There are many important questions in the world. Where am I going to work? Who am I going to marry? Where am I going to go to church? Where am I going to live? Where will I go to college? etc… However, there is one question that surpasses them all. And that is the question I pose to you today. The question is…

One day, howbeit hopefully far away, I will no longer trod this earth. I am here for a very short time, and then my life is gone almost as quick as it came. Some dread the thought of death, but I do not and neither should you, IF you are prepared for that day.


After I’m gone, what will it matter where I’ve been? Or how big of a number I had in my bank account? Or how nice of a car I had? Or how big of a house I owned? Or where I went on vacation? What will all of that amount to after I’m gone? Not much really. All that will matter is where I will spend the rest of my life eternally.


I believe that most everyone wants to go to Heaven. But how do we get there? If I am going to spend forever somewhere, I had better know for sure where I’m going! Which brings me to ask you this:

It’s a tough question, but think about it for a second. I have had the wonderful opportunity to talk with literally hundreds of people on this subject. I would say, MOST of the time the response to the previous question is this:

Will that answer “fly” when we stand before God? Many people believe that if a person lives a good life and doesn’t commit any horrible sins, then God will let them into Heaven. In the religion of Islam it is taught that there is a good angel on one shoulder and a bad angel on the other who record everyone one of your deeds, good and bad respectively. If you have done more good than bad, they say you go to “Paradise”. If more bad than good, you get “Hellfire.” Most religions are typical of this scenario. We call this a “works based religion.” Is this true? Can we work our way to Heaven? If that is true, then the best we can do is “hope” that we’ve done enough to go to Heaven. I do not believe that the God of Heaven would take much joy in His children fretting every day of their lives as to whether or not they have 1 or 2 more bad deeds than good. God is not a God of fear, but a God of hope and love. It doesn’t seem very loving to only let people “hope” or think that they could go to Heaven, and yet this is what many people are willing to settle for.


Honestly, I would hate to live my life “hoping” that I’ve done enough good things to get into Heaven! I want to KNOW!!! I know for sure, and I believe that YOU can know for sure as well! In fact God has given you a promise from His Word that you can know without a single doubt!

I would like to share with you how I know for sure, 100%, without a doubt that when it’s my time to go, I’m going to Heaven! How selfish would I have to be to conceal this! If a man had the cure for cancer and refused to release it, we would all be angry with him! How much more selfish would it be of me not to tell someone about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and that is knowing for a fact that my life after death is taken care of!


First, let me ask a couple simple questions for you to consider:


1. Who is in charge of Heaven?


You need not be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. GOD is in charge of Heaven! So, if God is in charge of Heaven….


2. …Then who decides how we get in?


GOD DOES! I cannot waltz up to God and say, “Now listen, I’m going to give you 5 bucks and you’re guna let me in!” No!!! God would have to say, “You don’t understand, this is MY house. I lay down the terms as to how you get in.” That is just common sense. However, the next question is the one of which this post will now address.


3. So…if God is in charge of Heaven, and if He alone decides how we get in, how am I supposed to know the terms?


Wouldn’t it have been nice of God to write it all down for us??? Well…HE DID! He wrote it down in a wonderful Book called The Bible! The Bible is God’s Book to man and in it lie the terms for Heaven! The Bible says, “God is not the author of confusion,” – I Cor. 14:33 Any confusion about how to get to Heaven is not God’s fault. He has laid it down for us in black and white, once and for all, if we will just, “Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read” – Isa. 34:16 Let us now look to the Bible and see what God has said about this subject of Heaven and how we get there.

1. The Bible says that we are unfit for Heaven.

This verse states simply states that no one is perfect! That word “righteous” means, “perfect, holy.” I think that we would all agree that there isn’t anybody on the earth right now who has never done anything wrong. The fact is that we have all done things that we shouldn’t. Agreed? No matter how big or small, we have all messed up.


But, why does that make us unfit for Heaven? This next verse will explain:

The word “For” in this verse means, “because”. So…”For (because) all (does that word “all” leave anybody out? No!) have sinned (messed up/done wrong/not done good/etc.) and come short of the glory of God. The last phrase “and come short of the glory of God” gives the reason why we are unfit for Heaven as we are. Because of our sin, we “come short”. Come short of what? – Heaven! The Bible teaches from cover to cover that no one, no matter how “good” or how “bad” deserves Heaven. None of us deserve the glory of God, in fact, we ALL fall short. Why is that? “For (because) all have sinned,” Our sin makes us unfit for Heaven!

But, why does our SIN make us unfit for Heaven? Sin seperates us from God. Why? The Bible says, “the LORD our God is holy.” – Psalm 99:9 The world holy means, “seperate from sin,”. If God is totally seperate from sin, how can I enter into Heaven with a heart full of sinful thoughts and deeds? God is so far away from sin that He cannot even look at it, much less allow sin into Heaven! Because of the sin I have in my heart, God cannot allow me into Heaven because of His holiness. (I know this concept may be new to some of you, but please hear me out. Most importantly, notice that all the conclusions I have drawn and will draw are from the Bible, which is the “Final Authority.” It matters not what I think to be true. It matters what God has said!)

