THE TIME IS NOW

Are you one of the many who think time is on their side? Such
people postpone every decision they need to make pertaining to
God and eternity. If you are, you probably say things like, “I am
young,” “I am too busy,” “I am in good health” or “I’ll do it later.”

If you had full control of your circumstances, you could
get away with procrastinating, and at just the right time of your
choosing, you could decide to believe in Jesus and be saved, and
everything would be fine. Unfortunately for you, you don’t have
much control of your life, you don’t get to decide when and how
you die; God does.

Maybe end of life issues don’t cross your mind often because
life at present is going so well for you. That’s what happened in
the days of Noah. The Bible says people were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage until the flood came (an indication
that life was going on as usual when the flood came). (see Matthew 24:37-38).
Of course, by the time the flood came, it was too late (see Genesis 6-7).
Their end had come suddenly, when there wasn’t much time for
them to call on God.

No matter how enjoyable you find this life, be reminded that
it is only temporary. The end will come when you least expect it.
All that the world has to off er cannot pay for your salvation. Only
the blood of Jesus is acceptable as payment for your sins. The Bible
says, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,
yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his
soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NIV). Think about it.

Young people are being advised to start planning now for
retirement; so they can live comfortably in their later years. By the
same token, your soul will live forever; you need to make provision
for that. Where would you like to spend eternity, in heaven or
in hell? If you prefer heaven, you’ll need to take the steps now to
guarantee it. When the jailer in the book of Acts asked Paul and
Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30 NIV, they replied,
“Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (verse 31).

The way to salvation has not changed, and never will. God
decided the blood of Jesus was what it was going to take for Him
to forgive sins. So Jesus came and shed His blood. Now it is up to
you to believe in Him, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and
accept salvation through His blood. On the other hand if you’d
rather spend eternity in hell, ignore the invitation to believe in
Jesus, and you will be guaranteed to go to hell. But why would you
choose that? Jesus loves you; that is why He died such a painful death. Choose life today!

“Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV).

GOD IS SOVEREIGN!

God is sovereign is a well-known and frequently used phrase, but what does it mean? Christianity.com, has the following to say:

“There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. As King of kings and Lord of lords, God has no limitations. Consider just a few of the claims the Bible makes about God:

· God is above all things and before all things. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is immortal, and He is present everywhere so that everyone can know Him (Revelation 21:6).

· God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16).

· God knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens (Romans 11:33).

· God can do all things and accomplish all things. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He orchestrates and determines everything that is going to happen in your life, my life, and throughout the world. Whatever He wants to do in the universe, He does, for nothing is impossible with Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

· God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act (Psalm 103:19).

That’s what being sovereign means: being the ultimate source of all power, authority, and everything that exists. Only God can make those claims; therefore, it’s God’s sovereignty that makes Him superior to all other gods and makes Him, and Him alone, worthy of worship.”

Knowing all that God is, hurting child of God, do understand that God is in control, and that nothing takes Him by surprise? He really is in control; He knows everything you’re experiencing! Nothing is happening to you by chance, by mistake, or by accident! Take comfort in that knowledge, and be assured that He sees your pain, sees your tears, hears your cry, and knows your circumstances. He’ll get you through it. All your experiences, painful or not, are included in His plans for you. The Bible says, “God causes EVERYTHING to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). That’s why even on our most difficult days, we can confidently say, “I’ll be alright, because God is sovereign!”

Someday, sooner or later, we’ll understand! But until then, let’s give Him thanks as He commands: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1Thessalonians 5:18 NLT). God is faithful; let’s ask Him for grace, courage, and strength to persevere to the end, no matter how long it takes.

God is sovereign!

ETERNITY

Quite often when people die, you hear their loved ones say, “he or
she is in a better place” This is a comforting thought, and I am sure
everybody will like to think that about their deceased loved one.
Before we go any further, we need to ask ourselves, “Where is this
better place, and how do people get there?”

The Bible talks about eternity, either in heaven or in hell.
There are no neutral places, so when people talk about a better
place they most likely are referring to heaven. However, heaven is
not an automatic destination for the deceased. When people die,
their loved ones can comfort themselves any way they want, but
that does not guarantee their loved one is in heaven. The biblical
truth is, only those who believe on the name of Jesus will go to
heaven; only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of life.

People who do not believe on the name of Jesus Christ before
they die cannot be wished or prayed into heaven by loved ones, not
even by the Church.

Eligibility into heaven is not based on gender, age, social or
political standing. It is also not based on good works or anything
else people do. It is based solely on the sacrifice Christ made on
the cross, making Himself a bridge between God and man. Christ
died to pay the penalty for sin, making the way for sinners to come
to God by faith in Him (Jesus).

