Guys...I just want to share some Bible verses with y'all. I have such a burden for every one of you, and I wish I could say something profound for everyone. I know there are people reading this that are on their way to Hell. Some of you reading this think you're Christians, and you might not be. Others of you are Christians in need of encouragement. Still others reading this have a walk with God that is admirable, and I'm thankful for y'all.

I've come to the conclusion that I can't sit here in front of my computer and create a masterpiece 'Thought' that will change everyone's life. I wish I could, but I know that anything resulting from your reading this is an act of God's power, and not mine. What I will try to do is provide some verses that may be beneficial for each part of y'all that I mentioned earlier.

So yeah, today I want to share/remind y'all of some simple Truths that are easily forgotten. I only hope that one of y'all gets something out of them.

Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

Now I know this isn't a life-shattering verse, but think about it for a second. One of the common mind-boggling characteristics of God is that He has always existed. Always. So here's the million dollar question asked by many: Why did God create us in the first place? Here's the answer...so He could love us.

We cannot even begin to comprehend the definition of God's love. I won't even try. 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. He loves me, He loves you, He always has, and He always will.

With God's love came something known as free will. This is the ability for us to choose whether to love God back, or to love the things that He hates. God didn't want a bunch of robots in Heaven with Him. He loves us too much for that. He created the angels and also gave them free will. As most of you know, Satan, God's head angel, chose to turn his back on the things of God and was cast out of Heaven and into Hell because of it, along with the other angels in his rebellion.

See, this is how it works. Just as you cannot love children without hating abortion, or love food without hating hunger, God cannot love His creation without hating sin. What is sin? Anything short of perfection. Know what the bad part is? We've all done it. Every one of us.

Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And because of this, because we've all sinned against God, we cannot be in His presence. Not only that, but God tells us in Romans 6:23 that "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Right now some of y'all may be thinking, 'what the heck is this dude talking about?' Well, let me explain. See, another mind-boggling aspect of God is a concept that we've labeled as the Trinity. There are three parts to God. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Think of it like this: you know how water can be solid, liquid, and gas? Three facets of the same element: God operates the same way.

See, there was a huge problem. God loved us and desperately wanted us to be with Him, but it was impossible. Our sin had us marked for death, and the only thing awaiting us was hell if we failed to live righteous lives and make holy sacrifices to God.

God wanted a permanent solution, though. He needed to find a way to forgive mankind for committing the very sins that He abhors...and this solution was His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a flawless, perfect life on earth. He was the only man in existence to ever do so. If you want to read a full account of His life, I encourage you to find a Bible and start with the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus did many things while He was here. He healed the sick, raised the dead, performed countless miracles...but that wasn't why He came. Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:10 that "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost."

In order for God to allow us in His presence, our sin had to be paid for. When Jesus Christ was in His early thirties, He allowed Roman soldiers to nail His hands and feet to a cross, they hung Him there with a mocking crown of thorns embedded on His head. The people spit on Him, they laughed at Him, they mocked Him. And you know what? He took it. By choice, God's Son hung there, feeling every last bit of pain. Not only that, but He felt the pain of being separated from God as He took every last one of our sins upon Himself. That is how much Jesus loves us. And that is how much God loves us, to be able to do that to His own Son.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Everything Jesus did on this earth was to lead up to His death. And even in His death, He was nothing but love. This was evident as He hung there from that cross and said "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34). After several agonizing hours, Jesus finally died.

In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and in an incredible demonstration of God's awesome power, Christ rose from the dead three days later. After a short time on Earth, He returned to Heaven to be with His Father. The price for our sins had been paid.

That doesn't give us a free ride into Heaven, though. Remember, the wages of our sin is death. But here's where the gift of eternal life comes into play. I want you to think about the last time you were offered a gift. Did you have to do anything to earn it? Did you have to pay for it? Of course not. That kinda defeats the idea of a gift. No, the only thing we can do to get a gift is simply accept it. God's gift of salvation works the same way.

So many people get hung up on the idea of trying to earn their salvation. They find it so hard to believe that something so wonderful, so precious, could be free. However, the Bible very clearly teaches that all we have to have is faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 3:17 talks about Christ dwelling in our hearts "by faith".

God's gift of salvation is a supernatural, life-changing act of love. All we have to do is believe and accept it.

Romans 10:9 says "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

The key steps to salvation are so incredibly simple. All you have to do is acknowledge that as a sinner, you're doomed to hell. You then have to believe that God sent His son to die in our place, only to rise from the dead three days later. Trust in Him, guys...it's that easy. If you're reading this and you know that you're not saved, I beg you to take of it now. Stop fighting with God and just trust Him. Let Him change your life. If you want to, but you’re still not quite sure what to do, call a pastor, google 'plan of salvation', do something. Don't shrug this off, or try to put it behind you. God loves you, and He wants to save you. Just believe.

I would like shift gears right now and talk to those of you reading this that think you're a Christian. I want you to know saying a simple little prayer in Sunday School does not make anyone a Christian. You will find nowhere in the Bible where it says, 'repeat these words after me...', and then poof!- you're a Christian. This is a concept that bloomed in America about 50 years ago. You won't find it in the Bible.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

This verse is a very scary realization that there are people out there that profess to be saved, people that believe that they're Christians, and they're not. Imagine their shock upon dying and going to Hell. I believe this is how we know that words in and of themselves do not save anyone. It is the person's heart that matters the most. As I said before, salvation is a supernatural, life-changing event. Read these verses very carefully:

2 Corinthians 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."

Matthew 7:15-17 "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, of figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

1 John 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth".

Did your life change after receiving Christ? Did you become a new person; one's whose sole desire was to please God? Or did you mutter empty words, forget about it, and experience no change whatsoever? Are you baring the fruits that we as Christians are told that we will? Are you walking in light, or do you live like the world?
Listen to me: I am not saying that a Christian cannot resort back to a life of sin. We have free will, we can still give in to any temptation. But when we get off track we know it. God tells us about it, chastises us, and puts us back in line, even though we may fight it. One way or another, He puts us in line. What I am saying though, what I believe God's Word is saying, is that if you became a Christian and never once lived like it, never once felt the life-changing presence of the Holy Spirit...than be fearful. There's a good chance you never knew Him in the first place.

Guys...I love every one of you. I don't care that I've never met most of you. To know that some of you reading this might be walking straight to Hell breaks my heart. I can think of nothing else I can possibly to say to you to open your eyes. I pray that you surrender to God before it's eternally too late.

And for y'all Christians out there trying to live life your own way...stop. You know as well as I do that until you give control of your life back to God, you'll never find that happiness that’s eluding you, you'll never have that peace you're looking for. Quit fighting God and let Him use you again.

I mean it-I love y'all.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought