Notes On Life

 What does it mean to ‘Stand’ or to ‘Take A Stand?’ In life, all of us also chose to ‘take a stand’ FOR or AGAINST something, be it one team over another, one political party over another, or one ideology over another. Between each of these there is always a line of CONTENTION and CHOICE , and people make a decision to ‘take a stand’ and be on one side of that line or another. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas crossed the line and changed his stand from the side with Christ to the side against him. Likewise, just as Judas made a decision and stood with those that opposed Jesus, you also (whether you realize it or not) are standing on one side of this same line or another. Friend, there are two sides of a LINE on which all of us are currently standing regarding Christ. On Which Side Of This Line Are You Standing? God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You NotesOnLife.org Share this Note: https://www.notesonlife.org/YDN/archive/2023-01-16.php?src=B.0712_WhichSideAreYou Subscribe via email...

 The longer we are alive in this life, there are odds of really bad things that may happen. Many dangers are avoidable, some are completely random, while certain events are impossible to escape. Consider these odds of dying: In A Plane Crash: 1 in 11,000,000 From A Cataclysmic Storm: 1 in 58,869 By Choking on Food: 1 in 2,535 In A Motor Vehicle Crash: 1 in 107 From Cancer: 1 in 7 Through Heart Disease: 1 in 6 But consider this fact… CHANCE OF DEATH: 1 in 1 As ominous as that statistic is, there is another statistical odd that is actually WORSE than that: Chance OF BEING SEPEARATED FROM GOD FOREVER: 1 in 2 You see, everyone will die — and we all know that- the question you have to ask yourself are you going to beat the “1 in 2” odds that you will spend eternity in a place that is not heaven? As Jesus said in today’s verse, in ourselves it is impossible, but with God it is possible to beat these odds. All you need to do is believe that Christ died for your sins and say it from your h...

Driving across the USA is always an adventure! I’ve had the pleasure of doing it three times, but one particular moment was an east-west trip when crossing out of Texas into New Mexico. Immediately after crossing the state line was a large billboard recruiting the need for state troopers to patrol stretches of vast highways like the one I was on that seemed to melt into infinity before me. With no cars in sight and NO ONE WAS WATCHING as far as I could see the opportunity to greatly accelerate to over twice the limit was too easy an opportunity to pass up. This raises an interesting question for all of us and that is “How do we 'Behave' when no one is watching?” The answer is that it all depends on whether we BELIEVE someone is WATCHING...and this is exactly what today’s scripture verse is saying. Many people live their lives - either consciously or unconsciously - with the attitude since there is no god what is done in secret is not seen by anyone and therefore there is no con...

   The famous American anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked if she believed in U.F.O.s. and she said: “It’s a silly question. Belief has to do with matters of faith; it has nothing to do with the kind of knowledge that is based on scientific inquiry. Do people believe in the sun or the moon, or the changing seasons, or the chairs they’re sitting on?” Like Dr. Mead, many people substitute 'U.F.O.s' with 'God' and come to the same result that having a mere  belief  in something is no substitute for rigorous academic scientific inquiry. Just as we can know that a chair can hold us up through direct experience and that it can be touched, measured and weighed, the same thing cannot be said for this silly 'imaginary friend' that some people naively refer to as “God.” Scientists and researchers conclude that since there is visual and physical evidence for UFOs then scientifically that is not a matter of belief but of fact and proof. Therefore the logical negativ...

 For decades people have had been captivated about the sinking of the TITANIC. Although this disaster happened over 100 years ago there has been an endless stream of books, articles, and movies made on this famous ship and the souls lost in the ensuing tragedy. The question however is WHY are people continually fascinated by this ship — and the reason why is history repeating itself. The Titanic was in one sense a modern day version of the Tower of Babel — that is, an achievement of such stupendous accomplishment that promised safety from aquatic danger while also boasting the brilliance of man. Those that created and sailed on Titanic were proud of it’s touted invincibility, and just like the builders of the ancient Tower of Babel boasted that another great flood would never overcome it, the Titanic builders also boasted no water could ever sink it. People in the same way live the voyage of their lives like passengers on the Titanic . On their ‘Ship Of Life’ most believe that sin...

 “Lest” is an archaic but very relevant word that always warns of pending trouble. It’s a useful conjunction of CAUTION between the possibility of either Safety or Danger , so depending on which side of the ‘Lest’ you are standing always determines one of those two outcomes. Lest is mentioned over two hundred times in scripture, and Adam and Eve were the first to find out the consequence of being on the wrong side of “Lest”  — not only to themselves — but to the FALL of the entire world cast into sin. Such is the seriousness of this word when used in scripture! The Bible gives numerous examples of LEST, and Jesus not only warned us about this, but also gave the solution when he said “Watch ye and pray, LEST ye enter into temptation.” When we are reading God’s Word consistently and praying for guidance, this acts just like a large road sign warning us of the “Lest” danger ahead — which if ignored — always leads to a great FALL. Friend, we are all given free will and daily are prese...

 I hate to break it to you, but one day we are all going to die, but here’s something you may not of thought of before. When you come into this world, your SOUL is united with your BODY and after living a (hopefully long life) one day your body will die and at that point your soul will then be separated from your body. This physical death is what the Bible calls ‘The First Death,’ but the question is - what THEN happens to your SOUL? The Bible teaches at death that your soul will go one of two places. If you are “in Christ” it will go directly to be with God, and you will not die again or face condemnation. However, if you are NOT in Christ, your soul will be separated from God and you will wait in hell until the end of time, and at that point will be judged for your sins and faced a self-imposed condemnation where you will go into “..the Lake of Fire.” This is the SECOND DEATH - the death of your soul - but a death that will never end and continue for all eternity. Wow!! That mess...

 When someone dies, people often exclaim ‘Oh! What a Shame!’ But in the grand scope of life and what follows into eternity what could that mean? As today’s passage from Psalm 31 poignantly states there is a clear distinction between living and leaving a life in SHAME as opposed to living a life and NOT BE ASHAMED. Shame is the point when someone realizes when it is too late that they have committed acts of disgrace and dishonorable conduct that destroys their stature before others. It is standing in a place —  SILENT  — where nothing can be said to undo their actions — invariably leading to a Consequence . At the end of life we will all face a great cloud of witnesses of how we have lived our life and will stand either ASHAMED or NOT ASHAMED based on two very simple things: “For the scripture saith, Whosoever BELIEVETH on him (Christ) shall NOT BE ASHAMED .” -Romans 10:11 “For I am NOT ASHAMED of the gospel of Christ: For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that ...

 We’ve all seen a police drama where a criminal is brought into an interrogation room with the hope that he’ll admit to the crime he committed. After hours of questioning and presenting evidence of wrongdoing, one of two things would happen. Either he’d adamantly continue to DENY that he was not at fault or finally break down and CONFESS that he was guilty. The word “Confess” has an interesting etymological origin in that it is composed of two words of “con” meaning ‘with’ and “fateri” meaning ‘acknowledge, know, declare or admit the validity of’ something. So when we confess we are saying that what we have done is wrong. As today’s verse tells us, we need to admit — that is CONFESS — before God that we are guilty of our sins, and for certain we ALL are guilty of something! However, unlike those that admit their crimes to the police will certainly go to PRISON, those that confess their crimes before God with a contrite heart go to ETERNAL LIFE because Romans 10:10 promises us...