Document_page | The Simple Truth Fro

READ THIS FOR ONE MINUTE!

I BET YOU WILL WANT TO CONTINUE!

Accept the challenge!

You may already know that the middle cross held Jesus who died as a sacrifice so that we could go to heaven. If you don’t know this, then there will be more said on this in a bit. But the other two crosses are barely thought about. Listen to this! ….

On the other two crosses were two actual criminals that were crucified next to Jesus, and they were going to die just like Jesus.

One of the criminals mocked Jesus, saying “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Jesus said nothing to this man. This man doubted that Jesus was the Lord.

The other criminal simply said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (heaven).”

… and WHAT did Jesus say?... He said to the second criminal, “Today you will be with me in heaven.” - In other words, “you are going to die, but you will be in heaven with me.”

The criminal that Jesus spoke to did two things: He BELIEVED that Jesus was Lord and ASKED Jesus to allow him into heaven. Even as you are reading this, that criminal is in heaven right now with Jesus Christ!

But wait! Here is what is important! … I want you to know what that criminal who went to heaven DID NOT do….

… He didn’t go to church. He was never baptized. He didn’t read a bible. He didn’t do a bunch of good things in life. In that moment, he simply BELIEVED that Jesus was Lord and ASKED to be in heaven when he dies.

In other words, it wasn’t this person’s “godly life” full of “good deeds” and being a “good person” that got him into heaven. He believed. He asked. THAT’S IT! More will be said about this in later sections.

CAN THIS EVENT BE PROVEN? CAN THE BIBLE BE PROVEN?

People will say… “the bible was just written by people”, “it is fairy tale”, “it can’t be proven”, etc. etc.

Some guru didn’t sit down and decide to write a novel one day and call it the bible. The bible is comprised of 66 books written by 40 different authors over a period of approximately 1500 years. In all of these 66 books, Jesus Christ is present in every one of them – from the beginning of creation in the book of Genesis to the eternal future in the book of Revelation. It is filled with hundreds of prophecies that came true, and ones that are on the horizon of coming true now. The words of the bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Guess what?! In all of those 66 books written over thousands of years by 40 different authors, there is not a SINGLE contradiction in the bible. How is THAT possible?! You might hear examples of contradictions, but those contradictions can be quickly put to rest when you do simple research. Google can be your friend. You might be surprised at what you learn!

The bible is also a historical book, and many of the places mentioned throughout the bible you can go to today. You can go to Jerusalem and see where Jesus was crucified and buried. You can walk into where Jesus was at the last supper, visit the temple mount, walk in the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. You can go to Bethlehem where Jesus was born and Nazareth where He grew up. You can visit Mount Sinai where moses received the Ten Commandments. You can visit the building that covers the tomb of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives. This is just a small list! Also, there are a multitude of artifacts, manuscripts, and historical events that back up the writings of the bible.

About “proving” the bible: If I asked you to prove to me that George Washington was real and that he was the first president of the United States, how would you go about doing that? The answer is simple… you would research literature and maybe provide artifacts and writings from that time period to back your claim. You would call that “proof”, and most people wouldn’t question your claim about George Washington. Well, the same holds true for the bible and Jesus Christ – historians and theologians would provide the same types of evidence. Lots and lots and lots of evidence! – and why wouldn’t we call that proof?

People who are against God have been trying to disprove God as a creator of the universe and the creator of all life. We have been bombarded with evolution theories stating that we have all evolved from a single cell into the complex humans we are today. If this is true, then I ask, where did that cell come from? Newsflash! – the greatest scientists in the world are STILL unable to create life from non-life – and they never will! Only God can do and has done that! So where did that "one cell" come from again?

The bible is clear – God created mankind, animals and plants as they are today. As for science? … with all of our technological advances, we have found much more evidence of a sudden creation of a universe and complex life – including humans. The theory that something came out of nothing in itself a strange claim. The theory that life evolved from non-life millions or billions of years ago is also an outlandish claim. Our textbooks have told us that scientist conclude that carbon dating shows that dinosaurs have been here for “millions” of years and went extinct from an asteroid strike. Although carbon dating is largely an accepted standard, the evidence points to carbon dating being flawed. One might ask, “Why don’t dinosaurs exist today?” I would argue that they do! The elephant exists, the alligator exists, the rhinoceros exists, etc. etc. They just haven’t gone extinct yet like the other ones. Creatures become extinct all the time even right now – nothing new!

