heaven

Nope!

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by 13smok from Pixabay

A man once told his wife that the reason he didn’t go to church and had dismissed his belief in God is because he was abused as a little boy in a main denominational church, and he couldn’t believe a loving God would allow that to happen. I hate that it did happen. It was so wrong, but the truth is this: you will not be exempt from hell because of someone else’s moral failure! Nope! Notta!

The Bible is clear about this issue. “Everyone must die once. After a person dies, he is judged.” Heb. 9:27 (ICB) That same man will not be judged for the sins of someone else, but he will be judged for how “he” lived his life.

All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. 24 People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. Rom. 3:23-25a (ICB)

Recently, a famous senior pastor, who proceeded over several campus locations and was on television, had his past sins revealed. The indiscretion took place many years ago but was disclosed. He probably thought it was hidden and would never be known publicly. This shows that scripture is true when it says, “Everything that is hidden will become clear. Every secret thing will be made known.” Luke 8:17 (ICB)

My point in bringing this up is no one can say, “See. The church is full of hypocrites, and I don’t want to be like them. I’m just as good as they are. So, I will live my life how I want to!” The church is indeed full of imperfect people, but they are forgiven if they have asked God to forgive them in the name of Jesus.

A reporter once asked President Bill Clinton, “You have committed an indiscretion in the Oval Office, yet we see you go to church and carrying a Bible.” President Clinton smirked and replied, “If anybody needed to be in church, don’t you think I should have?” Honestly, he was right.

There is no getting around this matter. There are only two eternities. One is heaven, and the other is hell. God cannot allow people into heaven who are filthy and have not been washed in the blood of Jesus. Fair or not, that is the way it is and must be. For God is Holy.

It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you.  And then he does not hear you. Is. 59:2 (ICB)

Each creature was calling to the others: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heaven’s armies. His glory fills the whole earth.” Is. 6:3 (ICB)

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 Jn. 1:5b (ICB)

Your eyes are too good to look at evil. You cannot stand to see people do wrong. So how can you put up with those evil people? How can you be quiet when wicked people defeat people who are better than they are? Hab. 1:13 (ICB)

That is why God had to turn his back on his Son, Jesus, while he was dying on the cross because Jesus took on the sins of the world. So get it through your head today: either accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ or die as a sinner and be condemned to spending eternity in hell. It’s your choice. You will not be able to blame anyone else.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

It is Finished

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Endings can evoke a variety of emotions. For example, when you finish a good book, a good movie, maybe a bad movie, or when someone’s life ends. Sometimes, April will ask after we finish a movie, “Now what?” It’s a good question.

When Jesus died on the cross, his last words as a man were, “It is finished!” His thirty-three-year mission to boldly go where no God had gone before was over. “Now what?”

The very moment he died, here comes my favorite part: the curtain that hung in the temple was ripped from top to bottom. Now, there was no more separation between God and man. It meant that if we accept Jesus and ask him to forgive us of our sins, we now have access to God Himself. We can actually enter the throne room of heaven and have an audience with the Creator of the universe!

When man dies on Earth, it’s over. The end. It is finished. “Then what?” The very next thing he will see is God as he stands before him. God will look in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” to see if his name is written in it. If not, God will have no choice but to send him to hell. By the way, in the beginning, every name was written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” The only person that can remove your name – is you!

God wants people to love him freely of their free will. So, He gave man the right to choose to live for Him or to live for Satan. That’s it. There are no other sides to life. You will not be reincarnated. You won’t simply die and wind up in nothingness. You will live for eternity, either in heaven or hell. Choose life in heaven. Accept Jesus. Have your sins forgiven. The reason you must have your sins paid for by Jesus is because God is Holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. The End!

At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. Mat. 27:51 (MSG)

Nothing dirty or defiled will get into the City (heaven), and no one who defiles or deceives. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will get in.
Rev. 21:27 (MSG)  In parentheses mine.

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
Heb. 9:27 (NIV)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Game of Chess

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The game of chess came about in 1475. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent’s king.

If you have never played, know that the different pieces can only move in specific ways and a number of spaces at a time. There is a hierarchy of pieces from the pawns to the king. There is only one King who becomes the final victor.

The battle between two sides has always been a key part of a good story. Good vs. evil. Light vs. darkness. And, of course, The Rebel Alliance vs. The Evil Empire. I have often thought of God vs. Satan as a chess game, and humans are the pieces that do battle for either side.

Satan wanted to be a god unto himself, but there can only be one at the top. When he and one-third of the angels rose up against God, He had no choice but to banish them from heaven forever. Ever since that time, Satan has been waring against God to get revenge, take over, and destroy His kingdom.

