The Alternate Story

I recently started reading a book written by Ray Comfort entitled The Defender’s Guide for Life’s Toughest Questions. In it, I read where some atheists have a problem with the courtroom scenario that Ray uses to illustrate what Jesus did on the cross. Therefore I thought I would offer you a somewhat different scenario to help you understand what Jesus did for you and for me. However, while the story that I am about to tell you is not a complete alternative to Ray’s courtroom scenario, I think it is a wonderful illustration of what God did through Jesus on that beautiful, terrible cross.

I first heard this story told by Adrian Rogers. It goes like this:

There was a certain man that was in the hospital due to a rare and deadly disease. The disease was curable; however, the cure was so rare and expensive that most people could not afford it and therefore died. The man could not afford the cure, so he just lay there, awaiting the moment that he would slip into eternity.

A few days after the man’s diagnosis, the doctor stumbled into the man’s hospital room, holding a medicine bottle in his hand. The doctor looked disheveled. His hair was out of place, his clothes were ripped and torn, and his shirt was stained with blood. When the man asked the doctor what happened, the doctor replied with tears in his eyes, “I knew that you could not afford the cure for your disease. And I knew that, if you did not get it, you would die. So I took my life’s savings, and I sold my house and all that I owned and then I drove halfway across the country to get the medication so that you might live. On my way to the hospital, I was speeding and I had a wreck. My only son was in the car with me. He was killed. The blood that has stained my clothing is the blood of my only son.”

Suppose that man took that medicine bottle, opened it, and poured it all out on the floor of that hospital room. Could anyone be so ungrateful? He would then deserve to die after rejecting such an incredible gift.

That is what God did for you. God allowed his only Son to be beaten and nailed to an old, rugged cross that you might live. You do not deserve God’s love. That cross should have been you. However, it was not.

If you reject God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, you will be like that man pouring out the life-saving medicine that was responsible for the death of that doctor’s only son. Do not make that mistake. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Without Him, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Please, turn completely from all sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. If you do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

The Sovereign Definer

Friday, the indiscriminate decision was made to make homosexual “marriage” legal in the state of New York. Of course, I am infuriated and brokenhearted that this decision was made; however, for a very different reason than you might think. You see, marriage was defined in the beginning by God as one man and one woman, for life; and no one—no matter how hard they may try—can erase or change that definition. Therefore I am brokenhearted that we live in a nation that would fly in the face of the One who has blessed beyond measure, and say that we know better than He.

Today I pray with “America’s pastor,” Billy Graham, who once prayed,

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Over the years, God has taught me to have a bitter hatred toward sin and yet to love people still. My heart breaks for those who were responsible for passing this so-called law on Friday and I want them to be saved. However, in a way, I am not worried. I know that these people are only like little children who have their imaginary friends. As unhealthy as it may be, it is not real. What they have is not marriage at all, and one day they will all realize that God is right.

A little over a year ago Kirk Cameron wrote the following in a newsletter that I received from Living Waters ministries:

Recently, I was doing an interview for a marriage conference called "Love Worth Fighting For" and was asked what I thought of "gay marriage". I later thought more deeply about the subject. That phrase doesn't even make sense and confuses terms. Marriage is defined by God. He defines it in His Word as a covenant union between one man and one woman, for life. There is no other kind. To say "straight marriage" would be redundancy. Anything else is not marriage, it's... well, something else. I know a man who struggled with homosexual thoughts, became a Christian, and waged war against his sin. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, guided by the light of Scripture, he "put to death the deeds of the flesh" and was "transformed by the renewing of [his] mind," and "washed by the water of the Word". While some cry for the "right" to redefine holy institutions, those who have Christ living within them grow increasingly away from deformities, faults, and error, into loveliness, honor, and spiritual beauty. Notice this is a process. A walk, Paul says. Step by step, growing over time, into the perfect likeness of Jesus Himself. God's solution to homosexual desires is not to change the definition of marriage, but to change the desires of the man by making him more like Jesus.

This post is not about homosexuality; it is about living in opposition to the Word of God. Isaiah 5:20 does indeed say, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” If you do not know Jesus as Lord of your life today, you have no doubt done that. It is time for a change. You have given the devil a place in your life, but stand up and say, “In the name of Jesus, be gone!” Turn completely from all sin today and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. If you do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

Discipline Is Not a Verb: My Response to Ray Comfort’s “I Hate You…I’m Going to Kill You!”