What about humans evolving from apes? I challenge you to find ONE SINGLE skeleton which shows the progression of ape to human. You won’t be able to! The one “skeleton” we have was artistically crafted from a single small set of bone fragments of a skull and hips. The ape-to-human artwork was crafted by a single artist based on a few bone fragments. Look it up! Still not convinced that we didn’t evolve from apes? I ask… shouldn’t we have LOTS of FULL skeletons showing progression of apes to humans just like we have lots of dinosaur skeletons? We have NONE! It is a THEORY. What about that crazy story of Noah’s ark and the flood? You would STUNNED AND AMAZED at the sheer amount of evidence that there is for that event! This same evidence for the great flood also – very undeniably – proves that the theory of evolution turned out to be false as you look into it. The bible cannot be disproven, and the evidence for the existence of God and creation from God is overwhelming.

YET, THE WORLD REJECTS GOD. WHY?

Why does the world and almost all scientists and mainstream academia wish to reject the God of the bible? For them (or you) to acknowledge that the God of the bible is real would mean that we as a human race have to answer to an authority above our own – and no one wants to do that! We want to make our own rules and live by our own standards – so the world rejects God and replaces Him with evolution theories, etc. WE want to determine what is moral. WE want to determine what or who has value. WE want to determine appropriate justice. WE want instant gratification regardless of what God would have to say about it.

Some of the most prominent Christian writers (Lee Strobel, CS Lewis) first set out on a path in an attempt to DISPROVE the bible, and after looking at all of the evidence, they realized that the bible was undeniably true and they gave their lives to Jesus Christ! Many other people that we would consider “distinguished by intellect” have attempted to disprove the bible and came to the same conclusion… Jesus Christ is real, and He is the Son of God who died for our sins. Even the worlds smartest man (Younghoon Kim, IQ 276) acknowledges that Jesus Christ is God!

The same people who think the bible is a fairy-tale written by man’s intentions are the same people who believe in ghosts, demons, angels, aliens, tarot cards, astrology, palm reading, some form of afterlife such as reincarnation, etc. But for them to consider that the God of the bible, Jesus and the angels might be true is nonsense to them? < Explain that!

Remember this always: The words written in the bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit of God Himself, and they are a love letter to you. God shows us the fall of man and how we turned our back from his plan for our lives. And he shows us, over and over again, how he has made ways for us to be right with Him so that, when we die, we will be with Him in heaven forever. If you ever want to know who God is, you can find Him written in the pages of the bible… from the front to the back. He has mysterious ways, but he is not mysterious. He PLAINLY shows you who He is!

WHAT ABOUT DIFFERENT BIBLE “VERSIONS”?

Some claim that there can be no validity to the bible since it has so many “versions”. Actually, they are all the same. Let me explain with an example! …

In year 1600’s, there was the “King James Version” of the bible. Many people still use it today. Here is an example of a bible verse from it:

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

No one talks like that today! They did in the 1600’s, but not today. So here is the same verse written in the “New Living Translation” from 1996:

“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.”

It’s the same bible verse with the same meaning but written in a manner in which we communicate today.

That is why we have had different bible versions over the years – but the meaning and message has never been altered. As a matter of fact, parts of the bible discovered that were written up to 250 years before Jesus was born show that the literature has stood the test of time maintaining its originality even to this very day!

HOW ARE WE SEPARATED FROM GOD?

There can be NO sin in heaven. ZERO! God is holy, and He has standards which no person can live up to. We were born with sin because the first two humans that God created chose to disobey Him one time, and then sin entered the world. What is sin? Sin is anything that we do that is against the heart and will of God. It doesn’t have to be something serious like murder. It could simply be pride, a lie, a small theft, unforgiveness of others, not honoring your parents, sex outside of marriage or using God’s name in vain (done all the time!) We ALL have at least some sin in our past and still to this day. Read the following scripture:

God’s word states this very clearly:

“ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. < Keyword: “ALL” !

This means that no one can be in heaven with God when they die. There are people who are “good” according to the world’s standards and according to their own standards, but these good people STILL can’t get into heaven because they have sin! They may not be as bad as a murderer for example. But any one sin excludes you from being in heaven with God when you die. So... who gets into heaven? No one… they (we) have all sinned. That’s terrible, right?!

Quick sidenote about heaven! … Don’t think about heaven much? Newsflash! That stats just came in! – Evidence suggests that there is a 100% chance that you will die! Where will you go?

GETTING RIGHT WITH GOD!

SO, HERE’S THE QUESTION … If there can be no sin in heaven (which excludes you from being able to be there), then how are we as sinful people able to ever be in heaven where God is?

