The Unquestionable Question...Awaiting Your Definitive Answer!

This post is a reprint from several years ago; however, in dealing with the passing of kinfolk of some of my close friends, I realized once again how truly IMPORTANT it is to answer the question that follows. For my friends, many of them could not say how their loved ones answered the question....WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?

Today's post has a little bit of a twist to it...because I hope it makes you take time to focus on this question...WHERE WILL I SPEND ETERNITY? It is a question that has been asked of everyone who has ever been born and it is one you can only ignore for so long. Why? Because to ignore this question and not come to the correct answer will commit your eternity to a place you will never want to be; spent with people you never want to know; doing things you never thought you would; for a time that has no measure and has no end. In my mind, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION YOU WILL EVER BE ASKED...AND IT DEMANDS AN ANSWER ASAP!!! PLEASE READ ON.... 

It seems that a couple, enduring another harsh and bitter-cold winter in Minnesota had decided to take a trip down South to warm themselves on the sandy beaches in Key West. Unfortunately, the wife had a few things that needed her personal attention at work, so the husband flew down a day early to make preparations for her arrival.

Upon arriving at his hotel, he hurriedly unpacked his bags and was ready to make a mad dash to the beach, when he decided to send off a quick email to his wife. It was in that rush that he mistakenly transposed two letters in his wife's email address...and hitting SEND, off it went!

It seems that at about the same time, a wife who had been married to her minister husband for over 45 years, had just returned from his funeral. She was so distraught and sorrowful from losing him in such a sudden fashion that her grief was overwhelming. At that moment, she noticed the light flickering on her computer, meaning she had mail. Hoping that the incoming mail might be messages of hope and encouragement to soothe her shattered spirit, she opened the first email. And without bothering to look at the address of the sender, she read the message.....AND THEN FAINTED!

The daughter, who was in the next room, heard the THUD and rushed in to find her mother, passed out on the floor. After reviving her, she read the message, which said,

My Darling Wife....I'm sure you are surprised to hear from me. I've just arrived and checked in, and wanted to send you a quick note saying I can't wait until you get here. The staff has everything ready for your arrival tomorrow and I am so excited we will be together. If everything goes as planned, you should get here as quickly as I did!

PS: It sure is hot down here; but I know you're gonna love it!!!!

I hope this little story makes you laugh...or at least, tickles your funny bone...But more than that, I hope it reminds you that the question that looms over every human EVER BORN is one that must be answered before your last breath. After that moment, your eternity is sealed and your destination confirmed....HEAVEN OR HELL....THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS...For me, I have chosen Heaven and Jesus is my GUIDE! My prayer today...that you have or will make the same choice. If you need to know more about my Jesus, I am ALWAYS READY TO TALK!!!!

Answered the Question...Waiting to be taken HOME!

WPQ

Poem for the day....

Life can be a rollercoaster, 

One day your up, then down...

One day a grin adorns your face.

The next day, what a frown!

But if you want to live a life;

A life where all seems well....

Then best you answer right away;

Choose HEAVEN or choose HELL?

For this question comes for everyone;

There's no where you can run....

To escape the judgement of a Holy God 

Or the forgiveness through His Son.

So choose this day whom you will serve;

Before your last breath comes your way....

If you choose Jesus as the ONLY one

Your Heaven begins...TODAY!!!!

WPQ  March 2023

Seek The Lord....Before It's Too Late!

If you're like me (advancing in age), then perhaps, from time to time, you take a quick look back  to your childhood days and reminiscence about those "good old days" of playing with friends until dark; racing your buddies on your bicycles; or playing catch with a friend before a big game.

I did that last night as I began to think about playing one of my favorite summertime games...HIDE AND SEEK! We had a big yard and so did both of our neighbors on either side. So the large group of neighborhood kids would gather at my house, usually around 7:30 or so, and get geared up to play the game. We would go through a myriad of ways to determine who would be the first seeker, lay down the rules that we could only be in one of the three yards, and then the game would begin. The one that was the seeker shut their eyes, counted out loud to TEN and then yelled, READY OR NOT, HERE I COME! Now I was not only a great hider, but I was extremely fast; so I would often hide nearby home base and wait for others to make their mad dash to freedom; then, when it was down to me and maybe one other kid, I would make my move and head for home...both literally and figuratively...since the patio on the front of our house was always Home Base.

