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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Even Your Best Friends Won't Tell You
I remember it just like it was yesterday. In the Star-Telegram Sunday comic pages was an ad for tooth-paste. The leading line/headline? “Even your best friends won’t tell you…” Tell you what? That you have “halitosis.” I got the point, even at age twelve, but it was a puzzle that friends would not let their friends know they had “bad breath.” I would have told my friend, “Hey Don, your breath smells like last week!” Because he was my best friend.
Today we see signs saying “Friends don’t let friends drink and drive,” and we know why those words need to be understood.
There are people in this world who have never even seen a Bible, much less read one. Others have a dozen Bibles in their house but never read any of them. And – there are those who read their Bible without understanding it, they “wrest” it, pervert it, and reach conclusions that are not valid, Galatians 1:6-10.
Sometimes no one – not even their best friends will tell them they are wrong – that they misunderstand. What if a friend was ready to step out in traffic and they failed to see an approaching car? Would their friend try to stop them? You know they would.
What if your best friend is in danger of becoming addicted to drugs/alcohol? Would you not want to prevent that? You know you would.
What if a bridge has been destroyed on a road near you and your best friend didn’t know about it? Would you warn him of the danger? Of course you would. What if your child, needing to take some medication, reached into the cabinet and took some pills out that would harm him? Do you think you would just let him suffer a painful or deadly consequence because you didn’t want to risk his displeasure? Again, you know you would do what was best for them, then pray they would receive it.
Most of us would agree that we should not let a best friend risk death or worse because of our fear. But let us ask one more question: What if your best friend, not knowing what the Bible really says, is on the path Jesus called the “way that leadeth to destruction” instead of the “way that leadeth to life,” Matthew 7:13? That “way” eventually leads to “everlasting punishment,” not just momentary pain or inconvenience (Matthew 25:46).
Would you try your best to find out what the “right way” is, then seek to lead others to that way (2 Peter 2:15)? Some might fear that their friend would be offended – and they might, but if the Bible is right and they are not ready to meet God in judgment, would you not do everything within your power to keep that from happening? True friends do not let their friends go to hell! We care about them and will do our best to guide them back to “the way of life”.
To this point we will likely agree that we want the very best for our family and our friends. We don’t want any to suffer eternal destruction. In that attitude we are in harmony with the way God feels about man’s destiny. In 2 Peter 3:9 we read:
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
That’s right – God wants no one to be lost. He wants no one to see “everlasting destruction,” but He wants all to come to “repentance.”
God’s attitude is already in our favor, but man must “come to repentance,” or as the New Testament says it, we must “obey the gospel,” 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10. That passage also speaks of God’s justice and love. He is not our adversary, but our beloved Friend.
If someone truly cared enough about your eternal destiny, would you be glad they came to you and humbly helped you find the “way that leads to life”? Of course you would. That’s what friends do. They care about you and your soul.
The difficult part of this premise is that some do not want anyone to question their beliefs. It may be over-confidence, arrogance, or bitterness because of some previous experience. Jesus spoke of the “seed of the kingdom", the gospel, confronting hard “hearts,” Luke 8:4-15. What if your friend’s heart is hard and does not care what the Bible says? If they are your best friend, you will try even harder – because they are your best friend and because you care about their soul and their eternal destiny.
Friends don’t let their friends go to the
judgment without hearing God’s truth!
What if our friend refuses to listen? What if they do not want to study this vital subject? The apostle Paul dealt with that in 1 Corinthians 3:14-15. He said the Corinthians were his “work”, 9:1, then stated that if his “work” failed to be faithful to God, they would have to suffer the consequences. However, Paul would grieve, would “suffer loss,” but not lose his soul because of their rejection. Read Ezekiel 33.
We must do our best – for our “best friend” and for all, because we want them all to enjoy heaven.
Carl B Garner
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When in the better land before the bar we stand,
how deeply grieved our souls will be;
if any lost one there should cry in deep despair,
“You never mentioned Him to me.”
