When I was growing up, at about the age of 18 to 20, there came the time of the the super highways or Freeways- Up until that time all the areas around me were serviced by mostly 2 lane 2 way highways with some short 4 lane areas for passing or hills-

But then came the Super Highways- I worked construction on the Freeway that would run all across the United States,, two lanes divided by a median going each direction !!! What a great upgrade to the ole 2 lane back roads with long lines of traffic on busy or hazardous days !!!

The main problem with Freeways is that they are built for speed and covering a lot of country without interruptions !!! This is all well and good until you needed to turn off to get somewhere not directly serviced by the Freeways- To solve this problem most all Freeways had a, what we called a Frontage road, that ran parallel to them with an exit from the freeway every few miles onto these frontage roads- You would get off the Freeway and onto a Frontage road to get to the towns or areas around the Freeway !!

Following this same concept,,,, lets look at the Freeway of Life !!!

Lets say we are all born onto a Great Long Freeway complete with our own lane as we speed through life !! We are all together on this Super Freeway speeding along through our lives- Sometimes it is going where we want to go (we think) and other times it is going in a direction we don’t want to go (feeling something is not right) ,,,, so how do we get off this Freeway so we can get to where we want to be or more importantly,,, where we need to be !!!

As we come of age, we realize that this Life Freeway does not go on forever !!! There is a point, down the Freeway, that everything comes to an end !!! This is when we begin to realize that we are actually on the “Highway to the Danger Zone” (yes that is the title of a song from the 80’s by Kenny Loggins,,, made more famous as the main theme for the movie “Top Gun”) So what can we do and how can we get off this dangerous highway ???

Well that is where the Frontage Road comes into play- The catch is that there is only one exit onto this Frontage Road from the Freeway and you have to take it before you reach the end of the Freeway or it is too late to exit !!!

This Frontage Road is owned and operated by the Lord Jesus Christ and in order to exit onto it,,, you have to ask and receive his free gift of Salvation !!! The instant you Believe in him (Son of God), Admit you are a sinner, Ask for forgiveness, and desire to Repent in your heart,,,, you immediately exit the Freeway of this physical life and are cruising down the Frontage road of Spiritual life into Eternity in Heaven with Jesus !!!

So what if you don’t ever choose to exit this Freeway of Life (It is your choice only,,, no one can do it for you) ???

Well this Dangerous Highway turns into the Highway to Hell and once you reach the end without exit,,, it is too late to exit !!!

As the Bible states pretty clearly:

Matthew 7:13-14 NLT

[13] “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad (Freeway), and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. [14] But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road (Frontage Road) is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” I added the parenthesis !!

So folks,,, we are all headed down the Freeway of Life until we choose to take the one and only exit onto the Frontage Road to Salvation !!!

God Bless !!!

My Dad was a smoker and Lucky Strike was his cigarette of chose- He started smoking while he was in basic training in the Navy in the early forties after the start of the war with Japan- He was in basic training in California during the summer- Of course, they marched and trained every day- When the drill instructors decided to take a break,,, they would call out,,,, “smoke em if you got em”,,,, If you were a smoker you could move to the side of the field and sit and have a break,, if you didn’t smoke,,, you had to stand in formation,,, well,,, as you can image, everyone was a smoker by about the third day !!!

I never, in all my years growing up,,, saw my dad without his package of Lucky Strike’s and 90% of the time he had one in his mouth smoking it- He has passed away now but my mental picture of him is,,, his head is cocked a bit to the side so the smoke from his cigarette wouldn’t get in his eyes !!

Well as you can probably guess by now,, he got into his late seventies and was diagnosed with lung cancer,,, after smoking for 50 years !!! He went into Chemo-Therapy and later Radiation treatments- The Radiation basically finished him !!!

I was gone from home for most of this,,, but it was, of course, very hard on the family- My dad was a great dad,,, hard-working farmer and disciplined father and loyal husband- I wish I had practiced more of how he lived in my life !!!!

Anyhow sometimes during all his Chemo/Radiation treatment, I would go home to see everyone- My dad loved to cook and did most of the cooking during my teenage years at home- I walked into the kitchen one evening, when I was home, to see my dad while he was cooking,,,, Good Smells and Good Stuff- Then I looked up on the top of the refrigerator and setting there in plain sight, red and white, in all its splendor,,, was a package of Lucky Strike cigarettes ??? Surprised,,, I asked him,,, “Are you smoking again” ??? He quit when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, I was told- He said: “no I am not smoking” !! I asked,,, “Why do you have those cigarettes setting there???”,,, I will never forget his response,,, ” They are like an Ole Friend and I like seeing them up there” !!

My thought was,,, an old friend that is/was responsible for his early demise !!!! Anyhow he didn’t last long after that- The radiation zapped his immunity system to the point that he didn’t have any – Fluid in the lungs finally got him !!!!

I guess, looking back at all this is,,, what Ole Friends do I have in my life that are detrimental to my health or well-being and I still keep them around- They might be drinking, drugs, greed, unfaithfulness, lying, deception, unhealthy relationship,,, it could be any or all of them

The point is ,,, which of these “Ole Friends” am I hanging onto ,,, just off center of my attention- Even if I have quit them, do I still keep them in view ,,, just in case I have a weak moment !!!

