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Hell What?

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I don’t think there’s anything within Christianity that has bugged me more than this incredible belief that people will burn forever. How on earth did we become comfortable with God acting in ways we ourselves would never? If Hitler had been spared the self-inflicted gun wound to the head, and been captured, would any court of law have sentenced him to thirty years of torture and deprivation? Are you kidding me?

And yet more than nine out of ten of us Christians tote this idea about God spanking us all forever without batting an eyeball. How on earth did we get to this point? No parent would retain custody of their kids if they spanked them for thirty minutes… but God is going to punish us physically for millennia? God who cares deeply for us? It’s enough to make me want to heave. What a crazy way to view the Being who calls Himself LOVE personified.

Not only does eternal burning hell not make any sense to the common human instinct, no matter how warped by evil. Us getting roasted forever does not jive with the basic teachings of the Bible. First and foremost, Jesus said he took the wages of our sin, which of course the Bible refers to as being eternal death by being crucified. Well then if Jesus took what I have coming and fully took my place, then why didn’t or I should probably say isn’t Jesus still burning in Hell right now?

If the cost of my sins is eternal hellfire, and Jesus took my place, well then you do the math… it’s not that complicated. Jesus has got to get what I had coming—all of it. Otherwise it’s like the guy who’s getting shot for betraying his country and his dad steps in to take his place and instead of shooting the dad, they just put him in prison for a few years. Make sense? No. Fair and just? No. Inconsistent? Yes.

If Jesus is going to take my place by dying one long afternoon, fine, but then don’t tell me that if I reject Jesus taking my place I get more than a slow painful death that takes a few hours. Anything more and Jesus hasn’t done what He says He did. He didn’t take all my sin and it’s consequences… not at all… and He can’t take credit for being my stand-in at all.

Then there’s that text I just quoted part of a few paragraphs back, you know, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Death is the wages of sin; life is the gift of God. This text parallels a hundred more in the Bible, and is very clear on two things on where death and life come from. God gives life as a gift. To burn forever, God is going to have to keep giving me the gift of life so He can hurt me over and over again. That is the human equivalent of you taking me to the ER so that I can be patched up before you return me to your basement to beat me up, again and again and again… forever.

I could go on all afternoon. We could talk about what death is… since that is what sin is said to cause—not eternal burning. Or how Jesus in Revelation says that those who reject life will be thrown into the same lake of fire that the Devil and his angels and then death itself are thrown into—so does God keep the Devil, his angels… and death itself alive forever? What?

Yes, and we could talk about how He calls himself love, and that He values our freedom so much He’s let this planet spin on, despite the misery and confusion we lavish on ourselves, and how this kind of “you’re free to choose your destiny and I’ll love you no matter what you choose” could possibly make anybody feel free if there’s that mammoth BUT I’LL PUNISH YOU FOREVER clause at the end. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t make any sense at all. Not even to me, a fallen, sinful, selfish person who rarely succeeds at pure love and has a load of personal issues. If I loved you and you decide to hate and reject me, what is the loving thing for me to do? Make you pay for your choice as long as you live? Hold a grudge and play out revenge for 80 years? Even I know the answer to that.

God didn’t create suffering, doesn’t like it and died in my place to release me from it. And this same Guy is going to keep people alive to punish them forever… and for no apparent reason—we all know that punishment as children was to get our behavior in line. So God is going to punish when it’s too late for us to choose any different or better?

If the billions of people on planet earth who want nothing to do with God are ever going to change their minds, and want to love Him, you can bet all the money in your bank account that it’s not going to be because they’re terrified of Him. Perfect love casts out fear is what the Bible teaches, and that it’s kindness that leads us all to turn to God.

I know that an eternal burning hell is not part of who God is, first it’s not kind, and second it’s not perfect love because is sure doesn’t cast out fear. Sounds a lot more to me like the Devil’s dream for all of us.

Read more at the source: Hell What?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

The Shell Around Us

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Recently when the wind blew some trees down across a trail near where I live, I went out the next day to clear them away. When I arrived one was still partially standing, leaning up against another tree, so I cut it down with the chainsaw and used the tractor to drag it away.

