I may make a mountain out of a molehill....

But I'm probably not gonna die on that mountain.


I have lots of passions... from being a stay at home mom, to homeschooling, to breastfeeding, to eating real food. I talk often about those passions here.. in my space. My prayer is that I never come across as haughty or judgmental to those who may not share the same passions. My prayer is that I'll share with others the journey that I'm on, get others to thinking and most importantly see Jesus, whether we agree or not. My passions are deep, and most are even convictions I hold but they are not Scriptural laws. I try hard to not make them laws in my own life but that's hard for this former legalist to do. I continually fight that flesh and pursue living in the freedom that Christ brings. As Luke said the other night, "I'll punch that sin in the face!"

But there is one passion that supersedes all others and that is Jesus Christ and my faith in Him. He is everything and life is nothing without Him. I will not waiver on the truth set before in Scripture. I am dependent on everything He ever said and did and is.

So, readers, please know this, I'm human flesh who loves Jesus (and one day this flesh will be no more!!). And I sometimes make mountains out of molehills. I pray that any information that I ever share is useful in some way. I pray that ultimately my life (and there is much more to my life than what you read on this screen!) will encourage and make much of Jesus.

Pause and Listen.

Today started off like most days. I woke up later than I wanted. I would love to blame it on the 2 1/2 year old who was laying next to me... who happened to wake up too early around the time his daddy was leaving for work. But, I was the one who turned off the alarm, instead of quietly slipping out of the bed.

We finally did get up... I got breakfast for the boys and they watched a little Blue's Clues. I thought, perfect timing for a moment with Him...

I sat down at the table with my bowl of Cheerios and looked at my Bible Reading Plan. I'm using a the year reading plan from Bethleham Baptist Church but I'm trying to do it in 90 days. Remember, I said trying. I decided to start in the Psalms this morning. Psalm 25 to be exact. I got here and I couldn't go anywhere else....

4) Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5) Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

I was meditating over these words, praying over these words when Luke came to me and asked me to read him a book about the five senses. This is life. And honestly, I was frustrated. I wanted time alone with Him. But, who was the one who turned off the alarm. Oh, that was me.

As the day went on, I felt the frustration build. I felt like a failure. I had gotten almost nothing accomplished. Toys were everywhere.. the sink was full.. laundry mounted. What had I been doing all day?!

Then I read this and I knew I needed to pause.

So, after lunch I got the boys busy playing and I sat down again.

I prayed. Hot tears fell.

Lord, how do I teach them to pick up those toys.. this house is a disaster, I am a failure... and on and on..

And it was as if He whispered...

Do it with them. You must go to them and do it with them.

And then in those same words, He answered a prayer I hadn't yet prayed. And I echoed...

Lord, go with me. Do it with me. I fail and I need you so. You must do life with me.


With my Bible opened to His Words, again I read...

4) Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5) Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.


And I failed today. And I will fail tomorrow. But I must meet Him. I cannot do it without Him. This journey I am on with Him.. oh, I am a slow learner. But He is so good and so patient with me. And I echo her words... I want Jesus more than anything else.

The Stone the Builders Rejected

And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty handed. And he sent yet a third. This one they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.' And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!" But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written:

"'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?'"

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."

Luke 20:9-18

My heart breaks tonight over this..

It's late but I have a lot on my mind. So much that I'm not even sure where to start this post. It may make absolutely no sense and in that case I apologize! I read something tonight that broke my heart. It wasn't anything really in particular. It was just the language of what was written. I fear that there are many Christians out there whose view of God is very distorted. Their view of salvation and the Bible is skewed by wrong teachings.. or maybe shallow teachings.. or lack of knowledge about the Scriptures.

God is sovereign over everything, including salvation. Often, in many churches, God is made out to be great and powerful but when it comes to salvation, emphasis is put on man. A picture is painted that God is up in heaven wringing His hands at the end of the service just waiting and hoping someone will say the sinner's prayer. Do we not know that God calls His children unto salvation? He is working out the plan, the beautiful gospel, that was laid before the foundation of the world. Yes, we are to proclaim it, preach it, teach it, share it! But it is His work!

