Where the fire never goes out
Reading for Tuesday April 4th.
Bible section: Gospel of Mark 9:42-48
Avoid temptation. Even if avoiding it means you have to give up something that is valuable. Avoid temptation, even if avoiding it means giving up something essential. Avoid temptation even if avoiding it means a loss that will handicap you for life. Any kind of loss is preferable to sin.
Because going through life at a disadvantage is nothing compared to going to hell fully functional. Hell has no end. Life is a brief few seconds compared to the unending time of hell.
At first a person expends a lot of energy excusing his or her sins. He or she must make an effort to despise God and disregard hell. Eventually the person disbelieving God begins to flatter himself so much that he is unable to detect or hate his sin.* This is called hardening your heart and God will not stop you doing it. Before it gets that bad, put away whatever is causing you to sin, if it’s your job, your friend, your riches, put them away rather than be tempted by them.
Be afraid, let the awesome justice of God alarm you. Union with God is union with the Giver Of Life. Union with God is union with Being Itself. Not to be united with God is to be already disintegrating and dying. But part of that disintegration means the person can not recognize what is happening to him/her.
Will God endure scorn forever? When he puts all wickedness away forever, who will be amongst the wicked? Will God have fierce anger towards the person who has disregarded him? Eternity is a long time to suffer remorse.
*Psalm 35.2
Bible section: Gospel of Mark 9:42-48
Avoid temptation. Even if avoiding it means you have to give up something that is valuable. Avoid temptation, even if avoiding it means giving up something essential. Avoid temptation even if avoiding it means a loss that will handicap you for life. Any kind of loss is preferable to sin.
Because going through life at a disadvantage is nothing compared to going to hell fully functional. Hell has no end. Life is a brief few seconds compared to the unending time of hell.
At first a person expends a lot of energy excusing his or her sins. He or she must make an effort to despise God and disregard hell. Eventually the person disbelieving God begins to flatter himself so much that he is unable to detect or hate his sin.* This is called hardening your heart and God will not stop you doing it. Before it gets that bad, put away whatever is causing you to sin, if it’s your job, your friend, your riches, put them away rather than be tempted by them.
Be afraid, let the awesome justice of God alarm you. Union with God is union with the Giver Of Life. Union with God is union with Being Itself. Not to be united with God is to be already disintegrating and dying. But part of that disintegration means the person can not recognize what is happening to him/her.
Will God endure scorn forever? When he puts all wickedness away forever, who will be amongst the wicked? Will God have fierce anger towards the person who has disregarded him? Eternity is a long time to suffer remorse.
*Psalm 35.2
posted by Jessie Coates at 12:34 AM
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