Yesterday, the police were at a house a few doors from us. Someone had overdosed and died. Cancer (for quite a few years), too many drugs, alcohol, divorce and home foreclosure - all at one time!!! It was just too much for this person to continue living. I knew of the problems and had spoken with the person several times. I had even given him a copy of the Easy Read Bible that you see displayed on this blog. I guess he just didn't take in enough of the word to deal with all his problems. Unlike prescriptions, you can not take an overdose of the Bible. Even if you take a diluted version (like those paraphrased ones), it will still do you good. That same day, while I was viewing facebook, a former classmate of mine, Walter Vogt, posted the link "falling plates" and I liked it so much that I wanted to share it with you. After you view it (by clicking on "falling plates" above), take a few minutes and read the following passages from the book of Romans, listed below...
Romans, Chapter 5
1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering works perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: 5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans, Chapter 6
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him; 9 knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no more has dominion over him! 10 For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. 11 Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be! 16 Don’t you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered. 18 Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification. 20 For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God died for us, we obey him with our will, our compliance with his Gospel and our ongoing decision to lead a life that he would have us to live. There are probably a thousand (maybe even more than that) ways to say it, hundreds of Bibles to read it and untold videos to see. Right now, the how is not so important and the will. Will you listen, will you change, will you obey and will you continue in HIS WILL??? I wish you all would, but I know some will not - no matter what!!! Please, before its too late - before they carry you out of YOUR HOUSE with no life left in you - Please, just think about it, OK???? Right now, it might be a good thing to just click on the video one more time, its that good!!!! Will you????