PAIN x4

A while back, I wrote an article about my experience with three different pains over the last several years. I was going to update it because of some new developments in my health situation, but I decided to just write a part two. If you haven’t read the other blog post, I called it Pain x3, so I’m calling this one Pain x4.

In the last post, I discussed 3 major pains I’ve suffered from in the last twenty-four years, with each one accelerating in intensity. Starting with terrible back pain from Deteriorating Disc Disease, to toothache pain, and a kidney stone. In my blog post, I said the stone was the worst pain I had ever felt. But, little did I know that the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life was not from that kidney stone as I thought.

I had never had a kidney stone before, so I really didn’t know what kind of pain they caused. All I knew was that other people were saying they were really painful. After about seven weeks, I passed a small stone, but the pain didn’t get any better. In fact, it was getting worse.

I was going to work every day, and doing my best to do a good job, but I was hurting constantly. Even though I was taking the two pain medications prescribed by my doctor, plus some over-the-counter pain medicine, the pain would never completely subside. In fact, on several different occasions, I was in so much pain I was actually bent over, and couldn’t straighten up completely.

Finally, the night before my next doctor’s appointment, I was in the shower and decided to push in on the knot in my lower abdomen, and it popped back inside. That was it. I was convinced it was a hernia. I had been telling the doctors I thought I had one, but I thought it was higher up, around my belt line. Sometimes it felt like butterflies in my stomach and I could feel, and sometimes hear a gurgling in the right side of my abdomen, and the pain was so bad. Then, I started to feel a knot in my front pelvic area. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes, it wasn’t. When I sat and relaxed it was inside, but when I was walking at work, or when I ate something, it would come out, and it would hurt pretty bad there and also in my stomach and abdomen. My doctor visits were always early mornings, after I had been resting, and hadn’t eaten anything for 12- 15 hours, so that’s why my doctor couldn’t find the problem.

One day, I finally convinced her to send me to the hospital for a CT scan. The diagnosis was an Inguinal Hernia. It was actually a Direct Inguinal Hernia. It was not in the Inguinal Canal, but in the connective tissue in my pelvic area; the white stuff that connects the muscle to the pelvic bone. I had to get it fixed. It was so painful, I could barely function anymore.

My doctor contacted a good surgeon she knew and made me a pre-op appointment. It took a few more weeks to actually get the surgery. By then, the pain was so bad that I was actually looking forward to the surgery, but I had no idea what kind of pain I would have to suffer through after the surgery. If I had, I don’t know what I would have done.

After the surgery, I was in so much pain I could barely function. They gave me some very strong pain medicine, but I was still in misery. Initially, the surgeon had said I should be able to go back to work in a week or so, on light duty. He said, Two weeks at the most. When the week was up, the incision was healing very well and I got the stitches out, but I was still in a lot of pain, I was very weak, and the swelling still had not gone down.

The pain in my abdomen was still there, and I was still getting sick almost every time I ate anything. It was a whole month before I was able to go back to work and I still had to be on light duty. I couldn’t pick up anything over ten pounds the first week, then it gradually increased each week.

I finally got over the surgery, but my stomach was still hurting and I was still getting sick almost every time I would eat anything. The pain would radiate all around my stomach from my abdomen up to my lower chest. It was still almost unbearable at times. I was more convinced than ever that I had a hernia in my right lower abdomen, but the doctor thought it was my gallbladder.

She sent me back to the hospital for an ultrasound, which found multiple stones. By then, I was in so much pain that I didn’t hesitate when she said it needed to come out. Again, the time it took to get the pre-op appointment, and the surgery took forever. It was almost another month.

I think it was two weeks after the gallbladder came out before I could go back to work, but guess what. I still had the same symptoms I had been having. It was going on for about a year and a half at that point, and I was getting worse. Somewhere around this time, I got COVID and was down for a while.

After I recovered from that, I asked my regular doctor to send me back for another scan and focus on the area where I thought the problem was. I was afraid it was colon cancer because my dad had that several years back. She didn’t find anything on the scans, so in my desperation, I made an appointment with the surgeon who had fixed my hernia. This time, I ate breakfast before I went to the appointment so I would be affected when the doctor saw me. He examined me and immediately said, “Yep, it’s a hernia. We need to get some fresh scans to see exactly what’s going on, then we can fix you up.”

