How Will You Spend Eternity...Smoking or Non-Smoking?

"Rejoice And Be Glad, Because Great Is Your Reward In Heaven, And For The Same Way They Persecuted The Prophets Who Were Before You."

Matthew 5:12

"Do Not Be Afraid Of Those Who Kill The Body But Cannot Kill The Soul. Rather Be Afraid Of The One Who Can Destroy Both Soul And Body In Hell."

Matthew 10:28

In the AME Church we believe in Heaven or Hell...

There is no in-between or Purgatory as some call it...

There is a Book of Life with our Father and I am certain my name is in it...

Not every ones name is written in this book...

It isn't enough to just have Faith that God exists, you have to believe that Jesus died for our sins, that God raised Him from the dead and you have to confess with your mouth that Jesus is our Lord, then and only then are you saved.

All the good deeds you spend your life doing won't be enough, you won't be able to "earn" your way into Heaven...

You are saved by God's grace, accessed by your faith, which is found in His word.

The good works that you do in your life should come from the well within your soul that has been placed there by the Holy Spirit - The nature of Jesus Christ.

Baptism is important as well...

That is part of your initiation in the Kingdom of God, it marks you as a Child of God...

It is about what God is doing from that moment forward because we acted in faith.

According to the Bible, Heaven is going to be absolutely beautiful...

The Apostle John, who wrote the Book of Revelation had a dream one night in which an angel appeared to him and showed him many things, among these things, Heaven was one of them.

The walls of Heaven are so clear, you can see through them.

The foundation of the city walls are made up of 12 precious stones...

There are 12 gates and each gate is made up of a single pearl...

The city street is made up of pure gold...

There is no temple because the Lord God and the lamb are the temple...

There is no sun and there is no moon...

The glory of God gives the light and the lamb is its lamp.

Nothing impure will ever enter, and only those whose name is in the Book of Life will pass the gates.

There will no longer be any pain nor any suffering, the people who hurt you here, will no longer be allowed to hurt you there.

In my mind, children are running freely over the clouds, happy and carefree...

Safe from the troubles of this world...

Adults are calm and peaceful and everyone has a smile...

You are able to go directly to your Father and finally be at peace within your soul...

The people you have lost throughout your lifetime are there waiting for you, with open arms...

Family members, friends, loved ones etc...

I imagine the colors are more vivid then the eye can see down here...

Brilliant greens, blues, oranges, yellows, reds, purples etc...

Rainbows and precious waterfalls everywhere the eye can see...

Angels playing and singing soothing music...

Flowers and trees all bursting with life...

Animals roaming freely...

There is no hate, there is no despair, there is no anger - Nothing but pure love given by our holy Father.

So what happens when you find yourself facing our Lord and come to find out you aren't in the Book of Life?

First of all you need to realize, He isn't sending you to hell, you did that yourself by rejecting Him in this life...

I feel for you, I truly do because even though I prefer the darkness and all it has to offer, I do not relish the thought of that darkness.

While I find a nice, crackling fire soothing, the thought of eternal fire for my soul just doesn't do it for me...

So once you are cast into that Lake of Fire, what is next?

I am limited by my imagination, while good, even I am unable to touch on what Hell truly is.

I imagine absolute black...

Not darkness per se...

But walls of the blackest black you have ever seen...

Possibly floors of molten lava...

And unimaginable screams of agony that go on and on and on - Forever.

There is hate and despair and doubt and fear and anger and rage and sadness etc...

All the feelings that suck at your self-worth here on earth, will be magnified ten-fold in Hell...

You will be in the company of non-believers, rapists, murderers, adulterers, pedophiles etc....

Basically the worst of the worst.

The Bible states, in Psalms 9:17, "The Wicked Shall Be Turned Into Hell"...

So not only will you be in Hell, you shall become Hell.

You will see it, smell it, taste it, feel it, live it - For all eternity.

You will be ruled by Satan himself along with his dark angels...

Satan - The ruler of all that is evil will now be with your soul forever.

I can't even begin to imagine the torment you will then be facing...

The pain of an eternal life filled with fire and brimstone.

Guess what Hell doesn't have?

Hope...

Once you are there, there is no escape...

Now picture this....

You are dead (I know morbid, however go with me here)...

Your soul has left your body...

Which direction is it going?

For this moment in time let's just go with Hell....

You are heading to Hell, after living your life the way you wanted to live it with no concern for anyone else...

You didn't believe, you didn't give thanks, you didn't care about anything or anyone other then you...

So, now your soul is traveling towards your home for all of eternity...

What is that awful noise?

Screaming souls which are burning...

The smell filling your nose?

The stench of those same burning souls...

Fire has ignited your face and flames are coming out of your eyes, mouth, ears and nose...

The pain, the agonizing pain, when will it end?

That is when it hits you - Never, ever, ever...It will never stop.

You scream and plead and beg for God to release you from the pain you are feeling...

You ask why He didn't warn you, however He did...

All those times you sat in His house and were there only to fill a square...

Remember the man at the front of the Church asking if anyone needed to be saved?

My Pastor ends every service calling people to not walk but run to the Altar while the blood is still warm and flowing...

Remember all those Bible verses that warned of Hell and what would happen upon being thrown into that Lake?

Remember Sunday School, being taught about Heaven and Hell?

Remember hearing about it throughout your journey of life?

Now remember all the times you rejected your ticket from Him...

Your ticket out of an eternity of Hell...

You may not know the Bible from beginning to end, I know that I don't, however I do know enough about where I want to spend eternity...

I may be a "child of darkness", however even this child needs light every now and then.

We all make mistakes within the course of our life, sometimes our mistakes are huge and we would give anything to go back and change them...

However I believe that if you die without Jesus Christ, that will be the biggest mistake you will ever make.

I know a lot of you are saved, you believe and you practice...

No offense however I am not speaking to you, I am speaking to the ones who may be standing next to you, sitting near you, or laying beside you...

We all have sinned and we all fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).

If you are reading this, you still have a chance to be saved...

So what is it going to be?

Smoking or non-smoking?

LINCOLN BREWSTER
I Will Give
With The Life That I've Been Given
And Go Beyond Religion
To See The World Be Changed
By The Power Of Your Name