“Of that day or hour, knows no man” (Matthew 24:36). “You must be ready, for you don’t know what hour the Judgment Day will come” (Matthew 24:42). “You must be ready, because the world will end when you lest expect it” (Matt 24:44). “Just be ready, you don’t know when the world will end” (Mark 13:32-37). “The Judgment Day will come like a thief does”. (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3; 2 Peter 3:10).
What happened last week is a example of what occurs when people don’t study God’s word for themselves. Some quit their jobs and got rid of their personal goods because they believed what a preacher said about the end of the world. What will become of those people now? Don’t let a preacher mess up your life (Isaiah 3:12, 9:16). Study God’s word for yourself! (1 John 4:1; Revelation 2:2; Acts 17:11; John 5:39). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. When discussing hardship people will often say, “I’ve been though hell.” But guess what? That statement is false. They haven’t been though Hell. One day they may end up in Hell at the close of this life, but they sure haven’t faced anything like Hell. You see, Hell is the final punishment for the devil and his angels, created by God for that very purpose, and since many love to do the devil’s work, they will join Satan in eternal torment (Matthew 25:41,46).
Hell is a special punishment devised by God for that special Day, which is the Judgment (Hebrews 9:27; 1 Corinthians 4:5; John 5:28-29). I’m not denying that man can suffer badly in life. I’m also not denying that some call that suffering “Hell.” It’s just suffering, and we cannot compare it to the horror that awaits the wicked at the final Judgment. Hell is a place of everlasting darkness, fire that won’t go out, pain explained to us in earthly terms like, “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 3:12, 13:38-43; Mark 9:43-50; Luke 16:22-25; Romans 3:4-9, 14:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. The United States and Pakistan is going though their troubles concerning trust and maybe, in time, the truth will come out. Either the Pakistanis knew Osama Bin Laden was there, or they did not. If they did know, then they were guilty of aiding and abetting, and that is not good when the person you are protecting is a wanted man. Anyway, the lesson for us on a more personal basis is not to protect the guilty. I don’t care if it is family, friend, or foe. If the person is guilty of wrong doing, they aren’t worth you standing up for them (1 Timothy 5:22).
Yet every day, people will commit evil deeds, and there will be someone who will stand by them and even cover up for them. Don’t do this thing. Speak out against wrong, and correct those dearest to you when they are wrong. You sure aren’t doing the wrong doer a favor by helping them. In the end, they will give account to Jesus for their evil deeds, and you will give account for helping them (2 Corinthians 5:10; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Hebrews 4:13). So don’t be guilty of aiding evil doers. Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. The Bucket List is a movie about two men who were soon to die and their attempts to do as many things possible before death claimed them. In the movie, they did things which were fine, but they also engaged in sinful behavior. The men only thought about enjoying earthly things, and while it is fine to enjoy our last days on earth, it is foolish to do nothing to save the soul (Mark 8:36-37; Luke 12:15). When one has been told that death is near, that person should begin to think about where they will spend eternity, rather then climbing the highest mountain or sailing around the world (Matthew 6:19-21). The only chance one has to save himself is while alive because after death there is norepentance (John 8:21, Luke 16:22-26).
After death, man will have to stand before Almighty God and answer for every deed, and it will be pitiful for anyone with a “bucket list” of trips, clothes, cars, etc, and nothing else (Hebrews 5:9; Matt. 7:21; Acts 16:30-33; Matt. 25:31-46; Ecclesiastes 12:13; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. We have heard it many times before: a house burns down and people suffer injury or death. But then we see a fireman saying “there were no working smoke detectors in the house.”
Those words cause us to lament the lost of life or health because no one took the time to do what was needed in order to protect themselves. Well, let me use that example in another way. The Bible which is the word of God, is our smoke detector. Do you have one? And as for batteries, are you doing what His word commands you? You see, it is one thing to have a Bible in your house, but a totally different thing to be doing what it teaches (Luke 6:46; John 15:14, 8:31-32). If we can be of help to you in learning God’s will for your life, let us help you with a Bible study (Acts 8:26-40, 16:11-15, 17:11). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |