The Reality of Hell

October 18, 2022 Gracie

Hell Is Real

This year I wanted to surprise my husband with a fun “experience” for his birthday.

I promised him that it would be “intense,” so he was a little nervous going in.

Can you guess what we did?

Here are some hints and the rules we had to follow:

Water bottle a must
Cotton shirt a requirement
Closed toe shoes a necessity
Sunglasses recommended
Hair pulled back tight

Any ideas what we did?

How about a hands-on, authentic glass-blowing class!

If you haven’t done that yet, I highly recommend it.

Here are our finished projects:The whole experience of glass blowing was exciting, and the cool factor was off the charts.

But, it wasn’t cool temperature-wise. (See what I did there?)

One of the furnaces in the studio was heated up to about two thousand degrees!

Some people might say that is “hotter than hell.”

Which brings up an interesting question . . .

Is there really a hell?

Here’s just one of many Bible verses describing the reality of hell.

⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. – Matthew 13:49-50, (NASB).¹

Our ultimate authority for us today on the absolute truth of God’s Word is what God says in His Word.

Jesus spoke about hell in the Bible.

Denying the existence of what Jesus clearly said, is calling Him a liar.

The reality of hell some day will be a devastating, eternal, wake-up call for those who doubt the words of Jesus.

The Reality Of Hell

Does hell exist?

The verse stated above describes a “furnace of fire . . . “

Here are some other frightening descriptions of hell in the Bible:

the unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43).
the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 1:7).
the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).
away from the presence of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
outer darkness (Matthew 22:13).

The book of Matthew describes the “fiery” and outer darkness nature of hell.

Here’s one commentary of note. Notice the finality of the last sentence.

The scriptural descriptions of hell are meant to emphasize the torment and suffering that will be experienced by those sent there. The “fire” may picture the wrath of God that is experienced by unbelievers in hell, whereas the “outer darkness” may picture the alienation from God’s love, mercy, and grace. Whether the vivid language is symbolic or literal, we can be assured that hell is a terrible, terrifying place. Possibly the most terrifying aspect of hell is its duration. The suffering is eternal. It has no end. For us, here and now, the concept of hell should drive us to the cross of Christ. It is only by repentance and faith in Christ that we can be saved from the wrath to come.– Got questions website.²

Many people today refuse to accept the reality of hell.

Sadly, that kind of destructive thinking is to be expected, considering the dark times we are living in.

Think of this: whole congregations of people are being misled and directed down this dangerous path.

. . . if the culture imposes no consequences, and the family imposes no consequences, the society places no stigma on people for the kind of behaviors that are sinful behaviors, people get so used to sinning without consequences that when you introduce the idea that they will pay in full forever for every sin, that is just alien to their thinking. People sin without immediate consequences, and to try to convince them that there are somehow, down the road, decades from now, if they live, deferred consequences, is a hard sell. – Pastor John MacArthur, Pastor and Bible teacher from Grace To You.³

Aren’t you glad that, through Jesus Christ, we have the way (the only way) out of this torment?

We need to pray for the lost sinners in our lives that they will accept the truth of God’s Word – before it’s too late.

³⁶The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. – John 3:36, (NASB).⁴

# # #

²Quotation courtesy of Got Questions, “What does hell look like?” Accessed October 15, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/what-does-hell-look-like.html

³John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/sermons-library. 4 December, 2011. para. 9. Web. Accessed 15 October, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-376/the-truth-about-hell

Our Exceptional God

Keep Watch

October 11, 2022 Gracie

Are you Ready? Keep Watch

Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop the perversion and despair that has taken over our great country?

If only it were that easy.

The heartbreaking reports of depravity and also violence are not just coming from America.

Nations are in chaos.

But, fellow Christians, keep holding on to God’s guaranteed-to-happen promises!Our Savior will return at a future date, and we’re instructed to be ready and keep watch.

See the words of Jesus to the disciples (and all of us by extension) in the verse below:

³³“Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. ³⁴It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵Therefore, stay alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— ³⁶so that he does not come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’” – Mark 13:33-37, (NASB).