We are unfit for Heaven because of our sin, and are in fact seperated from God because of it. But unfortunately, the Bible teaches that not only are we seperated from God, but we are also in debt to Him because of our sin. Allow me to explain.

2. The Bible says there is a penalty for sin.

The Biblication definition for sin is, “breaking God’s law.” When we sin, we are not just doing something wrong. But rather, we are sinning AGAINST Someone. God wrote down a list of Do’s and Dont’s in the Bible. These are known as commandments. When we (and we all do) refuse to obey these commandments, that is sin. Just like if I was to break a law of the United States of America, there is a penalty that I must pay. The same goes for God’s law. I have broken God’s law because of my sin, and am therefore under a certain penalty. The Bible describes this penalty in the verses below:

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death;”

Ezekiel 18:4 – “:the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

Romans 5:12 – “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

The Bible states that the penalty for violating God’s law is “death.” In the first verse above the Bible uses the word “wages”. The word wages means “payment”. The only payment that God will accept for my sin is death. God did not say, “For the wages of sin is doing a bunch of good deeds to make up for your sin.” Good deeds can never make bad ones go away. If I were to break the glass door at the hotel where I work, that would be bad. (My managers would not be happy! lol) But let’s say I broke the glass. To make up for it, I went and fed the poor and gave money to a charity. Does that repair the door? No! I must pay the price for breaking that door! The price is $$$$!!! That is the only thing that will pay for the door! Likewise the only thing that will pay for my sin is death. Not good works, baptism, sacraments, or some freaky experience.

Many have said that there are mortal sins, but the Bible teaches that all sin is “mortal”. The 2nd verse uses the word “shall”. There is no other choice but death…someone must die. I know that this sounds gloomy, and it may be bad news, but fear not because there is good news just around the corner. But first, we must realize our condition. We were born with a sin nature. No one had to teach me how to disobey or do wrong. It was natural. Because of my sin, I must die.

When the Bible speaks of “death” in the context of our subject it is not speaking of the physical death of our bodies but rather the spiritual death of our souls. This is seen in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 20:14-15 – “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Here we see the phrase “the second death.” This obviously refers to the spiritual death. These two verses are not pleasant to hear, but they are truth. Jesus said, “thy word is truth.” – John 17:17 I do not like to talk about “hell” but the Bible talks 2x as much about Hell as it does Heaven, and I must mention it here. The Bible teaches, as we have already established, that the payment for sin is death. This is the second death, which is death in Hell. That is the price that you and I have to pay because of our sin. Death in Hell is the only price that God will accept. Some interject here and say, “God wouldn’t send anybody to Hell!!!” If that is your mindset, I TOTALLY agree with you! God doesn’t send anybody to Hell…instead, He has given us a choice. It is our decision whether we go to Heaven or to Hell. God has given us a free will to decide. He has made a way for you and I to escape this “death penalty”. I would like to present that opportunity to you right now!

3. God already paid your penalty for you!

Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth (shewed) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Friend, God looked down from Heaven a long time ago and said, “I know that ________ (fill in your name) has sinned against me. They have broken my law. The punishment is death, and that is the only price I’ll accept. BUT…I don’t want them to have to die! So, I am going to make a way for them to live in Heaven forever with me! Jesus, I want you to go down to Earth, live a perfect life, and die in their place. This will satisfy their penalty, and give them the opportunity to live with me forever! It will be my gift to them!”

That is why Jesus came! Jesus came to die! He came to die in your place! The most famous verse in the Bible says,

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God loved you so much that He allowed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross! Think about this: If you could live a really good life and quit some of your sins, and if that would get you to Heaven, why would God send Jesus to die in our place? If we could just be really good and go to Heaven, then there would have been no need for Jesus to die! God obviously saw that we needed something to save us from our spiritual death, and Jesus, who was God in the flesh, died so that we might live!!!

So…if the penalty was death, and Jesus died, did He or did He not pay for all your sin? YES! Jesus paid for all your sin, past, present, and future! When Jesus died all your sins were in the future! But not only did He die, but he rose again on the third day from the grave:

Mark 6:16 – “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”

When Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, not only did He pay for our sin but He also bought us a gift!

Romans 6:23b…”the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus Christ offers all men ETERNAL LIFE as a free gift! A gift is something that you don’t have to earn or deserve. As already proven, we do not deserve Heaven. Jesus, knowing that we are unfit for Heaven presents us with eternal life in Heaven with Him as a free gift! “Do I have to do anything to get it?” No, Jesus did it all! “Do I have to work for it and build up some merit to pay for it?” No, Christ did al the work for you on the cross! The only work that was needed to be done was death, and Christ died for you! No other work is needed! Christ said right before He died, “It is finished.”, meaning, ‘The price has been fully paid!’

