YOU ARE A DEFENDANT IN A COURT CASE

Dear friend, you’ve been named in a lawsuit as the defendant. Your charges have been read, and without doubt, you’re guilty, and punishment is eminent! God is the plaintiff, but also the judge. The sooner you secure a lawyer to plead your case, the sooner you’ll be acquitted. By the way, there is only one lawyer, Jesus, (Advocate—see 1 John 2:1) who knows the judge, and also knows how to satisfy His demands regarding your guilt.

You’re probably wondering what the plaintiff could possibly have against you. Let me assure you; He has the same complaint against everyone-we’re all sinners! This is His complaint: “Everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). You might ask, “How can that be?” The answer is quite simple: we all descended from the same sinful couple-Adam and Eve. The Bible says, “Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone” (Romans 5:18 NLT). We inherited their sin-nature, and therefore, we also sin! The only way we can escape the punishment for our sins is to secure the only qualified lawyer, Jesus, to defend us. Have you ever retained a lawyer for a legal matter? Then I’m sure you also know lawyer services are not cheap; they charge you an arm and a leg, and then some.

I personally know this lawyer, Jesus Christ. He takes care of my spirit-legal issues; He’s amazing. I don’t know what I’d do without Him. He’s kind and loving, dependable and wise. For all that, you’ll expect Him to charge as much as the other lawyers, or maybe more.

However, I can assure you, Jesus pays your debt Himself, instead of charging you. He pays the whole thing, and makes provision for future debts. He does that through His onetime sacrifice (death on a cross), to satisfy the Father’s wrath. I know what I’m talking about, because He’s taken care of mine already; now, I am free: as free as if I’d never sinned. In addition, He’s constantly pleading on my behalf for my present as well as future missteps. Would you like to meet Him?

You might be toiling with the idea, wondering what the punishment would be if you ignored my advice. There’s no need to wonder: I’ll go ahead and tell you. The Bible says, “The person who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:20 NLT), and also, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT). When the Bible talks about death, it means eternal separation from God, which also stands for hell. In short, if you choose not to be represented by Jesus, the advocate, you’ve chosen to go to hell when you die. It’s that simple, but sad!

To recap, here are the facts: you’re a sinner whether or not you agree, punishment can be forgiven only if the conditions for forgiveness are met, and finally, only one person qualifies to be your advocate—JESUS! So now would you consider my recommendation? He’s waiting to hear from you and says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT).

Please call on Jesus in prayer today; believe in Him, ask Him to forgive your sins, and make you His child. He will: I can attest to that! He will also give you the assurance that your sins have been forgiven, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God” (1 John 5:1 NLT); “I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus” (1 John 2:12 NLT), and to assure you that He’ll never bring up your sins again, the Bible says, “ He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12 NLT). Do you have any idea what that means? He’ll never hold you accountable for them again; your sins will be gone for good!

Please wait no longer; time is running out. Make this decision now, and live with the assurance of eternal life with God in heaven. Although we might never meet here in this life, I look forward to meeting you there. What a wonder this will be!

EVIDENCE OF INTIMACY WITH JESUS

We all like others to know who our friends are; we sometimes
prove that friendship by how much we know about each other.
When people have been friends for a long time, they begin to think
and act like each other. Th ere is a saying I haven’t heard in a long
time that proves this point. It goes something like this, “Show me
your friend and I’ll show you your character.”

In a similar way, Peter and John, by their courage, proved to
the members of the Sanhedrin that they had been with Jesus. In
Acts chapter four, Luke gives the account of how Peter and John
responded when questioned by the Sanhedrin, “By what power
or what name did you do this?” V 7 (Referring to the healing of
a cripple). Peter wasted no time; he went straight to the point, proving
that Jesus was the Christ and that through Him, the cripple had
been healed.

Th e Scripture tells us, “When they saw the courage of Peter
and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished and they took note that these men had
been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). (That was the only explanation).

What are some of the ways in which we can demonstrate that
we have been with Jesus?

• Love—“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 NIV). “This is my command:
Love each other” (John 15:17 NIV). “Love must be sincere” (Romans 12:9 NIV).

• Belief/Trust—Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7 NIV).

• Forgiveness—“. . . forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you” Ephesians 4:32 NIV). “Bear with each other and
forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13 NIV).

• Humility—“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility
toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but
gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 NIV).  “. . . in humility
consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3 NIV).

• Wisdom—"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10 NIV).
“He who wins souls is wise” Proverbs 11:30 NIV).

• Boldness—“Th e righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1 NIV).

• Courage—“. . . without being frightened in any way by
those who oppose you” Philippians 1:28 NIV).
‘You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day . . .” (Psalm 91:5).

