You Had Me at “Hellno”???

Fire and Brimstone…

Furnace of Fire…

Judgement by Fire…

Lake of Fire…

Separated from His glory….apart from Him….FOREVER.

Pits of Darkness…

Eternal Punishment…

Burning Wind…

Unquenchable Fire…

The place where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth…FOREVER

Not a popular topic, Hell. Conjures up uncomfortable feelings, makes us feel unpleasant, even disgruntled or angry, right?

But the fact is, hell is for real. Yet there is another place – an awesome place – that is just as real. And it most certainly won’t make us feel unpleasant if we really think about it for a while.

The best thing about all of it really isn’t about the place anyway.  It’s about who we choose to spend eternity with that really is what should be grabbing our attention.

Hell no? Or no hell?

I guess we all get to decide that for ourselves. God does indeed give us that choice to make.

So. Did Jesus have me (was I really “all in”) at the point that I realized I didn’t want to go to Hell? Did he really and truly have my whole heart?

• That moment in which, as a very small child, I thought about heaven and hell and the fact that they are both very, very real places?
• That point in life in which fear overtook me and I didn’t want anything to do with burning up in that lake of fire and residing with Satan and his demons when I die?

Had I truly decided to give all of myself to Jesus at that point?

What I know for certain is that I definitely knew that I didn’t want to go to Hell. I most assuredly knew that I wanted to go to heaven when I leave this earth. The realization that hell was a scary and horrible place, to say the least, definitely got my attention. I felt love for Jesus, but really didn’t decide to also make Him the LORD OF MY LIFE NOW at that time.

Not even close. I was still Queen Bee.

So I began to ask myself (much, much later in life) ~ Is this really all there is to being a “Christian”? Why do I feel like something is missing? Is the life I am living really representative at all of being one of God’s children? Simply being able to say without a doubt that I will choose to go to heaven over hell?

I accepted Jesus’ offer of salvation. And if realizing that hell is very real helps someone to do the same, that’s a good thing. But we really do need to remember that Jesus wants all of us – He loves us! We are saved by His grace alone, but it is also true that He wants for us to live for Him now.

Jesus saves us every day that we come to His feet and remember all that He has done and is still doing for us. He saves us from going our own way if we draw near to Him. We may only need to accept salvation from residing in hell after we pass away from this earth once, but life on earth in the meantime can be a living hell of it’s own if we aren’t living in Him, through Him, and with Him.

Being born again leads to a life in which we must die to self. This doesn’t just happen once, but each and every single day. And it hurts sometimes. But it is very fulfilling.

As we empty ourselves, over and over again, we leave more room to be filled with Jesus.

But until a few years ago, I really wasn’t leaving much room for Him at all. I still catch myself at times getting filled up with self and forget that He is not meant to be shoved into the nooks and crannies of my heart. He is meant to overtake it.

How much value do I hold in a gift if I unwrap it, play with it for a few minutes, and then toss it into a corner and let it get dusty?

No. He didn’t really have me at “hellno.” Not “fully.”

I hadn’t given myself – all of me – to Him. I tossed Him aside. I Ignored Him. Heck, I even flat-out stomped on Him.

And He still loves me. He is faithful. He was and is waiting right there for me in spite of the fact that I deserve the exact opposite. I deserve the separation from Him that I chose for so many years, but instead of that, He offers me everything. I am redeemed by Him and the blood He shed for me and my sin. I get to live with Him for all eternity.

That includes right now!

Part of living for and following after Jesus is not just about deciding to accept the gift of salvation He offers us, but comes with realizing He wants a true relationship with us.

• We decide to grow with Jesus.
• We decide to ask Him to help us to truly die to self and live for Him and His glory.
• We decide to know Him – not just to treat Him as our one-way ticket out of Hell.
• We decide whether or not to be all in for Jesus Christ or not.
• Then, we take action.

Active Pursuit.

It’s only a bleak picture if we are not choosing Him.

Throne of God…

Streets of Gold…

Tree of Life…

Night no more…

No more crying, no more mourning, no more pain ~ NOT EVER.

God Given Light…

Perpetual Worship…

Many mansions…

Glory of God…

He makes all things new – we will reign with Him- Forever.

He has me now. I’m still a tough nut to crack sometimes. But He has me now. He has me forever.

And oh….thanks be to God…

I. Have. Him.

This I KNOW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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