For Atheists Only

 

What is it about Christianity that scares you?

Obviously it does else you would not get so defensive or act so vehemently against a simple Google or Facebook posting, or when you encounter the name of God or Jesus in the public square.

What about other entities that you don't believe in - do you get this way to those that believe or endorse the concept of a Santa Claus, or an Easter Bunny, or even against Satanists? Probably not, so why the vile attitude against Jesus believers?

It's because deep inside you know that there is a God and you think that you can curse Him away, but He was, He is, and He will always be.

And He loves you because you are His creation. 

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."

(Romans 8:5-8)

 

 

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The Argument over Same-Sex Marriage

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a landmark decision stating that same-sex marriages are protected under the Constitution of the United States and is to be upheld in every state of the union.  While the primary news media is focused on this ruling along with all of the social media outlets, the “elephant in the room” is that the SCOTUS totally overstepped its constitutional authority by absolutely dissolving “States Rights” under the Articles of Confederation and The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) to the United States Constitution.  The definition and governing of marriage should be a states’ issue and not under Federal jurisdiction, but that is an issue for another time because I want to address another aspect of this ruling that even most Christians are overlooking.

Here is an example of a typical narrative from a Christian to a gay rights proponent regarding same-sex marriage: “You are sinning against God therefore you are going straight to hell”.  Or maybe a bit more subtle approach might sound like: “The Holy Bible condemns same-sex unions or relationships therefore you are violating God’s Will (and you are going straight to hell).”

Fellow Christians, not only are we are not going to win any arguments with this approach, we certainly are not going to lead anyone to Christ this way either.  Why? Because we are presenting an invalid argument if the focus is on sin.

For a moment let’s forget about this “gay-sex” sin and let’s just focus on sin itself. When we change the conversation to generic “sin” we then must include ourselves into the equation because we are all sinners. The “gay-sex” sin is no greater or less of a sin than your sin or mine. We are all sinners, therefore “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23), and “… the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).  But as Christians we firmly believe that Jesus became our sin on the cross and through His death, burial and resurrection, the sin of the world was taken away.

Now, that does not mean that we no longer sin but the good news is that sin is no longer the obstacle to eternal salvation, and because man could never “not sin”, God “… so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). So, it’s not by our sin do we differ but through repentance! “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

On the flip-side of this same-sex marriage argument, the proponents state that this is an issue of love and that anyone should be able to love (marry) whom they please. Then the other tidbit is added to their conversation which is that those who disagree (Christians) are labeled as “haters”! There you go! Then one or both parties will either agree to disagree or they will just walk away forever admonishing the others beliefs with some colorful language added in to make the event more memorable.

It is at this juncture where I believe that Christians have not only lost the civil argument but also have a golden opportunity to reveal the very essence of God’s Love for mankind. It’s not often that Believers get an opportunity such as this to converse face-to-face with non-believers and one of the unintended consequences of the SCOTUS ruling is that this opportunity to share God’s love is now center stage not only in the United States but across the World because the entire World is watching, and discussing, this very subject. However, we appear to be so focused on winning an argument that we lose the opportunity to win souls over to Christ. 

So here is my shocking statement of the moment – the proponents of same-sex marriage are absolutely right when they assert that the issue of same-sex marriage is about love, or at least it should be about love. However, they are wrong when they also assert that those that disagree (Christians) with them about same-sex marriage are haters, because the Christian response is also about love, or at least it should be about love, because it’s all about God’s love. As Jesus reminded us  “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt 5:44).

Many times the gay-marriage supporters will also use scripture within the Holy Bible to admonish Christians that stand against their chosen lifestyle. One favorite tactic is when they chastise us with … “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And yet they conveniently forget the first commandment… “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength”.

The truth is that love for God and love for God’s Word is Christian love, or at least it should be! It is because of our love for God, and knowing first-hand God’s love for His creation, that we should not recognize any of man’s laws that violate God’s Law. It is also our love for God that we respond to God’s great commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19).

OK, I know that much of this is Christian mumbo-jumbo and that I might as well be speaking in “tongue” if I try to convince a non-believer to believe by employing this tactic. The typical response will be a glassy-eyed look of dismay. So what is one to do?