Other Bible translations use the following expressions including:

Watch

Keep a sharp lookout

Watch for My return

Stay awake

Notice these commands are in the present tense.

Keep Watch: The Best Is Yet To Come

Have you ever heard anyone use the expression, “the good old days?”

I may have even said that one myself.

We didn’t have the ramped-up spiritual bankruptcy years ago that we do now.

But, God always keeps His promises.

While the nations rage on, and the nightly news gets worse, stay in His Word.

At God’s providential time, we will one day have eternity with Him.

Complete joy and happiness in the presence of our Savior awaits us.

We’ll also see our loved ones and friends again who know Christ as their Savior.

It will be the best reunion you’ll ever experience.

Even if you’re an only child here on earth, you won’t ever be lonely in Heaven.

As Christians, we’re all “family” – brothers and sisters in Christ.

Bestselling Christian author, Susie Larson, has a great reminder of this in her latest book, Strong in battle: Why The Humble Will Prevail:

Eternity with Jesus will take our breath away. Unhindered intimacy with God. Abounding joy with no enemy opposition. Fellowship with our brothers and sisters as we share our awe-filled stories of how God intervened in our lives. Together, we’ll marvel as we learn about all He provided and all He prevented, and we’ll love Him even more than we did before. Jesus’ desire to remember our faith-filled deeds and reward us for them will leave us utterly stunned. – Author Susie Larson.

Are you ready?

# # #

²Susie Larson quotation, courtesy of susielarson.com, “Brave, Bold, and Beloved”. From Susie’s book, Strong in battle; Why The Humble Will Prevail.”

Our Exceptional God

Seeing Dandelions Through New Eyes

October 4, 2022 Gracie

Seeing Dandelions Through New Eyes of Appreciation

Oh, to be a kid again.

I have wonderful memories of that simpler, carefree time.

Every spring, my friends and I used to go dandelion hunting.

We would tie some of the best ones together by their stems and make dandelion necklaces!

We were so glamorous.

The bigger ones we would hold tightly in our hands, close our eyes, blow on the seed heads, and then make a wish!

Unfortunately for the dandelions though, many gardeners wish these pesky little wildflowers would just go away.

Usually, dandelions end up falling prey to a lawnmower, or they’re treated with an herbicide so they don’t take over the lawn.

But . . .

You knew a “but” was coming, didn’t you? 😉

I’m now seeing dandelions through new eyes.

¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹²The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:11-12, (NASB).¹

In fact, dandelions are a pretty amazing part of God’s creation.

Did you know that:

They’re edible

Every part of them, from stem to flower, can be used to make natural medicines

They’re often used as an ingredient in natural soaps

Animals, such as rabbits and grasshoppers, eat them for food

But, besides their numerous biological contributions, dandelions offer so much more.

Here’s some insight into some other amazing details about God’s creation – the dandelion.

Delight-in-God’s Creation – The Dandelion

What we as adults barely notice anymore, dandelions are quite the little flying machines as the seeds blow on by in the breeze.

It’s reported that dandelion seeds can travel as far as a kilometer when it’s windy out. (see Taraxacum, Wikipedia.)

That’s pretty far for this natural-born hitchhiker!

A kilometer is about the size of almost ten whole football fields.

Even the tiniest of God’s creations point to His majesty and creative intelligent design.

# # #

²“2-Minute Wonders: Uplifting Story.” Courtesy of Illustra Media. Youtube, April 4, 2020. Web. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/zHvi3aIAQpI

Our Exceptional God

Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Children

September 27, 2022 Gracie

The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Children

What is the greatest gift you can give your children?

And, whatever you do, don’t ask “them” that question. 🙂

You might end up with answers like:

A pony

The latest toy or game

Giving away their brother or sister

Chuckles aside, the greatest gift you can give them is to love them enough to tell them about Jesus.

Nurturing Your Children’s Faith

When I was growing up, I was taught to worship God.

But, it seemed at that time that He was too busy with bigger issues like war and famine to care about little old me.

There was no emphasis on Jesus, and God’s plan for our salvation through His Son.

Boy, was that wrong! I am so grateful to have found my way to Christ as an adult.