Do we understand the gospel? In so many churches the same message is preached again and again. God changes those He saves, so then why are there so many people professing being a Christian but live like the world? Could it be that we've tried to do the work for God? There are many out there who see this type of lifestyle as a problem but have we stopped to question whether or not it's because of the message, or should I say method, that's been resounding from the pulpits? Is the way we do evangelism biblical? Do we share the gospel biblically? Better yet, do we understand the work of Christ in salvation and the grace that He gives? What has changed in our churches?? I've heard phrases such as, "Well, if they really meant it..." or "if they truly made a commitment to Christ...". Does anyone see a problem with this? We can't blame it on society or the fact that we're living in the 'end times'. Do we know our history? Do we know what the founders of our faith believed? And while these things are important, I can't help but hear screaming in my mind, do we know what His Word says?!?

The Bible is the gospel. It is life. It is truth. It is deep and mysterious. It interprets itself. It never contradicts. It is not a good idea.. it is the only idea. It is history from the very beginning of time to the very end of times. The Bible is the gospel. Every part of is screams JESUS!! And the beauty is that the message is always Jesus, it's always the gospel, but it is always diverse and deep in theology. Yet, most have shallow theology, shallow knowledge of the doctrines, if any. While many would deny, easy-believism is prevalent. I've been asked many times why these truths are so important. This is why. His grace, His marvelous grace is cheapened. His grace is cheapened when a person lives like the world yet claims to be a Christian. His grace is cheapened when the gospel message is watered down and the method and message preached and taught leads people to merely make decisions for Christ.

I'm going to end here. I'm sure there are some who are shocked by that last statement because maybe you made a 'decision' to follow Christ. Well, you'll just have to tune into part 2.

Attn facebookers: This is a posting from my blog. I understand this might attract some comments. If you'd like to comment please comment on my actual blog:

http://www.mommytoluke2.blogspot.com/

Jesus Thank You

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend,
The agonies of Calvary.
You, the Perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son,
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me.

Your blood has washed away my sin,
Jesus, thank You.
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied,
Jesus, thank You.
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table,
Jesus, thank You.

By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near,
Your enemy made Your friend.
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace,
Your mercy and your kindness know no end.

Your blood has washed away my sin,
Jesus, thank You.
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied,
Jesus, thank You.
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table,
Jesus, thank You.

(Sovereign Grace Ministries)

Anticipating The Holy One, Part 1

I mentioned before in my 100th post that I teach the Sr. High girls Sunday School class. This past weeks lesson began an entire month in the book of Revelation. I must admit that when I saw that we were going to be in Revelation, I was a little worried! Some of Revelation can be difficult to understand. Thankfully there are men like John MacArthur, who God has gifted to help people like me! Once I began digging into Revelation 5, I was completely overjoyed! It was one of those moments where I read it and just couldn't hardly contain my excitement! I haven't been able to get it off my mind. I'm sure it will be a passage that I read time and time again. It is such an exciting book and an encouragement to those who are called by Him. I'd like to share a little bit of what I learned and I hope that maybe this will excite & encourage you as well... and if it doesn't... well, I've got some info for you as well.. you just have to keep on readin'!

Revelation 5 is the book that introduces the rightful ruler of the earth, Jesus Christ. Currently, we know, that Satan reigns and rules over the earth. The scene in chapter 5 takes place in the throne room of heaven. John amazingly got an eye witness account of the events to come. In vs. 1, John sees 'in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.' This scroll is kind of like the deed to creation. The chapter goes on to tell about a 'strong angel' who is searching for someone to open the scroll (vs. 2). All of heaven remains silent because no one there was able to open the scroll; there was none worthy (vs 3). Then on to verse 4, we see John begin to weep. He is overwhelmed with grief. We must understand where he is coming from though. He has just seen Jesus Christ executed on the cross, Jerusalem destroyed and the Jewish people scattered. He feels hopeless and now that no one can open the scrolls, he fears that Satan will reign forever and that sin did in fact win. We know the rest of the story but, at the time, John did not and he was devastated.

