Scripture Snapshots:
REALITY CHECK
Series 1 Lesson 1
Life is full of uncertainties. Uncertainties like … What will I be when I grow up? What will the world be like then? Will I get married? Will I have kids? Will I pass math this year? What are we having for supper?
In this series of lessons, we are going to talk about life and how to deal with some of these uncertainties. In this lesson, however, we are going to take a reality check. What are some things that we can be certain of?
First of all, you are alive, and you are not alone. According to statistics, there are 8 billion humans on the planet, and that number keeps growing. Did you know that there are 385,000 babies born every day? At that rate, there will be 9.8 billion of us by 2050. Wow, that is a lot of people! And each one has a different story. And the story of how you got here may be a happy one or sad one, but either way, you are here … now. That’s reality.
Second, it’s a reality that one day you will die. You don’t know when that will be. It could be 50, 60, or 70 years from now, or … it could be today. Have you ever seen a cross along the sides of the highway? Each of those crosses represents a person who one day went off to school or work not realizing that they would never make it back home again. The death rate around the world is the same ... 100% of those people who are alive now, will die someday. 120 people die every minute. That’s 178,000 a day. While death is certain, the when and how parts are uncertain. That’s reality.
Thirdly, life is short! The Bible says, “Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” James 4:14
Even on a tombstone, a person’s whole life is summed up with a little dash that represents all the years they lived. Everyone has a free will and gets to determine how they live. The question is how will I live and does it really matter? What difference does it make? The Bible says that everyone has a free will and gets to determine how they live. It also says in Romans 14:12 that everyone will give an account of his life to God one day. If that’s true, which it is, then how you and l live our lives does matter. That’s reality.
Jeb Smith
1945-2014
I told you
I was Sick.
Another sad reality is that not everyone believes in God. The Bible very clearly tells us that the evidence for God is so obvious that people have to willfully choose to ignore Him or deny He exists (Romans 1). Other people have examined the evidence around them and believe that there is a God. The following roughly describes the worldview of people everywhere.
1) People who believe that there’s a God and they try to please Him.
2) People who believe in God but choose to ignore Him.
3) People who don’t believe that God exists.
People generally make daily choices and live based on one of those 3 worldviews. There are many false gods, too. The Bible says that Satan is behind them all. Religion is Satan’s number one way of deceiving people. He doesn’t care if they worship something, just not the one true God. That’s reality.
This also explains why everyone acts so differently. You and I make our choices and then live our lives based on what we believe in our hearts. And those beliefs vary from person to person. And the reality is that the choices we make every day do affect our lives. Each choice builds on the next one to make up our lives … you are the sum total of all the choices that you have made. So, from the time that you were born until the time you die, life is a series of choices. Make good choices, live well. Make poor choices, suffer the consequences. Have you seen that as a reality? Look around and you’ll see people who have made good choices and bad ones. That’s reality.
Soooo, now for the BIG question ….. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT CHOICES ARE?
To answer this question, you have 4 Choices:
Choice #1 – Do what the rich and famous people do. They seem to have it made.
Here’s a list of some rich and famous people from the past. What do they all have in common?
Robin Williams
Marilyn Monroe
Kurt Cobain
Whitney Houston
Heath Ledger
Elvis Presley
Howard Hughes
Vincent Van Gogh
Sigmund Freud
John Belushi
Prince
Michael Jackson
Answer: They were all rich and famous AND they all died by suicide or drug overdoses. Very sad!
Choice #2 – Take the advice of music and media.
The Bible tells us that we have three enemies that want to keep us from God: the World, the Flesh, and Satan. Satan influences and uses the world to tempt our flesh. Our flesh is the sin nature (aka the “want to” to sin) that we were all born with. All around us you will see and hear worldly music, TV shows, and movies that contain messages that are the complete opposite of what the Bible says … messages that lead us away from God. And, sadly, many people don’t read the Bible, so the only view they see/hear is the one Satan wants them to.
Choice #3 – Listen to your heart.
A song from back in the 1960’s said, “It’s my life, and I’ll do what I want. It’s my mind, and I’ll think what I want.” Another famous Disney song said that every wish/anything you desire will come to you if your heart is in your dreams. Today this way of thinking is still a big part of the way most people think and live.
BUT Jeremiah 17:9 says that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Apart from God, you can’t trust your heart to make the best choices. And when you choose sin, the consequence for that sin follows.
Galatians 6:7-8 says, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Sooooo how do you really make the right choices in life??? If you really desire to live a full and joyful life, where will you go for advice? All of the above will fail you. People’s lives prove it again and again. BUT there is another choice …
CHOICE #4 - THE BIBLE TELLS US THE RIGHT WAY – God, our Creator, knows what’s best for us and He has given us the Bible to show us the right way. The Bible gives instructions to follow … examples to learn from … promises to believe. In fact, I can say with confidence that the Bible gives us the answers to all of life’s uncertainties! Start reading for yourself in the Gospel of John … a few minutes every day. Here you will read about Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life … the ONLY way to come to God … this is the right choice!
Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth