What is Hell really like?

Has anyone ever told you to go die in hell? My guess is that they were not being as mean as they intended to be...one only wishes they could die in hell; it's torment is eternal. I recently saw a bumper sticker that said, "The party in hell has been cancelled due to the fire". I know a lot of people that are going to be disappointed! Without giving it much thought, we mortals assume that if hell even exists, it is worth going to so that we can have fun while still 'alive'. Many of us believe in heaven but refuse to believe in hell. That's like believing that the Philadelphia Eagles did indeed win the Superbowl, but that the New England Patriots did not necessarily lose. What keeps many souls from buying into the whole idea of hell is that they cannot believe that our loving God would be so cruel. With so much at stake, I say we ask God about it Himself, by opening his word. (Opening the word of God is opening his mouth!)

Could God be so cruel?

Why would our God, who is love, prepare such a place of torment for us? Actually, he didn't. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. "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 Then, once sin entered into the hearts of man, our death became certain. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." - Genesis 2:17 Since we are all born in the image of Adam, we are all born into sin and death, and all sin is always directed toward God. Since God is pure holiness and righteousness, He cannot tolerate sin. It is the very wrath of God that burns against the wicked and disobedient that is hell. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" 
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

Jesus warns us of hell

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 
-Matthew 10:28

"So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 
- Matthew 13:49-50

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. - Mark 9:43-48 (Note here that Jesus is quoting scripture, from the prophet Isaiah, spoken 700 years prior. "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." - Isaiah 66:24)

God does not want a one of us to suffer

Fortunately for us, it is not God's will that any of us should suffer. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9 In fact, He pardons us abundantly! "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." - Isaiah 55:7 What about the people who have never heard of our loving God? He wouldn't send them to hell, right?  "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." - Romans 1:19-21 God will show Himself to everyone! 

As hard as it is to think about hell, it weighs much more heavily on my heart the fact that God sent his only begotten son to it in our place. "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?" - Ephesians 4:9  Not only did Jesus endure hell while never having sinned a day in His life, He actually became our sin for us. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21 The only thing worse than letting Jesus take the fall for us, is letting Him do it for nothing. Right now, Jesus is preparing a very, very special place for us, and it is ours for the asking! "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." - John 14:2 It truly is your choice; you can choose to spend eternity wailing and gnashing your teeth where your worm dieth not in flames, or you can choose to live in the mansion Jesus prepared for you.  Can we call this a no-brainer?! Determine your eternity today by praying this prayer, and meaning it with all your heart:

Heavenly Father, 

I know that I am a sinner, 

and unless I accept your gift of salvation, 

I am lost forever. 

I thank you for sending your son to die for me 

and save me from an eternity in hell.  

I now receive Jesus as my Savior. 

In His holy name, I pray.

Or, if you're in a hurry - 

"Jesus save me!" 

Sidenote: Before you go digging into your bible, it is important to know that the word 'hell' is found in the Authorized King James Version 54 times. All the new translations have it much fewer times. In fact, many have taken it the hell out. 

  New King James Version….......32 times

  New International Version…....…14 times

  New American Standard Bible…13 times

  American Standard Version….…13 times

  New Living Translation………….13 times

  Revised Standard Version…......12 times

  New American Bible………......…0 times!

Although you can learn from any bible, it is in many bible scholar's opinions (and my beginner's mind) that the words in the Authorized King James Version of 1611 are God's preserved words. "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." - Psalms 12:6-7 

Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! Many thanks to my friend Renee Driscoll, who helps me keep Bible Bait Biblically correct.

How Can You be Sure the Bible is the Real Deal?

Once upon a time, I used to believe in the New Testament, but not the Old. The Old Testament to me was a collection of significant yet fictional stories. Incredible stories actually, like the one where just two people populate the entire world, or the one where a five hundred year old man builds a boat big enough to hold two of every animal and cruise the flooded Earth. For some reason I could wrap myself around the fact that God could create the world out of nothing, but not do with it what he wanted. 

This view changed with one trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. As you walk in there is a sign that says, "Prepare to Believe". Quite full of myself I shouted out, "I'm already there, baby!" I wasn't so audible walking out the same door. In several hours I had become a true believer. 

Whether you fully regard the Bible as God's Word, are in total disbelief, or fall somewhere in-between, let's look at some FACTS…

• 150 million Bibles are printed every year. To put this into perspective, the third best selling book of all time, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien has only sold as many to date. I realize this doesn't prove the Bible's authenticity, but don't you wonder why so many people are reading it?

• Although the Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by some 40 authors, over a period of 2,000 years, it has perfect unity and consistency throughout. There is a remarkable structural and mathematical pattern throughout that could not have been by chance, or conceived by humans.

• No one has ever been able to identify a single historical mistake anywhere in the Bible.