The simple response to a non-believer is the simple TRUTH. Yes, the stated above is all truth but let’s keep it simple and lay it all on-the-line, or let’s “put all our cards on the table”, or whatever bumper sticker phrase works for you, so here it is, or at least I pray it is!

When a non-believer accuses us of “hate” because we don’t support their stance on same-sex marriage, or perhaps abortion, of perhaps taking prayer out of the classroom, or what ever the sin-of the-day is, remind them just what it is that they are asking a Christian to do. Specifically, we are being asked to love man before we love God; we are being asked to love man’s law over God’s law; we are being asked to violate our beliefs in support of their beliefs; we are being asked to lead them away from eternal salvation instead of leading them towards eternal salvation, and we are being asked to hate everything that we love (God). If that doesn’t put perspective on this issue, then close with “…and you are going straight to hell” (just kidding)!

And, if someone is expecting us to minimize and to trivialize every belief we hold dear to our own being, is that someone expressing love or hate for us?

In closing I repeat from above, – the proponents of same-sex marriage are absolutely right when they assert that the issue of same-sex marriage is about love - because, for them, it is all about violating God’s love for man's love.

“But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.” (1 John 2:5)

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Going To Church

For most people we have been conditioned to view church as a place that we go to, as in a destination.  While that is certainly a truism, again for most people, the journey appears to end there, at the church, discounting the fact that one must leave the church to go home, for example. 

And while going to church is certainly a welcomed destination, I think that we have the whole process backwards. The current mindset is that we come from the world and go into the church. I am suggesting that we reverse that process whereby we come from the church and go into the world.

You see, if church is perceived as a destination versus a starting point, then everything that we learn in church tends to stay in church because, again, the mindset is that church is the destination. It is the end versus the beginning.

 

But if we perceive church to be the starting point, then when we leave church we take what we have learned into the world because “the world” is now the destination, it is where God intends us to take His Word.

 

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit….”  The disciples were commanded to leave The Master, Jesus, and go into the world to make disciples.  

Metaphorically speaking, Jesus was the church while He was on this earth, and from the Book of Acts we also learn that the early followers of the Risen Christ left Jerusalem to spread the message about the Messiah Jesus.  We, therefore, are expected to go from our church and take God’s Word into the world to make disciples.

 

And what is “the church”? For me, the church is anywhere we encounter God’s Word. It can be my Sunday place of worship; a Bible Study meeting; hearing God’s Word from various media sources; fellowship with believers; reading The Holy Bible; time spent in prayer or in our “secret place”; or just time alone with God.

Therefore, let us take God’s church into the world instead of keeping His church all to ourselves.

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The Mission Field

Calvary Chapel Villages Missionaries

 

Mission:  Calvary Chapel Villages is the “mission church” of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, and we, the members of Calvary Chapel Villages, are its missionaries. Hence, we are missionaries on a mission for Christ’s Church. We were planted here by God to disciple primarily to a senior community and secondarily to a younger population.

Mission Field:  We are uniquely situated to present / introduce the Gospel of Christ Jesus to a population that is chronologically closer to the end of their lives than found in an atypical population.  As ordinary missionaries, we are here to present Jesus’ promise of salvation to this segment of the population, and because of their age or health, it also may be the last opportunity these souls have to accept Jesus as their Savior.

 

In essence, we are disciples in a foreign land that is also our own hometown, our city, our neighborhood.  In His perfect planning, God brought us as missionaries here at this juncture of our lives to administer His Will - not to a desolate village in Africa, or to a poverty-stricken shanty town in South America, or even to a remote island in the Pacific Rim, commonplace destinations for Christian missionaries.  Instead, God knows that the natives here in Central Florida need to know His Son as well, and we have been called to do His Will.  

 

Therefore, our mission field is called “The Villages” and its surrounding communities, and our mission, as commanded by Christ Jesus, is to …

 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.  (Matt 28:19, NKJV)

 

 

 

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Christmas Greetings 2014!

