I hear Heaven is nice this time of year.....

Shall I pose a question to you... Why do you really want to go to Heaven? I recently asked our church youth group this in an evening bible study. I got what I would expect to be answers common to most of us. Read through this list:

I want to go to Heaven because...

- there is no pain or suffering.

- its the "finish line" to my goal.

- its paradise.

- I want to be reunited with friends and family already gone on.

- its a "mystical land" - amusement park of sorts, never rains out the rides.

- I want to see God.

I  think most would agree that you probably recited at least one of these in your mind. I'm guilty as well. But, as I read the book of Revelation - which is the account of an vision of Heaven given to John, as well as letters to seven churches addressed from Christ Himself - there is a noticeable repetition of events that reveal themselves. Time and again, John views people worshiping God and giving praise to Him. Several times through the text we see the phrase,"and they fell down and worshiped."(5:11-14,7:11-12,). After reading this over and over, I've come to the conclusion that if I love my Savior to the degree which He deserves, the weather in Heaven is meaningless. Furthermore, If I am reunited with family and friends, let us be there together in worship to Him. I should want nothing more/nothing less than to be able to fall down and worship. " Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and honor and glory and blessing!''(5:12). 

Since He has allowed my mindset to change from an personal accomplishment to an glorious opportunity, I have noticed a difference in how I valued my Christ and His duty on the cross. I find myself taken back - often to tears -knowing that He died not only to save from the depths of hell (which I deserve) but to give me an opportunity to praise my creator forever and ever! Its also at this point when I realize that He is growing (further occupying) within me. This leads me to the next realization that He has allowed me to decrease in order for Him to increase. Humbling is an understatement when searching for adjectives!!  

To tie all this together, lets, as Christians strive to be with our God, to praise Him and to glorify Him, rather that to take the selfish road of wanting to chill in paradise! Every knee will bow!!

Hope this provoked some thought..

God Bless!!!

Not Another Missed Opportunity!

I think (or hope) that at some point in most Christian's walk with the Lord our God, there is a crossroad encountered. That would be the one where our passive, politically correct thought process intersects with that of the mindset - "I have got to tell someone about Jesus - or I'm going to scream!!" I personally catch myself traveling through the aforementioned  quite often. It seems like I'm perfectly content with the day to day meaningless conversations until God abruptly reminds me I'm here for His service!! Its always a deflating realization for me when the "light bulb moment"  reveals the numerous opportunities to share His message that I neglected to do so! Yet, I always notice that after this turn of events, I come away with a deeper longing to speak boldly about my God as well as find greater confidence in my faith! I guess these neglected opportunities lately have been the focus of my thought and it angers me (internally) that I continuously fail!! My inward appraisal is one of the things that caused this blog to clutter your screen - but with that said, today I familiarized myself with the readership of this blog. I guess I was taken back by the fact that it has been read in 12 different countries as of today. Please understand, this is not a bragging point - (To God be all the Glory!) this is a point of opportunity!
It is my duty at this very moment to share the gospel with all those who take the time read these words. Yes, it is Easter, and I'm sure for some, this will be a redundant speech for you today but nevertheless, I dare not miss the chance!!

Jesus came to earth as the Son of God. He stayed among mankind and remained perfect, sinless and blameless to the temptations that we as humans fall trap to each day. God, being perfect - requires from us perfection to live in heaven with Him for eternity, not one person - other than Jesus, has or can accomplish this! So, through the un-describable love of our God, He sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for us! He took the place for us. We should one day, hang on a cross and die an agonizing death due to the despicable deeds we commit day to day - but because Jesus took that punishment for us - we may have everlasting life and the joys of worshiping our God in heaven if we have FAITH in the deed Jesus did for us!-- That's it, FAITH in the fact that Jesus died for us - that we may enjoy heaven with our Father. Just as on Easter morning when Jesus arose from the grave and only His stained garments were left, we -who have faith in Jesus's death and resurrection - will depart to our Heavenly Father leaving our sins and transgressions behind.   Understand this, I do not deserve to spend eternity in heaven, I do deserve a one way ticket to HELL!! But because of Jesus, in God's eyes, I will be found not guilty - Scripture makes that promise. You can have the same!! There is no one sin greater than another - nor are there any sins that weren't erased by the blood of Jesus-- You can have this too!!


(Romans 5:1-11 ESV)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

After reading this, You may have realized that you need Jesus to take the cross for you, if so, I encourage you to pray the following prayer as well as find a Christian to talk to about your decisions. I will be more than happy to help anyone begin their walk with Christ --feel free to contact to me anytime, anyway!!

Believer's Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner deserving of a life in hell, and that I have fallen short of the glory of God. I wholeheartedly BELIEVE and have FAITH that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, that he arose from the grave - that my sins have been erased and want You  - from this point further - to live inside me, to take hold of my heart and draw me closer to You. It is these things I pray in Jesus's name, Amen.



God Bless!!!

Evan M Tate