1|27|10

We all know that there is a heaven.

We may picture angel's with long flowing white robes, mostly women who are white & have long blonde hair. They carry a harp and relax on clouds as though they were recliners.

We may picture a golden road, a golden city. A place where we will never be hungry, never mourn, never sin. Where "Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty" and "Hallelujah" is on every lip and on every tongue. Where our flesh no longer makes us weak, that the spirit that was so willing and eager to worship finally can without having to drag the hostile body.

Its perfection. Eden as it should have been.

But there is a place called Hell as well.

The Bible says "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Mathew 13:41-42).

Mathew's Gospel speaks of Hell the most of any book.

The person in the Bible to refer to Hell the most is Jesus Christ.

Its a real place, it is the consequence of those that do "things that offend" and "iniquity." This is mentioned repeatedly in the Gospels. When Jesus speaks of anger, or cutting off your arm, foot, plucking out your eye if any of them causes you to sin- the consequence he always always goes to is Hell. Eternal damnation. The wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Yet, praise God! Because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And while the penalty of sin is death (spiritual death, eternal destruction) but the gift of eternal life comes through Christ Jesus.

The Key here is- Christ. His death, his life, his promise, his sacrifice, his love. HIM. And ONLY through him do you get the promise of eternal life and salvation.

In John 14:6

"⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

No one comes to the father, except through Him. The road is very narrow and only the righteous will walk on it. Those who do not, those who chose not to, there is only one other way they can go.

This is not only against not Christians but lukewarm christians as well- Revelation says that God will spit out those who are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.

Hell is a very real place, a very horrible and cursed place.

Revelation 20:11-15

"¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. ¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

When your name is called on Judgement day, which could be tomorrow for you- or in the last days when the trumpet calls- will your name be in the Book of Life. Will Christ say he is pleased with you, or depart from me- I never knew you.

Will your friend's name be in that book? Your siblings, your cousins, your parents, your best friend, boy friend? If not- you are accountable for them. Like when the four friends brought their paralytic friend to Jesus, it was by their faith also that he was healed. We are supposed to bring our friends to Christ.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed to us. If you have any doubt that you will not enter Heaven, if you have not fully accepted Christ into your heart then I urge you to ask him into your life. Do not wait, do not think that you can put this off- each day is so precious and should not be wasted.

If you need to talk to anyone know that I'm always here. You can comment this blog or email me @ angelashleyalways24@yahoo.com

There is such a joy, love, and peace that comes with knowing Jesus Christ. He is my best friend, my savior. If you are lacking in anything, if you feel a void or emptiness in your life- a burden, a pain, anguish. He is the answer to everything. I guarantee not an easy life, but a full one.

" ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mathew 11:28-30

1|20|10

Life usually doesn't go like we planned, or sometimes its pretty perfect and you wonder what every one's complaining about.

But 9 times out of 10 I'm sure we see ourselves looking down an empty well, wondering what in the world just happened and what in the world are we going to do about it?

Well, 10 times out of 10, although we fail to turn to it first. The Bible really does have words of comfort, words that shift through the muck and help you wake up to another day.

Psalm 34 has definitely been a chapter that has shifted through a lot of the muck from this past week.

Psalm 34

¹ I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

² My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

³ Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

⁶ This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

⁹ Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹² Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,

¹³ keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.

¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;

¹⁶ the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

²⁰ he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

²² The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

David starts off by saying that he will praise God always,

his praise will always be on his lips. His soul Boasts in the Lord-

Let those who are

afflicted, wounded, tired

rejoice!

Glorify him with me. Let my joy, my gladness, infect you- empower you to be filled with the same joy, the same praise.

And then he tells us why.

Why does David continuously glorify the name of the Lord? Why does he tell those who are being worn down- to rejoice & praise God with him?

Because when he sought the Lord. When we looked to the Lord and went to him in the secret place- He answered him.

Because.. when we look to the Lord our faces are glowing, like Moses- when he went up to the Mountain to see God, his face was glowing & so radiant he had to cover it with a veil. So when we look unto God our faces are also radiant. And we are never, never put to shame. No one can mock us, no one can belittle us- we are never put to shame.

This, This poor man. David calls himself a poor man, a man of riches, an empire that is virtually undefeated. But in the presence of God we are just filthy rags. David is so humble before the Lord.. When humility is lacking- God will surely send it on its way.

The Angel of the Lord- encamps. God sends angels, his messengers- his warriors- his guardians like we see Michael & Gabriel- to deliver those who fear him.

So..

Taste and See!- that the Lord is Good. Fear Him, Seek Him- and you will Lack no Good thing

His eyes are on the Righteous. And he is attentive to their cry.

Verse 18- my favorite

The Lord is close the brokenhearted.

Its such an amazing Psalm full of hope and wonder and you can't help but see the

raw relationship that David has with God.

David Loves the Lord because he Tasted Him, he sought after him, his heart was broken and the Lord was there close enough to mend it.

David had such an amazing relationship with the Lord. And when we go through problems we often become angry with God for not being near. When in truth we've just lost our eyes.

When times are going well and we put him aside, farther and farther from where we are, then when we've lost our way- expect to reach out and find him waiting for us.

In fact. He does. He does wait for us. He is always there- closer than a brother. Even when we put Him under a rug and toss Him aside- he welcomes us.. with open arms.

The secret in tasting and seeing that the Lord is good is actually tasting. Is actually seeking.

We want God to *poof* next to us when we are staring down at that empty well- but if our eyes are adjusted to merely seeing black and white- how would they know when Color appeared?

Adjust your eyes, taste and see that the Lord is good

So that when you're staying up with sore red eyes studying for the biggest test of your life, coming home from a job that you break your back for, wrestling with illness and hurdles no one could understand, fighting with your parents, worried about your future or broken hearted

God will just clench your hand a little tighter.

1|17|10

Today I woke up and had no voice.

Over night I had a terrible fever only to wake up with a temperature, sore throat, and in inaudible voice.

It was Sunday morning- I had so many plans for the day. I was supposed to give the sunday school exam to my 1st graders, something I was looking forward to- nostalgic as I am, but had to cancel knowing I could to read the questions to my students.

A parent called to say their child could not come into class and I had to hand the phone to my mom to speak for me.

I felt so frustrated.

I kept thinking about how I wouldn't be able to sing during praise and worship, pray aloud between songs, or do anything I look so forward to doing on Sunday mornings..

When God created the world he spoke it into motion. "He said" let there be light... and there was light.

When Jesus performed every wonder, when he declared "It is finished", when he made and fulfilled every promise- he spoke.

In the beginning there was the "word" and the "word" was with God and.. John ch 1- Jesus is called the word.

On the day of pentecost the Holy Spirit was given, Peter said a message for a couple minutes and thousands came to Christ.

If you believe in your heart and Confess with your Mouth that Jesus is Lord- you are saved.

I think you get the picture.

Your words, what you say, is far more important than you can imagine. Especially when you use the word of God.

When you say things out loud-

-speaking against your circumstances

-encouraging others during their prayer

-interceding with others during their prayer

-worshiping and humbling yourself without shame

-declaring the promises in your life

God is faithful.

If we are too ashamed of God or too embarrassed to cry aloud- he says when the time comes he will say he never knew you either.

Don't allow your voice to be lost

proclaim your faith without shame.

It is a powerful weapon.