Isn’t that exciting! Now, Jesus died for all men, but obviously not all men will go to Heaven. What seperates the people who go to Heaven and the people who go to Hell? Simply this: The people who go to Heaven have accepted Jesus Christ’s death as satisfactory for their sin, and accept His free gift of etenal life BY FAITH. Those who go to Hell have rejected Christ’s offer and have decided to try and pay for their sins another way such as with good deeds, sacraments, offerings, etc. However none of those things pay for the penalty of sin which is death. If you want to go to Heaven, you must accept what Jesus did for you on the cross as your payment for sin and accept His gift of salvation.

“How Can I Do That?”

4. All You Must Do Is Believe!

The Bible says that we accept eternal life from Jesus Christ by faith:

Romans 10:9-10 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

God is offering you a wonderful gift. A gift of faith in Jesus Christ that will take you to Heaven when you die. Would you like to accept that gift now? If so, God says “confess with thy mouth”. We talk to God through prayer, so we must tell God that we want the free gift of eternal salvation!

Pray something like this:

“Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I have broken your law and for that I deserve to die. I realize that the only payment you’ll accept for my sin is death. But I know that you also sent Jesus your Son to die for me so that I wouldn’t have to go to Hell. I accept what Jesus did on the cross as the payment for my sins, and ask for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and Him alone. I know that there is no good thing I can do to take me to Heaven, and no bad thing that I can quit that will help me get there. I put my heart’s trust in You and You alone. Please come into my life and save me right now! In Jesus Name, Amen.”

If you just prayed that prayer to God, and accepted the gift of eternal life in Heaven by faith, then you have done EXACTLY what the Bible says one must do to go to Heaven!!! All I have to say now is CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you feel a peace in your heart and assurance that you now possess the eternal gift of Heaven as your home!!!

P.S.- If you read this post and accepted Christ please leave a comment in the “Comments” box and let me know so I may rejoice with you! Please email me with any questions you might have. My email address is: thezman22@gmail.com

“When I give you my time, I am giving you my life, for time is life.” ~ Dr. Jack Hyles

Dr. Hyles is 2nd only to my father in the “Zack’s Hero’s” Department. I never met Dr. Hyles, although I will someday soon when I see him in Heaven. If you are not familiar with Dr. Jack Hyles, I encourage you to acquaint yourself with him through his writings, and sermons, some of which are provided for you on this site. (Please see the “Sermons” page for preaching from Dr. Hyles) I received a wonderful blessing this week when I look on the “Resource Table” at our church, and noticed a book by Dr. Hyles entitled, “Blue Denim and Lace.” I had heard so much about this book and about all of the lives it had touched. It is a compilation of Dr. Hyles’ deepest thoughts and feelings. It is a book filled with wisdom, which was all gained during Dr. Hyles’ designated times of “thinking” or “meditating” on God’s Word. Today’s quote is from that book.

The first chapter is entitled, “When time is no longer…” I want to share some of his thoughts with you today. Let’s look at some thoughts about the concept of time:

1. “The greatest gift that I could give you is my time.”

As our quote today states, when I give you my time, I am giving you a part of my life. If I give you money, I am giving you, in turn, the time it took to make that money. If I give you a coat, I am giving you the time it took to earn the money to buy that coat. Really, time is the only give that I can give you. Howbeit a wonderful gift, it is a costly gift. Time is only lost, and never gained. You can only lose time when you do something. Therefore, when I do something for you that requires time, or when I give you something that required time to get, I am giving you part of my life here on earth, and that part of my life I gave you, is lost forever. I can never get it back! It is a great honor for you to give me your time, because when you spend time with me or for me, you are giving me your life. Dr. Hyles said, “My time with you is an investment. Your time with me is an investment. Let us care for each other’s investment wisely.” When I give you my time, I am giving you part of my life. What a special gift!!!

2. “When I give you my time, I am giving a gift that can only be given to you!”

Once I have given YOU my time, I cannot give it to another. It was used up for you and you alone! This should make us appreciate the time given us by others, and cherish the time we spend with them. “For a moment given to me by a friend is not only his giving to me of his life, but also something which he can give to no other person and which can never be given again.”

3. “For you to give me a moment, or for me to give you a moment, is to exchange the only moment that we actually know we have.”

Dr. Hyles said, “We are promised only the present. When we share the present with each other, we are giving to each other the only moment that we know we have for sure. There may never be another.” This should cause us to love our family and friendships more than ever before! Do you realize that when you left for work this morning sir, that could have been the last time you saw your wife!!! Did you realize teenager, that when you got mad at your mom and stormed to your room, that could have been the last time you saw your mother? We should make sure that we always let those who we know that we love them, for we could very well never have another “moment” with them.

4. “Time is a gift God cannot give.”