"Research shows that: physical punishment is associated with an increase in delinquency, antisocial behavior, and aggression in children; and physical punishment is associated with a decrease in the quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and the child's capacity to internalize socially acceptable behavior. Adults who have been subject to physical punishment as children are more likely to abuse their own child or spouse and to manifest criminal behavior."
- Gershoff ET (2008). Report on Physical Punishment in the United States: What Research Tells Us About Its Effects on Children. Columbus OH: Center for Effective Discipline.

(Comment posted to "Atheist Central" by Downward Spiral)

I am sure it came as no surprise to most of you that I agree with Ray Comfort. However, I saw the above quote made to Ray’s blog post yesterday and I agree with it as well. The main reason for that is that discipline is not something you do; discipline is something you teach. That is something that is being made more clear to me as the years go by.

You see, although I am not a parent, I am not blind nor did I grow up in a cave. I went to high school just like most of you. I have also experienced college life. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that most parents “discipline” their children for all of the wrong reasons. Most parents, it seems, “discipline” their children out of selfish motives alone.

Allow me to illustrate my point. We have all seen the mom in Walmart with the young child who is grabbing everything in sight. Eventually, you will hear that child let out a bloodcurdling scream. Now, that mother did not just smack that child out of love; she did what should did out of utter frustration. Perhaps the above “research” was done at the local Walmart. That, my friend, is not proper, biblical discipline.

Speaking from a child’s point of view, I can tell you that, when I was growing up, I learned the most from my mistakes when my mother—or whoever was in charge at the time—took the time to explain to me exactly why what I did was wrong and why I ought never to do it again. And sometimes there is a physical correction needed there to show a child that there are serious consequences for sin. God allows no sin to go unpunished. Therefore we ought not to let our children’s sin go unpunished here on earth so they might not have to face a more serious, everlasting punishment in Hell.

Quite frankly, whether or not you see spanking a child as child abuse is based solely on where you get your information and what that information is based upon. I would venture to say that a parent who spanks their children without explaining why is practicing a form of child abuse, because that child has learned nothing from that experience besides the fact that he best not do whatever he did in the presence of that parent again. You see, I have learned that it is not the punishment in and of itself that helps to steer a child in the right direction, but it is a clear understanding of why what he has done is wrong. Parents today simply do not take the time to explain right from wrong.

If there is one main thing that I have learned about children, it is that children need and want guidance. If they cannot get it from their parents, they will find someone else who will give it to them; and it may not be the kind of guidance that they really need. There are four main things that I have learned from observation that parents ought to be. Moms and dads ought to be consistent, likeminded, narrow-minded, and grounded in the Word of God.

First of all, you must be consistent. If you tell your children something one time, you best back it up every time. And do not let one child do something that you just got onto the other child for doing. If you do not practice consistency, your children will play you like a harp. Understand?

Second of all, moms and dads must be likeminded. Sit down and decide together what you do and do not want your children to do. If one says don’t do something, the other one ought to back it up. If you are not careful here, your children will play you against one another.

The world will not like this one, but parents must be narrow-minded. Be discriminatory. Be cautious. Be careful what you let your children watch on television. Be careful what you let them read. Be careful what kind of music you allow them to listen to. And most importantly choose your children’s friends for them. Who your children hang out with will influence them more than you could ever imagine.

Lastly, if you are not grounded in the Word of God, you cannot be a successful parent. Know what God says about successful parenting. Know what He says about the dangers that are out there. Know that the devil is lurking in the shadows and that he wants nothing more than to steal your children’s lives away from them. Pray, pray, and pray again. And win their souls to Jesus Christ before it is eternally too late for them.

The most well-known narrow-minded parents in this world are bringing up all nineteen of their children to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have proven over and over again that they will not let anything stand in their way of raising a family that is pleasing in the sight of the Lord. They have proven Proverbs 22:6 to be true. That verse simply says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

You can choose to do nothing and therefore see your children follow after this world. Or you can be consistent, likeminded, narrow-minded, and grounded in the Word of God and therefore see your children be well rounded, well disciplined, and well equipped to live lives that are pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

A Thought from Ray Comfort on Parenting

While I was not prepared to post anything today, I read this blog post from Ray Comfort's blog and decided that it would be something good to share. If everything goes as planned, I will do my best to post my response to Ray's blog post, tomorrow.

