Inspirational Article From Joanne Lowe Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web

EMPTY WORDS

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

Ezekiel 3: 17, 18 King James Version

Last week a dear friend of mine sent me several books that she has written. In one of her books, she describes in vivid detail the emotions of people who are in the midst of a hurricane. I can only read so much at a time and then I have to put the book down because there is so much pain and horror. Jesus tells us about another scene that will be far worse than the scene described in the book that my friend sent me.

One day, Jesus is coming back for us and for those of us who have not accepted Him as our personal Saviour, we will be left behind. What a terrible day of sorrow, regrets, anguish, desperation and suffering that is going to be for the ones who have not been cleansed by His precious atoning blood that He shed for us on the cross of Calvary!

How heartbroken our families, our loved ones and our friends will be when they go to Heaven with Jesus to live with Him for all eternity and they see the members of their families who have not accepted Jesus as personal Saviour left behind. No wonder God told us that He would wipe away all tears from our eyes. (Revelation 7: 17).

Many years ago, before God took my terrible temper from me and replaced it with a heart of compassion for people, when I got angry I would say “go to hell.” How my heart breaks when I realize what I was saying to those people. Thank God for His mercy, grace and forgiveness. Oh dear friends, hell is a real place and the most terrible thing about going to hell is that we will be apart from Jesus for all eternity. There are so many people who are lost and who desperately need to know that Jesus loves them.

Not only should we warn our families, our loved ones and the world about the consequences of not accepting Jesus as their personal Saviour, we should also be kind and loving to them. However, if they don’t see Jesus in us, they will not believe us. They are just empty words that mean nothing to them.

If we don’t warn our families, our loved ones and the world that without Jesus they will die in their sins and go to hell, God is going to hold us responsible. Joyce Landorf, an author and speaker, says on one of her teaching tapes “We need to witness; that is a truism, but it is almost impossible to witness to people unless we are first their friends”.

I remember people telling me that I was on my way to hell because I had a terrible temper. Not one time did anybody tell me that Jesus loves me. Friends, if we are going to reach our families and a lost and hurting world for Jesus, we must first let them know how much Jesus loves them.

Truthfully, I didn’t care that I was going to hell because I didn’t think it could be any worse than what I was going through at that particular time. I am not the only person who ever felt that way. I have received several emails in the last two years from people who have told me “hell can’t be any worse than what I’m enduring right now.”

What a sad commentary on those of us who claim to be Christians that people don’t see the difference that Jesus made in our lives when He forgave us and saved us. They don’t see the joy on our faces and they don’t hear His compassion in our words. May God forgive us for not being a better reflection of our precious Saviour!

Joanne Lowe

October 23, 2007

Back To Joanne Lowe Index