Chess is only a game, but life isn’t! When life ends, there is only heaven or hell. One may say they don’t believe in God. Heaven isn’t real. They may refuse of their own will not to accept God’s gift of salvation to be saved from hell. They may say, “I don’t believe in hell,” but hell believes in them. Satan is not playing a game. Out of hate, he is trying to win. He doesn’t care about humans. He will use them to get back at God and then destroy them. His biggest lie is that there is no God and that there is no punishment for not accepting Him.

I am definitely on God’s side. I am not the King, and I am certainly NOT the queen (LOL), but I have thought of myself as a mere pawn. My moves are limited; therefore, I need to follow the instructions of the King. Who is the King? That is Jesus Christ. The King of Kings. I hope you will choose to be on God’s side. Willing to be led by Him and live according to His ways, which are pure, right, and out of love. For when God says, “Checkmate,” it will all be over once and for all.

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they [a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for [b]them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Rev. 12:7-9 (NKJV)

14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Rev. 17:14 (NKJV)

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rev. 20:7-10 (NKJV)

15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:15 (NKJV)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Mayday

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Image by Alan Dobson from Pixabay

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t always sleep when I should. I suffer from “OMS” (Old Man Syndrome). Sometimes, when this is the case, I will turn on the TV. One of the shows I like to watch in the middle of the night is called “Mayday.” They go over actual airplane crashes and report “70% of all air crashes are due to human error.” At one time, I wanted to be a pilot.

While watching last night, I thought about people who have never accepted salvation. God’s free gift was through His Son, Jesus, when He died on the cross. They think because they aren’t hurting anyone and are basically a good person, then they should go to heaven. According to Romans 3:23, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You can’t save yourself, and you can never be “good enough!”

There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;
    look again—it leads straight to hell.
Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,
    but all that laughter will end in heartbreak. Prov. 14:12,13 (MSG)

When they stand before God, they will realize they had a chance to have forgiveness, but they didn’t ask for it. Human error! It is then you may hear them cry out, “Mayday! Mayday!” for they will know they are going down. Crash and burn in hell!

I saw a photo on Facebook the other day. The couple was drinking wine, going to concerts, and, in general, living it up. No one usually posts the hard and ugly side of life. That might be called “Uglyfacebook.” There is life, and then there is eternal life. What we do now in life prepares us for the eternal. Ask Jesus into your heart. Ask him for forgiveness and receive it no matter what you have done in the past. Then move over and let God pilot your life. There may be turbulence, but you will reach your final destination, alive!

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

The List

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Photo by Alexas Fotos via Pixabay

I like lists. I like making lists. Grocery list, shopping list, packing list, prayer list, and even to-do list. I don’t like being on lists unless it’s Santa’s “Good” list, but I’m probably on his “Naughty” list. These days, I rely on lists, especially when grocery shopping. But I still tend to forget things and have been known not to pick up something on my list!

Lists can be good. They can be valuable tools. They can help us get things done or go on vacation and not have that sinking feeling that we forgot to pack something. My packing list allows me to checkmark what to take, if I need to buy it, and when it is packed.

There is one list I definitely want to be on. I want to ensure my name is among the many names listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life! If your name is written in this book, Jesus will remind his Heavenly Father that you accepted him and asked for forgiveness of your sins, and you will enter into Heaven. What’s interesting is every single person’s name is initially written in this book. It is only by an individual’s choice to have their name “blotted” out. That is done by not accepting Jesus. Accept Jesus. Be included in the list of names written in the Book of Life.

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Rev. 3:5 (NIV)

I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the Presence, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth. And then I saw all the dead, great and small, standing there—before the Throne! And books were opened. Then another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what was written in the books, by the way they had lived. Sea released its dead, Death and Hell turned in their dead. Each man and woman was judged by the way he or she had lived. Then Death and Hell were hurled into Lake Fire. This is the second death—Lake Fire. Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire. Rev. 20:11-15 (MSG)

Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will get in.
Rev. 21:27 (MSG)

The Beast you saw once was, is no longer, and is about to ascend from the Abyss and head straight for Hell. Earth dwellers whose names weren’t written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be dazzled when they see the Beast that once was, is no longer, and is to come.
Rev. 17:7-8 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

If They Knew

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Once upon a time, there was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, “Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.”

But Abraham said, “Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.”

The rich man said, “Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.”

Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.”

“I know, Father Abraham,” he said, “but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.”

Abraham replied, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.”

As a young man, I heard our pastor preach many sermons described as “hell fire and brimstone!” He held nothing back, ensuring everyone knew what the Bible said about hell. How awful it would be there if we did not simply accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and ask him to forgive us for our sins. I knew I didn’t want to be there!