Dr. Hyles makes a very interesting point. “God gives us wonderful gifts. This is one thing that God cannot give you. God has no time. He does not give up any of His life to fellowship with you. To be sure, He gave His life on the cross to save you; but since God will never die, the time He gives to you and the moments you share with Him do not subtract anything from His life. In other words, He loses no life to fellowship with you. However, when I fellowship with you, I lose my life. Here is a gift we can share that God cannot give.” Wow! God created time, and therefore must be outside of it. The man who built my laptop I am typing on, is not trapped inside of it!!! He is outside of it will complete control over it. God can be with you and me at the same instance and not lose any time, because He is outside of time. God lives in the past present and future all at once!!! “Before Abraham was, I am.” ~ John 8:58 So, when I spend time with you, I am giving you one gift (and probably the only one) that God cannot give you!

What an honor it is for someone to want to spend time with me!!! We should cherish the time we have together. We would do well to make sure our loved ones know they are “loved” ones for we may not have much time with them. Time is a precious gift that we can share with each other. Let us spend it wisely. I hope this has been a blessing to you. This provoked my mind and has made me rethink how I spend my time.

James 4:14 – “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

We only have “a little time”, let’s do something GREAT with it!!!

(Note: All of Dr. Hyles’ books are not copyrighted and are free to be copied and used respectively by the reader.)

 

A man says to me, "Can you explain the seven trumpets of the Revelation?" No, but I can blow one in your ear, and warn you to escape from the wrath to come.” ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Sorry about missing yesterday’s post!!! It was a crazy day at the Evans’ home! We had some plumbing issues and…well…that took a bit of time off the night! But, let’s turn our focus to our quote today…

Spurgeon used a little sarcasm here, but behind the subtle humor is a thought that has been on my mind for the past 24 hours. And that thought is…Jesus is coming back. Those trumpets up in Heaven are going to blow soon. Jesus is going to descend from the cloud and call His children home…the dead in Christ shall rise…and “we that are alive and remain” will be caught up in the air to  meet out Savior!

This thought has been engrained in my mind for different reasons. With the recent trip taken by President Obama to Cairo, and the speech also given to Israelis by VP Joe Biden, many “cogs” are being put into place. Obama is looking to appease all 57 Islamic states and Israel and Palestine etc. There is talk that Obama plans to have a peace treaty in effect by the end of his first term. Howbeit, many Presidents have tried and failed in an attempt to gain peace in the Middle East, it is certain that Obama has taken unprecedented steps toward TRYING to accomplishing that task. What if…What if…Obama does get a treaty in place to be signed? What if it is a…7 year treaty…which is depicted in the book of Revelation? What if? If that is so…if that is what is in place to be done, as some suspect, we are very close to going home. (BTW: I am not saying that Obama is the Anti-Christ!!! But, I am saying that we are very close to “his” arrival.)

I have a question for you that I have asked myself repeatedly over the past 24 hours…are you ready to meet your God? Are you prepared? I’m not just asking if you are saved, I’m asking if you’re ready. You do realize don’t you, that in as little as…the next second…you could be up in the air headed for Heaven? “Woohoo!!! Glory!!! EVEN SO Lord Jesus come quickly!!!” Well, before you get to excited, you do know what happens after that right? You, and you alone, are going to stand in front of the Creator God of the Universe and give an account of your life!

 

Revelation 20:12 – “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

The Almighty God of Heaven is going to look you straight in the eyeball and ask you, “What did you do for ME???” Your whole entire life will be put in review…how is that going to go for you and me? Are you ready to look God in the face, confident in the way you have lived your life? Will you be able to look at the “austere man” and say, “I have given you my all Lord Jesus!” Are you ready? Think about that for a second…you are going to see the God that you have put your trust in! You are going to stand before the God who breathed the world into existence and explain to him why you or I wasted our lives! Can you imagine looking at GOD??? I can’t even fathom the fear!!! I can’t imagine the GLORY!!! I can’t contemplate the CONVICTION that I will feel standing before Him knowing that I could have done more!!!! Are you prepared? We had better prepare to meet our God!

How do we do that? How can we be ready for the Judgment Seat of Christ? Paul felt the same way you and I do about one day standing before God, and he gave his way of preparing to meet his God:

 

2 Corinthians 5:11 – “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;”

Paul was saying, “I’m afraid! I’m a little…no very much frightened by the thought of giving an account of my life! In fact, I’m terrified!!!” So, what was his way of getting ready? Did Paul say, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we read our Bibles”? Did Paul saying, “Knowing…the terror…we pray”? Did he state, “Knowing…the terror…we attend church once a week”? How about, “Knowing…the terror…we don’t kill or gamble or cheat, etc.”? NO!!! Paul declared, “Knowing therefore the TERROR of the Lord, WE PERSUADE MEN;”!!!!!! Paul is giving us a glimpse of what the Judgment Seat of Christ is going to be all about! The MAIN thing that God is going to judge us on (not for Heaven, but for our reward in Heaven), will NOT be church attendance! It will NOT that you didn’t kill anybody! It will NOT be that you were sober! It will not be that you were faithful to your wife and your kids! It will not be your prayer habits! It will not be your Bible reading! ‘WHAT????’ Yes, I’m saying that #1 thing that God will judge you about, Christian, is HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU KEEP OUTTA HELL!!! If you don’t believe me, ask Paul? He said that he was spending his life preparing to meet his Lord by SOUL-WINNING!!!

