House Rules

Charlie 58It can be challenging, trying to blend two cultures, but it can also be fun.  For instance, I grew up in America where my mother and father had a lot of people over to play card games, eat, and laugh.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Something I have tried to emulate as an adult.

In the last week, I have been teaching my Filipino wife, American games and card games.  Today, I taught her a new card game and while going over the rules, I mentioned they can change depending on whose house you are playing at.  It’s called, “House Rules”.  Meaning, if you are at one friend’s house, then you play the game according to how they play it there.  Sometimes you may not agree with how they play the game, but you are at their house, so it is their rules, that rules the game.

That got me thinking about how we are in God’s house.  Not in church, but on his earth.  “for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”  (Psalms 50:12 NIV)  He has made things simple.  You can live on his earth, according to your rules, if you want to, but if you want to live forever in his heaven you must acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and accept him into your life.  To do so otherwise means you spend eternity, dying forever, in hell.  It’s his rule, which, should, rule your life.

If you haven’t, consider accepting God’s rule of your life.  Doing so helps you get through it, hopefully, with lots of love, friends, family and laughter.

 

Copyright © 2019 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Home

HeavenToday, will be the last time I will ever be in the home I grew up in.  Dad passed away earlier this year, and on Monday the house will be transferred to its new owner.  I will walk around remembering life within those walls.  I will stare at my old bedroom.  Life is about seasons, so though there are good feelings tied to that address, I don’t regret where I live now.

One of these days will be my last one on earth.  I will be ready to leave it, and go to my new home in heaven, where I am confident I will spend eternity, because I accepted Jesus into my life and do my best to live for him.  I will be like the Apostle Paul.  “[Yes] we have confident and hopeful courage and are pleased rather to be away from home out of the body and be at home with the Lord.”  (2Co 5:8 AMP)

Your current address doesn’t matter, but your future one does.  So I have to ask you; realhellWhere will you spend eternity?  Will you be at home with the Lord, or in a totally dark pit falling forever, because hell is bottomless?  Some ask, “How can a loving God send people to hell?”  He doesn’t send people to hell, they send themselves.  It’s your choice.

Paul gave the greatest bottom line:

“Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.”  (Phi 1:21 MSG)

Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved

Heaven Won’t be the Same Without You, But Hell Will

healingAt the age of seven, I knew I was a convicted cookie thief!  I went to a church, where the anointed man of God, my pastor, scared the hell out of me!  He preached straight up sermons concerning what would happen if we died and had not accepted Jesus to forgive us of our sins.  As a result, out of fear of going to hell, I choose God, and heaven.

Today, I realize, some don’t chose God, because they don’t have firsthand knowledge of the Holy.  They don’t know God.  They don’t know what makes him smile, laugh, or hurt.  They don’t know He gets jealous when someone worships anything, or anyone other than him, and they obviously don’t know He is serious about only two places to spend eternity.  They haven’t felt his great love.  People then, believe more in themselves than they do him.

God created heaven for his followers.  He created hell for Satan, and the fallen angels that followed him.  When men started rejecting God, he had to expand hell to accommodate them.

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).  “Therefore Hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it” (Isaiah 5:14).

Now, at my current age, I have experienced the love of God in such a way, there is no other place I would rather be, than in heaven with him.  Therefore I feel commissioned, everywhere I go, to make myself available as God leads to share his great love with those who don’t know.  I spoke the title of this blog to a very dear friend of mine, because it is absolutely true.  If my friend chooses God, heaven will be better, but hell won’t change at all without him.

Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved

Check it out:  See helpful life keys. Beth Olsen

Would You?

Dying for someone elseHow far would you go for someone else?  Would you take a bullet for someone, like the secret service men who protect our president?  Would you volunteer to be put to death so someone else could live?  The answer to these questions probably matter on who the one escaping death is, and how much they mean to you.

What if the one going to die was your spouse, parent, or your child?  Would you die for them?  What if it was more than just dying?  What if you were asked to die and then to spend eternity in hell on behalf of the one you choose to take their place of?  Would you do that?  Knowing hell is a place of utter darkness where individuals are tormented constantly.  That makes the decision a lot harder.

I had a situation this past week come up where some people close to me hurt me very bad.  First I had to use a lot of “Satan Spray” (see last week’s post) and then I started earnestly praying for those individuals.  I prayed they would come back to living a life pleasing to God and not the devil.  Then I had the thought, if they don’t change their lifestyles they could very well wind up in hell!  I wasn’t judging them, I was only comparing their lives to the word of God.  I began to pray for them even harder, and a new thought hit me.  I said, “God, I don’t want to see them die and go to hell.  I love them so much.  Could I take their place?”  Now tears flowing.  I know I can’t take their place, because everyone will be judged on their own.

Then I was reminded, this is exactly what Jesus did.  He loves us so much he told his Father he would die for us and go to hell on our behalf.  So that those who choose to believe in him and ask him to be their Lord would be saved from eternal death.  The difference is Jesus had the power to break through the utter darkness.  His light overcame Satan, and now there was a way for those who believe and accept him to live.  WOW!  What love!

Joh 3:16  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (MSG)

Copyright © 2017 Mark Brady, All rights reserved

Regret?

turn-back

(Photo by Cathy Wang)

“Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.”  We’ve all heard the phrase before.  I feel that phrase mostly applies to relationships.  Today I was thinking about some of the closer ones I have had over the years.  I know, and understand it takes two to get it right, but the one thing I have regretted over and over is when my response to the other person was less than perfect.

That lack of responding in the right, or best way has caused a lot of hurt, pain, and disappointment in some of these relationships.  The moment I realize I have wounded the other person is when regret starts to set in.

In some cases there has been a huge price to pay for not responding correctly.  Being very open and honest it would be easier if the other person passed on, but when they don’t you are forced to deal with the reality they don’t want to speak, or see you again, ever!  This is what can happen when one chooses not to forgive you.  We shouldn’t let regrets weigh us down, but rather learn from them and hope the next time we respond better.

I am so glad Jesus forgives us when our responses are less than perfect.  To me, “hell” would be the reality that God turned His back on me, and never wanted to see, or hear from me again, ever!

Copyright © 2016 Mark Brady, All rights reserved