 

Because we received a lot of positive feedback on our first annual update (2013) we decided to give it another go this year.  Besides, we have experienced some major changes since then so this may be the best medium to tell our story to our many friends and family.  If you recall in last year’s update we reminded you that Patty and I moved to Sacramento over eight years ago to care for her mom following her dad’s passing, and then, following the passing of Doris, we were planning to move back to Florida early this year (2014). Well, after a few setbacks and delays in selling the Carmichael house, Patty & I finally moved cross-country, back to Florida, to our new residence in The Villages, and any of you that follow Patty’s Facebook postings know all you need to know about “The Villages”.  Within two weeks after arriving here, we purchased our new home and spec’d-out our new “obligatory” golf cart, of which I refer to as our MVV (Main Villages Vehicle)! And with over 90 miles of golf cart paths we had to learn fast on negotiating the many golf cart paths and tunnels else we would have found ourselves lost for some time in this 42 square mile community!

 

 

Of course, leaving California was not that easy although it’s what we wanted to do. We left behind family, friends, a great church family, and years upon years of memories, especially for Patty considering her family moved into that house back in 1964, and many of the same neighbors there today were living there back then too!  But here we are in The Villages with over 100,000 potential new friends, including Kim & Bob Arserio, of which Bob & I knew each other since 1983 while serving together in the USAF. Oh yes, speaking of the Air Force, I donned once again my Air Force uniform to attend the Annual Military Ball held here in The Villages.  This time, however, I opted not the repeat my Duck Dynasty look as I did last year after I wore the uniform for Sandy’s USAF Retirement ceremony. 

 

We are, however, discovering that retirement life, especially here in The Villages, is not without its challenges! For example, with over 2,000 clubs and activities to participate in, one must become adept at time management else find oneself over-committed with conflicting social events.  So, for now, we have joined only a few activities such as: the Red Sox Nation Villages; the California Club; the Baby Boomers Club; the Pinellas Social Club; the Retired Military Club;

The Saturday Night Dance Club; Trivia Club; and the Straight Shooters Gun Club, which leaves us with some time for dancing nightly in one of the three Town Squares, Zumba classes for Patty / horse shoes for me;  swimming in any one of the 64 pools; bicycle riding and walking for exercise; Church & Bible study classes; and, oh yes, eating out (a lot)!

 

 

But Patty & I are aware, though, that while we have been blessed with moving here to this “Disney World for Adults”, God has a plan for us being here, a purpose other than just living the good life. So perhaps by this time next year we will report back to you with our own “good tidings of great joy” with that revelation.

But, for Christmas this year, and for our 2015 New Year’s resolution, Patty & I are anticipating spending as much time possible with our seven grand children (and their parents too), and considering that Disney World is just a one hour drive from The Villages,  we are convinced that we will accomplish the above with no difficulty.

 

 

 

In closing we wish you a

 

Merry Christmas

 

 and a blessed 2015!

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Synagogue of Satan

During an ongoing Bible Study of the Book of Revelation, the phrase “synagogue of Satan” was introduced in two verses for the first and only time in the entire Bible. Because I was both curious and intrigued by this phrase I wanted to delve a bit deeper into its potential interpretation(s) and application(s): 

Revelation 2:9  “I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” (NIV)

Revelation 3:9  “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.” (NIV)

In context to the above scripture verses, Jesus told the apostle John that the Synagogue of Satan are those who are Jews in every worldly definition but now are condemned by Him not to be.  This led me to question: “Why would Jesus reject the very people that God selected as His Chosen Nation?” 

However, in retrospect, perhaps this question may be better phrased: “Why would the very people that God selected as His Chosen Nation reject Jesus?”

A commentary on the above two scriptures revealed that in the New Testament, the Jewish identity involved more than a sense of national or religious heritage, it also was comprised of an element of faith and obedience to God.  Especially in today’s world, we can classify Jews as those that identify themselves as Jewish due only to their National inheritance, but with no other attachment to the Jewish Nation beyond that.  Many of these Jews do not even profess a belief in God! However, we also find many Jews today still following the religious traditions and the ancient law (the Pentateuch) of the historic Hebrews, as attributed to Moses. 

How then, one may ask, if the Jewish Nation that was strictly adhering the religious traditions and ancient laws of God, especially during the time that the apostle John wrote this revelation from Jesus, can be accused by Jesus as being “unfaithful and disobedient to God?” 

At first thought this may appear to present a conundrum because are not we Christians also commanded by God to follow His laws and to obey His commandments?  Of course the answer is “yes” but then why are the Jews considered by Jesus to be “unfaithful and disobedient to God” but we Christians are not – or are we condemned too?

