Easter 2018

Man, do I ever know  the joy and relief of experiencing God’s forgiveness. Do you?

   I do! I do!  I do!   For me it is only because of what Jesus or John said [some Bibles have Jesus’ words in red and others in black]—even 1 red letter edition that I picked up, has these words in black from John 3:18 (no mater, it’s all God’s Word): “Whoever believes in him [in Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”  At High School I often tried to protect myself from my fears by putting my faith in something I was doing or in something I had: good deeds, skill or intelligence though I didn’t have much of the latter or former for that matter, money or possessions which I didn’t have too much of, but what I had I’m afraid I cherished too much.  But only God could save me from the 1 thing that I really needed to fear—eternal condemnation.  Anyone can believe in God by recognizing he insufficiency of his own efforts to find salvation (as I did) and by asking God to do His work in him.  That’s what I did when I went to hear the late Billy Graham preach at ASU’s Sun Devil stadium between my sophomore and juniors years at SHS, 1964.  Btw, in John 3:18 when Jesus (in red letters in some Bibles) talks about unbelievers, he means those who reject him completely, not those who have momentary doubts, like what I had for a year or so after I trusted him alone for my salvation.  I hope you do, too, i.e. trust him for your salvation and not your own efforts, skills, intelligence, etc.  So many people tell me they are trusting their good deeds to others and not intentionally doing them harm to gain entrance into the Pearly Gates, but as a couple of you told me, “No, Jack, I am not saved in the way you mean.”  I hope you do get saved now.  This may be my last message to you as “we live for 70 years or so, with luck we might make it to 80.”   Psalm 90:10 says,

International Standard Version

“We live for 70 years, or 80 years if we're healthy.” I just turned 70, so from now on I’m living on borrowed time!  And so are you if you’re still with us.  Call out to God while you still can. "Turn to the Lord before it’s too late. Call out to him while he’s still ready to help you."

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Isaiah%2055:6>

Sincerely,

Jack

P.S. Please view the following and click on the cartoon (or animated figure of a man) http://gregstier.dare2share.org/are-you-100-sure-you-are-going-to-heaven-when-you-die