The above story was initially told by Jesus himself. It is recorded in Luke 16:19-31, and the version I pulled from was The Message. It makes me wonder, though, if someone did come back to life and had been in hell as their sentence from how they lived their life and told everyone about hell, would people believe them? Would you?

You probably won’t ever hear of someone coming back from hell. But you do have the Bible, which is full of truth. Some of those truths are:

All have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)

After you die, you will stand before God and give an account of how you lived your life on earth.
(2 Corinthians 5:10)

Unless you are “born again,” meaning you accepted Jesus Christ, you cannot enter heaven.
(John 3:3)

Accept Jesus. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and live forever in heaven. If the living knew what the dead knew, the whole world would follow Jesus the Christ!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

I learned yesterday one of my high school classmates was stabbed and killed. One can’t help but think about their own mortality when news like this comes our way. I thought about mine while I prayed for the family and friends as they begin the grieving process.

We know from the word of God that it is appointed to each man once to die and then the judgment. That makes the act of dying a serious issue. We also know from His word that each of us is presented with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is then our free will to choose whether to accept Jesus and what He did on the cross, forgiving us of our sins. Therefore giving us the right to live forever in heaven after we die.

When we stand before God to judge how we lived our lives, Jesus will remind his Father that we accepted his gift of salvation and that our sins are forgiven. Some believe that once you accept Jesus, your eternity is fixed and you can live however you want to. But one should live God’s way. I feel we need to constantly ask God for forgiveness of our sins. Hence the wash, rinse, and repeat. Washed in the blood of Jesus. Rinse off the dirt of our lives and do it all again as needed. It’s not a religion but a relationship with the one and only God of the universe.

For me, that is daily. Every night, before going to sleep, I ask God to forgive me for my sins. I know I am not perfect, and I have no deception that I am. I do not blame wrongdoing on others. I take responsibility for what I do wrong. I do this because I do not want to die, be found guilty of unforgiven wrong, and be condemned to die for eternity in hell.

Hell is a horrible place! Time and gravity keep man grounded. In hell, neither will exist. It will be pitch black, so one will not see anyone else. Sorry, there will be no party in hell. And then there is the constant torment of being burned alive. This will all go on for eternity. With that truth, why would anyone willfully decide to reject God and his Son, Jesus?

You might be a “good” person, but everyone has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. God is so Holy that He can not be in the presence of sin. This is why there will be such a defined separation in the end. Heaven or hell? You decide.

27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Heb. 9:27-28 (NIV)

19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Rom. 1:19-20 (NIV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom. 3:23 (NIV)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Burning Man

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If you are unfamiliar with “Burning Man” in a nutshell, it is an annual event where participants (Burners) are encouraged to express themselves freely. The event culminates on the 2nd to the last night with the burning of a tall structure shaped like a man. Some rules are based on philosophical ideologies.

  1. Radical inclusion – Everyone is welcome.
  2. Gifting – Items are gifted or traded for.
  3. Decommodification – No corporate sponsorships allowed. Only life and health services can be purchased.
  4. Radical self-reliance – Bring any and all items you will need during the event.
  5. Radical self-expression – Burners are encouraged to express themselves in many ways through various art forms and projects. The event is clothing-optional, and public nudity is common, though not practiced by the majority, although being scantily clad is common.
  6. Communal effort – Burners are encouraged to work with and help one another.
  7. Civic responsibility – Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants.
  8. Leaving no trace – We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather.
  9. Participation – We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through deeply personal participation. People are encouraged to participate rather than observe.
  10. Immediacy – Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.

The Temple – Is a neutral, non-denominational spiritual space where everyone can gather to share in the experience of remembering the past, honoring or cursing the present, and pondering the future to come. The temple is burned on the final night of the event. One year, the temple was erected to look like a church and had one timber holding it propped up. Think of a box animal trap. The animal goes in and somehow knocks out the timber, trapping himself inside. The imagery itself says a lot!

“While the festival is clearly cotton candy for the eyes, it is also about really letting loose and feeling yourself in whichever form you’re in.”

anonymous

To go along with the definition of “effigy,” it’s as if the organizers are protesting “mankind” because they don’t like or agree with how most people expect them to live in harmony with others. Or, one could say they are angry with God and want to destroy his creation. This is also the goal of the devil.