First, for clarification, the passages (Rev 2:9 and Rev 3:9), do not pertain to the Jews that followed Jesus - those that comprised the early Christian church. Rather, these two verses address those Jews that rejected Jesus as the Messiah, - subsequently, they rejected Jesus as God, which meant that they were now worshiping a false god, and as such, were unknowingly doing the work of God’s adversary, Satan! In the words of Jesus, those Jews that rejected Him (in the New Testament and as well today), are unfaithful and disobedient to God because they rejected Jesus. In current vernacular, these Jews are not “saved” souls!

But wait! What about a group of “believers” whom label themselves today as Christians and profess to follow God’s laws and obey His commandments yet reject Jesus in many fashions?  You know who they are: those that reject the belief that Jesus is God; those that reject the belief of the Holy Trinity; those that believe that salvation does not come from Jesus but from works alone; those that believe that there are many other paths (religions) that lead to God; those that profess faith in saints or in Mary, the mother of Jesus; and the list, unfortunately, goes on!  Are not these “Christians” following a false god as did the Jews that refuted Jesus’ deity, thereby condemned by Jesus for being unfaithful and disobedient to God?  How do these “Christians” differ, if at all, from the condemned Jews? 

Well, I think it’s fair to assume that we know the answer to those questions.

Referencing back to Revelation 2.9 and 3.9, is not Jesus affirming His condemnation to what He revealed to the World as to His identity and to His purpose?  Let’s reacquaint ourselves with some of Jesus’ revelations in respect to His Divine identity:

John 3:16-18  “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (NIV)

John 5:21-24 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (NIV)

And speaking directly to and about the Jewish leaders, Jesus refuted their “religious posturing” with the following:

John 5:39-47 “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (NIV)

In summary, salvation comes to anyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah and accepts Christ Jesus as ones personal Savior. 

Anyone who believes differently belongs to the Synagogue of Satan.

 

 

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Christmas Message 2013

Christmas Greetings 2013!

We enjoy receiving annual update letters this time of year so we decided to give it a try ourselves.  Please do not expect any Pulitzer-prized documentary but hopefully you will enjoy our ramblings which are presented not in any particular order.

The Tracey Family enjoys its annual tradition of gathering-of-the-troops for a family reunion and in doing such we hold these gala events across the country in an effort to visit sights where a family member lives. As spread-out as we are, our annual treks have taken us (at least once) to Toledo, OH; Sacramento, CA; Colorado Springs, CO; Disney World, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and San Antonio, TX.  This year (2013) however, we deviated from this tradition slightly so we could attend Mom Tracey’s 90^th Birthday / Family Reunion, in Connecticut.  The “family reunion” in this instance was all seven of MomT’s children and as many of her relatives/grandchildren/friends that could attend. Some traveled as far away as Point Lay, Alaska, (look it up on a map, you will be impressed), and as near as already there (zero travel). In addition to MomT celebrating 90 years, what was super-special about this event was that this was the first time in too-many decades that all of the seven siblings (Traceski Tribe) were in the same place at the same time – and we did not kill one another (ha)!  We hope that you enjoy this photo of what the seven of us looked like approximately 60 years ago.  We thought that this was a better picture than one showing what we all look like today - oldie but goodie vs. old but not as good!

Another significant event this year was MSgt Sandra K. Mitchell’s retirement from the USAF as a Signals Intelligence Analyst Training Manager for the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Agency at Lackland AFB, TX, (whew). After 21.5 years her chance to stay at home with her four kids finally arrived - this made us very excited for Sandy and her family.  Sandy offered us the opportunity to participate in her retirement ceremony and she asked if I would wear my “old” USAF uniform. I told her that I didn’t have my old uniform; therefore I was not going to wear one to her retirement. Having said that, Patty and I felt like kids as we secretly drove to Travis AFB to be fitted in a new uniform for me. On the morning of her retirement, we had great pleasure surprising Sandy with me in full uniform! 

 Unfortunately life is not always kind or predictable.  The Bible tells us that in our lives we will have tribulations: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  For Patty and I this was our first year without her mom (Doris) and also without a great friend and Air Force buddy, Mike Weibel.  Doris lived to the ripe age of 94 years, which is a grand feat itself.  Mike, however, left this world way too soon, way too young and he, like Doris, left voids in our lives.  Both of their memories remain with us and are part of our daily being!

