What happens when time runs out?
Tick Tock! My grandmother’s mantel clock was a beautiful piece of work, chiming out each hour and half hour. When my brother and I slept on the fold out couch in the living room the sound of the clock put me to sleep. I did not hear it chime each hour as I slept only when awake. I can’t explain why, other than to say I must have been a sound sleeper.
One day, time will run out for you and for me. When our time on earth is at an end that will not be the end of us.
FIVE REALITIES OF OUR LIFE ON EARTH:
• First, God made you to love you, and he wants your love back.
• Second, God created you to last forever.
• Third, God has prepared two places where you can spend eternity: Heaven and Hell.
• Fourth, you get to choose where you’ll spend eternity. You can choose to live forever in Heaven with God.
• And, finally, there is no second chance after you die.
Jesus actually talked more about Hell than Heaven. And to read how Jesus — and others in the Bible — described it, we don’t want to have any part of it, and we don’t want anyone we know to have any part in it.
“So what does the Bible say about Hell?
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1. It’s a place of torment. Luke 13:28 says that in Hell, “You will cry and be in extreme pain” (GW).
We get our visions of fire and agony in Hell from the Bible.
There is no way to truly imagine the agony of Hell. -Eternal torment
-Loneliness
-Separation
-Suffering
THE BIBLE SAYS HELL IS…
2. A place of complete separation from God and other people. That’s the worst part of Hell. Go through your whole life saying you don’t want to have anything to do with God, and you’ll eventually get your way. Hell means total separation from God.
“If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be separated from God — lost forever!” (1 Corinthians 16:22a ERV)
The absence of God…let that soak in for just a moment. Eternity without God.
3. It’s a place without love. The Bible tells us that God is love. Without God, we’ll spend forever without his love in Hell.
The absence of the capacity to show love
The absence of security found in being loved.
Everyone who goes to Hell chooses to do so. They’ll get what they always thought they wanted — a life away from God. You don’t want that! You don’t want Hell. Make a different choice today.
Tick Tock, our opportunity to choose is slipping away with each passing moment. In the next 365 days 2.6 million Americans will die and most of them spend eternity separated from God. Is that something that we can live with? When time runs out the clock will not be rewound for anyone no matter their status, position, income or influence. You cannot buy one more minute of time.
The opportunity to choose Jesus as Lord/Leader of your life is this moment right now. The opportunity to share our faith with those who do not know Jesus is this moment right now. Tomorrow will be too late for many.
God wants us to spend eternity with Him. He has done everything possible to make that happen. Yet, He has given us “free will” so that we can choose Him just as He has chosen us. The clock is winding down. Very soon the last minute will expire. Are you ready for Eternity?
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I come to you just as I am. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I ask you to be the Lord and Leader of my life. I believe you died for me and I believe you rose again from the grave. I choose to follow you and allow you to direct my life. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU:
Thank you Lord Jesus for receiving this your child into you kingdom and for washing away their sin and making them a member of the great family of God. I ask you to give them the assurance of their salvation. I ask you to help them grow up to know you to recognize the importance of going to church to learn more about you and how to become a functioning member of your body the church. I ask you to help them be a witness for you to their family and friends. To share their story of how you have changed their life and given new meaning and purpose to living. I ask all of this in the name of our Savior, Lord and King...Jesus. Amen.