Living Forever

Every person ever born will live forever. Not through a magic elixir or reincarnation, and not necessarily in heaven or in a state of euphoria.

Some will live for eternity in eternal torment in the lake of fire, which we call hell. Many people berate Christians for what they call proselytizing. They are of the opinion that we get some sort of gold star for bringing the most people to church.

They think it is all about nickels and noses - church attendance and offerings. Yet, the motivation of most authentic Born Again Believers is to open heaven's gates to as many people as we can.

We ask God to let us meet people, who are willing to listen to the Gospel and be saved. We shudder at the thought of our friends, loved ones and acquaintances spending eternity in torment.

The unsaved view hell as a continual party full of pleasures of the flesh. That is what Satan wants them to think. He paints this picture in their minds and insists that the Christian viewpoint is misguided at best.

These unsuspecting people buy into Satan's lies and believe them as truth; rejecting God's truth as the lie (Romans 1:25). The unfortunate fact about this foolish stance is that they may not find out until they die that the devil duped them.

Then the door of the Ark will already be closed (Genesis 7:16). There will be no more time to believe in Jesus for salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). The multitude of chances God gave them during their lifetime will be over (Genesis 6:3).

It will be too late for them to come to Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, please direct us to people in our sphere of influence who need to know You. Give us divine appointments every day so that we can share Your love through the Gospel of Christ with those whom Your Spirit is drawing to the shadow of Your wings.

We pray for our loved ones who are deceived by Satan's lie; and we ask You to open the eyes of their understanding, so that they can see the Truth about Your love for them. Strengthen their inner being to accept Jesus by Your Spirit (Ephesians 1:18, 3:16).

Thought for the Day:
Praying that, while there is still time, many in our sphere of influence will believe God's Truth; and trust in Christ as their Savior, so that they too can enter into eternity with Him forever.

The Problem with Happiness

Happiness is a fleeting emotion, easily interrupted by negative thoughts, words and actions. Humans can experience the switch between the heights of euphoria and the depths of depression in a matter of seconds.

When we seek happiness in circumstance, people, events, pets, career, home, gardens, hobbies, church, etc. we are continually elated and then disappointed.

In disappointment, we even give in to fear, anxiety and feel apprehensive when we consider more than the one moment of time which we are experiencing.

Fear will dispel happiness quicker and put us into a deeper depression than any other emotion, especially if we suppress the anger, which we feel along with it.

We have the right to pursue happiness, but we cannot maintain it. There is good news in the midst of this negative prognosis, however.

We can continually dwell in an emotion much deeper than happiness. This emotion is not contingent on circumstance and is spiritual and depends solely on the presence of God in our life.

This deep seated emotion is also our strength to traverse the negative path in life, which we occasionally experience. There is no earthly issue, which can ever shake us from this positive outlook on life. It is called JOY.

If we choose to focus on the negative circumstances, or if we adopt a negative attitude, our joy will hover just outside of our soul, waiting in our spirit for us to change our focus to the joy, which is always set before us (Hebrews 12:2).

The world-wide Body of Christ, both in times present and past, is an example of a people who love and joyfully trust our amazing God for His constant provision, even during dire circumstances.

Prayer:

Father God, You reach down Your arms and hold us until our grief and fears are gone (Psalm 68:5). You walk within us and guide us through the depths of grief, distress and insecurity. Regardless of the negative circumstances, Your peace and joy are our constant companions.

You love each of us the same amount and in the same way, regardless of our sinful past. We are confident of Your continual, unconditional love for us (John 3:16-17). We can never thank You enough for continually filling us with Your presence and Spirit, and for helping us to maintain a heavenly mindset rather than a carnal, earthly one.

Thought for the Day:

Our constant joy depends on our focus on the eternal Christ and our attitude of total dependence on His perfect will for our life.

The Problem with Happiness

Happiness is a fleeting emotion, easily interrupted by negative thoughts, words and actions. Humans can experience the switch between the heights of euphoria and the depths of depression in a matter of seconds.

When we seek happiness from areas such as: circumstances, people, events, pets, career, home, gardens, hobbies, and church, we can experience both elation and disappointed.

In disillusionment, we even give in to fear and anxiety. We feel apprehensive about the future. God taught me to find freedom from fear by not focusing on more than one moment at a time.

Fear will dispel happiness quicker and put us in a deeper depression than any other emotion, especially if we suppress the anger, which we feel along with it.

We have the right to pursue happiness, but we cannot maintain it. However, there is good news in the midst of this negative prognosis.

We can continually dwell in an emotion deeper than happiness. This emotion is spiritual and depends solely on the presence of God in our life. It is a fruit, which God's Spirit works into our nature.

It is also our strength to traverse the negative path we experience in life (Psalm 28:7). There is no earthly issue, which can ever shake us from this positive outlook on life. It is called JOY.

Even during dire circumstances, the Body of Christ world-wide, both in times present and past, is an example of a people who love and trust our amazing God for His constant provision.

Living in continuous joy depends on our focus and attitude. If we focus on the negative circumstances, it affects our attitude and dampens our joy. If we keep our mind on the delight Christ sets before us, we abide in His joy (Hebrews 12:2).

Prayer,

Father God, You reach down Your arms and hold us until our grief and fears are gone (Psalm 68:5). You walk within us and guide us through the depths of grief, distress and insecurity. Regardless of the negative circumstances, Your peace and joy are our constant companions.

You love each of us the same amount and in the same way, regardless of our sinful past. We are confident of Your continual, unconditional love for us (John 3:16-17). This one fact gives us all the joy we need to traverse the worst circumstances we will ever face.

Thought for the Day:

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy always comes with the dawning of each new morning. - Psalm 30:5