`The thief doth not come, except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; John 10:10a (YLT)

The burners believe, “If it feels good, do it!” This is humankind living life as he sees fit. This opposes what God says. He says come to me, through my Son, Jesus, and you will have your sins forgiven and find true life. The other part of John 10:10 says:

I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly. John 10:10b (YLT)

Interestingly, they burn the “temple” after the “man” has been burned. It’s like they say there is no need for a temple once man is destroyed. The devil likes to imitate everything God has done. By that, I mean the moment Jesus died on the cross, the veil that separated man from God was ripped from top to bottom. With the death of Jesus, there was no longer a need for a temple because, through Jesus, man has access to God anytime he wants.

“At Burning Man, nothing is impossible.”

anonymous

The truth is, only with God, nothing is impossible. What they want to believe at “Burning Man” is a fabricated lie. You may argue and not believe me, but one day, you will! You see, because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we need God to redeem us through his Son so we may live in heaven eternally.

Their philosophy that everyone is welcome makes me think no one wants to be in trouble alone. “Well, Jonnie did it, too!” We all grew up saying something similar. What started with 30 people on a nude beach in California has grown into a culture and a temporary city in the desert, northeast of Reno, NV., of 80,000 people. Attending “Burning Man” is popular if you want to be accepted. The Bible says, “Wide is the gate to destruction.” I would rather go to my local church and learn more about the loving God who has done all He can to keep me from burning for eternity.

If you have not accepted Jesus’ gift of forgiveness and salvation when you stand before God, He will judge you, and there will be no one to save you. It’s your choice to exercise your free will to accept God. If you don’t, the only man that will be burning, is you.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

The Walking Dead

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Watching shows or movies about zombies takes me back to watching horror flicks with my father. Late Saturday nights, we would stay up and laugh at the creative ridiculousness of such things as giant spiders or rabbits that killed people.

Recently, while watching a zombie show, I realized that even though zombies do not exist in real life, in real life, we have people all around us that are the walking dead. You see, the truth is that those who have not accepted God’s love and his free gift of his son, Jesus, are dead in their sins.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, Eph. 2:1 (NIV)

It’s eerie how like zombies, the walking dead who live in sin seem to want to bite and infect the healthy. The “healthy” are those who are alive in Christ Jesus. Those who have had their sins forgiven by accepting Jesus as their savior.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Eph. 2:4-5 (NIV)

As we get closer to the end of the world, the devil is working overtime to keep people from knowing the truth. One way is to get them wrapped up in the world’s issues so they focus on that instead of recognizing God’s love and relentless pursuit to bring them into the family of God. Another way is to keep their personal life in chaos.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2: 8-9 (NIV)

No one can save themselves from eternal destruction in hell. No one can be “good” enough. You still come up short, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) The ONLY way is to accept Jesus and to ask for forgiveness of your sins. Then, when you die, you will walk the streets of heaven alive.

Accept Jesus into your life before it is too late. Walk with and among the living. Life is better when you are truly alive.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

Why Church?

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My earliest memories are sitting in the back pew of a church. I was four years old. I remember the minister preaching Truth hard and loud. Some would classify his sermons as “hell fire and brimstone.” He always explained that the wages of sin, is death. Eternal death in hell.

A few years later, I accepted Jesus into my heart. I can honestly say the pastor’s messages scared the hell out of me! Even at that young age, I knew I was a sinner. You see, I was a convicted cookie thief who would later lie about it. “Convicted” because I had been found guilty by my mother. I knew dishonoring my parents and lying were both wrong. They were sin. I had learned that in church.

We went every time the doors were open, it seemed. As a result, I witnessed many signs and wonders. People got healed, repented of their sins, and had significant reformations in their lives. I learned how to minister to people and how to witness to pre-Christians (unbelievers). I had friends who believed in God like I did. I got to know them through the fellowship events that were held. I saw the Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore I saw the supernatural. I learned about tithing and what a joy it was to give.

The supernatural is to get people’s attention for what God wants to do next.

So, why church? Why is it important?

  • People can find God there and accept Him. (Jer. 29:13)
  • People can get prayed for and find healing. (Mark 16:18b)
  • People can find friends who will become a community with them. (Acts 2:46)
  • People can learn how to minister. (Eph. 4:11)
  • People can give their tithes cheerfully. (Mal. 3:10)
  • People can learn how God is relevant in their lives.

The church I wrote about in the beginning is still there and thriving. At least 56 years and counting. The church should preach the entire Word of God (The Bible). A good, balanced church will do and be all six things listed above. I should mention that by the time I was seventeen, I finally realized that it was about having a two-way relationship with God, and that was the real reason to accept him. Not just to have “Fire Insurance!” Meaning, not to only escape eternity in hell. Realizing this has made life with God an exciting adventure.

Do we still need churches? Yes! As long as they are doing the work of God, for God, by God’s power, for His Glory and kingdom.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.