PLEASE UNDERSTAND:

• The Bible is God’s Word, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT).     God’s Word does not change, no matter what people wish, think, believe, or don’t believe. 
• God does not bend the rules to accommodate what people think, want, or wish for; He is always faithful to Himself, because that is His nature. 
• God’s nature includes these attributes: holiness, love, kindness, compassion, justice, and faithfulness. 
•  His attributes work hand in hand, and are never in disagreement, in other words, His kindness is not a reason to be unjust, or unfaithful. Loving mankind is not a reason for Him to overlook sin, that will be an insult to His holiness.
•  His willingness to reveal His nature to man, and showing man how to have a close relationship with Him, was the reason behind Him subjecting His Son to suffering, the cross, and the grave.
• He made a way of escape from the punishment man deserves by sending His own Son to die in the place of man.
• He is the answer to all of man’s problems (see Matthew 11:28).
• God has given man the liberty to make choices, (Deuteronomy 30:19-20), but has also made it clear that there are consequences to the choices he makes. In other words, if man chooses to live in sin, he is free to do so, but God’s holiness and faithfulness will demand judgment, justice, and sentencing, and punishment.
• He plays by the rules He has set, not by man’s rules.
• Out of His love for man, He sent His one and only Son to die to pay for man’s sin, in order to restore His relationship with man. He says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NLT). Do you wonder why? Jesus provided the answer; He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). There is no other way! Are you going to play by this rule, or think you can figure out some other way?

•      Jesus is coming back to claim for Himself those who believe in Him. He promised, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:3 NLT).
• ·        Jesus hasn’t yet returned, because God is patient, and does not want anyone to perish. Instead, He wants everyone to repent (see 2 Peter 3:9). Unfortunately, one of these days, the wait will be over! He’ll come, and sad to say, it’ll be too late for many. Have you accepted God’s invitation, and if not, why not?

• ·        He has a reward for all those who believe in the name of His Son Jesus. One of the rewards we can and should look forward to, is our being transformed into a state of immortality (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-53), and living with Him forever in heaven—a place where there’ll be no sin, pain, tears, or sadness. In the book of Revelation, Jesus declares, “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds” (Revelation 22:12). You are included in “All people.” What kind of reward do you think He is going to give you?

Your choice! Choose now, and have the assurance and peace of mind. 

THANKSGIVING

On the first thanksgiving, the pilgrims were truly thankful for

what God had done for them in their new homeland (USA). He
had protected them from harsh weather, hostile neighbors and
diseases, and given them a good harvest.

Later, ‘Thanksgiving’ was established as a National Holiday
by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.
In the proclamation, President Lincoln specified that the last
Thursday of each November should be set aside as a day to give
thanks for the founding of our nation.

The fourth Thursday of each November therefore became
a National Holiday; a day for ‘Thanksgiving.’ The celebration is
usually marked with lots of cooking, get-togethers and feasting

As Christians, what is our take on this celebration? Are we truly thankful,
and for what? Do we focus on God in any way? Getting together
with friends and family is a great idea, but let us not forget the
genesis of it, ‘THANKFLNESS TO GOD’

There is so much we need to thank God for, not only on
the last Thursday of every November, but every moment, every
day, and every night. God loves grateful people. He loves to be
acknowledged and appreciated. After He cleansed the ten lepers,
only one came back to say thanks. Jesus’ response, “Were not all
ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” Luke 17:17 (They probably
were off celebrating).

Stop and think! Are you forgetting to say thanks for something? It’s
not too late to say it.

What are some of the things we need to be thankful for?

• The fact that we are here
• Health, daily provisions, accommodation,
• Gift of salvation
• The Word to help us grow
• The Holy Spirit to comfort, lead and teach us
• Those who minister to us faithfully through preaching,
teaching, music
• Freedom to gather and worship
• Friends, family
• Jobs
• Things that bring us joy and laughter (like children and
grandchildren)
• Those who pray for us and encourage us
• Technology (has enhanced our lives in so many ways)
• Advances in medicine
• The seasons and the beauty we see around us
• Governments and leaders who establish and enforce laws
that protect us
• And so much more!

Let's follow the example of the Psalmist. He admonishes:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever”
(Psalm 118:1 NIV).
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among
the nations what He has done” (Psalm 105:1 NIV).
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord [that’s us] say this” (Psalm 107:1-2 NIV).
“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His
wonderful deeds for men” (Psalm 107:15 NIV).