Finally, after more than two years, I got some relief. I was back to work in 2 weeks, on light duty, of course, but I was feeling so much better very quickly. Praise the Lord. That was over two years of CRAZY!!!

So, in conclusion, I have suffered severe back pain, terrible pain from a toothache, gallstones, and a kidney stone. I have pain from deteriorating disc disease, a deteriorating hip, and Arthritis. I’ve had two bad car wrecks, and 5 surgeries, but none of those things have given me nearly as much pain as that hernia in the lower right part of my abdomen. That was some kind of pain and I hope, and pray that I never, ever have to suffer that kind of pain again.

I’m so thankful to God for giving me the strength to make it through those two years of terrible pain and frustration, and I’m so thankful for my wife, Linda, and for her prayers and patience, and all she had to do for me. I love her so much. She’s a true blessing from God.

So, whatever you’re going through, whatever you face, and whatever pain you have to suffer, just remember that “God is with you if you’re with him” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Stick with him, love him, praise him, and trust him. Things are not always good, and we will suffer at times, but God has promised to be with us in whatever we go through, and remember that the pain won’t be forever. So have faith, and hope. Never give up. Keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, and for Joy in the Morning.

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SEDUCTION AND REDEMPTION

When I was a young man, I went to a party one night where everyone was drinking, including me. There was an older woman there who was probably twice my age. She kept making passes at me. I tried to let her know I wasn’t interested without hurting her feelings, but she didn’t give up. She actually became more insistent as the night went on. She was so determined that I decided I had to get out of there. Even though I was drunk, and knew I shouldn’t be driving, I got in my car and started home, which was about 25 miles away.

About a mile from the party, there was a 45-degree curve. I remember waking up as the car went off the road in the curve. I remember struggling to get back on the road, and that was the last thing I remembered until I woke up in my own bed the next morning.

God protected me and brought me home when I was not able to do it myself, even when I was in total rebellion against him. I was a poor, wretched, miserable sinner, but God had plans for my life. He has protected me from tragedy many times, and I’m so thankful I didn’t die when I was living a life of sin. I know I would have died that night if God hadn’t protected me.

He protects us many times when we’re not aware of his presence. Contrary to popular belief, he even protects people who are not saved, and who have no intention of living for him. Jesus wants us to accept his free gift of salvation before we die. He loves us, no matter who we are, or what we’ve done. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost, so he gives us every opportunity that he possibly can for us to be saved. He came and lived on earth, and died to free us from sin.

God showed us how much he loves us by sending Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus showed his great love for us by giving his life on the cross. Colossians 1:21 says we’re actually his enemies before we’re born again, but he loves his enemies just as he commands us to love ours (Matthew 5:44). So remember that the next time someone hurts you. Jesus said we are to pray for them and treat them with kindness.

Also remember to never, ever drink and drive. It’s too dangerous. You not only put your own life in danger but the lives of everyone else on the road. It’s best not to drink alcohol at all. We need a clear mind to make good decisions, and the Bible says drunkards will not go to heaven (1 Corinthians 6:10). Read WHAT’S WRONG WITH DRINKING ALCOHOL to see what the Bible says about it.

We all need to commit ourselves to God, accept his free gift of salvation, and be born again. We also need to avoid situations where Satan and his demons can have easier access to us; like parties, nightclubs, and places where drugs or alcohol are present. We can have plenty of fun without all that stuff.

What’s Wrong With Drinking Alcohol?
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2015/07/wine-and-strong-drink-what-does-bible.html

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ANOTHER EMBARRASSING MOMENT

If you follow my blog or read my books, then you know me pretty well because I’ve opened up about a lot of really personal things and even some embarrassing things that have happened to me over the years. This one though is one that you probably wouldn’t expect anyone to share. In fact, I never thought I’d ever share it, outside my family, but today, I decided I would.

I was eight years old, and we were on a school field trip to Tishomingo State Park. We were going mainly to see “The Swinging Bridge” but there was so much more to do there. We had all kinds of fun that day. After we ate lunch, we went on a hike. That was the last activity for the day, then we would get back on the bus and head back to the school.