John was then told not to weep in verse 5. His weeping was inappropriate because, "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." Someone was entering the room and it was the One and Only... the Holy One! Can you even imagine Christ stepping into the throne room of God at this moment in time?? Jesus Christ has prevailed! He is the victor and at this moment He has come to take back what has always been rightfully His. He came on earth as the sacrificial Lamb but here is is described as a mighty lion and that He will be. He has come to destroy His enemies and once and for all claim victory over sin, death and Satan. Now seriously, I can't begin to tell you how much that makes this pregnant lady want to just jump up and down.. Eli wouldn't appreciate that.. so I'll refrain!

I won't go into all of the imagery and symbolism of verse 6 but basically it speaks of Jesus' perfect strength and power & His perfect omniscience and complete knowledge. The end of verse 6 also mentions the Holy Spirit in His fullness being 'sent out into all the earth'. This is speaking of the Holy Spirit's fullness in relation to judgement. He will be sent out into the earth to avenge the enemies of God. Then lastly, verse 7, says that, 'He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne'. Jesus has arrived to take back what is His! From the beginning of time, anticipation has been building for this very moment to begin. The prophecy of all prophecies is about to be fulfilled.

Wow! There is not much more to say after that. I didn't realize that this was going to turn into such a long post.. so I'm going to finish this up tomorrow! I'm going to end with something I read today out of Isaiah 51. My journey in Isaiah is almost over.. These verses go so well with everything in Revelation 5 because it speaks of God's comfort & redemption for His chosen people at the end of time.

Isaiah 51:11-16~ So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. “ I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, that he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail. But I am the LORD your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared— The LORD of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

Dear child of God, let us continually wait in anticipation for the appearance of the Holy One.

Happy Easter

I'm heading to bed but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter! All day long I've been pondering the Resurrection, preparing myself for tomorrow. I really want my focus to be on Him! What a wonderful Savior He is! There is such joy & excitement in my heart when I think of all that He is and all that He has done. I serve a risen Savior, not some dead prophet or wooden image. He is alive and made a way for me to live eternally. He bore my sin and God's wrath on the cross. But it didn't end there! He arose. He is alive, the grave could not hold the King of Kings. Thank you Jesus! What a wonderful Savior and merciful, gracious God!

May He get all of the glory!

Broken Heart

I clicked "New Post" yesterday and stared at the screen for a minute and then clicked the big X at the top right. I just had no desire to say much of anything.... or maybe I had too much swarming around in my head and couldn't get the words to come out.... or maybe I just felt sick.. and had to go lay down. The latter is probably the most accurate. My previous post with the AWESOME video (that you must see if you haven't yet) has of course been on my mind since I watched it for the first time. I mean I just seriously can't get over the message... the truth..

Today after I read my David Brainerd book, (which I totally suggest to anyone ~ what a walk with God this man had... WOW!!! I'll have to share more about this later!) I just spent some time in prayer with my Heavenly Father. I have been so broken here lately over the fact that so many professing Christians have made a mockery of my sweet Jesus. Oh, it breaks my heart & literally brings me to tears. There are so many who claim to know Him but their life is a life full of ungodly, unholy things. They live like the world and love it. They wallow in sin and I know that Jesus does not go with them! The Jesus of the Bible would never go to the places those people go... He would never stand to hear the things that those people say... To hear someone say, 'Well, I'm a Christian but I am only human" drives me nuts! While that may be true, a true Christian knows that is not an excuse! A biblical Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling in them! It's just a big excuse for bad behavior. And even those 'good' people.. you know the ones- those who claim to know Him but never darken the doors of the church. They'd rather sleep in than gather together and worship the Living God. They can't find their Bible because it's never read and the only time they might lift up a prayer is when the doctor gives a scary diagnosis. Oh, they know the words to "Amazing Grace" but their iPod favorites would never be sang during the worship service. Or maybe they are in church every Sunday but out at the club on Saturday night. They're only human though.. right? Jesus will have no part in these things... So, why do they claim HIM??

Let me just say they may claim Him... but the 'Jesus' they claim is not the Jesus of the Bible.. not the Savior. They've created an idol... a god who is ok with their sin. I mean, it would make it easier, right? If God overlooked our sin?? Their god maybe... but the Holy One does not.

Jesus Christ saved me... He changed me. I know the supernatural miracle He did in my life. I was wretched and evil and He made me a new creature, just as the Word promises! So how come so many claim salvation but do not have a changed life? Is it that God doesn't change everyone?? Or maybe some people are just fanatics?? Maybe I'm just one of those Jesus freaks?? Does Jesus not have the power to supernaturally change certain people?? Maybe some just get it more than others? Or maybe He only changes part of them?? That could be it, right?

NO!! What kind of a God would He be if that was His character? God is All Powerful!! He is Mighty! When you meet the true, living God you are forever changed. Oh that the God of creation, the Lord Almighty would not be mocked. What slander to call Him a God who cannot change a person fully and powerfully! My heart aches for those who do not know Him.

Jesus~ He is holy. He is just. He is good. He is right. He is light and will have no part with darkness. He hates sin and preached repentance and righteousness. He is pure. He is perfect. He will come back with power and glory. He is the Word of God. He is God in the flesh. He supernaturally, miraculously, amazingly, & powerfully changes lives! He changed mine and I pray that I will always point to the real Jesus.

Joyful!

I truly believe that God desires for His children to be happy, joyful and blessed. Let's not confuse this God-given joy with worldly happiness. Worldly happiness often involves money, fame, fortune, great career, material things, status, and even health. Don't get me wrong, many people who have these things are happy and sadly don't see their need for God because they feel they already 'have it all'. The only problem with that is they don't see that without God they will face eternal hell. (this is one reason why it is so dangerous to preach and teach 'health, wealth and prosperity') The Bible says in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
As you can see there is a huge difference between the joy that God gives and what the world thinks 'joy' is. As I have said before being a Christian doesn't mean instant happiness and success. It doesn't mean bad things never happen. Things will not be perfect and rosy. Just a look at Jesus' followers in the Bible proves that because many of them were persecuted and martyred for their faith. Now.. joy and peace handed down from the Creator Himself....

Where do we get this joy and peace that "surpasses all understanding"? From putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Romans 15:13 says- "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." In our world today there isn't much hope without Jesus. In fact, if you know God's Word, there isn't any hope at all without Jesus. But with Jesus Christ we can 'abound {overflow} with hope'! And did you notice the word all in front of joy! What a powerful, yet so tiny, 3 letter word! Don't you just love it when you notice something like that for the first time!

There are so many people out there hurting. They feel like all hope is gone, they have no where to turn. They may have even thought God might be the answer but because of false truths that are being taught in so many churches they think that even that is a lost cause. Their dreams have been crushed along life's road and now they are just making it.. just getting by. How my heart breaks for those who do not have the joy of knowing Jesus Christ! I read something today out of my Breaking Free book by Beth Moore (which really inspired this whole thought process) that really spoke to me. Here is an excerpt out of Chapter 27 ~ To Life Happily Ever After:

"God surpasses our dreams when we reach past our personal plans and agendas to
grab the hand of Christ and walk the path He has chosen for us. He is obligated
to keep us dissatisfied until we come to Him and His plan for complete
satisfaction."

Wow! That is the key! We forsake our plans and cling to Him. It's complete dependence on Him. Oh, but how we love our independence!! "I can do it all on my own, I don't need help!" I want to be so dependant on Him and that I can't move a step without His help! This is the key to joy! This is the key to hope everlasting and an abundance of peace, peace like a river!

I'd like to close out this little post with some of the key verses that Beth (notice how I act like she's my BFF) uses throughout this whole book.

Isaiah 61:1-3 - “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

I love the last verse! Jesus came to give so much to us if we would just take it! Comfort, beauty, joy, a garment of praise, so that we may be called 'trees of righteousness'.. planted by God himself for His glory! The *true* Christian life is not sad or boring! It's abundant and joyful, even in the midst of strife and pain there is true joy and peace! And that joy and peace is eternal!

Do you know Him?
I would love to introduce you to Him.

A Baby and a King...

Guess what I did today? Got out a Christmas CD!!! I didn't really do it on purpose but I'll often look through my cd's while Luke is napping and play one while I clean up. So, today I did the same thing and came across the Christmas is Jesus CD from the Christmas program we did at the church where R and I met a few years ago. I LOVE this CD!!! (BTW, I just did a search and apparently you can't get it anywhere... Amazon.com had a few but that's it!) Luke and I were out this morning at Hobby Lobby and of course all of the Christmas decorations are out. I just thought it was fitting that I listen to some Christmas music! I turned it up loud enough that I could hear it over the running water at the sink and just had a great time! I'm sure this will not be my last Christmas post either.. I mean we have 48 days until the Big Day! All of the songs are awesome and really tell the gospel story... I mean the Christmas story is a BIG part of the gospel story! But as I began to sing, tears started to flow... I held it back as best as I could while I washed dishes but as I walked into the laundry room to put a wash rag in the dirty clothes I just couldn't hold it much longer. I just had to stop for a moment and Praise Him (and have a little crying spell too!)! I was just overflowing with adoration... I told myself how silly it was for me to try to hold back those tears! Why should I not take the time to just cry and thank Jesus Christ for coming to this world to save me! I wrote not too long ago about how Jesus humbly came to this earth to reach us.. but I don't think most people really get it. And I know I will never totally get it until I meet Him in all His glory. Then, I will really know what He left to come to this earth.
The Christmas story.. it really is an amazing story. The God of heaven sent His Son. He came to earth as an infant to be my Deliverer. Can you imagine that baby in the manger. We all know how tiny and sweet newborns are... Can you see Mary as she looks her son over and counts His ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes (as all mothers do)? Can you imagine His little nose and rosy red cheeks. Mary's heart will want to burst with love as she wipes a tear from his tiny face. She'll wrap him up in a swaddling blanket and lay him down in a manger full of hay... Jesus Christ, a little baby. That precious little baby is a King.. the King of kings!

You are my King.
You are the Lamb.
Lion of Judah, the Seed of Abraham,
The Holy One, God's Only Son.
You are the King of who I am.
(Tanya Goodman and Michael Sykes)

Ponderings and a prayer....

My hubby preached last night at church. I am always amazed when I hear him. The Lord definitely uses him and I am so thankful for that. I know that is it truly a work of God and not R (and he knows that too). I believe that anyone can get an awesome word from God if we will just spend the time to actually get it. I have been thinking about one of the verses he spoke about. He mentioned that he had just been in awe of this verse.... and I think it's one that we (I)should soak up & meditate on.

Philippians 2:8- "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

Now of course this is talking about Jesus here. First, I think it's important to remember who Jesus is. Jesus is God. John 1:1 says- 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' Jesus was not created in the womb of a woman. He has been since the beginning of time.
He humbled Himself. I could spend forever thinking about that phrase. All Mighty, Creator God humbled himself. The One who placed the stars in the sky, formed the mountains and valleys, set the world in motion... humbled Himself.
Jesus came to this earth, became a man... identifying with us. He humbled himself to pay our sin debt. Sinless, spotless, pure and holy... Jesus Christ bore our sins and died.
Jesus was obedient to the Father.... unto death, even death on the cross.