• There have been more than 25,000 archaeological finds relating to the Bible, and not one has contradicted anything in the Scriptures. Did you know that all fossils found have been either fully ape or fully human? Evolution has more holes in it than a bone with osteoporosis, and has been disproved by the scientific community.

And last but not least..(Warning: Do not read if you do not want to believe.)

• The Bible has hundreds of detailed prophecies, of which every one of them has come true in the minutest detail. (The only ones that haven't happened yet are those that are foretelling in detail Christ's return, which looks to be right around the corner!)

A friend who obviously loves me once told me this: The Bible is the Mouth of God - just open it to hear Him speak!

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

Is the Bible True? by Jeffery L. Sheler

http://creationmuseum.org/

Please remember that BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a theologian.

Keeping the C in the YMCA

Several months ago the YMCA I am a member of underwent a corporate overhaul that started to stake its claim on the walls. Slowly, the newly painted walls began to take shape… the switchplates were replaced, new and smartly designed room and directional signs were hung, and the floorboard was neatly fastened. There was one thing sadly and obviously missing…all things Christian. As many of you know, I can be a fairly outspoken girl at times. On his first day on the job, I told the new manager that I was among many Christian members who would dearly miss Jesus if he did not come back. He assured me that I was going to like what I was going to see up on the new walls. (I had a feeling this meant that I would not like what I was going to see up on the new walls.) Sure enough, Jesus had been replaced with social responsibility.  

The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized by George Williams as a refuge of Bible study and prayer for young men seeking escape from the hazards of life on the streets of London in 1844. There remains today a Bible study and prayer group at my YMCA who's motto is "Keeping the C in the YMCA". I am to understand that they are the party responsible for the last remaining yet most important remnant of Christianity in the hallway…the Bible. Above the Bible used to hang a jovial portrait of Jesus with children, which made me smile every time I walked by. Finally, after months of leaving a big white space where the painting used to be, they hung this…

Don't you just love God's humor? My recurrent smile has turned into a recurrent chuckle. Above God's word they hung an automated external defibrillator…a lifesaving device!

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. -John 10:28

READER COMMENT:  NOW,..... this post makes perfect sense. If someone has a heart attack,.... you get to decide which one of these lifesaving tools to to grab ie, if they are saved (the defriburator) & if they are lost, (the Bible). If you don't know their status, I say you take both, ask them, & then respond accordingly. "Brother, Have you been saved?" "Yes" the 'defib' "No" the Bible. If you remind the YMCA of the legal complexities in all this,.... once someone tries this and utilizes the correct tool for a "No" response, the lawyers might get involved & one of those two items will be removed leaving the YM_A, "C" less. Perhaps a better solution is for everyone to be issued t-shirts that indicates their status; red t-shirt with the word "saved" emblazoned on it or a flame colored t-shirt with the word "lost". This way, anyone who suffers a heart attack, will be served with the correct life-saving device. -C.

Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! Many thanks to my Bible study friend Renee Driscoll, who helps me keep Bible Bait Biblically correct.

Bible Bait: A Beginner's Mind View of God's Word

Something kind of scary happened to me recently. In a conversation with an acquaintance, I happened to mention that I was a Christian. He smiled and said, "I know, I read your stuff". "How could that be?" I asked myself. I have been writing as an undercover Christian for years. Did he crack my code? Apparently I let out a hint or two that had given me away.

Then, something even scarier happened. While I was praying, (and actually listening for a change) I heard Jesus whisper in my ear, "Write more about Me." I pretended not to hear. If I brought Him into my writing, I might lose the interest of my readers. And worse, I could lose friends altogether. Why would he ask me to write about Him anyway? True, I have known Him most of my life, but I ignore Him half the time, and I haven't even read his best seller.

Now pretending not to hear Jesus is like pretending that the dryer is shrinking my clothes. I know better. So after months of being 'too busy,' I have decided to answer His call. My first action was to get my nose into His Book, and I am attending a Bible study that is off the charts. It doesn't take long to realize that you are reading something so profound that only our God himself could have written it. The truth is a trip, people!

Some of you may be wondering what I've been smoking. Actually, I took a pill; the red one. Like Neo in the movie "The Matrix," I have been awakened to the fact that our daily lives are but a mere illusion of something much, much greater. Once you find out the truth, you want your friends and even your enemies to find out, too. This works well into the plan of writing more about Jesus…because now I want to!

So once a week I'm going to post a thought provoking article about our Creator and His intentions for us. The segment will be called "Bible Bait: A Beginner's Mind View of God's Word". I am humbled that I was recruited to do this job, and eternally grateful for the wealth of truth that I am picking up along the way.

Many thanks to my husband and kids, who know all too well how much this new occupation pays. It should, however, make for a nice example of delayed gratification.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32