To beat them I have to clear them off the top of the refrigerator,, out of mind and out of site/temptation !!! But how do I do that,,, I am a pretty weak person with some of these “Ole Friends”

I need help to beat these Ole Friends !!

In my life that help has always come through faith in the cleansing power of Jesus Christ- He is the only one that can change me from the inside out and help me overcome the temptation !!!

I am broken ,,, I am lost ,,, and I am a sinner ,,, but through prayer and faith in him I am slowly beating these detrimental “Ole Friends ”

In my long years of experience,,, nothing but the cleansing power of Jesus in your life will truly free you from these detrimental, eternity threatening, Ole Friends !!!

The Truth Will Set You Free ,, John 8:31-32 – 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

God Bless !!!!

Death, now here is a word and thought we may not want to think about or talk about very often !! But the fact remains that this is the one future event that is 100% certain to happen !! We are all going to face Death- As the ole saying goes “No one gets out of this life alive” !! Or as it states in the Bible,,, Hebrews 9:27 – Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment –

So the question is, should we fear death ?? Well from my perspective, that question has both a yes and no answer, depending on the preparations/decisions we make in this present life !!

Death is, in the most simple terms, an exit door- It is the door that takes us from this physical existence on earth into our spiritual existence in Heaven or Hell, depending on our decision while here on earth !!!

On the, No I don’t fear death, side of the coin is the person who has made the decision to accept the saving grace of the Lord Jesus and accepted him as their personal savior- At that point you are born again (spiritually) and filled with his Holy Spirit- Then, when you pass through Death’s door you will be welcomed into Heaven by Jesus and reside in Paradise with him and all the other believers for Eternity- No more pain, No more illness, No more Sin and No more Lies and Deception !!! Happiness, Contentment, Joy and Peace for Eternity !!!

On the other side of the coin, Yes I do(should) fear death, is the person who has not made a decision to accept Jesus, has put off the decision for later or knowingly refused his saving grace offer- This person will also pass through the exit door of death, but will not be welcomed into Heaven, but be sent to Hell for Eternity !! Total separation from Jesus, constant torment and suffering for ever and ever !! At that point there is no way to change your mind or circumstances – Definitely, not a place that anyone would desire to be, if the real truth is known- Once you pass through Death’s door, there is no going back !!! Your earthy decision is final, whether you made a conscious decision not to accept (reject) Jesus or just put it off too long and didn’t make a decision or commitment to Jesus before your death !!!

Death is a done deal for everything here on earth and you can’t take anything from here with you – You can’t change your mind afterwards, no church can save you, no individual can save you, no one can buy you out of Hell- It is completely and only your decision to make while you are living here on earth !!!

If you haven’t made your decision yet or have made the wrong decision, not to accept Jesus, you still have time to change your stance and solidify you place in Heaven while you are still here !!! Something to seriously think about – Don’t put it off !!! We do not know our scheduled time to meet Death !!! There are a lot of people that were living yesterday that have meant Death today and will not have the opportunity to make their decision tomorrow !!!

Why would I write about this,,,, because I seriously believe in the Truth of Jesus’s teachings and do not wish Hell on anyone,,,, friend, foe, or unknown !!!

This truth is from John 14:6 – “Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me” – In short,,, if you want to spend eternity in Heaven with your God Father ,,, you have to know and accept Jesus, the Son while here on earth !!!

God Bless Everyone !!!

There is a worldwide event in our, not to distant, future that will be a game changer !!!

In an instant, the blink of an eye,,,,, millions of people will simply disappear off the face of the earth !!!

This will be an event of Biblical proportions,,,, I say Biblical because this will be of such magnitude it will be far beyond anything any man, nation or government is capable of pulling off,,, even with all our vast knowledge, super technology and mighty power we think we have achieved !!!

This is the event that is known as the Rapture of God’s children (church) back up to Heaven to be with Jesus for eternity !!!

”For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess, 4:16-18).

Okay, so why am I writing about this ??? Because there is Good News and Bad News associated with this event and the Lord wants you understand and hopefully/prayerfully prepare for it !!

If you have believed, accepted and asked forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ ,,, you are one of his children and you will be beamed out of here in this Rapture Event (whether dead or alive),,,,Great News and the end of your worries here on earth !!!

IF you are still alive after this event takes place and you survive the chaos, death and destruction that will take place immediately after the Rapture of millions of people,,, there will still be an opportunity to ask Jesus for forgiveness and accept him,,, but it will be incredibly difficult !!! God will pull out his restraining influence of the Holy Spirit and the world will be turned over to the “Prince of the Air” ,,,, Satan ,,, who is the Archenemy of Jesus and anyone or anything that is associated with him !!

A bit more of the Bad News,,, if you are already dead or are killed during the chaos and destruction that will certainly occur here on earth with so many people simply disappearing and you have not accepted Jesus as your savior,,, then your fate is sealed !! If you put it off and don’t accept him or reject him or simply do not make the decision and you die,,, there is no “second chance” in death,,, you will spend eternity in Hell !!!

I would implore you not to put this decision off any longer !! Seek out Jesus and open your heart to him- He is always here and will comfort you and save you by his saving grace and fill you with his heavenly peace !!!

This Rapture event is not a matter of “if” it is only a matter of when,,,,,,, and looking at the world around me today ,,,, I would guess the “when” is not to far off !!!

God Bless and have a Merry Christmas Celebrating the Birth of Christ !!!!