Jesus' Hot Topic

A couple of weeks ago as I was preparing to share at our Church service, I was moved to focus more on the guys who attend that are in the OIC program. Since I can only attend every-other weekend due to work, I saw that these guys come and go quickly. Some I may only get one chance to share with. So I decided from now on to be sure I share as if it was the last message I was going to get to do.
I conduct the weekly Communion part of the service. We do it every Sunday in order to try helping the Church grow together. So during this portion I am allowed to share some with the group.
Anyway, I was wondering what to share. Something that if I was only allowed one more time. I decided the least spoken message of today was on Hell. And if I was really concerned about these guys I would make sure they knew the truth on the matter.
I had done a previous post on Hell intitled:"The Hell You Say."
Preachers today seem to do more preaching on self-help and subjects for the seekers. No messages that might upset or offend the potential Church going and hopefully tither. This is just a lose observation. I am sure there are a lot of Churches that are preaching the truth. They are the ones that are shrinking in size.
Enough rambling, We used to say Hell was a hot topic but not anymore although Jesus spoke of it more than He spoke on Heaven. It was His Hot Topic. Now we hear of popular preachers saying that Hell is only the absence of the presence of God. Or that in the end all will be saved.
There are a lot of passages on this subject. I did not go through all the verses and related interpretations on the subject, Soul sleep, purgatory and such. I felt the end result was the best way to go. I am using the TEV, a very simple easy to read translation. Not good for real study, but an easy read for those not accustomed to the other better translations.
"Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulpher, were the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night, for ever and ever." Revelation 20:10
Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.) Whoever did not have his name written in the book of the living was thrown into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:14-15
As you can see it plainly says that Hell is hot and forever.
Now the main argument I hear is," How could a loving God send people to Hell?" and to me the most stupid statement in the world, "I could not spend eternity with a God that sends people to Hell." (second stupid question, “Why can't the government do something about the gulf disaster?")
I pondered these questions at work and realized! The problem is that people today don't think they deserve hell. People do not think they have done anything that would warrant spending eternity suffering in Hell. When I was born again, I realized, I DESERVED HELL! And from there I received forgiveness and a new life in Christ.
Until people see how lost they are, they will never see the need for Christ.
I also pondered, what sin would warrant this penalty of eternal suffering. Surly there is no sin that was committed in a person's lifetime that would take an eternity to pay for in Hell. Then it came to me, there is one sin. The sin of not excepting Jesus' free gift of deliverance.
Picture this if you will. The creator of the universe comes down to live with man. Shows mankind Himself. Submits to torture and death to bridge the relationship between Himself and mankind. Offers new life for eternity for anyone who receives it. And there are those who hear, but WILL not believe. It's not that they can not believe. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith we need. We can not believe on our own. But these choose NOT to believe. They have turned down all that the loving creator has offered. They have chosen Hell. We Christians like to quote the verse:
"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalms 37:4 KJV
This verse works both ways. We will get what we chose. A true Christians’ only desire is the Christ. The non-believers desire is to have nothing to do with Christ or not to have Christ's control over them. They will get what they desire, eternity without Christ. They problem lies in that in the end there are only two places to go, Heaven (City of God) or Hell (the bottomless pit, lake of fire etc...)
Picture this if you will, when Christians are resurrected they will be given eternal bodies. So will the non-believers. Eternal, can not be destroyed. They have chosen eternity without Christ so they have only one place to go. To the lake of fire.
if you have ever nearly drowned in water. Head goes under. No place to plant your feet. Swallowing water. Now picture: Head going under in fire. Burning but not consumed. Swallowing fire but not dying. Not place to plant your feet. That is Hell.
This is really gruesome and no wonder we do not like to speak of it. Be careful of preachers that do preach it with a smile on their faces. But if we really believe this and truly care for the lost we will tell the truth.
Search the scriptures for yourself.
Your eternity hangs on what you believe or not believe.

