06.23.07 - 9:57 am

THIS WAS OUT OF A TINY LITTLE BOOK WITH A PICTURE OF A GORILLA ON THE COVER.
the answer to question number two is what kills me every time.

TWO QUESTIONS
1. What is the most common food that people choke to death on in American restaurants?

2. What is the number one killer in the US?

The most common food that people choke to death on in American restaurants is hard boiled egg yoke, and the number one killer in the US is death.

There is a lot of it around.

Think about it for a moment. Everything you hold dear to you is going to be torn from your hand by death.

Whether we like it or not, we are all part of the ultimate statistic: ten out of ten die.

No doubt you have wondered why death separates us from our loved ones. This happens because we have broken an eternal law.

"The soul that sins shall die"

Lets look at the Law (the Ten Commandments) and see if we have broken any of them in any way (with a tender conscience, lets ask ourselves if we have obeyed the following):

1. You shall have no other gods before me. (Have we loved God above all else?)
2. You shall not make yourself a graven image. (Make a god to suit ourselves, with our hands or our mind).
3. You shall not take God�s name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder. (Hatred is considered as murder.)
7. You shall not commit adultery (lust is adultery of the heart; includes sex before marriage)
8. You shall not steal (the value is irrelevant.)
9. You shall not lie. (Including answering these questions.)
10. You shall not covet.

The Bible says that God will punish all murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, etc. he will even judge our words and thoughts. (On Judgment Day, will you be found to be guilty or innocent of breaking His law?

Perhaps you think that God is good, and will therefore overlook your sins. But it is His goodness that will make sure murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, etc. receive justice. He would be a corrupt judge if He turned a blind eye to injustice.

God however made a way where His justice and His goodness could meet. We broke the law, but He became a man to pay the fine.

�The love of God
He was bruised for our iniquities�

Jesus satisfied the law when He died on the Cross for us. Then He rose from death. God can now forgive us and grant us the gift of everlasting life! But here�s where many people make a fatal mistake. They think they will enter heaven if they live a good life. But isn�t it true that the best of us have lied, stolen, lusted, hated, failed to love God above all else, and failed to love our neighbor as ourselves? How can we then live a good life if we have already sinned against God? At best we are reformed liars and thieves.... lawbreakers.

Think of it this way - - would you sell one of your eyes for a million dollars? Would you sell both for $50 million? I�m sure you wouldn�t. Your eyes are priceless, yet they are merely the windows of your soul. What then must your life (soul) be worth?

With these thoughts in mind, what would be a fair price to pay for everlasting life? It is utterly without price. Yet, if we trust in our own goodness to enter heaven, we are saying to God, "I should enter heaven because I have done good....I have earned my way in".

Imagine if you wanted to give me a brand new (very expensive) car, but I said, �I can�t take it! I feel embarrassed receiving such a gift...here�s 10 cents for it."
I�m sure you would be very insulted by such a pathetic offer of payment. Besides, if I pay for it, it is no longer a gift, it�s a purchase...it�s mine by right. When we talk of entering heaven by being good, by trying to keep the Ten Commandments etc, we are tossing God ten cents of "self righteousness", which is a terrible insult to Him, in the light of His sacrifice. The only thing we can do is humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and receive the gift by trusting Jesus Christ alone.

"God commanded His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". If you want to trust in your own goodness, then you are saying that His agonizing death on the Cross was in vain.

The Bible says, "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God". You cannot earn a gift.

"The goodness of God leads you to repentance"

When Jesus said to "believe" on Him, He was saying we should have faith in Him, in the same way you would trust a parachute to save you when you jump from a plane. You don�t merely believe in the parachute - you put it on.

Please don�t "jump" without Jesus. If you die in your sins there is no second chance. God will give you justice, and you will end up in hell forever. Think about that. Any troubles you have at present are dwarfed by the trouble you are in with your creator. His wrath abides upon you (see john 3:36). Confess your sins to God right now, put your trust in Jesus as Savior, and you will pass from death to life. Then read the Bible daily and obey what you read. Have faith in God; He will never let you down.