After we had hiked for a good while, I had a rumbling in my stomach. I knew exactly what that meant, and you probably do, too. Only, you probably don’t know that I was never good at holding it in when it was ready to come out. I knew there was no way I could ever make it back to the bathroom in time, so I fell back to the end of the line as quickly as I could without being noticed. Then, as soon as I saw the last kid go out of sight, I ducked into the bushes to take care of business, but it was too late. I cleaned myself up as well as I could, but I wasn’t sure it was good enough. When there was nothing else I could do, I ran to catch up with the rest of my class.

We finally made it back to the bus and headed back toward the school. I sat by myself and hoped that no one would find out about my accident. I was hoping I could hide it until I got home. As I was thinking about this, I remembered something Jesus said in Matthew 23:25-28.

Matthew 23:25-28 
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but the inside is full of extortion and selfishness.
26 You blind Pharisees. First, clean the inside of the cup and plate so the outside of them will be clean also.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which truly appear beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of dead people’s bones, and every uncleanness.
28 In the same way, you also appear holy to others outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

Just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day, we too may try to hide what’s going on inside of us by our outward appearance. We may put on fancy clothes, fix our hair, or just try to hide what’s inside with a big smile. People may be fooled, but God is not. He knows exactly what’s going on inside of us. He knows just what’s on our minds. He knows what we’ve done and said, and even what we’ve thought. We can’t hide anything from God. So why try?

We may as well be honest and open with God. There’s no need to be any other way with him. When we’re sad, we need to tell him. When we’re angry, we need to tell him. When we’re disappointed we need to tell him. When we sin, we need to go ahead and confess and ask for his forgiveness quickly and get our relationship with him back on track. We need to be as open, and honest with others as we possibly can. We don’t want to be hypocrites. We don’t need to pretend that we’re something we’re not. We don’t need to try and pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. Honesty really is the best policy.

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YOU THINK IT'S IN THE BIBLE BUT IT'S NOT

I’ve always found it frustrating when people miss-quote the Bible, but it's even worse when people “quote the Bible” and what they are quoting isn’t even in the Bible. I've always tried not to be critical when letting them know their quote isn’t there, but I was thinking, “They must not read the Bible much at all.”

The Bible is a big book and I’m sure not many people can quote the entire thing word for word, no matter how often they read it. I know I sure can’t, but I’ve made it a goal of mine to read it every day and study it as often as I can, so I think I know it better than some, but certainly not as well as others.

That being said, something interesting happened to me a few years ago. I was writing an article for my blog and was planning to end it with a certain “Bible quote” that I’ve heard all my life. But, I was surprised when I couldn’t find the scripture I was looking for. I was sure it was there, but where? Maybe I wasn’t quoting it exactly right. I searched for it using e-sword, my favorite Bible study program on my computer but still couldn’t find it. Then I searched for it on the internet and soon found the quote, but it wasn’t from the Bible at all. The quote is said to be from a preacher who lived in the 1500s named John Bradford.

“There, but for the grace of God, go I” — John Bradford

I guess we know what we know, and we don’t know, what we don’t know. That may sound confusing or it may seem oversimplified. There’s a song that says, “Them that don’t know, don’t know they don’t know.” We know what we know, and the things we don’t know, we have no idea that we don’t know them. People are people and that fact will never change. “After all, we’re only human.” No matter who we are, we forget things we once knew, and we don’t always remember everything correctly.

For a while now, I’ve been planning to write an article about things people think are in the Bible but are not. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I have a list I’ve been collecting, and I was planning to put them all in one article but, I think I’ll tackle some of them separately. Since I’ve joined the ranks of people who have thought something was in the Bible that wasn’t, maybe I can write the articles without being too critical, or judgmental.  

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving. I’d like to take a few minutes to thank everyone who reads my blog. Thank you for making it worthwhile. I love writing, but without you, there would be no reason to put it on the internet. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and have a happy, happy Thanksgiving.

As many of you have noticed, I haven’t been writing much lately. A lot has been going on in my life for the past year. My daughter got married, and my baby boy turned 18. My dad died after five long months of illness. My sister died after fighting cancer for eight years, and I’m still struggling with my own health issues. With all that has happened, I still have plenty to be thankful for.

