When Tragedy Strikes

The New Year has seemed to get off to a rocky start. Last week I heard of tragedy after tragedy. First, I found out that a dear friend was diagnosed with a difficult cancer. Then the airplane in Iran was shot down killing 176 passengers, 57 or so of them were Canadians. Then a fatal car accident, not far from where we live, claimed the life of a lovely, middle aged, local woman I had met several years ago. I drove past the accident scene shortly after it happened.

As I thought about these tragedies, I couldn’t help but wonder the spiritual state of these dear people.  The deceased would no longer have a choice, of course, because that choice is only available when you’re still alive. I know, because I nearly died in a car accident, and I had no control of my eternal destiny in my unconscious state (unconscious but very much aware of my hopeless plight). It all happened so fast, and I WASN’T READY! All I could do was cry out to God to spare my life. And He did. He had a purpose for me, part of which you are reading right now, to write about my experience with death, and how I found life, and the assurance that I am going to heaven some day!

Clearly, since heaven, the earth, and the vast universe, in fact, everything created that we know of, including ourselves, are created by God, His Word is the ultimate authority.  The Bible speaks of only two places where we go after we die: God’s heaven, or hell, that was created for the devil and fallen angels.  

If you are reading this and you know you are not ready to meet God, please let me show you how to prepare for your eternal destiny! You can be assured that you will make it into heaven to be with God if you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.  It takes just a few simple steps. 

First — God loves you so much, He died for you! He doesn’t want to lose you!

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever [that’s YOU] believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life [that’s YOU again].

Second— Religion is not enough! We need more because we can’t pay for our own sin, and sin leads to death!

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thirdly—We need to recognize and believe that Jesus Christ died for us to pay for our sin, and He rose again. Also, that He is the only way to our heavenly Father.

I Cor 15:3 b Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Finally, we must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. What results is experiencing God’s love and a wonderful plan for our lives.

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Receive Jesus through faith, not by good works:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Invite Him into your heart today. He is waiting for you!

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup [eat] with him, and he with me.

I hope you decide to accept Jesus, and don’t wait until it is too late. And remember, if you are experiencing tragedies in your world, know that God really cares about you. Call out to Him and put your whole trust in Him.

The Difference Jesus Makes

As we start the new year, we like to think about bringing newness into it — a new hairdo, maybe a new car, a new job, a new house, a new trip, perhaps a new perspective on life. In fact, the sermon today was about change, changing who we are rather than changing our circumstances around us. What a great idea. And often our circumstances change when we change our attitude to a positive one, no matter what’s going on in our lives.

While changing ourselves is a good idea, is it going to last like we hope it will? I believe we’re going to be challenged, because how can we change an inherently sinful nature that will continue to make the same mistake over and over again in spite of our best efforts? Rather, I believe that being willing to let God change our hearts from the inside out is going to be far more effective.  But, it’s going to take a lot of humility and effort on our part.

Taking this a giant step forward, if we look in the Bible, we see that anyone that encountered Jesus AND responded to Him were never the same again! I think of Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman at the well, and Saul who became the Apostle Paul. All of them had terrible reputations (a prostitute, a woman who had been with many men, and a murderer of Christians), and you would think they’d be the least likely to have an encounter with Almighty God, but they did! And they responded to Jesus, and then what did they do? They published it far and wide! They shared with a zeal and an excitement that Jesus had set them free, and changed their lives forever. They were never the same again. That’s the effect that Jesus has on people, especially people who feel they least deserve such extravagant love, mercy, and undeserving grace (which includes every single one of us whether we feel we deserve it or not).  If you carefully search the New Testament, you will find many instances of people who experienced Jesus and His miracle-working power.  Almost everyone went running to tell someone of this incredible Jesus able to make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead raised to life, among just a few miracles He did!

This miracle also happened to me! I am so grateful that I came to a dark and lonely and desperate place in my life where I finally cried out to God. He came to me and healed me with His love.  He offered me so much love, I couldn’t contain it all. He never condemned.  In fact, He said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more” (John 8:11). When you expect punishment for your wrongdoing, and Jesus surprises you with mercy and forgiveness, it is something to shout about. You can’t keep it a secret. Jesus is what/who changes a person’s heart. Jesus changed me. I would never want to go back to the person I was before.

No matter what we’ve done, we can have a new start. Jesus is all about new beginnings. This moment can be the start of a new life if we just put our whole trust in Jesus. In fact, Jesus PROMISES us new life when we do this:

2 Cor 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

If you are a seasoned believer and follower of Jesus, then you know that our God loves to do new things and He never stops creating. In fact, He will stop at nothing to create His perfect masterpiece in each and every one of us if we yield ourselves to Him.  Here is one of my favorite verses:

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Let’s consider doing the good works, and whatever He is asking us to do today, and not hesitate to follow through.  As He has made and continues to make all the difference in our life, let's also make a difference for the good in the lives of others.

Many blessings to you in this New Year that is unfolding.