To Encourage You

Jeremiah 6:9 “Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people . . . because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.”

So, are you worried about something right now?  Is something eating at you?  Something coming in the next hour, day, week, month or year that you are dreading?  Are you in some circumstance in which you don’t really know what to do?  You’re just not sure?  Unfortunately, I’m afraid you are in the minority if your answer is “no” to all these questions.  So, if you are worried, should you be?  

Well, if you are not a Christian, the answer, unfortunately, should be “Yes!”  Even if you are not worried about anything at the moment, you should be. Perhaps your life is wonderful.  You have a wonderful spouse, good kids, a nice house, plenty of money, and a good job. Maybe you’re retired and you’ve wisely saved enough money to really enjoy these days.  For you, perhaps “Every day is a holiday” and “Life is good.”  However, if you are an unbeliever, Jeremiah 6:9 above applies directly to you, as do the many other dire warnings of the Bible that have been given to us for our eternal good.  If you never repent and if you continue on the path you are on, someday – and it could come at any moment, for you have absolutely no control over it – you will face the wrath of God.  The crushing punishment that God laid on Christ on the cross will be yours, and unlike Him, you will not be able to handle it.  You are headed for a godless, agonizing eternity in Hell forever.  

Think about that word: forever.  It is a sobering and terrifying word when attached to the suffering you are headed for.  You may mock, you may close your ears, you may just go on as you have been until now, but God has warned you that he is bringing disaster and you would be the fool of all fools to disregard His words.  While you may not sense any danger, according to the Bible, you are being warned that the tsunami of God’s wrath is barreling toward you at this very moment.  And when it hits you, it will overwhelm and destroy you as certainly as those who were washed away by the tsunami that we all saw hit Indonesia back in 2004.   

Yet, God has made a way of escape that is available to each and every one of us.  That Way is Jesus, Who clearly stated “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  Disaster is coming; nevertheless “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 

The most important questions you should be concerned about as an unbeliever are “What will I do about these warnings?” and “What will I do with this offer to be saved?”  Make no mistake.  If you choose to accept God’s offer of salvation, it too, will cost you your life, but in a good way.  Jesus died for you, but He is Lord of lords, and He demands total allegiance, for He alone is worthy.  But though it will cost you your life, you will gain life, eternal life, forever.  

So, what is your answer? If you have read Jeremiah 6:9 above, or any other Scriptures that deal with this topic (and there are many) God has warned you. He is reaching out to you and warning you with such words as those He spoke to Israel in Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Anyone who has heard His words and knows what He has said has no excuse if they then turn a deaf ear and go on as if they had not.