Unemployed Again

Once again I find myself unemployed. Dunbarton Corp in Dothan layed about 32 of us off because of lack of work. (So order some Slimfold doors and Redi-frame door frames) I left this time with my head high and trying to please the Lord. They informed us well in advance that they were going to do it. By seniority. When they called me in to give me the bad news, I told them that they were just doing their jobs and that I understood how hard it was. I have had to hire and fire many in my life. I asked them if I could pray with them and they consented. Afterwards I went to each Manager and supervisor that I had had and told them I appreciated the chance to work for them.
When asked what I would do from my co-workers , I replied that I would do what I had did when I took the job. Trust God. The company could knock God off His throne.
So here I am unemployed and trying to be lead by the Holy Spirit in my job hunt.
I know this sounds really weird to you unbelievers, but if you have a better way, let me know. I've tried it all on my own and it did not work.
That is the lesson that we as a nation will learn. No man or group can heal our land. Until we admit that we need God to pull us out of the mess we got ourselves into.
I pray for you Mr. President, but
You can not bring real change,
You can not bring real hope,
Only the Lord Jesus can.
Yes you made History, but it is not as big as the history Jesus Christ will make when He returns.

Welcome to Obamastan

Here is a fine example to what we have coming. We as a nation (although I did not vote for him) have choosen what he says he will put in our pockets in stead of moral conduct. God will give us what we want, but in the end we will see it isn't what will help us. We will all have to make a dicission on who or what we will trust. Obama, our jobs, our government, ourselves or The Lord. I choose God/Jesus.
Those who voted for Obama and put him in office will give account to God for every unborn murdered in his administration. I will answer for the war, I can deal with that. Can you deal with millions of death babies.
There is no HOPE outside of Jesus!!!
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Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy
By LIZ SIDOTI and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers Liz Sidoti And Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writers 23 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information — an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century. Obama's executive order, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.
The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.
A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, said Obama signed the executive order, without coverage by the media, late on Friday afternoon. The abortion measure is a highly emotional one for many people, and the quiet signing was in contrast to the televised coverage of Obama's Wednesday announcement on ethics rules and Thursday signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects.
His action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion as a family planning method.
Critics have long held that the rule unfairly discriminates against the world's poor by denying U.S. aid to groups that may be involved in abortion but also work on other aspects of reproductive health care and HIV/AIDS, leading to the closure of free and low-cost rural clinics.
Supporters of the ban say that the United States still provides millions of dollars in family planning assistance around the world and that the rule prevents anti-abortion taxpayers from backing something they believe is morally wrong.
The ban has been known as the "Mexico City policy" for the city a U.S. delegation first announced it at a U.N. International Conference on Population.
Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule during the presidential campaign. Clinton visited the U.S. Agency for International Development earlier Friday but made no mention of the step, which had not yet been announced.
In a move related to the lifting of the abortion rule, Obama is also expected to restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), probably in the next federal budget. Both he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law known as the Kemp-Kasten amendment.
The Bush administration had barred U.S. money from the fund, to contending that its work in China supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.
Congress had appropriated $40 million to the UNFPA in the past budget year but the administration had withheld the money as it had done every year since 2002.
Organizations and lawmakers that had pressed Obama to rescind the Mexico City policy were jubilant.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the move "will help save lives and empower the poorest women and families to improve their quality of life and their future."
"Today's announcement is a very powerful signal to our neighbors around the world that the United States is once again back in the business of good public policy and ideology no longer blunts our ability to save lives around the globe," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Population Action International, an advocacy group, said that the policy had "severely impacted" women's health and that the step "will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning."
Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers condemned Obama's decision.
"I have long supported the Mexico City Policy and believe this administration's decision to be counter to our nation's interests," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
"Coming just one day after the 36th anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade decision, this presidential directive forces taxpayers to subsidize abortions overseas — something no American should be required by government to do," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., called it "morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans to promote abortion around the world."
"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.
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AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.
ocia http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_abortion_ban