This is your opportunity. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins now.
He will forgive you, take away the guilt of your sins, fill you with
His Spirit and give you peace and the assurance of salvation. He
will also write your name in His book of life. Don’t count on your
loved ones or your priests to wish or pray you into heaven after
your death. It just does not work that way.

If you refuse Christ’s offer for salvation, you have automatically
and personally decided to go to hell after you die. Remember,
nothing can be changed about that decision once you are on the
other side of dirt. So while you are on this side of dirt make the
decision that guarantees you will spend eternity in heaven. Your
loved ones can then say confidently, at your passing, “he or she is in
a better place.” Please make this decision soon, hopefully today.

GOD LOVES YOU, REALLY

The Bible says God has no delight in the death of the sinner. “For
I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign
Lord. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32 NIV). He demonstrates that
fact in at least four different ways.

• First, He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for sin, “For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16 NIV).

• Second, He put His word into writing, the Bible, and instructed Christians
to take the message to the entire world, so that they may be saved,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can they
call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One
of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to
them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:13-15 NIV).

• Thirdly, He has delayed His return to allow more time for people to get saved,
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).

• And lastly, He is elated every time a sinner repents.
“There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10 NIV).

The synonyms for ‘rejoicing’ include: Joy, elation, delight,
satisfaction, jubilation and exultation. Will God, the Creator of
the universe, be rejoicing? It must be a big deal when a sinner
repents. I can just imagine the angels cheering as He; the Creator
claps, and takes to the dance floor.

Justice is one of God’s attributes, and that compels Him to
judge sin. Loving us does not interfere with His nature. Parents
sometimes say to their children who keep disobeying, “Don’t make
me.” I believe in the same way, God really doesn’t want to have to
judge or punish us, but we leave Him no choice, when we refuse to
respond to his love. His joy is in seeing sinners come to repentance
not in seeing them die in their sins. If you have not believed in
Jesus, the Son of God, for your salvation, don’t wait any longer.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

Repentance is not possible after death, so repent today, while you are able to,
and call on Jesus to save you. Don’t make Him send you to hell. Honestly,
He doesn’t want to, but He will if you “make” Him. He will not compromise
His nature to accommodate your stubbornness and disbelief. Call on Jesus today!

GOD

                                          

Most people worship a deity they call God, and some like to believe
it is the same God everybody worships, regardless of how. I say it’s
not the same God. How can I tell?

• My God is a triune God, consisting of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man
in our image, in our likeness’’ (Genesis 1:26 NIV).
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily
form” (Colossians 2:9 NIV).
If you can’t say this about your God, then you have a different one.

• My God became flesh and dwelt among men, in the
person of Jesus Christ. “The word became flesh and made
his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory
of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth” (John 1:14 NIV).
Is this true of your God?

• My God hates sin, loves the sinner, and so made provision
for sin by dying in the person of Jesus Christ (see John 3:16).
Is this true of your God?

• My God died in the person of Jesus and was buried, but
did not see decay. He rose again on the third day (see Acts 2:31-32).
Is this true of your God?

• My God ascended into heaven forty days after his
resurrection (see Acts 1:3, 9-11).
Can you say that about your God?

• My God is offering salvation to all who will believe in
Jesus, because He said of Him, “This is my Son, whom
I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him” Matthew 17:5 NIV).
The Son, Jesus, said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6 NIV).
If your God is not offering salvation, he definitely is not
the God I know.

• My God is coming back to earth in the near future,
and every eye shall see Him. Acts 1:11 Is yours coming
back?
• My God promises life after death. “For the wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NIV). How about yours?

If any of these truths are not true of your God, then we are not
worshiping the same God. That makes me very concerned about
you, because there is only one God. You might just be trying to
do the best you can, and hoping that in the end, it would turn out
that you’ve been worshiping the One and only true God. That is
a dangerous position to take. Don’t wait to die to discover that
the God you worshiped did not really exist. If your intentions are
to worship the One and only God, the Creator of the universe,
then the only way to Him is through Jesus Christ. Trying to get
to God any other way will not get you there. Why? Because the
Bible says, “God our Savior wants all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth; “For there is one God and
one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2:4-6 NIV).

I understand that you might be finding it difficult to admit you’ve
been wrong and you’ve been misled, but it is better to be wrong
now than later. Admit it now, and come to God through Jesus
Christ. Put your faith in Jesus, today! He will save you and give you
the assurance of salvation to put your mind to rest, “I write these
things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God (Jesus) so
that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NIV).

Don’t let pride stop you!

WHEN GOD REMOVES HIS HAND

Sometimes things just don’t go right, no matter what we do. No
amount of prayers, personal or corporate, offered to God seem to
make any difference. In fact,  most often, situations get worse or
remain unchanged.