Your lack of bad habits doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! Our church attendance doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! Our lack of “horrible” sins doesn’t keep anybody outta Hell!!! When God looks a you or me and says, “What have you done for me???”, what are you going to say? Will you say, “I went to church God!” “You went to church? That wasn’t for me!!! THAT WAS FOR YOU!!! What did you do for ME???” “Well, God, I…uh…read my Bible!” “You did what? Barely!!! Even so, that didn’t do anything for me!!!! What have you done for me????” “Um…I prayed!?!” “You prayed? Do you think you were doing me a favor by asking me for things? No, child, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME??” What will you say? I want to be able to say, “God, I am the rottenest sinner in the whole world, but I brought a bunch of other sinners with me!!!” Don’t you? God is not so impressed with my Bible reading, if I am not a soul-winner. Why? Because Jesus didn’t did so you could have a Bible, He died to keep people outta Hell. Don’t you think that ought to be our main objective? Many churches have gotten away from old-fashioned soul-winning. I don’t want to be a pastor of one of those flocks at the judgment seat. Paul persuaded men in preparation to meet the Master. Are you preparing? We don’t have much time Christians! Tomorrow never comes, and today will be gone in a moment…what are you going to do with it? Let’s prepare to meet our God!

“Character is what a man is in the dark.” ~ D.L. Moody

The Bible commands us in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Many great sermons have been preached on “Let your light so shine.” However, what we are on the outside is not nearly important as what we are on the inside. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees?

Matthew 23:25-28 – “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

The Pharisees were the Independent Fundamental Baptist of their day. Yes, they had many flaws, the main one being pride, but as far as their religion of Judaism, they were the ultra-conservative crowd. The Sadducees were the liberal, scholarly types, on the other hand. The Pharisees were clean and pure on the outside. They dressed nice, walked with dignity, had Bible verses written all over their clothes, they were well respected men, etc., But, Jesus wasn’t that impressed. Jesus looked at those “whited sepulchres” and said that they were full of a bunch of dead men’s bones!!! (By the way: who ever said that Jesus wasn’t a fiery preacher? He preached with passion and fervor against sin!!!) The Pharisees were the most spiritual religious guys in town, and yet Jesus looked at them and told them that they were wicked! Was that harsh? No, it was truth. Don’t get me wrong, God cares about the outside…”that the outside of them may be clean also.” But, God knows that the outside is not necessarily indicative of what is on the inside.

Jesus said, “cleanse first that which is within”. The main occupation of a Christian should not be, “What do people think about me?” But rather, “What am I in the sight of God?” We all need to re-evaluate ourselves today with this question…Does your outside match up with your inside? They are both important, but as a Christian, do they match? Are you “spick and span”, “spit and polished” on the outside, but dirty and carnal on the inside? Do you walk into church on Sunday with your KJB under your arm, decked out in your 3-piece suit, looking like the next Jack Hyles, but failed to even crack open your “beloved” KJB during the week? Are you that type of person? It’s not hard to be. In fact, I believe we all are this person at times, however, we should be striving to make our inside match our outside. If your spick and span on the outside, be spick and span on the inside!!!

The question is…who are you really? Are you really the person that people see on Sunday? Or, when you get in the car, do you turn back into your “real” self? You see, character is not what people think we are. It is who we are when no one else is watching! Sure, we’re good Christians when the cameras are on! But, what kind of Christian are you when no one’s looking? Of course, we dress modest! But, what do we wear when no one’s around? We keep our tongues under control! Unless we’re alone…We read our Bibles…when we’re at a prayer meeting. We love the preacher when we’re at church…but scowl about him in the car. Who are you? Are you really you? Or are you someone else??? “HUH?” Are you the “you” that we all know? Or is there an alter-ego that we don’t know about? God will not judge us on people’s perceptions!!! He will judge us with truth. The Pharisees looked spiritual, talked spiritual, walked spiritual, but were just walking dead men. What about you? What about us? Are we content to lead this double life? I don’t know if this applies to you today…and I don’t because there are only 2 people who do…you and God. Who are you…in the dark. That is where men are made…in the dark. You are who you are when no one’s around. Are you a good Christian when no one’s looking? This is something we all need to work on.

To go along with today’s post about the love of God, I have decided to post Dr. Jack Hyles’ famous sermon “He is Altogether Lovely” or “The Altogether Lovely One.” Let us place our minds on how great and loving and beautiful God is and realize how small and puny man is. God truly is the Altogether Lovely One!

