I'm sitting in my sunroom watching the shadows decrease as the sun rises. I am warm, comfortable and satisfied. I just had a great day with my church family sharing God's Word with them. As I look out over the golden-white field behind our house, it is hard for me to imagine what hell is like. I know intellectually that it is a place of unending torment and eternal exclusion from the presence of God. Jesus described hell as the place, "where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched." (Mark 9:48) The "worm" represents the internal torment and "fire" represents the external torment of hell, both never end. This is the place where those who don't transfer their trust from themselves onto Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin will go when they die. Hence, every person needs salvation. This is what Paul was praying for - the salvation of fellow Jews.
"Lord, please help the reality of hell to grip my heart for those who are far from You. May I sense the urgency to pray for my neighbors, family members, co-workers, community members who are one last breath away from hell. Thank You for allowing me to have a role in rescuing people from the coming judgment. May my prayers lead to opportunities to care for them and share the Gospel with them."
2 comments:
Such terribly sobering words, Bob. And in the NASB the verse from Isaiah 66 is quoted 3 times!!From the passage in Luke 16 from Sunday's message to Matthew 23:33 where Jesus says,"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you excape the sentence of hell?" That through Jesus we are saved from the wrath of God(Rom.5:9)is truly such a marvelous gift of grace from God especially when contrasting that to Romans 2:5; the wrath poured out in Revelation; and Heb.10:31--"It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Truly we have a great God who is rich in mercy! Diane T.
That's exactly the kind of prayer I need to start praying. Thanks for posting it.
And thanks for your message yesterday. It was what we needed! I'm glad to be part of a church that preaches the truth in times when it's not policitally correct to do so. Thanks for beign biblically correct.
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