Hell

Have you ever wondered about the existence of Hell?

Christ spoke about Hell eleven times in the scriptures. He did not say, “And the unrighteous will enter the house of God and be happy forever,” or “the impenitent will be destroyed and exist no longer.” 

Rather, He said explicitly that there is a place called Hell (Gehenna); that people go there, and that it’s forever. In speaking about the suffering in Hell, he described it as: “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46); “everlasting fire” (Matthew 25:41); “the fire that will never be quenched” (Mark 9:43-46); “the worm that never dies” (Mark 9:44). Of course, many of the things Jesus said during his earthly ministry can be construed in different ways. But not all of them. Certain statements he made simply preclude misinterpretation. Those having to do with Hell are in that category.

C.S. Lewis famously said: “In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of Hell is itself a question: ‘What are you asking God to do? To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But he has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what he does.”

Hatred and Forgiveness (John Ortberg)

" . . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19 ESV)

6 Characteristics of Successful People

Because I never trusted my talents, my looks, or my luck, and had little or no business connections, I decided to study what successful people did and tried to mimic it. Then I studied what unsuccessful people did and tried to avoid it. I read many books on this subject, graduated from the Dale Carnegie course on Positive Thinking and Public Relations, which culminated in co-founding a company that bundled this information in short, easy-to-digest courses that we taught to medium / upper-level executives of major companies such as Southern Foods, Coca-Cola, etc.

Now my life has consisted of many ups and downs, but I firmly believe that with God's help, we can all live a life that honors Him and serves others, and that to me is the definition of a successful life. 

So without further ado, here are my six traits shared by successful people (with an emphasis on the life of Andrew Carnegie):

Van Morrison - In The Garden

 Rarely does a week go by where I don't partake of the beauty and genius of Van Morrison's music.