Acts 20:7-12: Eutychus & Paul

Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Acts 20:10 (NIV)

Paul was delivering a message to the church at Troas. The meeting was taking place on the first day of the week, and the disciples were celebrating the Lord’s supper together. The Bible says that Paul kept talking until midnight: it was a long message because he was going to leave the next day. Continue reading Acts 20:7-12: Eutychus & Paul »

Genesis 37:2-11: Joseph’s Dreams

The Scriptures teach us that Jesus is “the Word.”  He is the Word of God; the entire Bible points us to Jesus, even the Old Testament.  Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day for their mistaken emphasis on the letter of the Scripture, from which they would try to extract principles and precepts for life.  Jesus told them, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39)  The Old Testament is really about Jesus.  Its writing occurred long before Jesus came to this world as a man, but every story points forward to Christ.  In this sense, all of the Word is prophetic, not just the “prophetic books” like Isaiah or Joel.  We see Jesus in the story where Abraham nearly sacrifices his only son Isaac – pointing forward to the way our Heavenly Father would offer His Only Son.  We see Jesus in the Passover Lamb, in the story of Jonah in the belly of the fish, and in the Bronze Serpent that Moses lifted up for the healing of the people.  Jesus is everywhere in the Old Testament – each of the godly characters illustrates an aspect of him (excluding, of course, the incidences where these men failed or sinned).

Continue reading Genesis 37:2-11: Joseph’s Dreams »

A Word of Hope for your Heart

Your soul is immortal. It will never die. Once your soul leaves behind your earthly body, however, there are two possible destinations: HEAVEN (eternity with God, everlasting joy) or ETERNITY WITHOUT GOD (eternal suffering). And there is just one person in this whole world that is able to decide the place where you will LIVE eternally. You might say that the choice is up to God, but God says in His Word, the Bible, that the choice is yours. ONLY YOU CAN CHOOSE OR DECIDE YOUR SOUL’S ETERNAL DESTINY.
You can decide NOW, if you want, for HEAVEN. If instead you decide to put off the decision for later, you have already chosen the option of eternity without God; if you die in the meantime, you will go there forever. Even if you do not die anytime soon, you will be heading toward eternity without God.

Certainly, you would want to go to Heaven. To be completely sure that you will enjoy a place in Heaven, you should do the following:
1st - Recognize that you are a sinner. God says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
2nd - Recognize that you cannot enter heaven by your own efforts. Ephesians 2:8-9
3rd - Believe that only Jesus Christ can bring you to heaven. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus did not say that he is “one of the ways,” but rather THE Way.
4th - Accept Jesus Christ as your only Savior. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.” Acts 16:31.

Some may say, “I am still young and can put this off for later.” We would like to say two things: 1) You don’t need to be old to be close to eternity; and 2) The Bible prophecies say that Jesus is coming again; and these prophecies are being fulfilled in our days. What will happen to you then? Think about it. The only means to receive this blessing is through JESUS himself. “Behold I am coming soon…” Revelation 22:7

If, however, you do not choose heaven, remember that this leads to eternity without God, under God’s wrath. “…whoever rejects the Son (Jesus) will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36b.