"I Hate You...I'm Going to Kill You!"

Disclaimer: I am not a parent. My response will not be coming from a parent's point of view. However, it will be coming from someone who has witnessed the destruction and devastation that is brought on by a lack of good, biblical parenting.

Psalm 37

For today's post, please take the time to read Psalm 37, which I have posted below.

Psalm 37

¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
         Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
 ² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
         And wither as the green herb.
        
 ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
 ⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
        
 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.
 ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
         And your justice as the noonday.
        
 ⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
         Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
         Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
 ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
         Do not fret—it only causes harm.
        
 ⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
         But those who wait on the LORD,
         They shall inherit the earth.
 ¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
         Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
         But it shall be no more.
 ¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
         And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
        
 ¹² The wicked plots against the just,
         And gnashes at him with his teeth.
 ¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
         For He sees that his day is coming.
 ¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
         And have bent their bow,
         To cast down the poor and needy,
         To slay those who are of upright conduct.
 ¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
         And their bows shall be broken.
        
 ¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
         Is better than the riches of many wicked.
 ¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
         But the LORD upholds the righteous.
        
 ¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the upright,
         And their inheritance shall be forever.
 ¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
         And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
 ²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
         And the enemies of the LORD,
         Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
         Into smoke they shall vanish away.
        
 ²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
         But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
 ²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
         But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
        
 ²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
         And He delights in his way.
 ²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
         For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
        
 ²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
         Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
         Nor his descendants begging bread.
 ²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends;
         And his descendants are blessed.
        
 ²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
         And dwell forevermore.
 ²⁸ For the LORD loves justice,
         And does not forsake His saints;
         They are preserved forever,
         But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
 ²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
         And dwell in it forever.
        
 ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
         And his tongue talks of justice.
 ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
         None of his steps shall slide.
        
 ³² The wicked watches the righteous,
         And seeks to slay him.
 ³³ The LORD will not leave him in his hand,
         Nor condemn him when he is judged.
        
 ³⁴ Wait on the LORD,
         And keep His way,
         And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
         When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
 ³⁵ I have seen the wicked in great power,
         And spreading himself like a native green tree.
 ³⁶ Yet he passed away,^[a] and behold, he was no more;
         Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
        
 ³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
         For the future of that man is peace.
 ³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
         The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
        
 ³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
         He is their strength in the time of trouble.
 ⁴⁰ And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;
         He shall deliver them from the wicked,
         And save them,
         Because they trust in Him.

The Role of Repentance

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:3

I was looking on a local church’s website yesterday and found the following description of salvation: “Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin's penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.” There is only one problem with that; there is no mention of repentance. Jesus made it very clear that, without repentance, a person cannot be truly saved. Today I want to talk about what repentance really is and what role it plays in the process of salvation.

Repentance is not merely something one must do to be saved, but it is a byproduct of faith. Once someone has realized the reality of who he is compared to who God is, repentance will come naturally to that person. Repentance is simply me living my life for Jesus because He gave His life for me.

So what exactly is repentance? Repentance is when someone sees his sin for what it really is and turns and runs as fast as he can in the opposite direction. Repentance is saying, “God, before I knew You, I lived for me; but now I want to live for you.”

So what is repentance not? Repentance is not asking God for forgiveness. Repentance is the result of forgiveness. When Jesus forgave the adulterous woman, He said to her, “Go, and sin no more.” That’s all repentance is, leaving your old life to live a new one.

Someone who claims to believe in Jesus yet has failed to repent of his sin is not truly saved. James 2:19 says, “Even the demons believe—and tremble!” Repentance is belief with legs on it. The devil and his angels will not spend eternity in Hell because they have failed to believe in the God of the Bible; they will spend eternity in Hell because they refuse to repent.

The Bible teaches that we can know whether or not a person is truly saved by the fruit that he bears. My friend, if you do not bear the fruit of repentance, I can assure you, upon the authority of the Word of God, that you are on your way to Hell. If you do not know Jesus as Lord of your life today, you can. If you will repent of your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

Is Revival Possible?