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I Want to Go to Heaven
All of us must realize that a longing for heaven is not enough. Many who claim a yearning for that fair land will never make it. However, a legitimate part of Christianity is a deep desire to walk the golden street of glory. One of my mother’s favorite gospel songs has these grand words:
O land of rest, for thee I sigh! When will the moment come,
When I shall lay my armor by, And dwell in peace at home?
Christians can even have boldness in the day of judgment if we fervently live and die in Jesus! Here are the major reasons I really want to go to heaven: (1) I am tired of this wicked world; (2) I long for the divine and eternal, (3) Blessed associations await us there, (4) We dare not waste this life! (5) We must not disappoint Jesus, (6) The alternative is not acceptable! In assembly worship we sing a challenging hymn that reminds us that this earth is not our home, and that as pilgrims here we are just passing through. Many passages document this principle. For example, notice 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” Again, we read of Abraham in Hebrews 11:10, “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” As shamefully wicked as the world is today, we truly long to be delivered into a far better atmosphere. Revelation 21:1-5 promises a realm where all things are new and all tears have vanished. We often sing about that realm:
Above the bright blue, the beautiful blue, Jesus is waiting for me and for you;
Heaven is there, not far from our sight, Beautiful city of light.
Just think! We can press on to an eternal city that has no crime, no wars, no malice and no heartache. Sin will have vanished; Satan and his motley crew being banished! Only righteousness, joy and peace will reign, and the redeemed shall worship to the glory of God! What a reunion! What a reward!
We will be able to converse with Noah, Job and Daniel (Eze. 14:14). Then we can sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matt. 8:11). What a blessing it will be to enjoy the company of Jeremiah and Amos, Stephen and Paul! We’ll be able to meet gentle women like Hannah, Lois and Eunice, as well as the mothers of Jesus and John the Immerser. There we will also be able to meet godly elders, sincere Bible teachers, powerful preachers and others who shaped our destinies with their lives of devotion. Parents who sacrificed on earth for children who will make it to heaven, and other unsung spiritual heroes, will make it a blessed arrangement. It is no wonder Paul longed to “depart and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). T. S. Teddlie wrote these rich thoughts in song:
Why should I long for the world with its sorrows,
When in that home o’er the sea,
Millions are singing the wonderful story!
Heaven holds all to me.
If we miss “the land of fadeless day” it will mean that we absolutely wasted our lives on earth. Kings, presidents, billionaires, and rulers of political systems who miss heaven will all have lived and died in vain! In the language of Mark 14:21 and Nehemiah 2:20, it would have been far better had they never been born because they have nothing precious to remember! By the grace of a benevolent God, we are given this life to prepare for eternity. To die in sin, outside of Christ, is inexcusable. We can be three-time winners by using our time and opportunities wisely – by missing hell and going to heaven! It will surely be worth every effort as we press on toward that wondrous home of the soul: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man given in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
If we miss heaven it will disappoint our Savior, Redeemer and Friend. He has gone to “prepare a place” for us (John 14:1-3):
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Jesus is now in heaven for us (Heb. 9:24). In fact, Christ is our forerunner, as set forth in Hebrews 6. Following His steps all the way to glory should be our magnificent obsession (Rev. 14:4).
He will run to meet us (Luke 15), but we must be on the right road or we will miss our rendezvous with Deity. Sadly, the alter- native is doom, gloom, sadness, separation, sorrow and the environment prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:37-46). We had better make our reservations now, and keep them current! We must never take a detour from the highway of holiness. If we are bound for the Promised Land, may we never look back to sin.
Each step I take my Saviour goes before me,
And with His loving hand He leads the way,
And with each breath I whisper, “I adore Thee”;
Oh what joy to walk with Him each day.
Each step I take I know that He will guide me;
To higher ground He ever leads me on,
Until some day the last step will be taken,
Each step I take just leads me closer home.
Truly, heaven will be worth it all!
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