God has been so good to me. I’m thankful for all the things he's blessed me with, like my family, our home, a way to make a living, and so many other things, but the things I’m most thankful for are his Love, Mercy, Grace, and forgiveness. I was dead in sin, headed down that wide slippery slope to hell. Then Jesus came and rescued me, and put me on the narrow road to heaven. I’m so thankful he saved me. I love him for that and I want to serve him and tell others how much he loves them.

I want to ask each of you to pray for me and my family, for everyone who reads this blog, and please pray that new readers will find this information and be blessed by it. Thank you again for reading, and again, Happy Thanksgiving. God bless you.

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WHEN DADDY CAME TO VISIT

I was somewhere between three, and five years old, and it was early Autumn. It was cloudy, and dreary outside, so my sister and I were playing inside when we heard a knock on the door. As we wondered who it could be, our grandmother went to see. When she opened the door, there stood our dad. He came in and we ran over to greet him. We asked him where our mother was, and he said, “She’s at home. She don’t know I’m here.” He said, “Get ready, and we’ll go surprise her.” He told my grandmother to get ready, and we would all go to his house for a few days. She quickly gathered everything she thought we would need, and we were ready to go. We all crammed into his black, 1953 Dodge truck, and we were on our way.

When we arrived, my sister and I got out as quickly as we could and ran inside to see our mother and our little sister. Our mom was happy to see us and was glad to hear we were staying a few days. We asked her if she was surprised, and she said yes, and that it was a great surprise.

My dad and uncle went hunting, and we spent some time with our little sister, while our mom and grandmother spent some time together, cooking and talking. Later that evening, after dark, the hunters returned with a dead raccoon. They skinned it and made some sausages. I remember seeing my uncle wearing a Coonskin Cap that night. He probably had it already, but for years, I thought he made the cap that night from that raccoon. That would have been pretty nasty, I’m sure.

In my parent’s house, breakfast always consisted of mackerels, boiled in a bit of water, and biscuits to sop up the soup. It was pretty good. Then there was the “Thickened Gravy” made with chicken-flavored bullion cubes. It was always good, too. Mom and dad would take turns making the Chocolate Gravy, but, no matter which one made it, it was always delicious.

For lunch that day, we got to try the sausages. They tasted pretty good, but I don’t recommend it, since raccoons are scavengers. They’ll eat anything.

My mom always made T-Cakes when we would visit. She would mix it all up, and get it ready to make into cakes, then she would give us a little to eat before she cooked them. It was pretty good, but nothing compared to how good they were after twenty minutes in the oven at three hundred and fifty degrees. She was a pretty good cook, and she made the best iced-tea in the world.

That night, a torrential downpour came. It rained for the longest time. The roof was covered with tin, and we could hear every drop that fell on it. I remember Daddy coming in, soaking wet. As he took off his coat, he said there were small fish falling from the sky. I had no reason to disbelieve him at the time, but when I was older and got to know him better, I thought he might have been joking, when I would think about that night. I never thought to ask him if it really happened, but I do know there have been recorded reports of “Raining Fish” as far back as the 1600s, so I guess it’s possible.

Well, soon the time came to go back home. We were sad we had to leave, but our home was with our grandmother. She was a pretty awesome cook herself. We went back home to our quaint, little house, and resumed life as usual.

I’ve always been thankful for those few days, and for all the other times we got to spend with our parents. Those memories will always be dear to my heart, but I’m so grateful to my grandmother for raising us and taking such good care of us. Our mom and dad were not yet Christians at the time, but our grandmother was. I’m so thankful for the values she taught us, and for introducing us to Jesus. I’m looking forward to the day when Jesus comes and gathers the dead and the living believers, and we can all be together as a family once again. Until then I have my memories.

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THE HORSE THAT ALMOST REACHED THE SKY

When I was five years old, my sister and I lived with our grandmother in a place called Theo, in Mississippi. One day a man came by our house on a big, beautiful horse. This was the first time I had seen one up close in person. Not a man, I mean a horse. I’ve seen men before, although this was the first time I had seen this man. His name was Mr. Garrett. Later, I found out that my grandmother had known him for many years.

He talked to her for a bit as his horse made a few funny noises. It acted scared at first, but it finally calmed down. Mr. Garrett asked if we wanted to ride the horse. I quickly said, “No.” It was too high off the ground. To me, it seemed as tall as the sky. My sister wanted to ride, though. She was four and wasn’t afraid. I don’t know if I was afraid, or just cautious, but I didn’t know this man, and I had never seen a horse in person before.

