Saturday, September 2, 2017

A BIG Reason to Be Certain You Go To Heaven


Dogs seem to be a theme this week...one woman's salvation hinged on a concern regarding dogs...

I will get to that story....

But first, yesterday our Cities4Life team dealt with three of the major reasons we are there on the sidewalks of the busiest abortion center in the Southeast:
1. One baby was saved that we know of.
2. One woman who felt God was a "force" and all religions are the same heard the truth of the Gospel and left saying she believed most of what had been shared was "true".
3. One woman had an abortion and stopped to talk with us because she was sad and wanted our post-abortive literature and words of comfort and offers to help.

This is why I love Cities4Life. So many vital needs are addressed and so many wounded, hurting, confused people are helped.

I listened to a wonderful Apologetics tape before heading out to the sidewalk. I have been exchanging texts for several weeks now with a woman who chose life instead of abortion and is now coming (slowly) to think the whole Jesus story might be real. She believed that God created the universe, but that was the end of His involvement with His creation. The tape I listened to gave me food for thought that I shared with the woman.

Basically, it boiled down to this. If God created the universe, it is clear He intervened in the laws of nature at least once. In fact, He is the law-giver who created the laws of nature. If He intervened once, He could intervene again. And He could do so in any miraculous way He chose. He wrote the laws of nature. He certainly must be outside of them and greater than them. He doesn't need to follow them if He doesn't want to. He could have formed a baby in a virgin, wholly human and wholly God and He certainly, as Creator, would have the right to determine by what means His creation could gain access to Him.

I sent that to her in more detail. She responded with a brief "Thank you."

While that was not the enthusiastic response I was going for, the door is still open. At least she responded and at least she didn't tell me to stop harassing her. Besides, in sharing what I believe is the ONLY hope of eternal life I have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.

Now this is one of dozens of texts we have exchanged, and the first few were a clear presentation of the Gospel. These later texts are continuing thoughts challenging her concern that why would the creator of the universe have the slightest interest in a relationship with humans. That is a good question, and I am having fun trying to answer it.

The woman I shared the gospel with yesterday on the sidewalks of the abortion center had a MUCH easier concern. Our discussion was nudging her closer and closer to admitting the Gospel might really be true, but something bothered her. She told me it was a silly question really, but very important to her.

"Let me ask you," she said, leaning close with great interest etched on her face, "Do you think dogs go to heaven?"
"Absolutely!" I said, "The Bible is filled with descriptions of animals in heaven. Horses, the lion and the lamb...I have no doubt dogs go to heaven. And in my mind, that is reason enough to make certain you will be there too."

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Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ...

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

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