The way this world is going, if you don’t teach your children about Jesus, the world will teach them to become atheists.

Imagine if we started raising generations of children who stood uncompromisingly on the Word of God, knew how to defend the Christian faith, could answer the skeptical questions of this age, and had a fervor to share the gospel from the authority of God’s Word with whomever they met! This could change the world. – Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis.¹

Exactly!

As a parent, you were given a precious gift from God.

The greatest gift that you can give your “gift from God” is to teach them why He sent us His Son, Jesus.

Psalm 127 reaffirms this parental blessing:

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward. – Psalm 127:3, (NASB).²

Your children need your direction in this dark world.

They will also need your fervent prayers.

The world has changed, and your kids will face many challenges.

Teaching them to pray will be so worth it.

Can you imagine the sweet words you could hear in Heaven from your loved ones: “Thank you, Mom (and/or Dad) for praying for me all those years.”

In her poem, “Raising Children For The Lord” M.S. Lowndes shares the beauty and awesome responsibility of the gift of parenting.

With her permission, I am happy to share it here.

Raising Children For The Lord

It’s such an awesome privilege
And a big responsibility,
God has given to us as parents
This wonderful opportunity
To raise our precious children
And instil into their lives
The wonder and amazement
Of the love of Jesus Christ

So they will learn to trust in Him
And worship and to pray,
To love others with the love of God
And to honour and obey
As parents, we’ve been entrusted
To raise them in God’s love
To be there to encourage them
When they feel like giving up

And to be there just to listen
When life deals some painful blows
And comfort them when they feel afraid
And when tears begin to flow
To share with them those joyful times,
The precious moments in their lives
When doors begin to open up
And opportunities arise

Through everything they face in life,
Let’s be there cheering them on,
For we only have one chance at this,
For childhood soon is gone
So let’s rely on Father God
To raise them to become
Men or Women who trust in Him
And in His precious Son.

# # #

¹ Ken Ham quotation, courtesy of christianquotes.info

³Poetry courtesy of M.S. Lowndes. “Raising Children For The Lord.” [online post]. From Heavensinspirations.com, ©M.S. Lowndes, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, n.d. Web. Accessed September 8, 2022. https://www.heavensinspirations.com/raising-children.html

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Reaching The Don’ts

September 20, 2022 Gracie

Reaching the Don’ts – There’s Still Time

Recently, I heard a celebrity announce that she is an atheist.

I cringed as I heard her speaking words of discouragement to anyone who would listen, especially her younger generation of fans.

Sadly, she’s not alone.

The number of dropouts from the faith are on the rise and their sphere of influence is growing.

This isn’t just a “celebrity” thing.

The results of a Barna study, published in an article by the Family Research Council, states in part that “43 percent of Millennials are considered “Don’ts” in Barna’s research, meaning they don’t believe or know if God exists.” – (Carman/Closson, 2021, para. 8).

Friends, that is terrible news.

It also points to the dire need to reach these people.

God providentially knows who His people are, but since we are not God, for us that means the harvest is still ripe.

The Holy Spirit is here to guide us – so keep praying and looking for those opportunities for reaching the “Don’ts”.

But even though our culture does not want the Bible, God, or the church, it is important for followers of Jesus to remain faithful. As fewer people share our theological and worldview commitments, Christians will need courage that was not required of recent generations of believers. – Barna Group Research Study.¹

Courage For Reaching the Don’ts

As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in pleas for unity in the advancement of the Gospel . . .

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 15:58, (NASB).²

Others may think of us as working in vain for a lost cause, but we are working for the Lord and that’s what matters.

Lord, help us to see the “Don’ts” through Your eyes.

We ask for more opportunities to reach these lost people

so we can share the Good News in a world caught up in darkness.

# # #

¹Quotation courtesy of Barna Group Research Study. Carman, Molly, and Closson, David. “New Barna Research Reveals Extent of America’s Loss of Faith” June 22, 2021. para 10. Web. Accessed September 8, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.frc.org/blog/2021/06/new-barna-research-reveals-extent-americas-loss-faith

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