God created us to be good and without a sinful nature; “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…God created man in His own image…” (Genesis 1:26-27). God’s plan when He created man in ‘His own image’ was for us TO BE LIKE HIM. When Lucifer, now Satan (the Hebrew word for ‘adversary’), tempted Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-7), is when sin entered into God’s creation, embedded into any person born of human parents. From that point on the bond that was there between God and man, Creator and creation, Potter and clay, was spiritually and supernaturally broken. Sin is the reason the world is the way it is. Child molesters and abusers, rapists, murderers, alcoholics, terrorists, thieves, etc. show how sick and evil we ALL are. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; John 3:19 says the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. It’s speaking of all mankind and our very root of evil and loving darkness. The light that came into the world is our Creator, the Holy One, God Almighty, as Jesus, the only one that can mend our spirits back to its source; Him.
Take children for instance; the parents or guardian of a child will teach them to eat, walk, to dress and bathe themselves, how to say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’, etc. If you say to a child “Don’t eat any cookies until you’ve eaten dinner” and turned your back, what is it that makes that child know it’s the perfect opportunity to sneak and eat the cookie while your back is turned? And even lie and say they didn’t eat the cookie when asked if they did? My nephew is almost 19 months old. When he goes for anything I know he could possibly break or mistreat, I take it away from him. He then gets mad and swings at me with his fist hitting my thighs and/or face. He may not actually know what he’s doing, but it’s almost a reflex. It just comes naturally for him to be selfish and try to hurt me for taking someone away from him. It’s up to me as an aunt and anyone else watching him to show him that behavior is not appropriate. What is that though that makes him do that? The answer is simple for all three questions: SIN. We are guilty of it, starting from conception. No one teaches their child to lie, or steal, or talk back, or throw tantrums, etc. (at least I hope not), they simply know how because it’s built in us. Obviously there are greater sins than others, but we’re ALL sinful creatures nonetheless.
Obviously sin is still present, which means the forefather of sin is still free. Day and night Satan walks the earth, waiting, searching for more souls (Job 1:7) to suffer as he. Misery does indeed love company! His motto: steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He knows exactly who to send into your life and what situations to place you in that will continue to distract you from wanting God, keeping you more comfortable with your sin. It can be an obsession with keeping your body healthy and fit, with working and not having a life outside of your employment, always wanting comfort and attention from lovers or friends, getting high, tipsy or drunk, and especially putting all your time and energy in making more money. He will use absolutely ANYTHING he can to keep your mind and attention away from thoughts of God and eternity.
For those of you that haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and doesn’t believe He is Lord of all, he’s probably tempted you with lies like these: There is no God, God doesn’t love you, you have time to get your life together but now’s the time to have fun, you’re a good person-you’ll get welcomed to heaven definitely. Yeah, Satan’s good at what he does. I mean, he is the father of lies (John 8:44)! Every temptation has been God allowing Satan to test you (Job 1:12), and you’ve failed miserably. Then, there’re times when something tells you to go to church, pray, read the Word, or reach out to someone who knows God’s word, but you ignore it. Those are the times God is trying to get your attention, but you keep slapping Him in the face. You’re choosing things of this world over God. Think of it this way: right now you’re life is like a ticking time bomb; every day, hour, and second that passes could be the end of you. Any moment now, you could come face to face with the Creator. This is the case for anyone walking this earth. Death is definitely a guarantee for us all! Whether a person lives to be one day old or 150 years old, their body will still perish. What it comes down to is that moment; when you take your last breath and stand in front of God’s holy throne. For those of you that don’t believe Christ is King of King and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16) you’ll be in for quite a surprise.
At that moment, do you know what God would say to you? He’d say “I never knew ye; depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23) or get away from me, you who break God’s laws/workers of lawlessness. Iniquity means immoral or grossly unfair behavior. He pretty much wouldn’t want anything to do with you! The instant the words ‘depart from me’ would exit His lips your very soul would begin to be thrown from His presence. You’ve spent your life ignoring Him, not believing in Him, going to church to show your face or giving offering only wanting something in return, spending most of your days continually doing things He’s made clear in His word NOT to do. Why would He, the most Holy and Righteous God, want to be around you? If someone you’ve never seen knocked on your door, would you let them in? I know I wouldn’t especially where I live! It’s the same concept. The thing is, He created you, gave you chance after chance to be reconciled back to Him, but you chose otherwise. You would be a stranger to Him.
And do you know where you’d be departing to? Matthew 13:42 says ‘and the angels will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth’. The very angels the Lord created before us will be the same ones who will literally throw your soul into hell, into the furnace of fire. I scream when I burn my hand while cooking, ok. To just sit in fire while burning forever! And gnashing of teeth! Think of a ferocious lion. Personally, lions are my favorite animal, but that doesn’t mean I’d like to go to the zoo and walk inside their cages. Not only will you burn for an eternity, but have to deal with Satan and his demons. They are like lions, itching to sink their teeth into you (and who knows what else they’d like to do); only for you there will be no escape by death, because you’ll already be dead. Do you get the picture now?!?