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If you are reading this post, you are fully aware that this nation is in a crisis. Christians have been calling for revival in this nation for years. However, is revival even possible? If you are reading this today and you are a Christian, this post is for you. (However, if you are not a Christian, God put this blog in your path today for a reason; so don’t stop reading.) I feel like many Christians today believe that the main problem in America is the lost. However, that is not what God says. God said, “If My people…” Revival is possible, but it must start with the people of God.

Look at the above verse again. Notice, if you will, the first and last three words of that verse: “if my people” and “heal their land.” There is a healing for this nation, but it first must start with God’s people. God promised that He will heal the land of His people if they will “humble themselves, and pray, and seek [His] face, and turn from their wicked ways.”

First, let’s take a look at the last part of that verse: “and turn from their wicked ways.” Yes, God is still talking about believers here. Therefore this could only mean a call to repentance among the people of God. Is there any unconfessed, unrepented of sin in your life? If there is, you need to take care of that right now. Remember, David said, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:12-13). David realized that, without the joy of the Lord, he could not be an effective witness to others. You cannot have the joy of the Lord while harboring sin in your heart at the same time.

The interim pastor at our church spoke briefly about this subject Sunday night. He said that revival is not when you bring in a guest speaker to preach every night for a week and the lost get saved; revival is when God’s people get right, and then the lost get saved as a result of that. I looked up the definition of the word revival and I found several different definitions, but the one I liked the best said, “The process of bringing somebody back to life.” That is all revival is. It is the process of putting life back into the people of God.

Someone who has never lived cannot be revived. The only person that can be revived is someone who has lived and then died. The prefix “re” means to do something over again. Someone who has been revived has been made to live again. Therefore revival does not apply to the lost because the lost have never truly lived in the first place.

Ephesians 2:1 says that the lost are dead in their “transgressions and sins.” In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” If Jesus came so that the lost might have life, then that could only mean that they cannot have life apart from Jesus. And someone who has never had life cannot be revived.

Revival is for God’s people. However, once God’s people are revived, they can then begin to reach out to the lost. Therefore many will be saved as a result of the revival of God’s people.

Revival in this nation is possible, but it can only start with God’s people. If God’s people will humble themselves, repent of their sin, and pray, we have assurance from God that we will see a great revival in this nation. And one by one, as revival begins to take place in the lives of God’s people, we can reach this world for Jesus Christ.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord of your life today, there is nothing in your life to revive; however, you can begin to truly live today. If you will repent of your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

Adrian Rogers's Message about Contentment

Don't let the title of this message keep you from watching it. This message has to do with the individual just as much as it does the family. If I could get something out of this message, I know you can too.

Cultivating Contentment in the Home
Note: Unfortunately, this message is no longer available online. However, if you're interested in ordering it on CD or DVD, you can visit the appropriate links to do so.

Who Is Jesus?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:6

If you have already rejected Jesus Christ as Lord, I do not need to answer the above question for you because, if you did not already know who Jesus truly is, you would not have rejected Him in the first place. Therefore I will be answering the above question a little differently than you might have thought. There are two main reasons that people reject Jesus Christ as Lord and there is one main consequence for doing so.

The first reason that people reject Jesus as Lord is that He claims to be the only way to Heaven. Your parents cannot get you there. Your pastor cannot get you there. Your good deeds cannot get you there. Jesus is the only means of salvation. People do not like this because, if Jesus is the only way that they can have salvation, that means that they have to drop everything else and serve Him and Him alone.

Secondly, Jesus said that He is the truth. We live in a day and time where people claim that there is no absolute truth. These people say that you have your truth, I have my truth, and where we end up will be according to what we believed as individuals to be true in this life. Now, does that make any sense at all to you? Jesus said, “I am…the truth.” Friend, if you have believed in anyone but Jesus, you have believed a lie.

Lastly, there is one main consequence for denying Jesus and that is eternity in Hell. Jesus said, “I am…the life.” As Ray Comfort said, “When you reject God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, you aren’t rejecting a religion. You are rejecting the most precious thing in the universe--life itself." As I have said before, Jesus can only bring life, but sin can only bring death.

