You
Don't Need to Be Left Behind – Get Ready!!
In a recent poll on leftbehind.com, they asked
the question "Are you ready for Jesus to return?" Website polls are
not statistically valid surveys, but they can be illuminating. Here's how the
responses broke down:
Are you ready for Jesus to return?
• I'm anxiously expecting his return = 3812
• I hope he comes during my lifetime, but not yet = 2023
• I need to get ready = 565
• I'm afraid I'll be Left Behind = 639
• I know I'll be left behind, but I don't know what to do = 193
More than 50 percent of
respondents said "I'm anxiously expecting his return." Nearly 3 in 10
either had unfinished business or didn't want to end their earthly good times
just yet when they said "I hope he comes in my lifetime, but not
yet." Under 2 in 10 said either "I need to
get ready" or "I'm afraid I'll be left behind." Another small
group, about 3 in 100, said "I know I'll be left behind, but I don't know
what to do."
What you need to know
Did you know the Bible is
full of prophecies that have already come true? When Jesus Christ was born in
They will be brutally killed by the sword or sent
away as captives to all the nations of the world. And
As incredible as the
Rapture, the Antichrist, the Tribulation, the mark of the beast, and the
Millennium sound, they really are going to happen because the Bible says they
will! Skeptics will scoff, "No way! How could anybody possibly believe
that?! Nobody can prove anything in the Bible is really going to happen."
But that's not true. Just as previous prophecies have all been fulfilled, all
future prophecies will be fulfilled as well—every single one of them.
Then when those things do
happen, just as predicted, the scoffers will whine, "It isn't fair."
They'll say they couldn't believe because it was too weird. They'll think they
should have had another chance and that the consequences of their choice should
be overlooked. But they'll find out, all too late, they've made the biggest
mistake imaginable, and will perish as a result.
But you can be saved! God doesn't want
anyone to miss out on being a part of his kingdom. He loves you, and he's been
waiting for you to accept his love, to accept his Son, Jesus Christ.
Why is God going to do
all these things? Why can't the world just remain as it is? Why is Jesus so important—isn't believing in God enough? Why do
people need a Savior? Can't everyone just try to be good?
God is good and loves us, right?
The Bible says God is
good, but we don't usually think about what that really means. To be truly good
like God is something way beyond human experience. God never does anything
wrong and always does the right thing. He is always loving, fair, honest, and
pure. He knows everything, and he's more powerful than anything else or anyone
who ever has or ever will live. This is because God created everything.
So why is God going to do
all these things, and why can't things just keep on
being as they are? The answer is because God loves his creation, but Satan
wants to destroy it. Before Satan became jealous of God he was an incredibly
beautiful and important angel. But one day Satan decided he should be worshiped
just as God was worshiped—so he betrayed God and became separated from him. He
allowed himself to become bitter and resentful. He began to hate God and
everything God created.
Satan gets pleasure from
hurting God, from hurting humans, and from destroying the beauty of the earth
God created for his creatures. Satan decided to destroy human beings because
they were created by God. He lied to Adam and Eve and tempted them to disobey
God. Satan knew if human beings betrayed God by disobeying him, it would
separate them from God, who loved them.
What happens when we betray God?
In the Bible we learn
that everyone has become God's enemy by betraying his loving friendship.
For all have sinned; all fall short of God's
glorious standards (Romans
It started in the Garden
of Eden with Adam and Eve. God created man and woman, placed them into a
paradise he created, and befriended them. They walked in the garden together
and visited with God. But when the man and the woman disobeyed God, they became
God's enemy.
The very idea of
rejecting God and listening to the Devil is a huge betrayal. That is bad news.
Ultimately, God's enemies are separated from him forever, and this separation
is called hell. Hell is a place forever separated from God's love where the
suffering of his enemies is an unending torment.
As human beings we
rejected God's laws and have chosen to follow our own desires, believing the
lies of Satan rather than the truth we received from God. This betrayal
separated us from God, and that is called sin.
Telling lies, cheating,
abusing a child, stealing, gossiping, being intimate with someone else's
husband or wife, or killing someone, to mention just a few sins that make it
completely impossible for a person to have a friendship with God unless they
receive his forgiveness. God has already told us what is sinful and what is not. (See Exodus 20.) God cannot and will not ignore when someone
does evil—and make no mistake, doing such things is evil. If God just
overlooked it, how could that ever be fair to the one who was lied to, cheated,
abused, robbed, gossiped about, who lost his or her mate, or who was murdered?
Some people may think it isn't God's business if they want to sleep with their
girlfriend or boyfriend, but it's wrong whether they agree with God or not.
One day God will heal
everything, and suffering will be no more, but first God wants to unify himself
with as many people as are willing to have friendship with him.
God offered us friendship with him through Jesus Christ
God placed a knowledge of right from wrong in everyone's mind. That
sense you have when you say or do something wrong is your conscience telling
you that you have disobeyed God. But what you do with your mistakes is even
more important than what you've done wrong. If you hide and deny your mistakes,
they won't be forgiven you. But if you acknowledge them and ask God for
forgiveness, you will receive it.
The Good News is that
Jesus Christ was born, lived a perfect life, and died on the Cross to make it
possible for everyone—including you—to have friendship with God. This is why
God the Father sent his only Son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus said repeatedly
that no one can have a relationship with God unless they first leave behind
their old ways and follow him. He is the only way.
Jesus Christ, God's only
Son, is both God and man at the same time. Mary was his mother and God was his
father. This is a deep mystery, but it is nevertheless true. Because of this,
the suffering and death of Jesus were enough to pay the debt of anyone's
sin—whatever is needed to make up for everything you've ever said or done
wrong. God is so holy that only the death of Jesus, his own perfect Son, could
make things right. So great is the power of this enormous act of divine love
that no sin is greater than the capacity of this loving gift to cover it. God's
very own Son personally invites us to receive forgiveness for our sins and
become a part of God's eternal kingdom.
For God so loved the
world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him will
not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)
What you need to do
Each of us must humbly
and completely admit our mistakes. Because of our pride, this is extremely
difficult but absolutely essential (see 1 John 1:8-9). The apostle Paul said
this offer of repentance and the message of the Cross, seems foolish to those
who are on the road to destruction, but those who are being saved recognize
this message as the very power of God.
Confess that you are responsible
for your sinful choices. You must ask God yourself to save you from the
consequences of your disobedience. You must sincerely want to be in a right
relationship with him. You must also be in a right relationship with him. You
must also want to live a life of obedience from here on out. That is impossible
to do without his help, and he knows this. He never meant for you to try and
live a good life without his loving support and friendship. Quietly talk to
him, and he will hear you. This is called prayer. If you receive God's gift of
Jesus Christ through prayer, God will rejoice just as the father of the
prodigal son did. He was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now
he is found! If you're not sure how to get started, try something like this:
Dear Heavenly Father, I
believe that you sent your Son to save me and that Jesus willingly died on the
cross for me and that you raised Him up again.
I ask for forgiveness of the things I've done wrong, they condemn me.
I've ignored you. I've been selfish and dishonest and so much more. I'm truly sorry for all of these things. Thank you for your forgiveness. I now denounce all of Satan’s works.
According to your
promise, I ask you to come into my life, Lord Jesus; and teach me to always
obey you from now on. Thank you, Father. I ask these things in Jesus’ name.
Welcome to the Kingdom!
You have just become a
new creation!
What this means is that those who become
Christians become new creations (new persons). They are not the same anymore,
for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