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out” (Luke 13:28). Of course there will be weeping, tears flowing constantly! What else can you do in a place such as that?! And you will most certainly be thrown from the very presence of the Holy One “…into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). A million years would pass and that’d be NO COMPARISON to the eternity you’d have ahead of you. There’d be no way of escape, no break, no hope for you. “The Lord will come with fire/Sudden destruction cometh upon them; they shall not escape/Will I also deal in fury, neither will I have pity/and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever….” (Isaiah 66:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, Ezekiel 8:18, and Revelation 20:10 respectively). God will not have pity on you; He will show you no mercy.
Now this may seem harsh, but quite frankly it’s what you deserve. It’s what we all deserve! We are all given a choice, live for God Almighty or of this world. You may have thoughts about surrendering to God, the Spirit of God may be speaking to you now, but with every opportunity that you pass or ignore, you continue to reject Him. That is the choice you consciously make, rejecting God, as Satan did. Jesus said “He that is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23) and “He that does not believe is condemned…” (John 3:18). Either choose to live for the one and only Christ Jesus or you are claiming to be the enemy of God, His adversary, just as Satan. Therefore, you will endure the same fate as he. You are condemning yourself to hell by rejecting Christ.
Who knows how much time you have left? You have not a clue, but God does! He’s omniscient. You think you have your entire life ahead of you and that’s exactly what Satan wants you to think. Even if you don’t care how long you have on this earth, you definitely should care about what happens to you once you’re gone. God is NOT PLAYING WITH YOU! The fact you’re reading this now, shows His mercy and grace for allowing your eyes to read the truth, and giving you yet another breath to accept Him. Yesterday, this morning, an hour ago was someone’s last time and they didn’t take the opportunity to accept the Savior. Every soul burning in hell right now will NEVER get out! There is NO HOPE for the condemned. “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”, (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Your mind couldn’t possibly fathom what God’s wrath will be, even after reading those verses! All because you’re hard-headed and want to be accepted by this world. You are DUST (Psalm 103:14) and like GRASSHOPPERS (Isaiah 40:22) to the Almighty THAT SITS HIGH AND LOOKS LOW. The dirt that’s caked on the fans you have going in the summer time, or the dust that sits on your TV set. That is what you are to the Lord, what He made you from. Do you really think its ok to ignore Him now??!?!?
He’s not asking you to change, give up something, or commit to follow some rules. He knows you can’t! All God is asking for is YOU. He wants YOU. He doesn’t like when you pray or call on Him only when you need something. He wants your heart! He wants all of you! Why? Because He made you. You were not a mistake. Psalm 139:13 says You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Every single detail about you, the way you look, what drives your emotions, the way you think, the things you’re insecure about; EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, THE CREATOR DESIGNED ON PURPOSE! And He wants His child back, not by force, but willingly. If God forced you to obey Him you’d just be a robot, no sincerity.
So again, you have a choice. What is your heart saying? Is there any part of you, and I don’t care how small it may be, that has any questions, curiosities, or doubts? Talk to Him! He knows any and everything you could ever possibly think, do, and say so you can’t hide anything from Him. Are you angry with God for something that happened to you? Tell Him! Do you doubt His existence? Tell Him! You still don’t understand why a God would send you to hell? Tell Him! Call on God and confess every single thing that’s on your mind and heart right now! The things He can reveal to you, to show you He’s there will be mind-blowing!
He is God of all. He not only wants your all, your worship, your praise, to be the head of your life, but He DESERVES it! There is no one like Him; He is the Creator of time, skin, blood, and bones; He was there first and will be the last (Isaiah 46:9-10). Stop worrying about the things of this world and fear the One that can cast your soul into hell (Luke 12:45). All you have to do is call on Jesus right now and He will take care of the rest. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36).
*Belief in Him is not enough. Satan and his demons believe in God (James2:19). They’ve seen Him! Even with their belief Satan and his demons will still be cast away from the Holy One! But if you don’t ACCEPT Jesus as Savior, ALLOWING God to be in ultimate control, direction, and guide your life, your belief will be in vain and have no purpose. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). It must be a daily decision; your thoughts, things you say, your actions, everything you put out into this world is representing Christ in the best way possible. Can a person actually do everything perfect? Absolutely not! But that’s where dependence on Christ comes in. You are to strive and have the mindset to be perfect, holy, and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). Sacrifice your own desires of what your flesh wants and allow the will of God to take place in your life, strengthening your spiritual walk with Him.*
With Love,
Karen