There has always been a “blood sacrifice” for the atonement and forgiveness of sins. In the “Old Testament” of the bible (the time before Jesus came), God required certain things to be done such as following over 613 laws and the sacrifice of a pure lamb at the temple. However, when Jesus came and died on the cross, He was the FINAL and lasting sacrifice. No more animal sacrifices. No more temples! No more rituals! No more priests! None of that! We have DIRECT access to God once we accept Jesus as our Lord! He was tortured and died on the cross, taking on all of our sins. And three days later, he rose again, conquering death and sin! Jesus dying on the cross for our sins was spoken of by God nearly 4000 years before He came to this earth as a baby.

So what must you do in order to be blameless before God? ….

Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Believe that He came to this earth to be crucified on the cross for every sin that you have ever committed and EVER WILL commit. Believe that He rose from the dead three days later conquering sin! Speak to Him out loud or in your heart right now and acknowledge to Him that you have not lived a life according to your own standards, but not God's standards. Acknowledge to Him that you are in need of His forgiveness for everything you have ever done against God because you want to go to heaven when you die. You may or may not be walking around with a lot of guilt about things, but if you are, let God take that burden from you.

This is the gift of God to all that believe… it is salvation from sin and the assurance of heaven. This free gift of forgiveness is for EVERYONE. Even murderers! God makes this very clear in His word that ALL who come to Him will be forgiven. Do NOT think that you are too far from God’s love to be forgiven. Once again – this is a free gift. You CANNOT earn it!

God calls this being “born again”. Many mock this terminology, but these are the actual words that God Himself used. Remember this… to be “born again”, forgiven of your sins and to have a relationship with God, no church is needed to do this! No fancy event! No “special” prayers! No baptism in water! None of that is needed to be forgiven and start your relationship with God. Just simply talk to Him. Even right now. That’s it! Literally – THAT IS IT!

THIS IS A VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT PARAGRAPH! YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS! .... Whatever you do... DO NOT be religious! You do NOT have to be religious! “Religion” is for “religious” people. God hates “religion” because it tricks “religious people” to actually believe that they are “right with God” because of how “religious” they are. That means that these “religious” people feel that they are “worthy” to get into heaven based on their good lifestyle or good works. God is VERY clear on this…. The ONLY way you get into heaven is by believing that Jesus Christ is Lord, acknowledging your need for His forgiveness of your sins, and trusting Him that He will! There is no requirement to be “religious”. God doesn’t want “religion” – He wants a personal RELATIONSHIP, and that takes place when you are talking to Him, listening to Him and choosing to get to know Him more!

Sidenote about talking to God….

Did you know? … talking to God doesn’t have to be verbally with your mouth? You can simply speak to Him with your heart and not make any noises. He hears you. He knows you are talking to Him. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that most, if not all Christians, talk to God more with their heart than out loud with their mouth. It is intimate, and it is honest. And God LOVES honest!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “REPENT” (TURN FROM SIN) ?

It means to do your best every day to make God the priority of your life. You should do your best to turn away from your sins (repent) because you love God and are grateful for what He did for you on the cross and you want to please God. However - you do NOT repent of your sins to "be right with God" and "earn your way into heaven". Because you believe Jesus Christ is Lord and accept His love and forgiveness for your sins, then you are sinless before God. Period. The moment you accepted Jesus as your Lord and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, you became “right” with God at that very moment. You CANNOT get more "right" with Him as it pertains to getting into heaven. You will want to do what is pleasing to God because He died for your sins because He loves you!

Here are some examples of sins you might stop doing: Stop having sex with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Not lying or stealing. It means to become a hard worker at work if you know you are being lazy. It means to forgive others. It means to be kind and giving instead of selfish and taking. It means not relying on how "religious" or "good" you are to be saved. It means no more "rituals" to be religious. It means to put God’s purpose for your life ahead of your own purpose. It means to have no other gods or idols. What is another god or idol? Anyone or anything that you value more than God. It could be money, a famous person, a sports team, a relationship, your love of wealth, your choice of entertainment, etc.

This is easy to do…. right? < NOT!!!!

As a matter of fact, after you become a Christian by accepting Jesus as Lord and beginning to follow Him, you WILL still sin even though you try not to. But, as you grow closer and closer to God and as His Holy Spirit works in your life, you will become more and more like Him – sinning less, and less, and less. But you will never be able to completely stop sinning. Think about it… you’ve had a terrible week, your back is killing you and some jerk cuts you off in traffic and then they have the audacity to honk at you! You MIGHT scream a few choice words and use one of those fingers on your hands to convey an intimate message... but that is not how God wants you to react. Sin is ALWAYS at the door wanting to creep in. KNOW THIS: Even on your BEST day being “good” and being “holy”, you will still fall short of His glory. < Never forget that! THIS is why Jesus had to come and die as a sacrifice for us! So now what? Great news….

