Be Inspired......Nick Vujicic (life without limbs)

Questions to ponder

WHAT IF THERE IS LIFE AFTER YOUR (PHYSICAL) DEATH? THINK

LET'S SAY, YOU DIE TONIGHT. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU WILL GO? THINK

WHAT IF ALL YOU BELIEVED ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL, THAT THERE IS NO HEAVEN AND THERE IS NO HELL IS NOTHING BUT A LIE, AND THERE IS INDEED A HEAVEN AND THERE IS INDEED A HELL? THINK

WHAT IF THERE IS A GOD AND YOU WILL INDEED BE JUDGED FOR THE WAY YOU LIVED HERE ON EARTH? THINK

Serious questions to ponder.

Two soul trains into eternity. No baggage allowed.

The other day I was praying and while praying, and talking to God, I felt this strange connection, a very strong one at that, to the truth that Solomon so emphatically stated in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity". I felt as if the whole weight of this truth was suddenly pressed down upon me. In a moment, all of life appeared to be so vain and without meaning and purpose. (That is, without God in a person's life. But, I will come to that later.) No, these thoughts didn't depress me. They rather made me more aware of and alive to the futility of living in this world as if this world is the be all and end all of life. Life goes beyond the grave. The conscious being, the soul continues to live for ever. In light of this eternality of existence, what is life in this world, but truly a vapour. I just thought to myself, "What if I got everything I ever wanted? All the money, position and power? Ultimately on my death bed, whenever I die, be it today or a 100 years from now, I will be just like everyone else, a traveller in soul, boarding the flight of eternity without any check-in or carry on baggage." The station of death has only two trains to board, one taking a person into an eternity of indescribable and unending bliss, joy, peace and glory, while the other takes a person into an eternity of indescribable and unending pain, horror, restlessness and torment.
THINK reader, whoever you may be. Please think carefully. Fast forward your thoughts to the day you die. For you will die. Like someone said, the last I read, the death rate was still 100%. While this may sound funny to some and not so funny to others, it doesn't take away the truthfulness of the statement one bit. For we all will die one day. Shooing away thoughts about death always is not good, for sometimes thoughts about one's own mortality will wake up a person to what's important and what's not in the big scheme of things.
On the day you die, it does not matter how much money and wealth you have accumulated in your short stay here on this earth, neither does how high a position you have attained to in life nor how much power and authority you have acquired. While you may make arrangements for your family for their stay here on this earth after you are gone, have you thought about making arrangements for yourself for your stay in eternity? Do you even know where you are going?
Suppose you die this day, do you know where you are going? For sure, you don't go into nothingness, only your spirit leaves your physical body, but immediately boards one of the two trains I mentioned earlier. But the choice of which train you will board is something that you have to decide in this body, in the here and now. The bible says, "It is appointed unto man to die once and after that the judgement".
Decide today which train you will board. I hope you will board the first one. Why wouldn't you? But, if you want to learn about HOW to board that train, for there is only one ticket, you may read this short article "Your soul is precious" on my website http://www.asutosh.net

The righteousness of Christ

This is not my own article. But, I found it on the web. The complete article can be found here.

http://www.grebeweb.com/linden/imputed_righteousness.html

But, I've here included a snapshot which very neatly captures the essence of the doctrine of salvation.

1. Justification is an act of God, not a work in progress. However, God’s act of justification always results in His work of sanctification.

2. In justification, God declares the sinner righteous; in this forensic doctrine, God does not make the sinner righteous, but gives him first a standing with Himself. The basis of this declaration is Christ’s obedience, not the progress the Christian is making in holiness.

3. God pardons the sinner in a decree so absolute it has the finality of the final judgment. This decree of God is certain and irrevocable.

4. The basis of our pardon is the atoning blood of Christ alone.

5. The means to justification is faith. "Faith alone" means there is no consideration of our works whatsoever in God’s declaration of righteousness. It does not mean that faith can be devoid of good works, because real faith always results in obedience to God.

6. The principle of grace excludes all participation and cooperation by the believer in the bestowal of a gift. All sense of merit or contribution by sinners toward the decree of "righteous" is excluded. Such contribution would destroy the nature of a gift.

7. Since our pardon is based only on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, all penance and atoning activity by sinners is contrary to this basis. Scripture says, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:21

8. The faith by which we are saved is by nature one that embraces Christ for cleansing, not a false faith that seeks to have the benefit of a pardon, so that indulgence in sin may be perpetuated.