We know God is touched by our pain, even though sometimes
it seems He is on vacation, asleep or too busy with more important
issues. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). The devil on the other hand starts
the trouble and looks for more ways to make it as unbearable as
possible. He is determined to destroy us and our relationship
with God.

The promises of God are such that one will think life should
be smooth sailing for us. But not so! Instead, quite often, we run
into unbelievable problems. I believe we run into problems when
God removes His hand of protection and provision, making us
vulnerable. Why would God do something like that, knowing the
devil is out there like a roaring lion, waiting for the opportunity to
pounce on us? (see 1 Peter 5:8).

There are at least two reasons:
• One, God is confi dent we can handle it, and wants to
prove to the devil that we will go all the way with Him
no matter what. Scary thought indeed! Remember Job? He was
content to be a Godly man. He was not out to prove
anything to anyone, but God was. God started that whole
conversation with the devil about Job’s integrity. Couldn’t
He have left it alone? All of a sudden, Job’s world came
crushing down, for no apparent reason. To make matters
worse, the miserable comforters (ignorant friends) who
went to supposedly sympathize with him only judged and
criticized him, adding insult to injury.

• Two, it could be, there is sin in the camp! Remember
Achan? With God’s help the walls of Jericho had
collapsed, meaning a big victory for the Israelites.
Ai, being a smaller city than Jericho was going to be
undoubtedly a piece of cake for the Israelites to conquer,
but to their surprise, they were literally chased out of
town in disgrace. Why? Achan had sinned (see Joshua 7). All
of a sudden, they no longer had Gods protection. In
Isaiah 5, God likened the Israelites to a vineyard He had
lovingly cared for, that yielded bad fruit. His response to
that situation was, “I will take away its hedge, and it will
be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be
trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor
cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will
command the clouds not to rain on it” (Isaiah 5:5-6 NIV).

I believe the only time the devil can touch us is when God
removes His hand of protection. (Giving him permission) If God
is out to prove something, we’ll just have to go along with His
program, trusting Him to sustain us through the experience. On
the other hand, if it’s because of sin in the camp, let’s repent so we
can be restored.

THE CHRISTIAN and INFORMATION

Information helps us to make decisions that could make us or break us, and it comes to us from many different sources: from books, the media, politicians, individuals, and from the Bible. As Christians, the only trust-worthy source is the Bible. When we receive information, we are compelled to take action or respond in some fashion. We may choose to disregard it, because we don’t believe it or don’t find it useful or we may actually use the information in a positive way and pass it on to others.
Unfortunately, the information we choose to disregard, often turns out to be information we really need.

The information we receive benefits us, others or both; in either case we need to take some action. If we intentionally disregard information that would benefit us, we do that to our own detriment, and if we don’t pass it on to others who might benefit from it, we do them a disservice.

Having said all that, what have you done with all that you’ve read from the Bible? Is the Word of God gradually changing your life or are you the same old person? For example, has “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15 NIV), made any difference in your life, or are you still stealing and making excuses? Are you bringing supplies home from work or have you stopped? How about, “Continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 NIV)? Are you taking your Christian walk seriously? Becoming a Christian is just the beginning. We need to stay alert, study the Word, resist the devil and press on in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we don't fall prey to the devil and sin. When we stay alert, our lives will be transformed, as the Word of God renews our minds. If our lives are not being transformed by the Word, this is what James says, "Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:23-24 NIV).

On the other hand, if we obey what we read or hear, James goes on to say, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has
heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25 NIV).

These days, everyone is looking at the signs of the times, including unbelievers, and thinking “The Lord’s coming is close.” Of course we don’t know the exact time, but we believe it’s closer
than when we first believed. The Apostle Peter puts it this way, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and
the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought ye to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” 2 Peter 3:10-11 NIV).

Since His coming is so close and everything is going to be destroyed anyway, what should be our attitude towards THINGS? John says it this way, “Do not love the world or anything in the
world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him . . . The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 NIV).  On the brighter side, Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2 NIV).

What should our attitude be towards the unsaved? David says in Psalm 7:11, “God is angry with the wicked every day.” ( that's scary). Also, John says in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” We need to warn folks the same way we would when the weather forecast is bad and a bad storm is expected. People are sometimes evacuated to ensure no one is hurt. The Apostle Paul puts it this way, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men . . .” 2 Corinthians 5:11 KJV).

So you see, we have enough information in the Bible to admonish us to live godly lives, and to compel us to warn unbelievers to turn to Christ for salvation. Information is not very helpful until it motivates us to take the right action. Please, TAKE ACTION NOW; DON'T WAIT MUCH LONGER!