Mr. Garrett reached down from the tall horse to pick up my sister as my grandmother lifted her up to him. He sat her on the saddle in front of him and held her with one hand so she wouldn’t fall. She looked so small up there, and so far away. She didn’t say much, but she smiled and seemed to enjoy it. He made the horse walk around in short circles for a few minutes, then he stopped, and handed my sister back down to my grandmother.

He said he would see us later, he had to be going, and just as quick as he had shown up, he was gone. My sister and I smiled at each other and went back to our lives at our little house, there in Theo.

I miss those days. I miss being a kid. We had no worries. We had our godly grandmother to watch over us, and protect us. I miss her so much, but I have many wonderful memories of my life with her and all my family for that matter. When I’m sad, feeling down, or just tired, I can think of one of those happy memories, and it always makes me smile.

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FORGIVE YOURSELF

About a year ago, I posted a story about learning to forgive. It was called “I Forgive You, Mr. Richmond.” I’ll put a link to it at the end of this post. Many people misunderstand forgiveness, and what it really involves, and I was no different. I had to truly understand forgiveness before I could give it.

We know we must forgive others for God to forgive us, but sometimes it’s not that easy. What’s even harder, is forgiving yourself. We know ourselves better than any other person on earth knows us. We know all our thoughts and all our secrets. We know what kind of person we really are under all the smiles, and masks we sometimes wear.

When we do something that hurts others, or God, we’re ashamed, because we know we shouldn’t have done such a thing, but we also know that sometimes, deep down inside, we really wanted to do it. Whether it’s something mean we said to someone, or something God says to do, or don’t do, and we disobeyed. It might be anger we’re holding on to because we don’t want to forgive just yet. Sometimes we hold on to that anger like a child with a favorite toy, or like it’s a vital piece of merchandise or our most prized possession we can’t bear to part with.

It’s even worse when we’re angry, or disappointed with ourselves. When we become the focus of our own anger we are in a bad place indeed. If we could only see through our anger and shame, we would realize that we are only hurting ourselves more by holding on to those things. In Mark chapter eleven, Jesus had this to say.

Mark 11: 25-26

25 And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Jesus said forgive if you have anything against anyone. That would include yourself. We are God’s children just like anyone else, and we should try and see ourselves through his eyes. We know he wants us to forgive his children for wrongs they have done to us, and we ask them to forgive us for things we have done to them. We need to forgive ourselves as well when we’ve done things that we shouldn’t have. It’s important to do so in order to clear our minds and start fresh, with a clean conscience.

We may know ourselves better than any other person on earth knows us, but God knows us even better than we know ourselves. We often forget that. If he can forgive us, surely we can find it in our hearts to forgive ourselves.

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For more about forgiveness, read “I Forgive You Mr. Richmond.”

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LESSONS ON THE JOURNEY - PART 2

Two months ago, Herbert Brown and his family moved from the city of River Port, Mississippi to the quiet peaceful little town of Cedar Creek. It’s the 16th day of January, and everyone is in the living room enjoying the warm fire and some hot cocoa.

Charlotte is preparing lunch for her family, and Herbert is keeping the fire going. Mark, the youngest, is staring at the fire dancing in the fireplace, as daddy puts more wood in.

Billy and Cindy are looking out the window, hoping the snow that the weatherman predicted will come soon, so they may get to go out, and play in it today. With joy in their eyes, they recalled all the fun they had playing in the snow the previous winter in River Port, and how they had made snow cream, snow angels, and built a snowman...

Suddenly, the snow began to fall and they both shout at the same time, “It’s snowing.” With excitement in his voice, Billy asked, “Mom, can we go out, and play in the snow?” “Not right now,” came the reply from Mother. “It’s almost time to eat. Go wash up.”

“Can we go out after we eat?” Cindy asked as she ran from the window. We’ll see,” Mother said. “OK,” Cindy groaned, with disappointment in her voice. Then Mark asked, “Mommy, what does WILSIE mean?” Before Charlotte could answer, Billy spoke up and said, “It means, no.” Neither Herbert nor Charlotte could keep from laughing. “I guess it does seem like that sometimes, but it simply means we’ll have to wait, and see what’s going on later. You may be able to, and you may not. It’s not YES, and it's not NO.” I guess it means the same thing as, maybe.

