This was written for our visitors to our Friends and Family Day but the message is for all those with whom we have contact.
You Have A Choice
Thank you so much for being with us today. Your presence was encouraging and uplifting to us; but more importantly God was glorified and worshipped. Putting Him first in everything is our goal and hopefully yours as well. As you reflect on today’s activities, here are four facts we would like for you to consider.
God loves you! The most well-known verse of the Bible states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That love is further explained in Romans 5 (see front page). The love of God for all mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ cannot be denied.
Satan hates you! From the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden Satan has been trying to turn people away from the God who loves them. He does not do this our of love but out of his rebellion against God. When Christ died on the cross and rose again on the third day, Satan was defeated and doomed to eternal punishment. But until then he continues to do everything he can to keep those God loves away from Him.
You have a choice! Adam and Eve had a choice and chose to listen to Satan. Joshua challenged to Israelites who had conquered Canaan “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Joshua 14:15a). The choice has to be made as Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). One must choose to follow a God who loves them or Satan who hates them and offers only lies. Jesus said of him, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, ad does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, emphasis added). Moses knew the offerings of Satan were temporary when, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24, 25).
We love you! As children of God we are called to be like our Father and allow His love to flow through us to all people. We do so by proclaiming God’s love in Jesus and encouraging everyone to consider what He has done for them. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:3, 4 emphasis added). Because we love you, we are ready at all times to share God’s truth with you. Even though we want you to meet with us whenever possible, our teaching is not limited to our meetings in the building. We are ready to meet at any time in any place, including your home, to study God’s word together. The choice is yours, can we help?
___________ WM
All scripture quotations from the NASB