Jesus’ death on the cross covers ALL of our sins – both now and in the future. That is great news, right?!!!! YES! IT IS! BUT! (very important) … This is not a license to sin. Jesus didn't leave heaven, come down to be tortured and crucified so that you would be able to freely sin without conviction in your heart that it is wrong. God knows you and your heart better than even you do, and He KNOWS if you truly are trust Jesus to forgive you for your sins. If you believe Jesus is Lord and trust Him to forgive you, then why would you want to keep sinning?

Never forget this: You WILL still sin. The bible says so. The spirit in you wants to stop sinning, but the "flesh" (the old sinful nature) wants to keep sinning. You know who said that? The apostle Paul! So if you struggle with sin,, as a Christian, you are not alone. Let me put it in an even better statement: If you struggle with sin, then that is a clear indication that you are a child of God. You see, someone who is not a Christian isn't worried about struggling with sin because they choose to live by their standards, not God's standards. So if you struggle with sin, then good job and welcome to the family of Christ!

When you accepted Jesus as your Lord, the Holy Spirit took residence in your heart and made you a new creation, and your heart is different now. When you sin, there will be a conviction in your heart to stop or at least remember that you are doing something against God's will. If you completely turn your back on God and decide to reject Him, He still loves you - His child - and will work in your life for the good. Remember - He wants a relationship with you!!!! If you believe that Jesus is Lord and trust Him to forgive you for your sins, He loves you and will work in your life to get you back to a point where you will want to please Him. So daily, make a decision to dedicate yourself to pleasing Him. Even if you blew it yesterday, start each day with a commitment to honoring Him. Another sidenote: Even if you do a “really bad” sin, NEVER EVER THINK FOR A MOMENT that you have blown it with God! He ALWAYS loves you and wants you and that will NEVER change. So ALWAYS return to Him, and always talk to Him. Simply ask for forgiveness and keep following Him. Here is a message to anyone who was faithful to God in their past but long ago have chosen to exclude Him from their life: Always remember – He only wants you back. He is not mad or repulsed at you. He loves you. Start by talking to Him. THAT is the way it is done! Come back!

WHO IS THIS JESUS GUY, ANYWAY?

Many think He started existing when He was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Many people have a perception that He is a meek, kind and loving man that walked on this earth and gave us all an example to live by, This is all true, but this is typically the limit about what most people think about Him.

Let me add to that picture!

He has always existed with he Father in heaven! He is not bound by time! All things, including the universe and us, were made though Him! The "baby in the manger" is responsible for creating the universe < Wrap your mind around that!

This is what he appears as when He showed Himself to John in heaven....

"... clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength."

Are you getting it now? He isn't just some baby who grew up into a respectable man to teach us how to be good. He is God, and has always existed.!

I tell you this because I want to remind you that this God - Jesus - left heaven to come to this earth as a baby, and do so specifically for the purpose of being tortured and crucified for everything that you have ever done or will do in your life that is against God. Read the red text above again. THAT Jesus came down to die for you. Can you believe it?

PEACE

During our whole lives we strive for happiness, and we think we know what will make us happy. Money, a respectable career, excelling in a sport, becoming married and having kids, a new house, new things, a large group of friends, being esteemed by those around us, etc. etc. All of those things can bring temporary happiness, but it is always temporary. Don’t believe me? Buy a new house and a couple of years (or less) down the road, you won’t even notice it other than the amount of work it takes to keep it together. The zeal wears off, as with everything in life. Got a new car? You won’t even notice it in a month. Finally married to your dream come true? Boom! – real life problems hit and you realize that marriage can actually be a lot of work.

The happiness that God offers is in the form of PEACE. Even in our worst times, God provides peace which no one can understand. God gives peace in two areas: our LIFE and our DEATH.

The peace regarding death is easy to understand. If we are a follower of Jesus, then we know that when we die we will IMMEDIATLEY be in heaven with God – a place with no more tears or pain and in the presence of an unimaginable love. For this life to end means that we will immediately be in bliss in heaven! If no one has told you what heaven will be like, then you are in for a surprise! It is going to be awesome! The picture of little pudgy baby angels playing harps in the clouds for eternity… that’s definitely NOT heaven!

