This week, here in Canada, former Governor General Romeo Leblanc died. These are all people with bigger names than us.
Actually, around the world this past week one million and fifty thousand people died. Another 150,000 will die today. The same tomorrow and so on and so on and so on.
The statistic continues to be consistent: 10 out of 10 people die.
As far as the King of Pop goes, the world is in shock and mourning at his sudden death. Madonna can't stop crying. Miley "I do everything for Jesus" Cyrus lost her inspiration. Quincy Jones lost part of his soul. There is no doubt about it, the guy was very talented. For more reasons than that, Michael Jackson was a household name. And, from the news reports, millions around the world are praying for him and hoping he finds his Neverland in the afterlife.
Well, its too late to pray for Mr Jackson and he won't find himself in Neverland. And his worldly status will be not be of any significance compared to the status of his soul when he faces the King of Glory, his Creator and Judge, who will hold him (and all others who have died and will die) accountable for every thought, word and deed while on this earth.
I think it safe to say that Michael Jackson did not wake up yesterday morning, prepare for the day ahead of him, stop to look in the mirror and say "Well, today is the last day of my life." One second his heart was beating, the next it was not. Snuffed out like a candle. And that is what it will be like for most everybody, including you and me. The question is: are we ready to face the King of Glory ourselves?
If you are a born again Christian (there is no other kind) you must, you must, you must be out and about doing everything you can, when possible, to be in the service of our Lord and sharing the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to as many as you come in contact with on this side of the grave. There will be no need to do so in Heaven, so now's your only chance.
The Good News of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, must be made known to all as it is absolutely clear from God's word, the Bible, - and therefore TRUE - that:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
It's heaven or hell, folks! No limbo. No purgatory. No Neverland or any other man made myth to soothe the conscience of the unbeliever or false convert. Jesus preached heaven and hell. Mercy and wrath. Love for righteousness and hatred for sin.The "love of God" is a misconstrued concept in the eyes of the world. People must be made aware that because GOD IS HOLY, RIGHTEOUS AND JUST, He must punish sin. And the punisment that God has ascribed for sinners is eternity in hell.
"But, where does His love come in?" Well, that's just it: the Good News is that He has already unleashed His wrath for sin upon His own innocent Son as He hung on the cross over two thousand years ago. He paid the price for us and justice was served, setting those who humble themselves, repent and put their faith in Christ, free from their guilt and given eternal life!
"But, where does His love come in?" Well, that's just it: the Good News is that He has already unleashed His wrath for sin upon His own innocent Son as He hung on the cross over two thousand years ago. He paid the price for us and justice was served, setting those who humble themselves, repent and put their faith in Christ, free from their guilt and given eternal life!
THAT is God's love!
To reiterate: God came down to earth as one of us, fully God and fully man, yet without sin, in the person of Jesus. And it is Jesus who voluntarily went to the cross to take on the punishment from God the Father that we so rightly deserve for our sins. He lovingly did that in our stead. Amazing grace!!
And now, through the gifts of repentance and faith we may obtain the righteousness of Christ, receive forgiveness and be saved from eternal wrath and be freely given the gift of eternal life.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
We must be out there sharing and living our faith with our loved ones and friends. We must be out there giving the gospel by laying down gospel tracts in public places, handing out gospel tracts to people on the streets, verbally sharing the gospel with people on the street, open air preaching...whatever you sense you are called to do, but DO SOMETHING!
Yes, the King of Pop has met the King of Glory. The question is: will it go well for him at this meeting?
Next question: will it go well for you? If you are a true Christian, then you have already been fully assured by faith that it will.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)
With that, then, it is your duty to go and tell others of this Good News, this wonderful eternal free gift you have been so graciously given and offer the same hope that has been offered you that they, too, may be saved.
GO!
.JPG)
6 comments:
Preach it brother Paul, preach it!
Great post Sir!
Insightful post. Let us do what we must and glofiy God in the preaching of the Gospel of His Son.
praise the lord,without Jesus as our savior we are lost...
Unfortunately, the king of pop probabably hasn't yet met the King of Kings - given MJ's most likely final destination.
Quote No Name: Amen! And thanks for dropping by.
Anonymous: I know what you mean, but we have to remember the realm of time does not equal the realm of eternity.
And yes, without Jesus as our Savior we are lost. God's grace is truly amazing, isn't it? How sweet the sound that saved a scumbucket like me!
The Lord bless you.
As I listen to the media and read blogs on the internet concerning Michael Jackson, I have become increasingly frustrated with the reaction of the majority of Christians. I have read a number of blogs casting judgment on his behavior and whether or not he was a believer. Most of these blogs express opinions from a very black or white, all or nothing thought process. A person’s beliefs and spirituality are never simply black or white, but are multi-dimensional state, with varying shades of gray. Many people like to polarize situations (all or nothing thinking) because it alleviates the anxiety of living in the tension of extremes. This is not done by the faint of heart.
None of us can truly know what was in Michael Jackson’s heart. That is between him and God, and not our responsibility. What is our responsibility is how we react to the situation at hand and to future situations. It is our responsibility to see people as inherently wounded and not inherently flawed. All of us have wounds that we try to heal or numb by unhealthy means; we self-medicate using food, work, excessive sleeping, drugs, alcohol, sex, and the list goes on and on.
In John 8:3-10, when the Pharisees approached Jesus with the woman caught in adultery, He didn’t just look at her behavior and cast judgment, He looked at her heart. He looked at the wounds that were motivating her behavior. If He was simply looking at the behavior, He could have easily said, “stone her”, but He didn’t. He spoke healing, forgiveness and acceptance to her. (Acceptance of the person does not equal approval of behavior.) We need to look past behavior that we don’t understand, or that frightens us, and look at the wound that is motivating the behavior. If we, as Christians, can speak healing to the wound instead of judgment on the behavior, the impact would be tremendous.
This is true for everyone, but even more so for someone struggling with an addiction and multiple psychological problems. I have seen numerous people shunned by the church because there is a lack of understanding or a fear of psychological problems and symptoms. The outcasts of society are being outcast by the church as well, continuing the cycle of wounds and inappropriate measures to try to heal those wounds. Let’s look at others in light of their hurts and fears and respond with compassion instead of criticism and condemnation.
Post a Comment