Many of you know that Patty and I moved to Sacramento over seven years ago to care for her mom after her dad passed away. Now, following the passing of Doris, we are planning to move back to Florida early next year (2014). God willing, our new residence will be in the Villages, FL, sometimes referred to as “Disneyland for Adults”, and any of you that follow Patty’s Facebook postings know all you need to know about “The Villages”. We have a few obstacles to overcome in the meantime so stay tuned for further updates!

 OK, that’s enough for now and we hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed putting it all together.  We’ll leave you with our Red Sox self-portrait in recognition of the BOSOX winning the 2013 World Series.

 

In closing we wish you a

 

Merry Christmas

 

 and a happy, healthy 2014!

 

 

 

 

The Homeless

Dedicated to my brother Jimmy

Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have dreams, hopes, or desires to work, prosper, and to live the American Dream!

"Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...."(Matt 5:12)

 
Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have feelings, emotions, or opinions! 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
(Matt 5:4)

 
Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have a need to be recognized and want to be respected as individuals created by God!  They are not faceless, soul-less anomalies.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matt 5:7)

Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have a love for others, love for you & I, and a yearning to be loved in return! 

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matt 5:9)
 

 Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have feelings of self-worth and a passion to be viewed as productive members of society!

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matt 5:5)

 Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have family, friends, a personal support system?

 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matt 5:6)

Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not have faith in a caring God and a love for Christ Jesus and just because they are homeless does not mean that the Holy Spirit does not reside in their hearts!

 

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt 5:8)

Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do not believe in themselves!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:3)

 

 Just because they are homeless does not mean that they do have faith in you and I with a heart of thanksgiving for our caring generosity, prayers, and love for them as our brothers and sisters!

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (Matt 5:11)

Just because they are homeless does not mean that they want your pity, money or material donations although they humble themselves as temporary recipients of our generosity and our concern for their immediate welfare!

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matt 5:10)

In retrospect, perhaps the only difference between "them" and "us" is a place called home! 


Finally, in closing, remember that just because they are homeless does not mean that they will never have a home because Jesus tells us all that...

"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?"

(John 14:2)

 

 

Life

The phrase should not be "Look where my life has taken me" but rather the phrase should be "Look where I have taken my life" because your life does not control or drive you; On the contrary, you control and drive your life.

Think about this: There will be life without you, but without you, you will have no life!

The term LIFE as addressed here is a non-entity.  It has no force or power to control your actions or decisions.  You are your life!   

Your life is the story about you, your history book if you will, and it contains no tomorrows, only yesterdays and moments ago.  Your future, a breath away from you now, has not been written yet, except in the mind of God. 

You can plan what you want out of your life but your life cannot plan that for you!  

If you are not happy with your life, unfortunately you cannot go back and change the story, but you can change your life story going forward.  Just remember that history tends to repeat itself which is why the wise person learns from past mistakes and grows on the positive aspects.

Now, if all this sounds like psycho-babble it is because it is psycho-babble and if you disagree and want to spend any time refuting what was written above, I have one bit of advice for  you ...

Get a life!

 

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

(James 4:14 NIV)

 

 

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CHOICES

Choose God over Everything;
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Choose Jesus over Satan;
Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Choose Salvation over Damnation;
Hebrews 9:28 ...so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

Choose Life over Death;
1 Job 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Choose Forgiveness over Condemnation;
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His Grace....

Choose Repentance over Sin;
Matt 3:2 "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

Choose Grace over Works;
Ephesians 2:8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

Choose Heaven over Earth;
Micah 1:3 Look! The LORD is coming! He leaves His throne in Heaven and tramples the heights of the earth.

Choose Love over Hate;
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law.

Choose Light over Dark;

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Choose Heaven over Hell;
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

Choose Peace over Troubles;
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Choose Faith over Hopelessness;
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Choose Truth over Falsehoods;
John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Choose Eternal Gifts over Temporary Treasures;
1 Peter 1:4 ...and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in Heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

Choose God's Word over the Lies of the World;
1 John 2:14 I have written to you who are God's children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God's word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one.

"You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 
(Deuteronomy 30:20)

 

 

 

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