Monday, August 2, 2010

I remember now

So the last blog was a bunch of ramblings.  I remember now what I had intended to blog about.  I thought about it all weekend, of course when I don't have a computer readily available.  I did remember though so now I write.
I'm not much of a preachy person (not sure about the preachy word!)  I don't tend to talk a lot about God to my friends and family, or people in general.  I am open about the fact that I'm a Christian; someone who has accepted that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that he is my saviour.  What I've found is that people know this about me and they feel comfortable coming to me when they have questions about God, Jesus, the bible, etc.  This is when I do my speel about God and Jesus and how to get to heaven.  (Please forgive me for using a bunch of my own made up words on my blog, I tend to have my own language sometimes!  It just seemed appropriate to put that apology here.)
So anyways last week our pastor was still on holidays, he seemed like he had been gone forever!  I really like our pastor and his family, and his style of preaching the word.  He uses common sense and the bible to do his sermon, and I always like listening and hearing what God has in store for him to tell us.  Anyways, last week it was another fellow in our church who was doing the sermon.  I was a little disappointed when I realized it wouldn't be pastor Norm, but then Phillip started the sermon.  At the end of the sermon I knew I had to write about it.  (I know I'm a little forgetful as you can tell by the last blog, but I knew it would come back to me.)
Phillip talked about John 3:16-20.  Now most people know John 3:16; I think it's one of the most famous verses in the bible but it's the rest of the passage that hit me.

      16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

So I'm going to get preachy on my blog today.  It's my blog I can do what I want right? 
Jesus didn't come to judge us and say we aren't good enough for heaven, no he came to save us so that every single person on this planet who believed in him has the choice, yes I said choice, to go to heaven or hell.  You have a choice.  You may think, no I'm a good person I'll go to heaven.  Here's a news flash, you don't get into heaven by being a good person.
 From the bible : Romans 3:23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

You see we don't go to heaven by being good, sure we all think that we are good people but that isn't what God wants, he wants us to accept that Jesus died for you, for me, for all of us and this is how you go to heaven.  The ten commandments weren't given for us to follow, well yes they were, but they were also given so that we could all see that we are not perfect.  No one can live up to them.  No one but Jesus.  I've lied, I've disrespected my parents, I've stolen something I'm sure, magnets from work, no one can live up to those commandments.  So we are not as good as we all think!
Now some people may have stopped reading by now and thought, this isn't my cup of tea to read to day, for those of you that haven't I'm hoping that if you haven't already became a Christian and accepted that Jesus died for each of us then you will give this some serious thought.  See I always knew about heaven and I knew that I wanted to go there.  The choice is easy for me, heaven, where it is glorious, or hell where I am condemned to burn for eternity?  Yep, easy one for me. 
I know some people will say that people who believe in God are those who have weak minds and need to have faith in something.  I'll accept that wholly.  I would rather believe in a heaven than in nothing.  I find the latter to be bleak and grey.  I believe in God because he has preformed so many miracles in my own life that I know He exists and that he sent Jesus to die for my sins so that I may go to heaven one day. 
The biggest miracle right now is Jacob.  He could have potentially been adopted twice before me, yet God knew that this little boy was destined to be my son.  Some may think coincidence.  Okay, maybe.  How is it though that everything that I prayed to God for was granted in my son.  From his features, to his age, to his character, to his similarities to me?  Coincidence?  Nope, in my books a miracle.
So continue to believe what you wish and if that is God FANTASTIC!  If not please, give what I've said some thought.  Now you at least know your ticket into heaven and can make the CHOICE.

1 comment:

Shannon said...

Yet another reason I respect you !!