But what about peace in our life? God is a VERY personal God who absolutely LOVES you – even as you are reading this now. When you ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins and to come into your life, GOD takes over in the following manner – and this is directly from the God’s word:

“ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

If you have accepted Jesus as Lord and rely on his forgiveness for your sins, then you ARE most definitely “called according to His purpose”. And what does that verse say? … “ALL things work together for good..” That means that, as you follow God, He will make sure that everything that happens is good for you. You can have peace and breathe easy because the God who created the universe cares about you! AMAZING!

This does NOT mean that you will never become ill or injured. It does NOT mean that you will become wealthy. It does not mean that your husband or wife won’t cheat on you. This does NOT mean that bad things will not happen in your life. This does not mean that you will not be killed for your faith in Jesus. What it does mean is that, even in those bad moments, GOD is with you and in control – even up to the point of your death! Christians still die too! Physically they do, but spiritually they don’t and God is with them always – even during their last breath.

There is MUCH to write about pain, suffering, unfairness and hardship, but you should know that God allows pain and suffering for many reasons. We may not immediately know what those reasons are, but the bible is clear on this: One of the reasons God allows hardships in a Christian’s life is to help perfect their faith in Him by making them RELY on Him more and more. As you gain more and more faith, God will use you more and more to do other things such as tell this gospel to other people or maybe even turn from a sin that you haven’t been able to kick. He may even bless you with more than you had before (read the book of Job!)

It is true – God does work in mysterious ways at times, but if you are a Christian, just rest knowing that He LOVES YOU and He is IN CONTROL!

The first thing anyone EVER told me about God was a one line statement: “Chris, People will let you down, but God never will.” So true. (shout out to Sharon Jones!)

PRAY? HOW?

Prayer is a VERY VERY COMPLEX AND DEEP THING. MANY theologians who study the scriptures deeply have finally come to an answer, and here is what you must do:

Talk to Him. 😊

I’m not kidding… really! That’s it! Things to talk to Him about: Confess the things you have done and express remorse. Thank Him for what He did on the cross. Praise Him for being a loving God. Share your thoughts on something that happened. Thank Him for making Himself REAL to you (I say this to Him ALL THE TIME!) Thank Him for your health, your food, your possessions, your family and anything else you have. Ask him for wisdom to understand things and make the right decisions. Ask Him to help you understand things in the bible better. Ask him for help with your health, finances, family problems, work problems. Ask Him to help you with a particular sin or to help you forgive someone. These are examples, but you will have many more reasons to pray.

Just talk to Him.

Also, you talking (praying) to God doesn’t have to be this “big event”. Sure, sometimes you may want to go to your room and pray at length. But most other times you can pray from your heart (without your voice) at any moment. This could be while you are driving, exercising, on a lunch break, or even while someone is actively talking to you! It can be a prayer regarding the simplest thing such as “God please help me through this day!” or “God thank you for… ” I talk to God all the time when I drive to work. No interruptions… just other drivers looking at me weird 😊

WHAT DO I DO IF I BECOME A CHRISTIAN?

CONTINUE BELIEVING - Number one is this: Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that your experience was nothing when you asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins the first time. You became a child of the almighty God at that very moment! God heard you, and God is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. You may have doubts at times, but stand on God’s word! THIS IS A REQUIREMENT!

As for church... Going to church is not a requirement for salvation. But you should want to go! Why? You will meet other Christians who can help guide and teach you! You will almost assuredly make new friends thar you will one day call "family". Also, in church, usually at the beginning of the service, there is singing which gives you a chance to praise Jesus with other Christians. Can't sing? Neither can they! 😊 Love the Lord and sing to Him with your voice because of the great gift He has given you - your salvation and assurance of heaven! Also in church, the church pastor with give an approximate 30 to 45 minute sermon. In these sermons, he/she will teach you things about who God is based on the bible. Trust me... the more you learn about who God is the more and more you will be in awe of His greatness and his love!

About church friends.... they are NOT boring. Just because they don't go to bars any more doesn't mean they are not fun.

About church doctrine: What each church professes to believe is called “doctrine”. Some churches doctrine does not match up with scripture in the bible. Make sure it is a Christian church, and beware… some churches claim to be Christian churches but they include other “books” as their doctrine in addition to the bible. Listen for inconsistencies and ask questions. Be prepared to do research and leave that church if their doctrine does not match what is in the bible. This pamphlet that you are reading now should be a decent basis for your understanding of Christianity – fully backed up from the scriptures of the bible. If you are curious to see a Christian church pastor speak, here is a link to an online church at “Harvest.org” (or you can download the “Harvest+” app for your phone. Their doctrine is sound. Start there and learn to get a good idea of what is preached in a Christian church and what the teachings might be like. Then you SHOULD find a local church where you can be with other Christians.