Dr. Jack Hyles – He is Altogether Lovely One.mp3

"You ask me why God loves. You might as well ask me why the sun shines. It can’t help shining, and neither can He help loving, because He is love Himself; and any one that says He is not love does not know anything about love." ~ D.L. Moody

The love of God…what a powerful phrase! God loves me. God loves me. God LOVES me. God loves ME!!! I just can’t get over that!!! When you think about the love of God, what comes to your mind? When I hear those joyous words, these verses leap to remembrance:

Jeremiah 31:3 – “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

Zephaniah 3:17 – “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”  (God is so infatuated with love for us, that He can’t help but SING about us!!!!)

John 15:9 - “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”

John 15:13 – “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:19 – “We love him, because he first loved us.”

I am standing at the front desk of a hotel where I work at 5:53am with tears swelling up in my eyes as I read these verses. He loves me…He loves me!!!! The Almighty God of the universe loves ME!!! Oh, Christian, is your heart soft towards the love of God? Can you feel it now? It is there! His love is there! It’s in your heart! Do you feel it? God loves you! Why? Why does He love me? Why would he care about puny little me? As David said,

Psalms 8:3-4 – “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

What is man? The short answer is…nothing!!! Do you know what we are? We are just a bag of bones with an attitude! Why would God give a flip about us? Mr. Moody gave us the answer…there is no reason why He loves us!!! He just…does!!! Dr. John R. Rice’s wife used to ask him, “John, do you love me?”, and he would reply with, “Yes, sweetie, I love you very much.” “Why do you love me, John?” Dr. Rice would then reply, “Because God told me to.” You might at first think, “How cruel!”, but if he loved her for her beauty, what would happen when her beauty was gone? If he loved her for her cooking (Amen fellas?) what would happen when she could no longer cook? Instead, Dr. Rice was wise enough to say, “I love you because…I LOVE YOU!!!” All of the reasons why could one day fade away, but he would still love her! Why? Because he decided to love her!

A famous preacher says, “Love is a decision.” God made the decision to love us. Does He love me because I’m saved? No, He just loves me! Does He love me because I’m separated? No, He just loves me! Does He love me because I am faithful to Him? No, He just loves me! Does He love me because I love Him? No, He just loves me!!! I have done NOTHING to earn His love!!! I am a dirty, rotten, sin-natured, disgusting, vile, accumulation of dirt, and yet the God of Heaven who made the stars, and the moon, and the sun, and the planets, and the animals, all by SPEAKING it into existence, has decided to LOVE me!!! Christian, if that does not excite you, you need a heart transplant!!! God loves you! God loves you! Why? No reason! He just does!!! Say it with me in your heart friend! He loves me! He loves me!!! HE LOVES ME!!!

If I were you, I would turn off the blog right now, get down on my hands and knees, and humble myself before an Almighty God, and thank Him for loving this rotten sinner. He loves us. Is it because we have earned it? No, God said, “he first loved us.” He loved me before I was ever born. Before I ever was a Christian. He loved me before I ever had one good work to my name. And He still loves me. Have you thanked Him for His unmerited love today? If not, do it now. If you have, I think He deserves to hear it again….Thank you God for loving me!!!

1 John 4:16 – “…God is love…”

“Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.” ~ D.L. Moody

I found this quote particularly interesting because recently I was speaking with a man who I have been getting acquainted with over the past few years…He is very much up in years, and has traveled the world. He is a successful composer of classical music. He is a very accomplished man in his field and is known world-wide in some circles. I have had the privilege of becoming a sort of “adopted grandson” of his. He is a dear man and a good friend. A few weeks ago, I was at there house for dinner. He and his wife began talking about all of the places to which they had traveled due to their music careers. They expounded about Rome, as pictured above, Paris, Prague, and even the Holy Land. I began to flip through a photo album they had put together some years ago and was amazed by all of the sites and stories. These people had literally been “around the world.” Mr. Bassett, this composer, and Ms. Anita, his wife, are not saved people. I have witnessed to him on many occasions, but he is set on trusting that he is a good enough person to go to Heaven. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in his heart.

When I read this quote, Mr. Bassett immediately came to mind. He has become “successful” as far as the world sees success, and he has done what many people dream of doing in traveling the world. But, what is all of that going to matter when he is on his deathbed? Unless something changes, this man will wake up in Hell after death. What will it matter how many countries he had visited? What will it matter how many songs he wrote? What will it many how many stories he has to tell? What is his life going to carry into eternity? Unfortunately, very little. He chose to live his life to become “successful” in the eyes of the world, instead of being “rich” in the eyes of God. I love that man very dearly, but in reality, he does not have very much to show for his life eternally.

