Goodbye, 2010...

Over the last few days, the media have been parading a line of celebrities, who are no longer with us. They have shown photos of them in their prime, and then in their old age. Sadly, most of them were hardly recognizable. Now, they have passed into eternity and will stand before Almighty God when He judges the world in righteousness.

What a wonderful Day that will be. That will be the Day that Hitler gets justice--and who, besides neo-Nazis, isn’t going to rejoice about that? That will also be the day when the murderers of the five million victims in the United States, who were never brought to justice, will get what’s coming to them. That’s how many unsolved murders there have been in our country, in the last 50 years.

I couldn’t help but wonder how many of these celebrities knew the Lord. If they were Jew, Gentile, Hindu, Moslem, or Buddhist, black or white, rich or poor, if they repented and put their trust in Jesus Christ, their sins were forgiven and they escaped the deserved damnation of a terrible place the Bible calls Hell.

But those 100 or so celebrities were just the tip of the iceberg of those who died in the past year. If statistics hold true, more than 54 million died in 2010, and 54 million will die in 2011. If my number comes up, I’m ready. Are you?

Here then is the “everlasting gospel” one more time for 2010. I hope you will listen. I would be so delighted to hear that you have given up battling against God, and surrendered to His will:

Each of us will die because we have broken God’s moral Law. Let's see if you have broken the Ten Commandments: Is God first in your life? Have you made a god to suit yourself? Have you ever used God's holy name in vain? Have you kept the Sabbath holy? Have you always honoured your parents implicitly? Have you hated anyone? Then the Bible says you are a murderer. Have you had sex out of marriage? Then you are a fornicator and cannot enter Heaven. Jesus said, "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you ever lusted? Have you ever stolen something (irrespective of its value)? Then you are a thief. If you have told just one lie (even if you call it "white"), you are a liar, and cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Listen to your conscience. The Law leaves us all sinners in God's sight. On Judgment Day we will be found guilty, and end up in Hell forever, but because Jesus paid our fine on the Cross 2,000 years ago, God can forgive us. The Bible says, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Then He rose from the dead, and defeated the power of the grave. If you repent and trust the Savior, God will forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life. Confess your sins to God, put your faith in Jesus Christ, then read the Bible daily and obey what you read.

May God bless you and yours in 2011.

Pic. Leslie Nielsen.