READ - Read your bible frequently. If you don't, it does not mean that you aren't saved by Jesus' grace - but without staying in His word - just like continuing to pray - you risk growing more and more distant from Him. The bible is the actual word of God Himself. In those words, He will reveal Himself to you more and more and more! You WILL get to know Him very well! Also, when you are praying, many times God will bring scriptures that you have read into your mind to teach you as you walk through this life. I personally recommend to start reading at the book of John! Then read the next two books in the bible… “Acts” and “Romans” You do NOT have to understand everything that you read! Just read, and things you don’t understand now will become understandable later. Getting sleepy while you read? It simply means it’s time to set it down and come back again later. You are human. It does NOT mean that you are bored with God and therefore not a Christian!

PRAY – Pray all the time for the littlest things – even if it is just to share a thought with God! Talk to Him regularly – it’s easy! Start each day by telling God that you are going to dedicate this day of your life to Him by honoring Him. What a way to start a day!

As you do all of these things, you will grow closer and closer to God, gain more peace and you will live your life more and more for Him and with less sin.

Listen for God’s voice to speak to your heart! It is the Holy Spirit of God that speaks to you.

WANT TO READ THE BIBLE?

I suggest choosing the “New International Version”, or “NIV”)

Phone App: “YouVersion Bible App plus Audio”

Website: Bible.com

WHAT ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS ?

Every single other religion – EVERY SINGLE ONE – is based on “what you have done” and/or “how good you have been”. These religions base your acceptance and rewards from a god or gods based on your good and bad deeds and/or the repetitive rituals and/or prayers that are done. Many of these religions will have you complete "tasks" as part of affirming your commitment to a god. Christianity is the ONLY “religion” that is not based on how “good” you are or what rituals or tasks you have completed. This will help you to remember - ALL religions can be summed up as "DO", but Christianity is summed up as "DONE!" - Jesus did it all when He died on the cross for us. Remember that the criminal who lived a criminal life is in heaven today because of what Jesus has DONE on the cross, and not because the criminal was "good". When Jesus Christ died on the cross for you, He finalized your salvation into heaven based on one thing only: Believe in Him as Lord and trust in Him to forgive you for your sins.

The only reason that you will become “good” and “better” as a person in Christianity is because you become more and more in love with Jesus Christ as you continue to be awed by what He did for you. You change because you want to do good to PLEASE HIM out of love, and NOT to “earn” your way into heaven. Do you see the difference? NEVER forget… you will NEVER be good enough to be right with God. That is why Jesus came and died for you.

Also, many of these religions have pre-defined prayers and rituals. That is “religion”. Remember – God wants a real relationship with you, and being “religious” will never replace that.

CHRISTIANITY IS A CRUTCH?

You have probably heard this said before. It is a phrase meant to insinuate that only weak minded people become Christians.

I have a different view on this: Christianity is the most persecuted religion on this earth. At this time, I might even venture to say that it is the only religion that is persecuted to the point of death. It takes a considerable amount of fortitude to be a Christian in a world where you are mocked and ridiculed. Do you know that Jesus’s name is mocked regularly everywhere? In fact, it is so routine to mock the name of Jesus and who He is that it is regularly done on your television screens. Do you hear any other names being mocked? Buddha, Krishna, Allah, Brahma? You NEVER hear these god’s names being mocked. In this world, the only God that it is acceptable to mock is Jesus Christ. Thousands of Christians die every year because they will not turn their back on their faith in Jesus and are killed because of it. Because the world hates the God of the bible, the media will not cover the horrific things that happens to Christians every single day. Jesus said that the world will hate you because you are with Him. It takes more courage and perseverance to be a Christian than it does to be a non-believer. As such, being a Christian is not for the weak!

Getting back to the word “crutch”… well, “crutch” is only PART of it!... Jesus is MUCH MORE than a crutch! He is the 911 call! The ambulance that races to you! He is the emergency room that stabilizes you and the surgeons who fix you! He is the ICU where He can keep a close eye on you and he is the rehabilitation center where you get back on your feet! Jesus is ALL of this!

He came to heal the broken hearts! He came to be with the lonely (that is you!) He came to provide peace in an unstable and unpredictable world where people and material things let us down way too often! He came to give us a way into heaven! He died for us! THAT is MY crutch!

Here is what God says about those who may mock you because of your faith…

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

WHO IS FOOLISH AND WEAK? WHAT GOD SAYS

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong...”

