But I'm a Good Person
This past week, I spent time doing mission work with Operation Mobilization in the wonderful country of Ireland. Ireland is truly one of those places that looks just like the movies. The country is full of breath-taking, green, majestic life. However, shortly after arriving to this place, I learned something truly heartbreaking: while the landscapes may be full of life, spiritually, the country is dead.
Estimated statistics state that 1.5% of Ireland's population knows the Lord personally. 1.5%. As far as English speaking, free-religion countries go, that is the lowest percentage of saved people worldwide. How devastating is that? If that country was wiped out tomorrow, 98.5% of its inhabitants would be permanently separated from God in hell. That was so sobering to me.
And here is the problem:people do not think that they have a need for Jesus Christ. Time and time again, as I was speaking to people about the Gospel, they would say something along the lines of, "Sure, I think I will go to heaven. I'm a good person." One man told me that because he was 90% good, he believed that God would see that and let Him into heaven.
Friend, if you are reading this and are in the same boat, let me take a moment and plead with you to hear the truth. Romans 3:23 states that, "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." A God who is 100% good cannot allow someone who is 90% good into His perfect heaven. We have sinned. We have fallen. We are not good enough. On our own, we are destined to hell. BUT GOD, in His merciful state, looked down on us with compassion. He sent His perfect Son Jesus down to this Earth to live a blemish-free life. He died a brutal death on the cross as the sacrifice for our wrong-doing and was RAISED TO LIFE three days later. But repenting and believing in Him, we are able to have assurance of salvation in Christ alone.
My heart was broken by the amount of people in Ireland who have not had this message made real in their own lives. They truly believe that by fulfilling their standard of being a good person, that they will be able to get to heaven. With just about every person I shared with, the concept of needing a Savior to provide salvation seemed so foreign and bizarre. There was no hope. There was no assurance.
So friends, please spend time with me on your knees for this people. We have been given the gift of freely being able to share the Gospel in that country. So pray for more laborers to go out. Pray for hearts to be opened. Pray for salvations.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1
Estimated statistics state that 1.5% of Ireland's population knows the Lord personally. 1.5%. As far as English speaking, free-religion countries go, that is the lowest percentage of saved people worldwide. How devastating is that? If that country was wiped out tomorrow, 98.5% of its inhabitants would be permanently separated from God in hell. That was so sobering to me.
And here is the problem:people do not think that they have a need for Jesus Christ. Time and time again, as I was speaking to people about the Gospel, they would say something along the lines of, "Sure, I think I will go to heaven. I'm a good person." One man told me that because he was 90% good, he believed that God would see that and let Him into heaven.
Friend, if you are reading this and are in the same boat, let me take a moment and plead with you to hear the truth. Romans 3:23 states that, "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." A God who is 100% good cannot allow someone who is 90% good into His perfect heaven. We have sinned. We have fallen. We are not good enough. On our own, we are destined to hell. BUT GOD, in His merciful state, looked down on us with compassion. He sent His perfect Son Jesus down to this Earth to live a blemish-free life. He died a brutal death on the cross as the sacrifice for our wrong-doing and was RAISED TO LIFE three days later. But repenting and believing in Him, we are able to have assurance of salvation in Christ alone.
My heart was broken by the amount of people in Ireland who have not had this message made real in their own lives. They truly believe that by fulfilling their standard of being a good person, that they will be able to get to heaven. With just about every person I shared with, the concept of needing a Savior to provide salvation seemed so foreign and bizarre. There was no hope. There was no assurance.
So friends, please spend time with me on your knees for this people. We have been given the gift of freely being able to share the Gospel in that country. So pray for more laborers to go out. Pray for hearts to be opened. Pray for salvations.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1
Comments
Post a Comment