God doesn't send anyone to hell. Hell is real, but it is a result of humanity rejecting God. Scripture shows us how to escape hell and spend eternity with God. God's perfect plan is that we, though conceived on earth, are eternal souls who live eternally with him.
Sin separates us from God and that is hell—to be eternally separated from God—whereas in heaven we live in the eternal presence of God. God wants to save us from hell so he sent Jesus to redeem us from sin and bring us back into His glorious Presence. In a sense, our physical bodies and earthly existence separate us from God because he is Spirit and we are flesh. We have a taste of hell when we cannot see God face to face because our earthly eyes cannot see spirit, whether the Spirit of God or the spirit of a brother or sister in Christ. In heaven we will see the glorified bodies of our brothers and sisters, as well as God and His holy angels, as easily as we see earthly bodies here.
Satan’s desires oppose God. Satan wants to separate humanity from God eternally and have them with him (not because he loves us) because he wants to destroy God’s creation. The human heart is good and beautiful and true only when totally surrendered to God. Without God we, like Satan, can be vile and capable of every kind of evil. The prophet Jeremiah warns (17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Without God, the heart’s deceitfulness runs rampant, so Satan succeeds when he separates us from God.
When God created humanity, we were designed for God. We cannot live without him. While on earth, we can survive physically without God but only because of his loving kindness and generosity. He continues to give life and breath even when we reject him. However, when our physical bodies die (and they do because our bodies were not created for eternity) we are homeless and separated from God. Satan has accomplished his desire—to separate us eternally from our Creator and his unconditional love.
Hell is a "place" for Satan and his demons. They want no part of God and probably prefer where they are, to heaven. We, on the other hand, were not created to be separated from God and we perish without him. Because our souls are eternal, the death of the soul is not like the death of a physical body, which will eventually be complete so our earthly bodies find rest in death. Without the redeeming power of God, once sin enters our lives we are condemned to eternal death—prolonged and eternal—absent from a loving God and in the presence of Satan and his demons.
If such a thing sounds horrible to us with our limited understanding, imagine how it grieves God that those he created to live eternally as his children instead experience eternity without him and his goodness. The Bible is clear God doesn't want that to happen to anyone—"not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9NIV). “God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4NIV). “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world, through him, might be saved.” (John 3:17).
You are God’s child. He loves you and wants you to experience the full blessing of His unconditional love. I urge you to open your heart to him now and invite him in. If you need help, call a pastor or Christian friend. Help is available.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Power of the Sign
Around our church staff we often hear comments about “the power of the sign”. Often coming from Jennifer, our church receptionist. She often gets calls about the sign in front of our church on Niles Avenue, sometimes from our own congregants and often from persons in the community. Niles Avenue is a busy street and many people read the sign, especially if they’re caught by the traffic light at Botham Avenue as they travel toward downtown.
The risen Christ said, in Acts 1:8 that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us and, as a result, we would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Probably, to those disciples, Berrien County Michigan, would be the “ends of the earth”. North America was totally unknown to the world at that time, but his witness has come to our community and we are blessed with thousands of Christ-followers who try to live out the love of Christ in an amazing variety of ways. We are the “signs” for Jesus! We are his witnesses!
We often think of witnesses as being when we tell someone about what God has done for us through Christ Jesus, and that is a wonderful thing. We should do it at every opportunity and with increasing skill the longer we serve him. However, “the power of the sign” is in just being there where people can see it and read it at their leisure or in the midst of their busy days. That is also true of the power of a transformed life. If God has touched your life—if you are living out your faith to the best of your ability, then God has transformed you into a powerful sign of his divine presence.
An unbeliever might sometimes view the sign with suspicion—why is she being so nice? What does he expect to get out of this? What is their real motive? But the power of the sign, if it is just there, day after day, being Christ-like, loving others through normal courtesies, casual friendliness, genuine compassion when they’re hurting, or honest appreciation for a kindness shown, is the very best witness to the power of Christ to change a life.
Not everyone has the gift of evangelism. Not everyone can put their faith into words in a way that will influence someone else to become a follower of Christ. But each of us can be witnesses for Christ as we allow his Spirit to live in us and transform us day by day into his image—not making us all alike, but giving each of us the attributes of godliness that bless the world around us on a day to day basis, each of us in our own unique way.
I am the beneficiary of those blessings on so many days, in so many ways, from so many people, who quietly go about their lives being Christ to everyone they meet. May God help each of us to always be a sign of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. God will do his part if we will each do ours, and the result will be the gradual, but dramatic transformation of society, by his divine Presence in our very human lives.
Never underestimate the power of the sign!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The risen Christ said, in Acts 1:8 that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us and, as a result, we would be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Probably, to those disciples, Berrien County Michigan, would be the “ends of the earth”. North America was totally unknown to the world at that time, but his witness has come to our community and we are blessed with thousands of Christ-followers who try to live out the love of Christ in an amazing variety of ways. We are the “signs” for Jesus! We are his witnesses!
We often think of witnesses as being when we tell someone about what God has done for us through Christ Jesus, and that is a wonderful thing. We should do it at every opportunity and with increasing skill the longer we serve him. However, “the power of the sign” is in just being there where people can see it and read it at their leisure or in the midst of their busy days. That is also true of the power of a transformed life. If God has touched your life—if you are living out your faith to the best of your ability, then God has transformed you into a powerful sign of his divine presence.
An unbeliever might sometimes view the sign with suspicion—why is she being so nice? What does he expect to get out of this? What is their real motive? But the power of the sign, if it is just there, day after day, being Christ-like, loving others through normal courtesies, casual friendliness, genuine compassion when they’re hurting, or honest appreciation for a kindness shown, is the very best witness to the power of Christ to change a life.
Not everyone has the gift of evangelism. Not everyone can put their faith into words in a way that will influence someone else to become a follower of Christ. But each of us can be witnesses for Christ as we allow his Spirit to live in us and transform us day by day into his image—not making us all alike, but giving each of us the attributes of godliness that bless the world around us on a day to day basis, each of us in our own unique way.
I am the beneficiary of those blessings on so many days, in so many ways, from so many people, who quietly go about their lives being Christ to everyone they meet. May God help each of us to always be a sign of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. God will do his part if we will each do ours, and the result will be the gradual, but dramatic transformation of society, by his divine Presence in our very human lives.
Never underestimate the power of the sign!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
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