Which got me to thinking of a verse from my childhood that came from the prophet Isaiah, which says, "6  So you should look for the Lord before it is too late; you should call to him while he is near. ⁷The wicked should stop doing wrong, and they should stop their evil thoughts. They should return to the Lord so he may have mercy on them. They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them." " Isaiah 55:6-7  New Century Version

I quote this verse because too often I have known (and been one myself) a believer that is searching or seeking God in the midst of a horrible life experience. We look around, searching to see some presence of God in this situation, and it seems HE IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!!! So we begin to try and handle our "misfortune" on our own, failing miserably time after time...still crying out, "GOD WHERE ARE YOU? WHY HAVE YOU NOT ANSWERED MY PRAYERS? We go to others for their advice and we seek counsel on why God is not nearby and helping us through these trying times? First, let me say, GOD DOES NOT FORSAKE HIS OWN....IT IS YOU AND I THAT HAVE FORSAKEN HIM! Scripture tells us in 1 Peter 1:16  International Standard Version

¹⁶ For it is written, “You must be holy, because I am holy.

For when we stop being holy and sin is once again prevalent in our lives, it is then that we have lost the listening ear of God. With unforgiven sin in our life, God's presence and present help is being blocked....and our connection with God's Holy Spirit is restricted in His ability to do His will and have His way in our lives. It is spelled out for us in the seventh verse of Isaiah 55...STOP DOING WRONG(sin)AND HAVING (and acting on) OUR EVIL THOUGHTS. RETURN TO THE LORD(ask for His mercy) and ACCEPT HIS BOUNDLESS FORGIVENESS(be made holy once more)!

Scripture admonishes us to "Look for the Lord BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!"  So just like in the game of Hide and Seek, the last one caught is now the one who must seek those that hide....and if you are really good at hiding, then you can yell as we did as kids, ALAY, ALAY, ALAY...HOME FREE!

Don't let the problems of life get the best of you. Confess any sin in your life, pray that the Father will intervene with His power, mercy and grace and then you will always know that when you seek the Lord while He is near....HE WILL BE FOUND...WORKING ALL THINGS OUT FOR YOUR GOOD AND HIS GLORY!!!!

My sins aren't hidden...they are FORGIVEN,

WPQ

 

 

Poem for the day....

When I close my eyes at night,
I lift this simple prayer...
Hold me close to you, my Lord
And always keep me there!
 
Never let me lose touch with you;
Never let sin cloud my eyes.
May I walk life's path with you, dear Lord
And never run away or seek to hide.
 
Never hold tight to my evil thoughts
Or let sin break us apart;
Keep me close to you, dear Lord
As the Ruler of my heart.
 
May others see Jesus when I am near
Ready to lend a helping hand...
May I be strong when the Devil attacks;
Ready, willing and able to stand.
 
So that on that day, when at last we meet
And I look into your wondrous face...
May the life I lived be my gift to you,
As you welcome me in warm embrace.
 
 
WPQ © Feb 2025

WHEN CHAOS COMES A KNOCKIN'...

When we open God's Word and study the life of Jesus, we find many occasions when He turns chaos into calmness. The first example that comes to mind is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 2 that reads:  

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.  ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

The Jewish wedding feast was the climatic end to the Jewish wedding, which often went on for several days. To run out of wine would be seen as a terrible omen and the groom and his family would be shamed for such an incident. But in the middle of the chaos that surrounded this wedding party, Jesus stepped in and turned the chaotic situation into a calm matter of saving the last wine as the best wine.

There are many more examples I could sight of Jesus taking a chaotic situation and bringing about a calm outcome that set hearts and minds at ease....from feeding the five thousand and having twelve baskets of leftovers(now that's really stretching a meal) to what I think is the best example of Jesus ability to bring about calm in the midst of chaos found in Mark 4:35-41 which reads:

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

So how do you view Jesus as one who brings about calmness when you are standing in the midst of a chaotic situation? I think the Psalmist hit the nail on the head when he wrote in Psalms 46:1, NET

God is our strong refuge; He is truly our helper in times of trouble.

So when chaos stands ready to disrupt and break your lines of communication with the Father...JESUS STANDS AT THE READY AS YOUR REFUGE! He has proven himself to be our present helper in chaotic times and to bring us a sense of calm repose as we lean into Him and trust His outcome. OUR GOD IS A GOD OF ORDER...NOT CHAOS! AND ALL WE NEED DO TO SEE THAT IS TO JUST TAKE A LOOK AROUND AT OUR WORLD...THE SUN RISES EACH DAY AND SETS EACH EVENING; THE MOON SHINES WITHOUT ANY POWER OF ITS OWN; AND WE ARE HIS CHILDREN, AND HE IS OUR STRONG TOWER...OUR GREATEST HELP WHEN CHAOS SEEKS TO DESTROY US.