Let;s give thanks!!

THE PAYMENT FOR SIN IS DEATH

Let’s define the main words in the title of this article: payment, sin, and death.

Payment may be defined as compensation or wages, and it is an indication that some service has been rendered for which one needs to be compensated.

Sin is defined as an offence, a crime, wrongdoing, or transgression deserving some form of punishment.

Death is defined as demise or passing away.

 This phrase, the payment for sin is death, is part of a Bible verse. It says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This verse is conveying the fact that we do get compensated for our wrongdoings, no matter the type or magnitude. Wrongdoing is wrongdoing, and the compensation is death.

When the Bible talks about death as a compensation for sin, it is not talking about physical/natural death; it is referring to spiritual death -- spending eternity in hell, also known as the second death. The first death is characterized by cessation of breathing and cessation of heart beat. Given time, every living thing dies eventually, but not everyone is going to experience hell/second death.

There are people who like to compare their wrongdoings to the wrongdoings of others, and conclude they are not as bad as those people. That reasoning sounds logical. However, sin is sin, and death is death. No matter which sin you commit, your compensation is death, and when another commits another kind of sin, their compensation is death as well.

I thought like this in my early teens. I attended high school with some very promiscuous teenagers; I had no respect for them, and always thought of them as SINNERS. It wasn’t until someone explained to me what I have just explained in this article that my perspective changed.

A lady named Florence, the traveling secretary for the Scripture Union, explained to me that the wages of being promiscuous were the same as the wages for telling a little lie. The light bulb went on in my heart, and I understood. The reason is that the One (God) who said don’t kill is the same One who said don’t lie. If you don’t kill but lie, you’ve still wronged that someone! 

So do you understand you are a sinner, no matter how insignificant you think your sins are? Do you understand there are consequences for your sins, no matter how insignificant? Are you ready to face the consequences? Let me remind you again; the consequences of sin is death/hell. Would you like to face that?

I’d like to think you'd prefer an alternative, and thank God there is one. The verse in Romans 6:23, continues with, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” So instead of death/hell, you can have life/heaven. How do you pass from death to life? God has made provision for that to happen in your life!

In order to pass from death to life, God wants you to admit to Him and to yourself that you are a sinner who deserves death, the due payment for sin. He then wants you to accept life by believing in His only Son Jesus Christ, who died to pay the penalty for your sins. Jesus’ holiness is transferred to you, and when God looks at you, all He sees is Jesus’ righteousness. He has nothing else to hold you accountable for; Jesus paid it all! The chorus to one of my favorite hymns goes like this: Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe, Sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Would you allow Him to give you New Life today? Yes? Then call on Him today; tomorrow could be too late! 

QUIT TRYING TO HELP GOD

Has God made you a promise that He hasn’t fulfilled yet? Are you tired of waiting, and thinking He forgot, He cannot fulfill it, or He needs help to fulfill it? Are you tempted to help Him along, any way you can to make it happen? Please don’t!

Maybe, the first thing to do is to be sure that He has indeed made you a promise, and if He has, you have nothing to worry about; He will come through. Scripture clearly says, “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrew 10:23 NIV), and also, “No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV).

Let us remember Abraham and Sarah! God’s promise to give them a son (see Genesis 15:2-5), did not happen soon enough for them; they were worried about their inability to have a baby at their old age (see Genesis 16:1-4), so they devised their own way to help Him fulfill the promise that He had made. The result of their help is with us today; Ishmael, the father of the Muslims, is constantly at war with the Israelites. God being the faithful God that He is, still went ahead and fulfilled what He had promised (see Genesis 21:1-3), and through His faithfulness, you and I have salvation through Christ Jesus (if we believe in Him). Amen!

Taking things into our own hands, or trying to help God will always end in disaster. Let us not break rules and laws and the like to help God out. He will ask for our help should He ever need it, so until then let us wait patiently. God had a dialogue with the prophet Habakkuk about the future of the Israelites, and reassured him this way, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3 NIV).

How encouraging! “If it linger, wait for it.”  So let us be fully persuaded that God has power to carry out whatever He promises (see Romans 4:21). In addition, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). If we believe nothing is too hard for Him, then let’s quit trying to help Him, wait patiently, and trust His wisdom. After all, He created the universe with the Word of His mouth. If we really want to help, this is what we can do to help, “Go and make disciples of all nations…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).