Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. – Proverbs 12:1 NIV
Well, Solomon just lays it out there, doesn’t he? He was the wisest man who ever lived. He asked God for wisdom and that is what God gave him. Basically, this verse leads us to believe that we should encourage constructive criticism because to not do so is a form of pride. And pride is just stupid. YIKES. Pride creeps in everywhere, right? It’s hard to even recognize at times. Slinky, slanky, crawly, stealthy. Yeah, that’s the enemy for sure. And you can be certain that he is alive and active, and watching our every move. Waiting to trip us up. Puff us up. The enemy would love nothing more than to take us to his home.
I don’t know your thoughts on Heaven and Hell. I will say this, I believe Hell to be as real of a place as say, Alaska. It’s there. Just because you haven’t ever been to Alaska doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. But you can see Alaska, right? Pictures, maps, yes, you can see Alaska. If you pay attention, you can also see pictures of Hell. War, famine, death, weeping, darkness, pain, sorrow. Those are all real things that we see happening here on earth. These things are a glimpse of Hell. If you believe in Heaven, then surely you believe in Hell?
I have heard people say that they do believe in Heaven, yet are unsure if they believe in Hell. That’s confusing to me. The oldest argument I hear is, what if when we die we just die and that’s it. I say, well, what if it that isn’t it? Wouldn’t you rather believe in and have a relationship with Jesus and the thought of life after death than just be winging it and wait to find out once you’ve died? News flash, if you wait until you have died – that’s too late. I don’t believe we get the option of changing our minds after we die. Do you?
As I sit here and read about Hades (Hell), it is very clear, crystal clear, that it is the most horrific place to spend eternity. Horrific doesn’t even describe Hell. Seriously, never-ending wailing, sorrow, fear, nashing of teeth and I can’t even imagine what it smells like. Burning? Burning what? Flesh? Yes, it’s an extremely gruesome thought, and it should be, it’s Hell and complete separation from God. Blackness. Forever.
I hope you guys know that when I sit down each morning, I usually have no clue where these blogs will lead. I can promise you this, some days I am just as surprised as you. I was hoping to lean into Dumb and Dumber and look where it led. I guess we needed to hear about Hell today.
Happy Thursday! Make sure you know that you know that you know, your destination. Heaven (and Hell) are for real.
Can't it all be about dogs? 