It's a Beautiful Day in America

Here in Arizona, today at least, it's beautiful. The sun is out. It's not to cold. There's a slight cool breeze. And, no. The picture here is not Arizona, but rather Chimney Rock in North Carolina. I was there a little over a year ago. God's creation is awesome. Just awesome.

....and the war in Iraq is finally over! 9 long years. Thanks to all of our troops for their ongoing hard work to protect our country and our freedom.

Struggling With Repentance?

We all struggle with repentance. Some more that others. Some a lot less. However, it is something that we all have been through as Christians. If you never have been through this struggle, I congratulate you for being perfect.

So I sat down in front of my Linux net-book today to write a little bit about struggling with repentance. I decided to research a little before putting forth my own beliefs. I stumbled upon a site called "GraceConverstaion.com". Jay Guin wrote an article which is geared more toward what the church's obligation is in dealing with an unrepentant member, and is full of helpful information. Here's the link below. Please take a look and think about it. It's a very important subject. Thanks!

Discipline: The member who is struggling to repent

If You Died Tonight...

If you died tonight, would you go to heaven? Why? Because you're a good person? OK, let's run through some of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

• Have you ever told a lie? (Ex. 20:16)
• Have you ever stolen. No? Come on...you already told me you're a liar! (Ex. 20:15)
• Have you ever dishonored your parents? ...by not listening, or talking back...? (Ex. 20:12)
• Have you ever looked at someone with lust? Jesus said that this is adultery in the heart. (Ex. 20:14 & Mt. 5:28)
• Have you ever been angry at someone for no good reason? God considers this murder in the heart. (Ex. 20:13 & Mt. 5:21,22)

We’ve only gone through five of the ten commandments. So if God judged you by his standards, would you make it? So how do we get to heaven? By doing good, like everyone thinks? Nope. If that were true, none of us would EVER make it. (Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.) This is why we need a savior. God came to Earth and became a man, lived a sinless life (just like a spotless lamb for the sacrifice in the Old Testament) and took the punishment that WE deserved and died. 1 John 4:10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent us His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.


Then he arose from the dead, which was God saying he approved of the sacrifice. Imagine Jesus taking all of your sins, every single one and putting them on his back right before the Roman soldiers started whipping at it with a cat of nine tails, with pieces of glass, etc. until his intestines started to protrude. This is why Jesus is love. Not because if we follow him, we'll be able to make the next car payment, but because he loved us so much he died for us. Romans 5:8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If we do not repent and put our faith in Jesus Christ, we won't make it. It's the plain truth. We are sinful and headed for hell. That's the bad news. Jesus paid the price for us, and it's there if we ask him to accept us, and live for him. That's the good news, or "gospel" as the Bible calls it. If we repent and put our trust in Jesus (like we trust a parachute to save our life when we jump out of a plane), God will give us a new heart with new desires, granting us the gift of repentance (Acts 5:31).

Think about what I said about how to get to heaven. I don't know if you're saved. You and God only know. So, if you don't think you are, pray about it.

I'm only telling you this cause I care for you and I want to make sure I see you in heaven. I'm not pointing fingers. Believe me, I'm a much bigger sinner than the likes of ya. Remember that we only get to heaven because of what HE did. If we depend on our own good works, we're headed for the oven. Ephesians 2:8,9 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift - not from works, so that no one can boast.



You may not believe in God, the Bible, or what I have stated above, but I beg you to at least think about this today. Chew on it. Consider it. Don't let the day go buy until you have at least thought about your salvation.