Where will you spend eternity?
everyone dies with a destination of either heaven or hell.
by Robert McCurley
Children often sprint from one adventure to the next, asking incessantly, “What’s next?” This relentless curiosity drives us into adulthood as we chase experiences and milestones. Yet, as life’s end draws near, the same questions linger: “What now? What’s next?”
That thought stirs trepidation, and understandably so. We’ve never experienced death or spoken with someone who has crossed its threshold. What will it be like? What lies beyond? Can anyone truly know? Science offers no answers—meteorologists and market analysts fail abysmally at predicting even tomorrow’s weather or stock performance. Only One who has seen the future—or rather, sovereignly ordained it—can tell us. That One is the eternal God, and with him, we find the answers we seek.
Is there a God? If so, which one?
your answer matters. it will matter for eternity.
by Romesh Prakashpalan
The two most important questions you can ask are: Is there a God? and If so, which one? The wrong answers will lead to eternal misery, but the right ones will produce eternal happiness, if believed. Thankfully, you can know the answers to these questions with certainty, for God has given you reason, has filled the world with evidence of his existence, and, most of all, revealed himself through his word—the Bible. As this is important for your eternal well-being, let us discover the answers to these two big questions.
Atheism is a philosophy that says there is no God. However, if so, why do you exist? Atheists offer differing answers. Some say the universe is eternal, while others believe it sprang out of nothing or that it even came from a multiverse. Yet all these explanations break down logically, scientifically, and philosophically, which is why the Bible says: “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Ps. 14:1).
How can we trust the Bible?
god has preserved his word in the bible for centuries.
by Brent Evans
The first recorded words of the devil are, “Yea, hath God said?” The lying spirit began by sowing doubt about the authority of God’s word and then went on to misquote it. The temptation succeeded, and man sinned, believing the liar rather than the God of truth (Gen. 3). God would have been justified if he never spoke to man again. But instead of taking away his words in wrath, God gave us more in his mercy. He revealed that the only way of salvation for fallen man was in Jesus Christ, his Son and his eternal, personal Word. God not only gave us a complete and perfect rule for faith and life, but he also caused it all to be written down in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments so that the truth might be preserved and spread throughout the world.
Who do you believe Jesus is?
is your belief based on truth, or misrepresentation?
by Craig Scott
“Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”—Matthew 16:13
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We hate it when someone misrepresents us. A person overhears a half-truth about you and then shares it with others. Before long, rumors spread quickly, and people start treating you differently.
The same problem of misrepresentation has affected Jesus Christ for 2,000 years. All kinds of people have held wrong views about Jesus because they have heard half-truths. On one occasion (Matthew 16:13–14), Jesus asked his disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The disciples answered, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” Due to snippets of truth and the story changing as it spread (like the game “Telephone”), many formed incorrect opinions about Jesus.
What is the meaning and significance of the cross?
it is much more than a mere symbol of christian faith.
by Gavin Beers
If I asked you to describe Christianity by using only a symbol, the first thing that would likely come to mind is a cross. It is common to see crosses on church buildings and even hanging from necklaces around people’s necks. If you visit military graveyards from the Second World War in France, you will find row upon row of white crosses commemorating the fallen. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul tells us that the message of the church is to preach “the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18), and the Christian is to glory in nothing but “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). It is the very center of the message of the whole Bible.
However, something that is so easily identified as the central message of the Bible is sadly not well understood. To miss the meaning and significance of the cross is to miss the heart of the whole Christian faith and to shut your soul out of the hope of salvation and eternal life. So what is the cross all about?
Why do you need to repent?
consider these three reasons to turn from sin to god.
by Thomas Boston
“I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”—Luke 13:5
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Few people consider that they need to repent of their sins. Jesus Christ spoke the words above. It may be helpful to understand what repentance is by considering a brief definition from the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.”
To encourage you to repent, we provide you with three reasons from a sermon preached by Scottish minister, Thomas Boston (1676–1732). His sermon on Luke 13:5 is titled “The Necessity of Repentance,” which we have lightly edited for readers in the 21st century.
What is true saving faith?
even the demons believe in jesus christ.
by Jonathan Mattull
The fires of hell will torment the bodies and souls of many men, women, and children who believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. You read that correctly. Let me explain…
The Epistle of James addresses some members of the church who were content with their faith. If you had asked them, they would have confessed that God is one, Jesus is the Savior of sinners, and that Jesus died and rose again. All these things are true. They were not like the pagans or atheists of their day. They believed in the word of God. They believed in God. Perhaps they would have been willing to say, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” But notice what James writes in 2:19: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Read that again: “The devils also believe…”
Are you ready to die?
we all face the reality of death and a day of reckoning.
by J. Logan Shelton
The reality of death surrounds us. It is everywhere we look. The news media document the tragic deaths of strangers. Friends tell us of their bereavement. The reality comes closer to home when we bury a loved one: a parent, a spouse, a child. How often we stand over those graves and say to ourselves, “He was gone too soon.”
You must grapple with this because death not only surrounds you, it is within you. Sickness is a reminder that your body will not last forever. The aches and pains of old age testify of physical decline. If you are young, visit your local cemetery. Read the tombstones. Many have been buried in the strength of their youth.
Catholic or Protestant? Does it matter?
the bible teaches that there is one true church.
by Robert McCurley
Are you a Roman Catholic? Perhaps you faithfully attend Mass each week, or maybe you’re a baptized Catholic who only steps into church on special occasions. You might have friends who are evangelical Protestants and passionate about sharing their faith. Have you ever wondered, “What’s the big deal?” In a world plagued by pain and rising corruption, shouldn’t Catholics and Protestants see themselves as allies, united in tackling society’s problems? After all, isn’t the divide between them just a relic of history? Can’t the passage of time help us move past old differences to work together for a common cause? Yet the question lingers: What is the big deal? Do the issues that sparked the 16th-century Reformation still matter today? And what, exactly, are those issues?