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 fi ne. 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 offer cannot pay for your salvation. Only
the blood of Jesus is acceptable as payment for your sins. Th e 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.” (Acts 16:31 NIV).

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).

THE GUARANTEED PASSWORD

Codes, Passwords and Personal identification numbers,
They are meant to keep others out of our business.
Do you have a bank account?
Don’t forget your code,
Else you can’t get your money out in a hurry
Codes, Passwords and Personal identification numbers,
They are meant to protect our privacy and prevent fraud.
Do you have a credit account?
Don’t forget your code,
Else you can’t get any account information over the phone.

Codes, Passwords and Personal identification numbers,
They are designed to protect our privacy
Do you have a telephone answering machine?
Don’t forget your password,
Else you can’t check your phone messages.

Codes, Passwords and Personal identification numbers
We each have so many different ones and have become so
dependent on them.
How about the password to get into heaven? Do you have it? It is
the most important one.
Th at password is, “I BELIEVE IN JESUS!”
It is not a secret,
It is guaranteed to unlock the heavenly door for all who desire to
enter. No one gets into heaven without it

To obtain that password, place your faith in Jesus; confess your
sins to Him,
Ask for His forgiveness; He will wash and cleanse you from all
unrighteousness
He will turn your life around; set you on the path to peace and
victory.
Whereas the codes and passwords in our lives are secrets,
The password to heaven should be shared freely, always, and
gladly. JESUS SAVES!! Pass it on!

COVER-UP

“Cover-up’ is an expression that indicates the truth is being masked or withheld.  Those involved in the cover-up do not want people to know the truth about a situation. Cover-up occurs among all age groups, all the way up to our politicians. If we are honest, we can all recall times we have covered up something.  But why do we cover up? We cover up because we think, if the truth were known, we would be embarrassed, disrespected, disliked, punished or shunned. Simply put, cover-up is lying! 

The idea of cover-up has been successfully transported into the makeup industry. The ads tell us we look younger and more attractive with makeup on, and honestly, a little makeup does make one look nice. So, in essence, when we use makeup, we hide our flaws. The anti-aging products make us look younger than we really are; the creams, lotions and powders cover up the blemishes and age spots.

There are all sorts of products on the market that help us deceive ourselves and others, because they tell a slightly different story about our physical appearance than the truth

What do we cover up in the spiritual world, and with what? Christians have just as many (if not more) struggles, failures, pain and suffering as everyone else. We are not exempt from heartaches, sleepless nights or tears; in fact Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV).   

 We don’t always win our battles against sin, and our Christian walk is not perfect, yet we don’t want others to know what we are going through for fear they might judge us as unspiritual or think less of us than we want them to.  So, we cover up! Of course, people have other reasons for covering up, but the point is, it is not helpful. So Scriptures teach us, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16 NIV).

  When asked how we are doing, we give the impression that all is well, which is okay if, truthfully, all is well. But if it isn’t, how can people pray for us when we keep them in the dark? We each need a few good friends to encourage us, pray for us and if possible, pray with us.

A nice hairdo, a little make-up and a fake smile help us with the cover-up scheme; our brothers and sisters are fooled into thinking all is well with us, but God sees through all that. He always knows where we are in our walk with Him, and when we are hurting, and He places others in our paths to encourage us. The caring people in our lives are not there by chance, but by divine appointment. Let’s stop pretending, open up to them, and ask for support. Cover-up might be okay in the world of physical appearance, but is very unhelpful in the spiritual arena. Remember that we are commanded to “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NIV). Don’t cover up; aim to be transparent, and thus be supported!