Jesus said, “I am…the life.” Do you know Him today? If not, please come to Jesus and live. Simply repent of your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. If you do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

Offended? Absolutely Not!

My friend, at this point I can only say that your delusion is too deep to ford at any point. Please don't think I am being insulting when I say I have read some of the most insipid and foolish assertations ever put to print here on your blog. I do not fault you too much for they are obviously not your own; I've seen them all before. You are a perfect example of a mind whose powers of reason have been utterly compromised by dogma. Best of luck to you. –JD

I am not very easily offended…anymore. You see, I have learned that, when someone says something to me, it does not necessarily mean that that person has a problem with me. Nine times out of ten it has to do with what I stand for, or should I say Who I stand for. It breaks my heart to hear those things, but it does not offend me. I cannot be offended by something that was not aimed toward me in the first place. My heart breaks because I know that what I am hearing is coming from a heart that is out of fellowship with Almighty God.

I admit that I have been angered by some of the comments made to this blog; however, I have never been angry at the commenter. It angers me that people can be so deceived by the devil and his ways. Jesus said in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Please, do not follow after him! My friend, the devil is real. Every time you tell a lie, deceive another person, or have a hateful thought toward someone, you are following in his footsteps. And if you continue to follow him, you will follow him into Hell itself.

John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” That is my prayer for you. There has not been one person to comment on my blog who I have not prayed for. I care about where you spend eternity, and that is the only reason this blog exists.

If you do not know Him today, I pray that you would repent of your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. If you do that, I am telling you that He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

You Are Somebody

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Psalm 139:14

As I have said before, I will never in a million years understand why anyone would want to chose atheism. Although many people—atheists included—deny Christ because He requires them to “deny [themselves], and take up [their] cross, and follow [Him]” (Matthew 16:24), professing to be an atheist is saying that one is altogether worthless. Atheism says that life is completely and utterly pointless. You live and then you die and that’s it—some life that is. If I were an atheist I would never get out of bed because my life would have no purpose at all. However, I am here to tell you today that there is a Creator and you do have a purpose in this life.

This world did not happen by chance. You were not born by coincidence. Ethel Waters, who was born out of wedlock, famously said, “I know I’m somebody because God don’t make no junk.” Not a blade of grass moves without God’s permission. You are somebody. You are here for a reason. Start living like it!

If you are an atheist, I know that by claiming to be no better than the animals, you think that you can do whatever you want and get away with it. However, there is a God and He will hold you accountable on Judgment Day. I will also tell you that He loves you and He wants you to be saved.

I marvel at the fact that He would call me His own. I will never understand why the King of the universe would want to be associated with me, but He does. The Bible tells us that, if we will trust Him, we will become the children of God (John 1:12).Do you know Him today? I want nothing more for you than for you to know Him and to know the joy of knowing that Almighty God would call you His own. If you do not know Him today, repent of your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

A Season of Pleasure

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Hebrews 11:25

Sin promises us pleasure every time, but it never holds up its end of the bargain. There is no wonder why Moses chose to follow after God rather than to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Sure, Moses could have lived a life of luxury. However, he knew that there was more to this life that the so-called "pleasures" of this world. Moses knew that the life that Pharaoh lived would ultimately bring about destruction, but he also knew that God could only bring life. You may live carefree in this world, but one day you will be held accountable for how you lived your life upon this earth.

Never let anyone tell you that the ways of this world cannot provide you with pleasure. That simply is not true, nor is it biblical. However, the Bible does say that the pleasures of sin will only last for a season. You see, everything in this world is only temporary. One day this world as we know it will come to an end. However, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. The pleasures of this world cannot last forever because they themselves will not always be. But God will never cease to be; therefore, the joy that He gives will last forever.

Revelation 21:8 says, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” My friend, as Adrian Rogers always said, if you go to Hell, you will be an intruder. Hell was not made for you; it was made for the devil and his angels. If you follow him, however, that is where you will end up.

I dare say that not one of us can say that we have not heard John 3:16 which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Do not ask me why God allowed His Son to die on an old, rugged cross for you and me. I will never know the answer to that question. But if there is one thing I do know, it is that He loves you and He wants to save you.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord of your life today, please do not wait any longer. Turn completely from all sin and confess Jesus as Lord. If you do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

The Freedom of Forgiveness

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

I would say that one of the toughest things for any of us to do is to forgive another person. All we can think about is how that other person has hurt us. The unwillingness to forgive is really a very selfish thing. And eventually, if we continue to hold on to that bitterness and anger, it will begin to control every aspect of our lives. When we choose to forgive, however, that choice will set us free.