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GOD SO LOVED

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. (John 3:16)

This has always been one of my favorite bible verses. Here, Jesus tells us how much God truly loves us. GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. When he says “WORLD” here, he’s referring to the people in the world. He loved us SO. This word SO here means so much. He Loved us so much that HE GAVE… HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. He had a plan to save us, so he GAVE his SON to be our substitute, to come to earth, suffer, and die for our sins.

When Adam sinned, by disobeying God, he died spiritually. He passed that spiritually dead condition down to his children, and to all his descendants. Every person who has ever been born on earth is spiritually dead. This is the first death; Spiritual death. (1 Corinthians 15:22, Ephesians 2:5) 

We are all sinners and sinners sin. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is Death. Wages are what we earn. It’s our payment. It’s what we deserve. We deserve to die because we are sinners. Since we’re already spiritually dead when we're born, because of Adams's sin, this death we earn by continually sinning is a literal death. Eternal death. For more information on that, read FIRST AND SECOND DEATH, FIRST AND SECOND RESURRECTION.

God doesn’t want us to die. He doesn’t want to give us what we deserve and destroy us. He loves us, and he wants us to live with him for eternity, so he GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to take our punishment for us. It should have been us on that cross, but instead, Jesus suffered and died in our place. To claim this substitution, all we have to do is accept it and we won’t have to suffer the second death.

God GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON… The Bible teaches that Jesus is God(John 1:1-3). He has always existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 11:4,7). All three of them were there in the beginning, and Jesus is called the Son twice in the old testament (Proverbs 30:4, Psalm 2:12). He was not created, as some believe. He was begotten as a human by God when he was placed in the womb of a virgin named Mary, about two thousand years ago (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:30-35 — John 1:1-2,14, Hebrews 10:5, Psalm 2:7) For more information on that, read ONE GOD.  

He GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT (So that) WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM… Whoever means anyone. No one is left out. WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM… To believe in Jesus takes action. James, the Lord’s brother, said, the devils also believe, and tremble (James 2:19). Just believing he exists is not enough, though. Jesus says you have to believe IN him or ON him. It’s the same thing. That means to trust him. We must allow him to be the Lord and Master of our lives. If you want a mechanic to work on your car, you have to give him the key. Believing involves trust. It also involves obedience. It requires action. It’s simple really. Rom 10:9 says, “if you will confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH… Perish means just that, Perish. To die or be killed. To disappear or be destroyed: to cease to exist. (Webster’s Dictionary)

In the Strong’s Concordance, the definition of the Greek word which was translated into the English word PERISH is “to destroy completely.” That’s what will happen to everyone who refuses to accept the free gift of salvation God offers us. Not because he is evil, or vindictive, but because he must destroy sin. Everyone who chooses to hang on to sin will be destroyed along with it. (*)The wages of sin is death, and he loves us so much that he died in our place. He took our punishment so we wouldn’t have to. There was no other way. He has done all he can. Now it’s up to each individual to accept his substitute or reject it.

BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. In this verse, Everlasting means just what it sounds like. Everlasting; lasting forever. The same Greek word translated into the English word “Everlasting” in this verse, is the same word translated into the English word “Eternal” in verse 15. This is an example of the dictionary, built into the King James Bible, which I mentioned in the post called UNDERSTANDING BIBLE TRUTH. 

The Father loves us so much that he sent his only Son from heaven, down to this earth to suffer and die in our place so every one of us could have the opportunity to live with him for eternity. Jesus loves us so much that he was willing to do it. That’s love. It’s a love that humans can’t fully grasp, but knowing that he has that kind of love for us should make us love him back. In fact, in 1 John 4:9, John says that is why we love him. “Because he loved us first.”  That’s so amazing and life is so short. We must live one day at a time, but we need to prepare for the future as well. Not just our immediate future, but our eternal future. Our destination is in our hands. No one can choose for anyone else. The choice is ours alone. If you haven’t made it yet, I encourage you to do it today. Don’t put it off. Tomorrow may be too late.

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