Until we realize the depravity of our state without Him ,we cannot even begin to understand the beauty and magnificence of a verse like this. Many people might read it and it mean nothing to them at all. What a sad place to be. And I say that with a broken heart because there are so many people I know who don't know the wonderful saving grace of Jesus Christ. They are fooled with a shallow dose of religion... a warm, fuzzy feeling they get when they hear a hymn sang or read a poem that talks about God's love that they got in an email... they live a life that does not reflect the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. I am broken over the fact that so many people lead this lifestyle. It's the deceptive work of the devil.

But, as I read this verse, my heart wants to burst with thankfulness... and my prayer for those who don't know...

Lord, I pray that their eyes will be opened to your truth. Bind the devil from them... Holy Spirit break their heart... burden them with their sin. I pray that they will see You for who You are. Reveal their need for You and their hopelessness without you. Break the chains of fake Christianity and pour the truth of Your Holy Word into their life. You are mighty to save.....

I wanna be in the light as You are in the light...

... So I realize my post yesterday was kind of randomly started. I'd like to explain where posts like that comes from. Often throughout my day my thoughts are filled with those people that I love.. that are lost, without hope of eternity in heaven. Family members, old friends, new friends, people I go to church with, people I have only met once or twice, even people I see but don't know. I pray for them, especially those I know because I can call out their name to the Father. It's just a heavy burden on my heart... a burden God put there. All Christians will have a burden for the lost. Charles Spurgeon said, "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that."
A prayer that I often pray for those that I know are lost is this verse:

Ephesians 5:14-
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

Those who are lost are dead. Dead in their sin. When Christ's light shines on those who are walking in darkness their sin is exposed. (Ephesians 5:11-13~ 'And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.') I believe that praying Scripture is Biblical and powerful. God's Word is life.. so let us pray life giving Words for those who are dead in their sin!

Psalm 119:129-130~ Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Pigs and slop buckets..

Oh, there are always so many things on my mind. So much to say and so little time to say it in.

~Who goes to hell? Those who have broken God's law. (Exodus Chapter 20) Um.. and that would be everyone... with one exception.. read on for it...

~Why must God send people to hell? Because all humans have broken His law. God is a just and right God. (The fact that He is Almighty God is good enough for me!) Think about it this way.... if I committed a crime, say murder, and I stood before the judge and pleaded with him, saying it was my first and only offense and that I would never do it again... Would this judge be a just and right judge if he let me go free? Of course not... it would be an outrage! God being just and righteous can not do that with us for breaking His law. He has every right to send every human being to the pits of hell.

We (the human race) are not good! We are not the slightest bit good! We are evil to the very core! The standard we are put up against is Jesus Christ... God's Son... God in the flesh. Perfect and holy. How can we even think for a second that we are good? But, unfortunately (and assuredly) most people think they are good. Why? Pride (sin). Morality has nothing to do with it. An upright moral life can't hold a candle to the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. A person can be the most good and moral person but end up in hell for eternity because they missed it.
Most are quick to point out others flaws but find it hard to admit their own. Another point is just that sin is not looked at as a bad thing anymore. The world (and church) has been desensitized to sin. It's no big deal.

Lost people do not see the need for a Savior... because they do not think they are lost.

So, our jobs as Christians is to help others see their need for a Savior. Point them to the law. Let them see how they have broken the law and their destiny is hell for an eternity.

~Who goes to heaven? Those who have realized their sin problem.. that they have broken God's law. They are genuinly remorseful and convicted over their sin. God deals with them. A person must be broken over their sin when they come to Christ. Not only are they convicted & broken but they repent. They turn from their sin and put on the person of Jesus Christ. They put their faith and trust in Him for their eternal salvation.
Most people just think it's that last sentence... trust... but it's much more.
From that day on that person will be different... act different.. even look different. When the Holy Spirit of God enters you, you are NEVER the same! NEVER!! Can you mess up? Of course. Will you mess up? Of course! But you will not wallow in sin like a pig does in slop! What kind of parent would God be if He allowed His child to wallow in slop (sin). God watches over His children. So, if a person falls into the slop bucket and decides to stay their for a while... well, I might be wondering who their father really is....
More on this tomorrow. I'm beat....