• Faith—“The righteous will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 NIV).
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
 ‘We live by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV).

• Prayerfullness/Thankfulness/Joyfulness—“From inside
the fish Jonah prayed” (Jonah 2:1 NIV). “Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances” (2 Thessalonians 5:16 NIV).

• Respect—“Show proper respect to everyone; Love the
brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17 NIV).

• Living by the Word—“Do not merely listen to the word . . . Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV).

MEMORIZE—“By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another” (John 13: 35 NIV).

THE TIME FOR SALVATION IS NOW

Are you one of the many who think the 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 offer cannot pay for your salvation. Only the blood of Jesus is accepted 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” (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 NEW YOU IN THE MAKING

There are many cosmetic products on the market that claim to transform one in unbelievable ways. For example, some claim their use could make one look ten or more years younger. Product manufacturers claim that using their product as directed could be more beneficial to their users than other brands of the same product on the market. Most of these products do not hold up to their claim, and even if they did, the results are only temporary.

The Bible talks about an authentic transformation that is necessary in each individual’s life. It does not cost individuals anything to obtain (though it cost Christ His life), the result speaks for itself, and lasts forever. This transformation is guaranteed through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Why do we need this transformation? This transformation is necessary to restore our relationship with God; the relationship that was interrupted by sin. Before you even think you have no sin, listen to what the Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:8-10 NIV).

When we confess our sins to God through Christ, He cleanses us, just as the above Scripture says and
gives us a new nature created to be like Him in true righteousness and holiness (see Ephesians 4:24). He explains the effect of the cleansing and forgiveness by saying, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). He further explains our transformation this way, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Ephesians 5:8-9 NIV).

In order for the transformation to be evident and ongoing, we have a responsibility; to live as children of light by allowing Christ to live through us, by obeying His word. Our transformation has to be evident in our attitude towards God and our fellow man. The Scripture says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18 NIV).

God’s command in all of this is, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy” (Leviticus 20:26 NIV); “Put off your old self, . . . and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV). We have to make a conscious effort,
each single day to maintain God’s required standard of holiness. A ‘New You’ in Christ will last for a lifetime and beyond; come to Jesus now!

GOD WILL HONOR YOUR DECISION

God, the Creator of the universe, has the power and the
right to make us do things His way. He could have made
us robot-like, but He didn’t. He wants us to obey him out
of respect, love, faith, admiration, and reverence. For
that reason, He has given us the ability and the freedom
to make choices. In order to prove that He really wants
us to have the freedom to choose, He respects and
honors the choices we make. We just need to know that
the choices we make do have ramifications.

As humans, one of the many decisions we are
confronted with, also happens to be the most important
we’ll ever make; a decision that has eternal implications.
That decision is choosing where we are going to spend
eternity, which is after this physical life is over. It could
be only one of two places, heaven or hell.
Well, with that freedom, the ball is in each individual’s
court; we each have the last word concerning our
destiny! What is it going to be for you, heaven or hell?
Your decision will determine how you should live in
preparation for that destiny.

If you’d like to spend eternity in heaven (highly
recommended), here is what you need to understand:

• You are a sinner, deserving God’s judgment
(see Romans 6:23), but God so loved you that He gave
His only begotten Son as a substitute for you. He
died in your place (see John 3:16).
Here is what you need to do:
• Admit to God that you are a sinner, “There is not
a righteous man on earth who does what is right
and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
• Ask for his forgiveness and place your faith in
Him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved” (Acts 16:31 NIV).
• Ask Him to be your Lord and Master.
Here’s what He will do:
• He will forgive your sins, and never bring them
up again, “As far as the east is from the west, so
far has He removed our transgressions from us
(Psalm 103:12).
• He will write your name in the book of life.
• He will guide and direct your life by the
Scriptures.
• At the end, He will welcome you into heaven (see John
14:2-3) to worship Him forever and to enjoy all
the blessings of heaven.

On the other hand, if you’d rather spend eternity in hell
(bad idea); here is what you need to understand:
• Hell is a terrible place, hot, and uncomfortable.
• The torment never ends.
• There is no opportunity to change one’s mind.
Once you arrive in hell; you will always be in hell.
Here’s what you need to do:
• Do nothing about your sinful way of life.
• Ignore God’s love and call to believe in Him.
Here is what He will do:
• Plead with you as long as there is time.
• Honor you wishes when your time runs out.
• Send you to hell as you desired and requested.

Friend, don’t be stubborn; although you have the right
to choose whatever you want, God is pleading with you
to choose life. He is not going to plead with you much
longer. This is your day of salvation, “Today, if you hear
His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:8; Hebrews
3:7-8, 4:7 NIV). Believe in Him today!