs to be done to bring out your best, even if it hurts. The pain that comes during these times is not unbearable because He said that He would not allow us to go through a trial that He can’t provide a way out of.

If you are serving yourself, the grand scheme really doesn’t matter unless it is a personal accomplishment of some kind. Because your personal “grand scheme” likely will not affect the whole world, just your piece of it, then what will become of your accomplishments and your family when your life is over?

If you are serving God, then the grand scheme should be His and you should be asking for His guidance to do whatever it is that is necessary to fulfill your part of it. He will provide you with exactly what you need, when you need it according to His plans for you. He doesn’t always give you what you ask for when you ask for it because He knows that we sometimes ask for things that we aren’t ready for or that we really don’t need.

Come to the throne of grace and ask Him into your life. Your life and your daily walk with Him will never be the same. It will be BETTER!!

Heaven IS better than hell!

I saw something tonight which upset my whole world, I saw a post on someone’s site which said exactly the opposite of my title. How could someone, even an atheist, believe that hell could possibly be better than Heaven?

The absence of God and light, other than from the fires of hell. The absence of anything of beauty or of anything which is living other than the creatures which inhabit hell. The people and the demons (fallen angels that followed Satan) which are there have no souls, and yet they will never die, even if they wish to. There are no parties, no laughter, no joy, no peace, no water, nothing good other than what you may wish you had done in your life on earth.

This is what is waiting for those who reject God and His grace through Christ. God does not wish that any should experience this place. It was created for Satan and his followers, not for humans. And yet, if you choose to reject God and the truth told in the Bible, you are at enmity with Him just like those who followed Satan and rebelled against God.

God loves us all and doesn’t want anyone to go to this place. Give Christ your life and your heart. Ask Him to show you how to be a follower of His and what you need to do to serve Him in this life so that you will have a real life after this one. Jesus loves us all and wants us all to be there with Him. Please give Him a chance in your life today, right now!  You don’t know if you have tomorrow or next week. Don’t wait because waiting may be too late.

Jesus came to save the lost of the world, us, from the punishment which was designed for those who followed Satan. Hell was not designed for us, mankind was never meant to go there in the beginning. We condemn ourselves to this place if we reject the gift of grace through Jesus and refuse to accept Him as our savior. It is not too late so don’t wait, you may not have another chance.

Take care lest ye fall ….

Our world today tends toward glorifying wealth and the accumulation of things. What good can this possibly bring to anyone? The possession of possessions, expensive or not, is a disease that our culture has. Not just in America, but being consumers means that we consume anything and everything that we can get our hands on. What kind of society is that? Would any sane person want to be a part of a world in which being a consumer was all that you strive for?

Is there a cure or even a way out of this for our world? Or even for our culture and our country? Does anyone care that our economy is failing? Not just the economy of America but eventually the economies of other nations as well, like what happened eighty years ago during the Great Depression. When the economy of America crumbled, the financial systems of the entire world crumbled too. That could happen again, then what are we going to do?

The only real cure for out world, not just America, is to turn to the One who has the answers for all of these questions. The Word of God has the answers that the world seeks, but the world doesn’t receive it and won’t until their hearts come to the knowledge of Christ. I am not speaking of a particular race or country, but to the whole of humanity.

Christ died for all of our sins, regardless of what those sins are or were. Sin, to God, is sin and it doesn’t matter if it is telling someone you will do something and then not doing it or if you killed thousands of people in the name of Allah. A lie or murder or a sexual sin of any kind before, during or after marriage is still sinful and they all carry the same penalty, eternal separation from Heaven and God.

Eternal separation means hell, even though it was made for the devil and his followers, that is where those who don’t accept Jesus and his grace will go when they die. There will be no “eternal party”, it will be torturous for all time to come and it hinges on one decision, whether you believe Jesus died for your sins and paid the price for them or not.  That’s it! The entire gospel can be summed up in that sentence.

One world currency and a “united earth” cannot fix our problems, because the differences are still there. Culturally, spiritually, collectively, our differences will always separate us from each other and from God. Until we decide to trust Him and His redemptive work, which Jesus did for us, and accept it into our hearts, we will be separated from God here and in eternity.

When we are separated from God in this life, who has control of your life’s outcome? You may believe that you do, but you don’t. Satan does. He is the temporary ruler of the world. He knows that his time is limited and that when the end of the age comes, and Christ steps on the earth again, his rule is over. No time-outs, no do-overs. Christ finished His redemptive work on the cross, He said so when He said, “It is finished”. The only thing that is keeping the end of the age from coming is the last person who will accept Him has not done so yet. When that happens, the age of the church will be over. Don’t wait until then.

PTSD in daily living

Post traumatic stress disorder sounds intimidating but it happens all around us, not just to soldiers. Children experience it from bullying at school or from constant tension at home. Men and women experience it at work as doctors, nurses, fire department personnel, police personnel and in tense arguments at home. Soldiers experience it anytime that they are in a dangerous and life threatening situation.

We are all in life threatening situations when we get on the highway but it seems so normal until we don’t see it that way until something happens around us or to us and our family.  Some days, just living can be a stress producing ordeal which can traumatize our minds. These are the times that we should be reaching out to God to be our constant companion in every situation. Our comforter and guide is always waiting for us to call on Him and He will be there.

Jesus said that we would receive a comforter when He went back to the Father and as Christians we have that but some of us don’t count on Him daily like we should. God loves us all, no matter where we are and until we allow Him to enter our hearts and live there daily, we can never know the depth of His love for us.

In many ways, the lack of commitment to being a servant of God is the reason for Post traumatic stress disorder.  If we would humble ourselves and come to Him daily, we would not have such stressful lives and if the stress was there we would have Him to comfort us in our time of need. There are many ways that people today have to find comfort. Some are legal and some are not but most of us find a way to find comfort whether it is temporary or permanent. The kind of comfort we find in serving Jesus is permanent.

Read the Bible, it is good for you and for your future. It also contains the most helpful wisdom that can be found in this life and it is the source of most “self-help” advice, in my opinion. Our Creator put your DNA together bit by bit before you were born and He knew you long before that. Give Him a chance in your life to prove that He really is the One, the Excellent Counselor and the Prince of Peace.  Romans 8:28