What about us? Someday when we are 85 and we look back on our lives, will all we have to show for our existence be a few cities we have seen? A few dollars we have stacked up? A big house that we have bought? I may never possess those things. I may never have a big number in my bank account. I may never see Paris or Rome. But that is ok because “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” ~ Joshua 24:15 We need not be worried about worldly success, but rather focus on spiritual gain! When I am on my deathbed, I want my mind and spirit to be able to say, “Lord, I have not done all that I could, but I have given you all that I have. I may not be “successful” in the eyes of the world, but I have led many people to your Son. I have ministered to others and, in turn, given my life away to them. I may not have much to leave behind materially, but I sure am taking a lot with me spiritually!”

What are you going to leave behind on this earth? You may leave behind much materially, but one day this earth will be burnt up and everything in it. What will you have then? Will you be in Heaven with very little reward to show for you life? Or, will you be among the people who “presented their bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.” ~ Rom. 12:2 In conclusion, if you are like me and are involved in many ministries in your church, you see people all the time who could be involved but they choose not to be. Often I think to myself, “These people have no idea what they are missing!!! They don’t know what it’s like to see someone accept Christ right in front of their eyes and realize that they had a part in it!!! Oh, how I wish they would live for God!!!” Many people are content to work their job, come to church once a week, read their Bible sparingly, pray inconsistently, and then feel like they are doing God a favor. However, what they do not realize is, one day when they are standing before God, all of their works will be tried…not to determine Heaven or Hell, but to reward them according to how they lived their live. That person, the one who does very little for God, will be very embarrassed and ashamed when they see all that they had done with their life burn away. When I stand before God and my works are tried, I don’t want to be standing knee deep in ashes!!! How do I prevent that from happening? By living a soul-out, radical, fanatical life for Jesus Christ and most importantly, telling others about His wonderful gift of salvation.

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"There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things." ~ D.L. Moody

I think this quote speaks for itself. Many of us are Christians who desire to do something for God. Fewer of us desire to do something BIG for God. But, for those who are WILLING and DESIROUS of a great ministry, or big work for God…if you are not doing something for God right now, why would He send you somewhere else? What incentive, or assurance are you giving God to prove to Him that you can handle a great work? Why would God let me pastor 10,000 people if I was not a faithful Bible reading? How could God use me to win millions of souls, as He did Mr. Moody, if I rarely even pray?

It is easy to desire to do something for God, but God is not necessarily impressed by our desire, although it pleases Him. What impresses God is when a young man or lady, has a desire to do something great for Him, (that is what He deserves anyway, something big!), but not only desires it…however, he acts upon that desire! Do you want a great pastorate someday young man, then do the little things! Do you want to be a great soul-winning ma’am? Then do the little things! Do you want to have a BIG bus route? Then do the little things!

Do you know what big things are comprised of? …Little things… So, if God cannot trust us to tithe, read our Bibles, pray, love others, go soul-winning, etc., how could He trust us with something big? Let’s begin to be more faithful than ever to the little things.

"Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all." ~ D.L. Moody

Maybe this month we will just have “Wisdom from Moody” posts! He was an amazing man who was so close to God, and had influenced literally millions for Christ, and yet was so humble. He was a man of prayer. If you read his biography, and you should, another thing that stands out to you is how real God was to Him. He talked to God the way that you and I talk to each other. It was not a “long-distance relationship.” Moody knew God!!! Many of us know God as a father, but few know Him as a Friend…Moody did.

When you get that close to God, you learn more about Him than you would have otherwise. Our relationship with God is cultivated the same way that any other relationship is…by spending time with Him. Perhaps the best way to get to know someone is by talking with them. We talk to God through prayer. What is prayer? The word “pray” literally means, “to ask.” Dr. Jack Hyles, and Dr. John R. Rice both used to say that when you are praising God, you are not praying. When we gives thanks to God, we are not praying. When we are just talking with God, we are not praying. Why not? Because prayer is asking! Why is that important?

God loves it when we praise Him…thank Him…love Him…etc., but do you know what He loves even more? When we ASK HIM FOR THINGS!!! Isn’t that hard to believe? Isn’t it hard to imagine that God actually LOVES IT when we ask Him for things that we need! God is not perturbed by our prayer, He cherishes it! God is not disgusted by our needs and wants, He wants more than anything to fulfill them!!! “How do you know Zack?”

1 Thessalonians 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

Eph 6:18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,”

Notice, God did not say, “Praise without ceasing.”, although we should. He did not say, “Thank me without ceasing.”, although we should. The God of Heaven has COMMANDED you to ASK all day long!!! He LOVES it when you praise Him, but He loves giving you what you need more! He loves it when you thank Him, but He loves it most all of when you get down on your knees and say, “God I need this, and YOU are the ONLY ONE from whence it can come!!!” God loves that!!! Isn’t that wonderful??? Isn’t that exciting? Just to know that God sits on the edge of his throne in Glory and looks down and says, “I can’t wait for Zack to ask me for something today!!! I am so exciting about fulfilling my child’s needs and even some of his wants!” You say, “Why is God that way? It just doesn’t make sense that He actually LOVES it when we beg Him for something!” He loves it when we ask because…

…we are His children.