We esteem ourselves for things such as our strength, intellect and accomplishments. We become proud of how great and self-sufficient we are. In all of this, MOST people have decided that they do not need God. They don’t need God because they have life figured out! They are PROUD of themselves and their accomplishments. God called these people fools because they refuse to acknowledge their need for Him. Yet the world calls Christians fools, not knowing that in the end that it will be Christians who spend eternity in heaven with God.

Want to hear something true and ABSOLUTELY CRAZY?! … A dirty homeless “bum” that just asked Jesus to be their Lord and to forgive them of their sins is EXPONENTIALLY richer than the smartest, most prominent and richest non-Christian on earth! Imagine that! The years that you are alive on this earth are a micro-second in time compared to eternity! That bum will be in heaven so quick! 😉

God values humble people who put Him first, and in doing so they become servants to other people around them. Christians understand the gift of God. They understand that this time on earth is so very short and that eternity is forever! Christians are smart because they know to put their faith in God, and those who reject God – even with all of their fame, wealth, possessions, pride, intellect, titles and earthly happiness – will not enter into heaven.

So when you are mocked and ridiculed because you are a Christian, be glad because YOU, in your childlike faith, are the smart one!

NEWSFLASH! You will struggle your whole life trying to find happiness in material things, money, relationships, family, accomplishments and the acceptance of others, and you will ALWAYS be empty without Him. As you grow closer to Jesus, you will look back and realize how empty you have been. Also, if you don’t give your life to Him, you will become emptier and emptier as the promises of this world continue to let you down.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH WANTING MY MONEY?

A few things about this. Christian churches do not demand money. If they do, find another church! While you are at church, an offering bowl might be passed around and you can choose to give voluntarily. As you grow in your faith and love God more and more for what he has done for you, giving money the church and supporting it might actually be a pleasing thought to you. By supporting the church, you are supporting the spreading of the message of Jesus Christ – and there is no better message to spread! Also, God has promised to provide everything to you to meet your needs. It doesn’t mean you will be rich. You might even be broke and then your car breaks down. Now what? In that instance, TRUST the God who loves you and has promised to care for you. You may stress, but pray and wait! God will provide. He always does. It may not be the provision you were hoping for. For example – Instead of your car getting fixed right away you may have to rely on family in your church to take you to and from work. If you can trust God with your salvation, then you can trust God to provide for you. Giving to God is a form of worship. We all want money. We all want to spend. To take away from that money and give it to God to use in the spreading of His message is honored by God.

Church lingo - The term “church” in the bible: Most people understand “church” to be a building where religious people meet. That understanding is true. However, when the bible generally mentions the “church”, it is referring to be all of the people who are born again in Jesus Christ and heavenward bound. There, we Christian’s are considered “the church” – not the actual building though.

Not everyone who goes to church goes to heaven. Some go out of habit, to be “religious” or because other family goes. Yet they do not have a relationship with Jesus. They are not part of the “church of followers” in biblical terms.

Biblically, you are part of Christ’s “church” if you are a believer and follower of Christ – even if you don’t go to church building.

WHAT ABOUT THE HYPOCRITES?

Everyone who hates God loves to point out the hypocrites in an attempt to discredit God. For sure, hypocrites are everywhere. They are on television asking for money and in return they say “God will make you rich because you gave!” Some of them are on TV jerking their body in weird ways. And, some of them are in the church, sitting right next to you. You might even think that the person sitting next to you is Godly and never know that they don’t have a true relationship with Him.

Hypocrites are everywhere. A hypocrite, in terms of Christianity, can be someone who professes their faith in Christ, but they have no relationship with Him. It may be someone professing faith in order to get something – like money – from you. Many times these people are caught in sin – and the world loves to jump up and point, saying “See! God is fake! Christianity is fake!” DO NOT hold God accountable for someone else’s hypocrisy. God never endorsed hypocrisy, so why would we associate Him with it? It is the condition of a person’s heart that can make them a hypocrite, not the God who created them. Also, don’t be so quick to condemn a hypocrite either. God may not like their sin, but He deeply loves them just as much as He loves you! God is the judge, and He will help each person in His own way.

Never forget… as a Christian you can give into sin. As a matter of fact, you will! You don’t need someone to condemn you and call you a hypocrite every time you fail. You need someone to love you and pray for you.

MORE PROOF OF THE GOSPELS OF JESUS

When Jesus left heaven and came to earth to die for our sins, He chose 12 men to follow Him as disciples and to witness His miracles and ultimately to help Him spread the good news of salvation to the world. They were with Jesus for three years before Jesus was crucified, and they loved Him!

