THE ULTIMATE " SEPARATION "

Welcome, come on in and let's see what the Word Of God has to say about " Separation. " Please pay close attention Hell is Eternal Separation From God. " ETERNAL DESTRUCTION " is the Lake Of Fire and people who are Separated from God in Eternity No Longer Have Any Hope For SALVATION. The ultimate result of sin is unending Separation from God. Because human beings are created in God's image with an inborn thirst for fellowship with him, Separation from God will be the ultimate Torment and Misery. Sin always brings Misery, but in this life we can choose to repent and restore our relationship with God. In eternity there will be no longer for opportunity for repentance. If in this life we choose to be independent of God, in the next life we will be Separated from him forever. Nobody is forced to choose ETERNAL SEPARATION from God, and nobody suffers this fate by accident. Jesus invites all of us to open the door of our hearts to him. If we do this, we will enjoy everlasting fellowship with him. LAST POINT: Now, regarding Separation In Marriage... 1 Corinthians 7:15-16 (15) Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. (16) for how do you know, O Wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband whether you will save your Wife? " Now this verse is misused by some as a loophole to get out of Marriage. But Paul's statements were given to encourage the Christian Spouse to try to get along with the Unbeliever and make the Marriage work. If, however, the unbelieving spouse insisted on leaving, Paul said to let him or her go. The only alternative would be for the Christian to deny his or her faith to preserve the Marriage, and that would be worse than dissolving the Marriage. Paul's chief purpose in writing this I believe was to urge the Married couples to seek unity, not Separation. Until Next Time... Jim,

" WITNESSING IS A MUST !!! "

To Witness is to give a testimony: A person who may be called to give testimony concerning an agreement or event that has been observed. Now, in the Bible, an animal or object, such as a mound, may also be designated as a witness in the sense that it is personified as an observer of the agreement or event, or viewed as a symbol on it. Our relatives are often the hardest people to tell about God. Yet we should look for opportunities to tell them what God is doing in our lives because we can have an important influence on them. Question for you: Do you take the time to Share with your Children? Do you have traditions - Special Dates or Special Places - to help your Children learn about God's work in your life? Do you take time to tell them what God has done for you - Forgiving and Saving you, answering your prayers, supplying your needs? Retelling your story will help keep memories of God's faithfulness alive in your family. Our responsibility to tell others about Jesus is witnessing. Now, we are to do it- whether it is next door or to another country - and make disciples. It is not an option, but a command to all who call Jesus "LORD." We are not all Evangelists in the formal sense, but we have all received gifts that we can use to help fulfill the Great Commission. As we obey, we have comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us. Until Next Time... Jim,

" VENGEANCE....NEVER! "

Come on in an and stay awhile, this week we will be looking into a very serious subject " VENGEANCE. " This is an avenue that we should never traverse. Unfortunately vengeance started way back during the days of Adam and Eve. Their disobedience brought sin into the Human Race. They may have thought their sin - eating a piece of fruit - wasn't very bad, but notice how quickly their sinful nature developed in their children. Simply disobedience quickly degenerated into outright murder. Adam and Eve acted only against God, but Cain acted against both God and Man. A small sin has a way of growing out of control. Let God help you with your " Little " sins before they turn into tragedies. Cain was severely punished for this murder. God judges all sins and punishes appropriately, but not simply out of anger or Vengeance. Rather, God's punishment is meant to correct us and restore our fellowship with him. When you're corrected, don't resent it. Instead renew your fellowship with God. Our Lord and God is a Consuming Fire. Why because he is Morally Perfect, he hates sin and cannot accept those who practice it. Moses' sin kept him from entering the the Promised Land, and no Sacrifice could remove that judgment. Sin kept us from entering God's presence, but Jesus Christ paid the tariff for our sin and removed God's judgment forever by his death. Trusting in Jesus Christ will save you from God's anger and will allow you to begin a Personal Relationship with a verse of scripture: " YOU SHALL NOT TAKE VENGEANCE, NOR BEAR ANY GRUDGE AGAINST THE SONS OF YOUR PEOPLE, BUT YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF; i AM THE LORD " (Leviticus 19:18). Until Next Time... Jim,

" WHAT IS A SACRIFICE "

You know I sincerely enjoy sharing with you, the preparation keeps me in the Word Of God studying and learning. One may think of it as a Sacrifice. This week Lord Willing we will once and for all learn what a Sacrifice is. The word Sacrifice implies giving something that costs the giver in terms of self, time, or money. To give sacrificially requires more than a token effort or gift. God wants us to give voluntarily, but he wants it to mean something. Giving God what costs you nothing does not demonstrate commitment. Sacrifices / Offerings " Doing it for the right reasons, " now let's look back. God's Perfect Moral Nature demands that the penalty for sin be death; however, a person could offer an animal to God as a substitute for himself, symbolizing the person's faith in the merciful, forgiving God. But the people were offering sacrifices and forgetting their significance! The very act of sacrifice showed that they had once agreed to follow God wholeheartedly. But all this time their hearts were not in it. We may fall into the same pattern when we participate in Religious Activities, Tithe, or Attend Church out of Habit or Conformity rather than out of heartfelt love and obedience. God wants Righteousness, not Empty Ritual. LAST POINT: So that we're perfectly clear there are numerous places in the Bible where the theme " TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE " is stated ( Psalm 40:6-8; 51:16, 17; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 1:11-17; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 12:7; Mark 12:33; Hebrews 10:8,9). Now, what do you think, hopefully you checked out some of these verses for conformation. Was Samuel saying that Sacrifice is unimportant? No, I'm confident that he was urging Saul to look at his reasons for making the Sacrifice rather than at the Sacrifice itself. A Sacrifice was a Ritual transaction between Man and God that Physically demonstrated a between them. But if the person's heart was not truly repentant or if he truly did not love God, the Sacrifice was a hollow ritual. Religious ceremonies or rituals are empty unless they are performed with an attitude of Love and Obedience " Being Religious " (going to church, serving on a committee, or giving to a charity) is not enough if we do not act out of devotion and obedience to God. Until Next Time... Jim,