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Monday, June 29, 2009
Surprises in Heaven I hope that there are surprises in heaven. I hope when we get there we see things and people that we never would have imagined. I hope there are giant roller coasters and huge football fields. I hope there are flavors of ice cream we have never tasted and colors that we have never seen and music we have never heard. I wonder if all the mysteries and glorious wonders of life will be revealed to us the moment we arrive, or, if God will take all of eternity revealing these things to us little by little. Even more, I hope we are surprised by some of the people we see. I’m sure we would all agree there are a few “shoe-ins”: people like John the Baptist – who was said to be the greatest ever born to man, people like King David who was a man after God’s own heart. I’m sure we will see Paul, who authored many New Testament books of the Bible, the apostles who died to spread the gospel, Mary – the mother of Jesus, Lazarus and Mary Magdalene, and many more heroes of the Bible. I can’t wait to meet people like C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers. Preachers like Smith Wigglesworth and Billy Graham will no doubt be sitting at the feet of Jesus. These are all people who fought the fight, kept the faith and finished the race. There will be no doubt we will see them in heaven. But I hope there are a few last minute additions too. I hope that in the final moments of their lives, people like Michael Jackson, Elvis and Princess Diana repented of their sins and found a spot in heaven. I hope Marilyn Monroe, Chris Farley and Heath Ledger had the chance to ask for mercy and grace before they breathed their last breath. I hope that my grandmother – Naomi asked Jesus into her heart before she entered into eternity. I hope to be surprised. I hope! These are people who gave so much of themselves here on earth, but just didn’t seem to know the real TRUTH! I wonder if anyone told them about Jesus, but they just rejected him. Choosing to live the way they wanted to live. I wonder if they thought they were on the right road, but had trouble showing it by the fruit they produced. I wonder if they had an 11th hour encounter with Jesus like the thief on the cross. Although these people didn’t appear to live their lives in a way that would guarantee their names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, I hope somehow, someway, they found Jesus and we will see them in heaven. I’m not the ultimate judge, but I do know God’s word is clear: anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You have to call on him! I hope we are surprised by many people who actually call on him in the final moments of their lives. I hope they receive grace and mercy and most importantly the precious gift of eternal life. But that’s just it… I can only hope for these people! What about you? I don’t want to have to hope your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Do you know Jesus? Have you already called on Him to save you? You don’t have to hope you make it to heaven, you can know for certain right now! I pray that you call on His name and ask him to come into your heart and live there as your King. Don’t wait until the final moments of your life and hope that you have the chance to get right with him. Do it now! Word… Pasta’ Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 5:02 PM 1 Comments   Thursday, June 11, 2009 7 Steps of Temptation Dante Alighieri, the Italian Florentine poet, who lived from 1264 to 1321, has an allegorical picture of life as a journey in which a man climbed up a winding mountain road. He begins his journey as a young man. After climbing for a short while, a vicious wolf leaped out of the bushes, and attempts to rip him in pieces. According to Dante, this was the wolf of lust, of physical passion, and represented the major temptation of a young person. As the man climbed higher, reaching “middle life,” a huge tiger sprang on him. This was the tiger of pride, representing the great temptation of middle age, which is pride of position, reputation, and social standing. Finally, as he approached the top, at the time of “old age,” a large, hairy-maned lion came bounding after him. The great temptation of later life, money and financial security, is the lion. As he classified these three great temptations, Dante’s point is that there is no level of life where you will be free from temptation. It has been correctly observed, “You are not tempted because you are evil; you are tempted because you are human.” Temptation comes to us all, but we can resist if we know the process. The seven steps are: 1. The ENTRANCE of the thought. This is not a sin. Everyone has thoughts. Satan works from without to within. In 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5, Paul spoke of how thoughts in our mind must be dealt with. 2. The ENTERTAINMENT of the thought. This is the first mistake. Some sound advice is, “Kill the serpent, don’t stroke it!” 3. The EXAMINATION of the thought. This is when we go over the details. We consider and think about how we would do it. Thomas Secker warned, “To pray against temptation, and yet rush into occasions, is to thrust your fingers into the fire, and then pray they might not get burnt.” 4. The ENJOYMENT of the thought. This is the bonding to the thought. An adage from decades ago states it well, “One that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to a fall.” 5. The EXPERIENCING of the thought. J. William Chapman once said, “Temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you’re living; sin is your drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter.” 6. The EXCUSING of the sin. This is to pass the blame, without taking responsibility for our choices. A saint of years ago said, “If Satan comes up to my door, I cannot help it; if he lifts the latch, and walks in, I cannot help it. But if I offer him a chair, and begin with him a parley, I put myself altogether in the wrong.” 7. The being ENVELOPED by it. Like in an enclosed envelope, we allow ourselves to become under bondage. Warning: “The devil has no conscience, and the flesh has no sense!” - Dave Arnold (www.davidarnoldonline.org) posted by Pasta' Alex # 4:13 PM 0 Comments |
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