After clearing away all three of the trees, I was picking up the broken branches and clearing the area when I noticed a pretty deep hole in the ground caused by one of the trunks of the tree as it fell. This hole was several inches deep, and looking into it I noticed what looked like a bowl in the bottom. “Hmm, that’s weird,” I thought as I took the toe of my boot and tried to dig it out. I was startled as it moved; it was a turtle! I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because that tree had landed right on top of him and pushed him several inches into the ground. I was afraid he was hurt or his shell was cracked, but after carefully digging him out and putting him to the side, a few minutes later he poked out his legs and head and ambled off into the woods.

As I continued with my work I thought about the turtle and the Christian walk. During the storm the turtle was protected from the weather and from the fallen oak tree. He wasn’t squashed like a frog or bird because of the protection of his shell.

As followers of Christ we are protected. God’s means of protection includes the Holy Spirit and His holy angels. You can read more about the protection that God gave to Job in Job 1, 2 and Daniel 3.

Think about God’s protection as a shell about you as you read this from Psalm 91:

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do Psalm 91not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. . . If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. . . The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation” (Psalm 91, NLT).

Remember to commit your heart to Christ every single day, and you can rest assured that His protection will surround you as well.

Read more at the source: The Shell Around Us

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Is Your Soul Thirsty?

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We must have water to survive! Our bodies are more than 70 percent water; to keep them running smoothly we are told to drink eight glasses of water a day. You might survive for weeks without food by living on body reserves, but water is so integral to life—with every function depending on it—that most of us would die after three to four days. To skimp on water intake is to put your body in serious risk of malfunctioning.

To get the most out of your water intake, you should drink two cups before breakfast, two or three between breakfast and lunch, and two or three between lunch and supper. So that it doesn’t interfere with digestion, wait an hour or two after eating and stop about 15 minutes before eating again. And don’t depend on thirst—you need water way before you feel thirsty for it!

What a blessing to have running water in our homes, or go to the local store and buy a bottle! But imagine you’re near Death Valley in the middle of summer. Your car broke down and you have no idea when help might arrive. You drank your last sip of water three hours ago. The desert is so hot that you see water shimmering in the distance, but it’s only a mirage. Or imagine you’ve just hiked 10 strenuous miles, and your mouth is dry and your energy zapped. You reach for your canteen for a refreshing drink, but all the water has leaked out. It will be four more miles before you reach another source. As thirsty as you’d feel in these situations, that’s how thirsty God want you to be for Him!

David drew the corollary that our thirst for water is like our need for God. Pursued by King Saul, David cried, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1, NIV).

Our world is cut off from God by sin—a true desert in the midst of the universe. Are you aware of your critical need of spiritual water? The next time you take a refreshing drink of pure, cool water, consider also your soul thirst. How can you quench it? The answer is in Revelation 22:17: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely!” Drink in spiritual water throughout the day—don’t wait until you’re thirsty.

Have you gotten your drink of living water yet? Come to Jesus, the source of the water of life, and let Him fill you to overflowing!

Read more at the source: Is Your Soul Thirsty?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

I Am Someone

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Dear God: I’m a nobody! I feel like I do not amount to very much. It appears as though whatever I do is insignificant. Nothing of any count! Not many friends – and, yes, at times I feel like a social misfit. I could drop out of existence and no one would know the difference.

But today I read in your word “that you have redeemed me, you have called me by name, I am yours” (Isaiah 43:1). Because of your Son Jesus, I am someone! You gave your all to redeem me. You have put your love inside me. That makes me worth something. That makes me “somebody.”

Thank you, God, for taking me, a nobody, and bringing me into your family –the family of Heaven–and by your compassionate grace giving me value. God, you are wonderful!

In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Read more at the source: I Am Someone

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Online prayers.

Finals

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Dear God: I’ve got that massive comprehensive final in 45 minutes, God, and I can’t help the feeling of dread that creeps over me. In this fractured economy, so much is riding on grades these days. If I don’t pull a C, I have to take this class over again – and I lose a whole six months off my goal of getting that job certificate.

With your help, I feel like I’ve done all that a student can do: I took notes, did my homework, and didn’t cut class. But I get confused easily; my Teflon brain loses key ideas. And of course, when I panic, it’s hard enough to remember how to write my name on Page One.

So please, Father, give me a sense of calm, and a sure knowledge of your presence in my life. Win or lose, pass or bomb, score or go belly up, you’re my provider and my counselor. I claim the promise that when I trust in you, all things are possible. You’ve charted my destiny up until this moment, and the results of this exam will be just one more way where you guide me into your perfect future.

Thanks.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Read more at the source: Finals

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Online prayers.

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