It's a scorcher out there!

That's what we've been hearing the last 2 days here in Ontario. It's only been 2 days and people are going nuts with the heat. In fact the radio said yesterday here in Peterborough, it was so hot, the squirrels were collecting their nuts with oven mitts!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news and this will not be a popular blog I expect, but it's a message that needs to be heard. In fact it's a message that's been told over and over and over again yet so many people will not listen.
There are much hotter days coming for those who do not know and love the LORD Jesus Christ, and those days will have no end. They will be eternal. I know it's not popular or politically correct to speak of, but the Bible speaks of it, and not in flattering terms.

Hell is a place Jesus spoke of often. He did that for a reason. He doesn't want anyone to go there. It's a place that was created for satan and his angels, not man. But, all mankind who will not accept the sacrifice of Jesus's life on their behalf will have to pay their own sin debt. They will take their place among satan and his angels(demons).
Jesus gave His life for you so you wouldn't have to go there. That's how much He wants to keep you out of there. He knows the horrors that await all who are there and will go there. But, the choice is yours. He also loves you enough to let you make your own choice. He will not force Himself on you.

The Bible has stood the test of time. It has been scrutinized to death. Pulled apart, trashed, burned, laughed at by many a scholarly intellectual mind. Called out dated, old fashioned, not applicable to us anymore. After all, we're all so smart now. So enlightened by our own knowledge. Which by the way, the Bible calls  "foolishness unto the LORD".

 Many have set out to prove it wrong, but in the process have come to know the Living Christ who lives in and through its pages. Their lives have been changed completely and they have become followers of Jesus.

People like:   C.S. Lewis, an Oxford professor and author of many books, including the Narnia series. Phillip Yancey and Lee Strobel investigative journalists. Lawyer Frank Morrison who wrote the book " Who moved the stone?" set out to disprove the resurrection account of the four Gospels, ended up writing a much different book and coming to the logical conclusion after an exhausting study, that the accounts were the truth.

 Josh McDowell is another. After starting out persuing a legal career with political ambitions, he was challenged to examine the evidence in the Bible by a group of college students. He considered himself an agnostic then. He is now a Christian apologist, teacher, evangelist and author of at least 77 books.
I mention these people because they're not just a bunch of imbeciles who swallowed what someone told them about the Bible. They are all intellectually sound intelligent people who put their best efforts into exhausting studies to prove the Bible accounts wrong, and every one of them met the Living Christ in the process. Their lives were completely changed!

I just started reading a book I received today written by Mark Hitchcock. " The Amazing Claims of Bible Prophecy". I wanted to leave a couple quotes here from the first few pages.

"The Bible is a book of prophecy. It contains about 1000 prophecies, about 500 of which have already been fulfilled down to the minutest detail." .... and a bit further on he writes, " Think about it: If hundreds of biblical prophecies have been meticulously and accurately fulfilled, then it stands to reason that what the Bible has to say about other things --- such as the nature and character of God, creation, the nature of man, salvation and the existence of heaven and hell ---- are 100 percent accurate as well. Fulfilled prophecy also demonstrates that the Bible's content is not man made, but rather has it's origins outside our own time-space continuum."... Mark Hitchcock.

Mark holds a law degree, along with a ThM and PhD degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and serves as a senior pastor in Oklahoma and an adjunct professor at DTS. Kind of sounds like another intellectually sound intelligent person.

Not one word of the Bible has ever been disproven. And, in my humble opinion, never will be. Simply because it is the very Word of God. It is historically accurate. It is a living book. It applies to every generation, because it's HIS-STORY!

Now, having said all that. What does the Bible say about a place called hell? It says it's a place where the worm dies not. It says it's a place of everlasting torment. It is a place of memory; you'll remember all the times you laughed at the prospects of ending up in hell. That in itself will be torment enough. It's a place of outer darkness. The complete absence of light. It's a place of much weeping and gnashing of teeth, so you'll be able to hear the agony.
 It's devoid of anything good. It's eternal separation from God. It's never-ending torment that has been prepared for satan and his angels. It's a place prepared for evil. You will experience tremendous unquenchable thirst. You will not be there with all your buddies partying it up. They may all be there, but there will be no partying going on. Remember you'll be in total darkness, thirsty and without drinks. There are lots of  "good" people there too. The Bible says all our good deeds are as filthy rags in God's sight. The Bible says the final destination for death, hell and the grave, will be the lake of fire. Doesn't sound like a partying atmosphere to me.

I've heard it said that the best evangelists this world would ever see are in hell today. If they could get back here to tell of the horrors they're experiencing. The sad part is, they can't, and we have an example in Luke 16 where Jesus talks about that very thing. He said :  "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." The rich man in hell wanted God to send Lazaras back to warn his brothers of their impending doom.

We're the same today. We're being warned, but we're not convinced. Better to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season we think. How stupid are we as people anyway, who wouldn't be convinced even if someone came back from the dead to warn us?

A loving God wouldn't send anyone to a place like that you might say. Well, He doesn't. You send yourself. Our loving God paid the supreme price so you wouldn't have to go. He gave His life, the rest is up to you. He's ready and waiting to welcome you with open arms, regardless of what you've done.

Jesus said : "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him , and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Notice it's says "anyone". If you're still living and breathing that includes you!

Unfortunately this is not a popular message today. It's a message that you won't hear in many churches anymore. It's not politically correct, and it offends people. And, we can't have people offended because it affects what's put in our offering plates. That's just so sad on so many levels, but especially because eternity and where we'll spend it, is at stake.

".....What will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

 But, take heart there is hope! All is not lost. The hope rests in Jesus. A simple genuine heart-felt prayer asking His forgiveness. Giving your life over to Him to do as He pleases with it.

There is a cost to believing in Jesus though. The cost is, your agenda is replaced with His agenda for your life. There must be evident change in your life to validate that this is happening. It's a life long process. It won't happen over night. But, He will change you from the inside out and take you places you never dreamed of in the process.

When Jesus met with the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, after all her accusers left, He told her He didn't condemn her either, but said "go and sin no more". He expected her to change. He expects the same from us.

You will not be disappointed. Jesus created you. He knows you better than anyone else. He knows what you're capable of and what He can accomplish through you!

So ... if the last couple days have been uncomfortably hot for you ...