Please forgive me

Today was a nice change. I was able to do more talking than passing out tracts. Not too bad at all. I thought that most of the Jehovah’s Witnesses had left the downtown area, but I actually saw a handful this morning, so I guess it’s time to make a few extra trips to talk to these folks. I met a young man today named Dominique who was out this morning. He was very willing to talk and we had a great conversation. I was able to present Law and Grace to him. I handed him a few gospel tracts but he told me that he wasn’t a big reader so I’m going to burn a couple of CD’s for him to listen to. Hopefully he’ll take a listen to them. I was thinking about Hell’s Best Kept Secret, True and False Conversation, and some sermon jams for him.

I was also able to speak with Trevor for a few minutes today. Trevor was a professing Christian, who had not lied, or stolen before. That’s pretty impressive indeed! He told me that he did not like the labeling of being a “born again Christian”. I told him that in John 3:3 Jesus says that no man can see the kingdom of Heaven unless he is born again. I also asked him to think about his life and to make sure there was a time that he repented and trusted in Christ alone for his salvation. I truly appreciated his time today.

Just a few feet away from Trevor stood a gentleman by the name of Mark. We started talking. Mark told me that his mother died last night in the hospital. It was very sad but he seemed ok for talking to a complete stranger. He reminded me of something wonderful.

He asked me if my mother was my best friend. I told him, “She has stood by me when no one else would. She is better than any type of friend I could ask for.”

“That’s right!” he said. “Don’t forget that.” Now that my grandparents have died I reflect quite a bit about my own mortality but not too much of my mother’s. It seems that I believe she will live forever or something. But with everyday that I get older, so does she, so do we all. I have so many wonderful memories of her taking care of me as a young child, a young adult, and even now she provides care and love for me in a way that only a mother can. Pray for your mother, respect you mother, and make sure you prove your love to her. She deserves it. My prayer is that now until my life is over or my mother’s that she will know that she is loved and will be taken care of. My prayer is for my wife, who is a wonderful mother too, that our child will cherish her, respect her, and love her as well. How blessed I am to have two wonderful mothers in my life!

A second thought that I had this morning was this. Every single person I talked to this morning told me that all you have to do is ask God to forgive you and he will. In America we have watered down the Gospel so much that people don’t understand law and justice. Would a good judge forgive you just because you asked him to? No way! You will be held accountable for breaking the law...

Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

So many people will fall into this category. Most people I talk to believe that if they just ask God to forgive then He will. It doesn’t matter to them about God’s holiness, His goodness, or even His wrath. People may want God to forgive them but they do not want Him to be their Lord. They want to have their sins forgiven to silence their conscience, but they want to remain in their sins by fulfilling the desires of the flesh. You cannot have it both ways. If Jesus is your Savior He must also be your Lord.

The vast majority of people may believe God exists and they casually live their lives feasting on God’s grace and His mercy without one thought of what he expects from us. But one day when we close our eyes for the last time, we will see Him as He is…in all His greatness and glory. Then it will be too late. The books will be opened and justice will be served. But it is not too late now. God asks you to forsake your sins (repent) and to trust only in the Savior that He has provided to save you. Nothing you or I do can save us from God’s justice, only Jesus can do that.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”