Several years ago, Mandisa, was on the hit reality show “American Idol.” When she auditioned for the show, Simon Cowell said to her, “Mandisa, you have a very beautiful face.” However, after she had walked out of the room, he made a wisecrack about her weight. The next time Mandisa was on the show, one of the executive producers looked at her and said, “If Simon Cowell said something nasty about you, we want you to tell him off.” But what Mandisa said shocked everyone. She simply walked on stage, sat down in front of Simon and said, “Simon, a lot of people want me to say a lot of things to you. But what I want to tell you, Simon, is that I forgive you. The reason I forgive you is that Jesus died so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven. I can certainly extend that same grace to you.”

Do you realize that the King of the universe sent His only Son to die on an old, rugged cross for the people that hated Him the most? Because of that, I know that, if God can forgive me for all of the boneheaded things that I have done, there is no one that I cannot forgive.

Lulu Roman said this: "When you choose to forgive, that person who so mortally wounded you no longer defines who you are; and you can allow the blood of Jesus to define who you are. That is freedom. That gives you peace of mind that nothing can give you but the blood of Jesus." There is freedom in forgiveness.

I am asking you today, if there is any situation in your life that you have refused to let go of, to please chose to take action and through the grace of God forgive that person today. However, you cannot truly forgive until you have been forgiven yourself. If you are reading this today and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, please repent of your sin and confess him as Lord before it is eternally too late for you. If you do that, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.

The Correlation Between God and Atheism

The entire reason I wrote “Why Atheism?” a little over a week ago was that, to me, there seems to be a direct correlation between the God of the Bible and atheism. Correct me if I am wrong, but there seems to be no atheist who has not heard of the God of the Bible. Whenever you see someone—usually from a foreign country—who has never heard of the God of the Bible, that person is always a very religious person. That person always has his own theory—however wrong it may be—about creation, salvation, death, some sort of afterlife, etc. Intelligent design seems to be a commonsense issue to all of those who have not heard of the God of the Bible. I have yet to meet an atheist who has not heard of the God of the Bible. It is clearly not intelligent design that is the issue; it is the love of sin that makes the atheist an atheist.

If I am going to say that it is the love of sin that causes the atheist to deny the God of the Bible, I think it only fair that I also explain why the love of sin does not keep people from believing in false religion. As I have said before, unlike Bible Christianity, religion focuses on a works-based salvation, as opposed to being saved by God’s grace alone. If someone is going to promote a works-based salvation, the first thing he has to do is dumb down the Bible. The second thing he has to do is redefine sin.

In order to enter His Kingdom of Heaven, God demands perfection. No man is dumb enough to think that he is perfect. Therefore, in order to effectively promote a works-based salvation, man must redefine perfection. The Bible clearly says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” To effectively promote a works-based salvation, one must remove that verse from the Bible. And in doing so, that person has used God Himself to create an idol for sinful man. As Adrian Rogers said, “Spiritual activity without scriptural authority is satanic inequity.” It is that simple.

That is why I believe that the atheist has come closer to salvation than anyone else who does not know the Lord Jesus. It is also the exact reason that many atheists profess to have once been Christians. What happened was that these people were once in Bible-believing churches; however, at some point or another, they made the decision that they loved their sin more than they loved God. And that is why I believe that every atheist has at some time or another—however subliminally it may have been—said to God, “If none of those other gods are real, You aren’t either! I choose my sin!”

Ray Comfort was right when he said that God does not believe in atheists. Guess what, I don’t either. Atheism is simply the most extreme way of running from God. If you are here today and you are an atheist, you may think that denying His presence means that He cannot see you; but I can assure you that you are dead wrong. I beg you, I beg you today to give your heart and your life to Jesus Christ and to Him alone. Numbers 32:23 says, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.” As Adrian Rogers used to say, I can assure you that, if you do not confess Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, “once you get what you want, you won’t want what you get.” That is not a threat; it is an earnest plea.