“ And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.“–Matthew 10:28

In the 1800s, a well-known agnostic lecturer named Robert G. Ingersoll announced he would be giving an address on hell. Specifically, Ingersoll declared he would conclusively prove that hell was a wild dream of scheming theologians who invented it to terrify people.

As he approached the podium and began launching into his argument, a half-drunken man in the audience stood up and exclaimed, “Make it strong, Bob! There’s a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you’re wrong, we are all lost.”

That man’s outburst had so much truth in it. If those who deny the existence of heaven and hell are wrong, then they’re all lost. In fact, it’s quite possible – even probable – that many who argue so passionately against biblical notions of the afterlife do so out of fear, hoping they can stumble on just the right reasoning that will fully convince them they have nothing to worry about.

But heaven is real… and so is hell. We know this because the One who spoke the most about these subjects, Jesus Christ, was raised from the dead as a validation of every single word He preached.

Jesus’ words are true because He is God in the flesh, and God cannot lie. So instead of trying to reason your way out of thinking about the afterlife, trust in Jesus and have full confidence that you’ll escape hell and live with Him forever!-(Senior Living)

In referring to our trials and temptations we often use the word “overwhelming”, and they can be, unless we do as we’re told in our text. This is not just an invitation, as sweet as that is. This is a command! It is a command from the highest authority in the universe, to the neediest people on earth, with a promise from the One who cannot lie. Those who feel they are about to be crushed by their burden should cast it on the Lord without delay. James Smith stated the case like this:

“The unsearchable riches of Christ.–”Ephesians 3:8

My Master has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words. They are unsearchable! You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Saviour than you think him to be when your thoughts are at the greatest. My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them. Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus. When you put the crown on his head, you will only crown him with silver when he deserves gold. My Master has riches of happiness to bestow upon you now. He can make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters. There is no music like the music of his pipe, when he is the Shepherd and you are the sheep, and you lie down at his feet. There is no love like his, neither earth nor heaven can match it. To know Christ and to be found in him—oh! this is life, this is joy…… My Master does not treat his servants churlishly; he gives to them as a king giveth to a king; he gives them two heavens—a heaven below in serving him here, and a heaven above in delighting in him forever. His unsearchable riches will be best known in eternity. He will give you on the way to heaven all you need; your place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, your bread shall be given you, and your waters shall be sure; but it is there, there, where you shall hear the song of them that triumph, the shout of them that feast, and shall have a face-to-face view of the glorious and beloved One. The unsearchable riches of Christ! This is the tune for the minstrels of earth, and the song for the harpers of heaven. Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell out the good news to others.–Charles Spurgeon

Although life is difficult we can be conquerors rather than casualties, winners instead of losers, successes instead of failures.

A mere glance at Jesus stirs our senses and thrills our heart, but that is short-lived when our attention is diverted, and there are a lot of things vying for our attention. It’s time we stopped being stirred without being changed, as the song says, and fix our focus firmly on Jesus–at all times. It is only when we behold “as in a glass the glory of the Lord” that we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). Every day should be a changing day in our lives. When Paul gave a list of things to “think on” in Phil. 4:8 they may all be summed up in Christ. Looking unto Him we will enjoy “the peace of God which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). Remember, we go from glory to glory only when we change our glance into a gaze.