 

Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

I am not a father, but I will be someday by the grace of God. Ask any father if he loves it when his children need him, and what will he say? “It is the joy of my life to give my children what they need and even what they want.” I can’t imagine what it would feel like for a little brown headed boy to run up to me and say, “Daddy, can I have ____.” I have no doubt in my mind that for the first few years of the guy’s life, I would spoil him rotten!!! I would give him whatever he wanted!!! How does it feel, Dad, when you son/daughter comes up to you with a need and ASKS you to fill it? You love it don’t you? How much more, does God love it, when His children come to Him on bended knee and petition Him for something they need? Oh, God does not look at you and say, “Oh great, here comes Zack again!!! I’ve had enough of this! That’s the third time this morning!” NO NO NO!!! God says, “Look!!! Look!!! Here he comes again! He NEEDS ME!!! I wonder what it is this time!!! Yes, Zack, bring me ALL your care! Bring me ALL your burden!!! I want to give you everything you need!”

Isn’t that encouraging? I have caught myself many times apologizing to God for asking so much of Him, but…He loves it! He wants it more and more! Let’s go to Him oft’. Ask of Him more. And Praise Him for all He’s already done.

Thank you God!!!

"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." ~ D.L. Moody

If you have ever read the biography of Moody, written by his son, one note about his character is that he was an extremely humble man. He was a man subject to like passions as we are, but he had learned, “he must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) He said that the only people who God cannot fill, are the ones who are already full…makes sense right? How can you fill a 5 gallon bucket that is already full? How can you fill a car with gas which is already topped off? Likewise, how can God fill you with wisdom, if you already have it all? How can God fill you with knowledge, if you already know everything? How can God fill us with power, if we can do it ourselves? The obvious answer is that He cannot…

I saw a movie in which a young man wanted to learn a certain skill. He had read about it…watched instructional videos about it…watch movies about it…talked about it…dreamed about it…ALL THE TIME! It was his dream to possess that certain skill. He came across a man who possessed that skill to the highest degree. Man, did that boy ever get excited!!! He started talking about that skill like there was no tomorrow! He begged…and begged…and begged…and begged this man to train him. Finally, the master gave in and agreed to train the boy. The young pupil was very eager to get his training underway…he just knew that he was going to learn that skill better than anyone! He asked his master, “What is first, Master?” The master replied, “I want you to take this stick, and start wacking those weeds over there.” The young pupil questioned his master’s motives…”I thought you were going to teach me!!!” “I am teaching you”, said the master. “But,”, said the boy, “what about…”, he then proceeded to inquire as to why he was not going to learn about the special skill which he wanted…and began to show off his knowledge about that skill. He rattled off everything about the skill that he had retained in his brain to try to prove to his master that he was ready to “skip to the good stuff.” He didn’t need Basic Training…he was ready for war! So, he thought… After the young man’s extensive display of knowledge about his desired skill, the master paused…shook his head…looked at the boy and wisely said, “Empty your cup…” “WHAT?”, the surprised boy replied. The Master once again paused and with no anger in his voice said, “If you know so much about this skill, why can you not perform it?”

Do you know much? Empty your cup. Do you have much? Empty your cup? Have you accomplished much? Empty your cup. Do you possess wisdom? Empty your cup. Are you a good soul-winner? Empty your cup? Do you know how to build a Sunday school class? Empty your cup. Why? Because God CANNOT fill what is already full! If I think I know so much about the Christian life, WHAT DO I NEED GOD FOR? If I have arrived spiritually, WHAT DO I NEED GOD FOR? If I know all there is to know about winning souls, WHY DON’T I WIN MORE? If I am wise, WHAT DO I NEED GOD FOR? However, I DO need God!!! I am not wise! I am not knowledgeable! I have not arrived! I NEED HIM! Do you know who God is looking to use? THOSE WHO ARE EMPTY!!! Those who realize that they are NOTHING! Those who aren’t “wise in their own eyes”! Those who see themselves as week and feeble! God can’t use a “know-it-all”! Do you have some knowledge? POUR IT OUT before God Almighty and say, “God, I am a blind sheep who knows nothing! I need you! Master, teach me!” God will look down and say, “That man does know much, but he doesn’t see himself as knowledgeable! I like that! I can use Him! I WILL use Him! But, the second that He starts to think that He knows something…or did something…or can do something on his own…is the moment I cannot fill Him, for He will be too full of himself!” Do you want God to use you? Empty yourself of everything that you think you know and beg God to fill you!

We all struggle with this. Especially those of us who have the privilege of growing up in a Christian home. It is easy to feel like we have seen it all, done it all, and know it all. But, if we want to be used of God, then we have to empty ourselves of ourselves and beg him to fill us with what He sees fit. Do you want God to use you?

Empty your cup…