When the Roman soldiers and Jewish religious leaders came in the night and took Jesus into custody before His crucifixion the next day, the disciples became scared and they scattered! At one point, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, Peter, denied even knowing Jesus when he was asked.

The next day, Jesus was brutally tortured and then crucified on the cross.

Crucifixion was one of the worst ways someone could be put to death. It was especially bad for Jesus. When they were done flogging Him, Isaiah 52:14 states that Jesus was so disfigured from His beating that He was almost unrecognizable as a human. After that beating, He had to drag a heavy cross to the place where they nailed Him to it, and then He hung there for 6 hours gasping for each breath. He willfully came and endured all of this because He loves YOU!

It was a horrific torture and death. Now you might understand why the disciples ran!

Three days after Jesus was crucified, just like it was prophesied in the book of Hosea 750 years before, Jesus rose from the dead. He conquered sin and death! When He rose from the dead, He revealed Himself to the disciples and over 500 other people! He then spent forty days with His disciples after that, and then he left the disciples and ascended into heaven.

NOW HERE IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW! ….

After that, the disciples did not run any more! They preached the good news of salvation throughout the lands, and guess what happened to most of them? They were killed for preaching about Jesus! It is historically accepted that Peter, the one who previously denied knowing Jesus three times because he was scared for his safety, was crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same way Jesus was. Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross. James was beheaded by sword. Nathanial was flayed alive and then beheaded. Matthew and Thomas were both speared to death. The other James was thrown from the temple and clubbed to death. Simon was cut in half. John was exiled to the island of Patmos after he was boiled in oil and survived. These accounts are based on historical accounts that are separate from the bible text… yet more proof of Jesus.

HERE IS MY QUESTION…

If everything the apostles said about Jesus was a hoax, and Jesus was not really God, wouldn’t have at least one of them saved themselves and admitted that their claims about Jesus was a lie?

>>>> No one would go through that torture and death for a made up story! <<<<

Jesus is real. God is real. Heaven is real. God’s love for you is real and you accepting Jesus Christ as Lord is paramount to how you will spend eternity after you die.

HELL (this has to be said, very important… )

I can’t end this without talking about the “H” word. Hell. Most don’t know this, but Jesus Himself (and the bible in general) talk about hell many more times than heaven. Why? Simple… If hell is so bad that Jesus would come down and be tortured and crucified to save us from our sins, then SURELY hell must be a pretty bad place. God’s word in the bible and Jesus’ spoken words mention hell so many times because He is warning you! He is warning you because He loves you!

Many people joke about hell saying that they will be there with their friends … as if it is going to be fun. God is very clear on this… Hell is a place of eternal separation from God where there is pain, thirst and gnashing of the teeth (anger) among other things. It is for eternity. There is no happiness. There are no second chances. Hell is a very real place and is meant for those who reject Jesus Christ, who is God and who died for your sins.

For clarification: The difference between people in heaven and hell is NOT whether they murdered, raped, stole, etc. The difference between all people in hell and heaven is whether or not they rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and chose not to accept His FREE gift of forgiveness. I cannot stress this enough. How good you are means NOTHING if you have rejected Jesus Christ.

Some argue that a “God of love” would NEVER send someone to hell. But there are two parts to this correction: 1) You have a CHOICE to accept or reject Jesus as Lord. God sent Jesus to be tortured and die for you so that, by believing in Him and trusting in Him, you will be saved. BUT... God will not force you to accept Jesus as Lord because if He did, then your decision to follow Him would not be out of faith and love. God wants a relationship with you, not a robot! 2) If God the Father did not love you, He would not have sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be brutally tortured and killed at the hands of the very people He loves so that YOU could go to heaven. So yes… He is a God of love! To reject this God who loves you so much and died for you means that you will have eternal separation from Him and His love and goodness. His love is real. Your choice to reject or accept His love is just as real. Choose.

Eternal separation from God? Darkness? Gnashing of the teeth? Eternal profound sadness, anger and torment? Doesn’t it make sense to consider at least talking to God or looking further into this message?

At least do this….

If you are unsure of Jesus, simply pray to God,

“God, if you are real, please reveal yourself to me.”

Wait! Hours, days, weeks, months… He will! (don’t wait too long before making the decision to follow Him. While your life may have many years left, the ramifications of not accepting Jesus as your Lord and following Him are severe and eternal. There are no second chances once that little fist-sized muscle in your chest stops pumping. Hearts stop beating routinely every day all around us. It is common… a mile away, two blocks away… people are dying. Are you willing to gamble? I plead with you…. God pleads with you even now…. Please open up to Him before it’s too late.