So next time chaos comes knocking at your door, don't run and hide, rather...RUN TO THE FATHER AND HE WILL BRING CALMNESS TO YOUR SPIRIT AND OVERCOME THE CHAOS THAT WOULD ENSUE....FOR HE HAS PROMISED THAT HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU, NEVER FORSAKE YOU AND ALWAYS KEEP YOU SHELTERED UNDER HIS MIGHTY WINGS....

SO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND LET HIS CALM FILL YOUR BODY, MIND AND SOUL....AND KNOW THIS; THE MORE YOU TRUST IN HIM, THE EASIER IT WILL BECOME TO REMAIN CALM...WHEN CHAOS COMES A KNOCKIN'.

Seeking the CALM... Only Christ can Give,

WPQ

Fretful Days...Yet Eternity Waits!

I don't know about you, but we seem to be living in what I would call, "fretful days." So, what do I mean with such a statement? Well, let's unpack the word, fretful, and see if we can begin to understand what the Bible has to say about being...FRETFUL? 

First off, In the Bible, "fretful" means to be worried, anxious, or irritated. It can also mean to be distressed or burned. The word "fret" comes from the Hebrew word charah, which can mean to burn or be angered.  It is the root word which charred comes from. And that seems to be a prevalent displayed emotion that we see occurring in almost every area of our lives these days. If you happen to watch the evening news on any channel, the images are filled with angry people, shouting down their "opposition," all the while demanding that their viewpoints and the things they want are all that matters....therefore, they should have their demands met and to Hell with others who disagree...and thus the rise in fretfulness in our society. But God's Word tells us in  Psalm 37:1: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!"  and in Psalm 37:8: "Fret not thyself; it tends only to evil" 

And this is where the roaring lion known as Satan gains his foothold on both believers and unbelievers. He is constantly roaming the earth, seeking whom he may devour with his lies and his schemes to deceive. He is constantly at odds with us if we are believers as we seek to live our lives for Christ in these fretful days; days when our country and our way of life as a free and God-fearing nation hangs ever so precariously on the brink of extinction.

So what are we to do? The answer to that question is found in 1 Peter 5:8-9, which reads: Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are.

So how do we resist the devil and remain strong in our faith? Here are some stepping stones that may keep us on the pathway of living for Jesus, strong and steadfast in our faith...and without the fretful mindset that has beset our world, and especially our country.

In the Bible, fretting is often seen as a lack of trust in God. The Bible encourages believers to trust in God instead of fretting. Fretting is a lot like a cancerous tumor....it starts out small and then,  in no time at all, it has consumed the host and spread its poisonous venom throughout the entire body...so how do we avoid fretting and being weak in our faith as we trust that God is truly in control?

Some ways to avoid fretting include: 

·        Be still and trust in God....HE ALREADY KNOWS THE OUTCOME!

·        Waiting on God...when He moves, YOU MOVE WITH HIM!

·        Displaying patience  in His plans....DON'T RUN AHEAD OF HIM!

·        Trusting God to control the situation....HE IS SOVEREIGN, YOU ARE NOT!

·        Trusting God with the outcome...HIS PLANS ARE ALWAYS PERFECT!

·        Praying fervently...NOT FRETFULLY!

·        Leaving the fretting behind...STANDING STEADFAST IN YOUR FAITH!!!

So, don't spend another day, or even a second of that day, fretting over the things that the devil and his demons send your way. YOUR GOD IS READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO THWART ANY PLAN OR SCHEME OF THE DECEIVER WITH POWER FROM ABOVE...AND GOD'S JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO CALL ON HIM AND HE WILL ANSWER WITH HIS MIGHTY POWER,,,THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CLAIM HIS PROMISE...

 

IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN STAND AGAINST US?

 

Standing firm....fretting not,

WPQ

 

 

Poem for the day....

Troubles are the devil's work
As he seeks to spread his lies...
Telling those who would believe,
God never hears their cries.
 
For if our God was truly on our side,
Why do bad things come our way?
The fretful things that rob us of joy,
Seem to happen to us each day.
 
But when we put our faith in God,
He helps us defeat the deceiver...
Making us a steadfast warrior
And a consummate believer.
  
So don't give in, don't you fret;
The best is yet to come....
For one day soon, Jesus will return;
And we'll be going home!
 
WPQ © February 2025