Lyle's Blog

Psalms 115:17-18   The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.  Psalms 116:1-9  I love the Lord because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.  Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.  The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.  Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous yea, our God is merciful.  The Lord preserveth the simple:  I was brought low, and He helped me.  Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.  For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling  I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Hell is a subject of controversy and much of the Christian community puts it on the back shelf. because it’s too hard to deal with. There are people who say a “good” God wouldn’t send anyone to a place like that while others are of the opinion that just about everyone is going there except themselves.  Someone has got to be going to heaven you know.

I’m not going to get into the issue of whether there is a hell or not; if you read and believe the Bible then it becomes difficult to ignore what it says.  Those who don’t repent of sin will perish in an everlasting fire.  It’s an ugly, unthinkable thought.  Is this hideous eternal punishment necessary?  Couldn’t there have been another way?  I’m going to make the argument that, no, there wasn’t another way.  So, hold onto your hats and enjoy this little ride through the mystery of hell.

The law was given through the Jewish nation of Israel.  That’s how we learn how God deals with men while they live on earth.  They/we were given the ten commandments.  Though shall not do this and though shall not do that, pretty straightforward.

Jesus Christ further defined sin like adultery as an act that takes place in the mind (Matthew 5:28).  And the same applies to the rest of the law.  That’s why we are to develop the mind of Christ.  We are to be holy as Christ is holy, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Chor. 10:5).   We are responsible for our thoughts.

So if thinking about these things is a sin, then how do you rid the universe of sin?  Prevent people from thinking.  In hell the only thought is remorse.  In hell there is nothing to be desired, no future, no ambition; everyone is humbled.

The only way to stop sin is to stop man from thinking evil thoughts.  Hell stops the thoughts of man forever.

There is so much in the Bible that edifies our lives it’s almost impossible to pick a favorite verse.  Although I’m picking one here, it just says a lot to me.  It’s short and to the point..

It’s John 11:35  Jesus wept.  In those two words, we learn what God was like.  God had a Son.  The Son and the Father were one.  Jesus had left the riches of glory and became a man.  In the form of a humble man, Jesus could see and feel in a fleshly way the hopelessness of lost men.  He wept.

It’s anguishing to see people in the process of perishing.  He knew the justice of His Father.  The penalty for sin had to be paid.  He was the one chosen to make the payment.  It was planned at the beginning of creation.  It’s one thing to plan it; it’s another thing to feel it.  Living on earth, Jesus became acquainted with the grief of man.  Before Christ died He asked His Father “why have you forsaken me?”  It had never happened before.  He’d always had fellowship with the Father but not on the cross.  Now, He was just a man.

On the cross, Jesus suffered the rejection of men.  The beating, scourging, mocking, all of it was done by men.  Crucifixion was an extremely cruel way to die, but many others suffered that same fate.  The wrath of man is a fearful thing.  But Hebrews 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Further Mathew 10:28 tells us not to fear those that kill the body but to fear God who can kill both body and soul in hell.

Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.  It was fearful for Christ to fall into the hands of His Father.  That was the unthinkable suffering of Jesus Christ.

Jesus will not be happy with those who reject His payment for sin; there will be hell to pay.  He’s not crying anymore.

Everything is changing.  Nothing unusual there except the rapidity of change itself.  We had a century of great change, then a decade, and now daily we question what is worth holding fast to.  We are ships floating on a sea of change with only questions being our rudder.  The past is being discounted, discontinued, and disdained.

Our founding fathers of this country gave us the right to pursue happiness.  It didn’t mean that we would all achieve it, but we could go after it.  Our constitution has been derided as some relick from the past and not for the treasure it is.  It gave men the freedom to say what they wanted, own their own property, and worship the God who created this world.  Freedom was a new concept that now many deem dangerous.  Like everything else, freedom has been relegated to the ash heap of history.

So today our world is in flux and the current wisdom is quicksand.  We’re assured by the elite that they have the answers to everything.  Just like the real God, they will save us.  They forget that we are all men, we are all sinners and in need of a savior with the eternal power to do so.

The young are dazzled by the low hanging fruit of technology.  So much artificial intelligence is available to everyone, that the masses now assume they know everything.  Yes, they are smarter, better people than those of us of elder years.  Common sense is no longer necessary; after all, it’s common, not special, not supported by Google.

In the quest for tolerance and equality, love, understanding, and trust have been left behind.  Marriage is just a temporary nuisance.  In sickness and in health, richer or poorer, till death do you part, is anathema to most people.  The whole institution of marriage has become mockable and further degraded by the pillaging of the gay community.  We are teaching our young that parents are undependable, the state is far more trustworthy and those who make a vow are fools.  And what of love?  The new normal says it is purely conditional.  If you say and believe the right things, you’re accepted.  It has always been that way but when a society tears away its foundation the structures built on it develope cracks and becomes uninhabitable.

Such is where we are.  In reality, it’s where we always are.  Our world now is on information overload and simple truth is getting harder to grasp.  It’s up to us individually to stand for what is right.  If we do, people will be drawn to us because there is no love in the heart of the statist, only condemnation; and that’s not very attractive.  It’s love that covers a multitude of sins.