Friday I got up early-early and drove over to Jacksonville to meet with some businessmen at an exclusive country club breakfast conducted by their Rotary Club. I was told that these guys were the “heavy hitters” in that city and would probably be interested in booking some corporate retreats and quail hunts at our resort and thus it would be worthwhile for me to make the early morning drive.
There were about 50 guys present and my son and I showed a slide presentation of Honey Lake Plantation Resort and Spa. Never wanting to miss an opportunity to share my faith I very briefly recounted how I came to own the plantation beginning with how I started out as an atheist, homeless, drug addict and then found Jesus Christ and He took over my life which enabled me to become a family man and find success and prosperity in business.
After our presentation a man came up to me and told me that he’d suffered terribly for years from cocaine addiction and had gone to the Betty Ford clinic, and he wondered if I’d attended a similar rehab clinic or was an AA member. I answered that there were plenty of fine organizations out there that have helped thousands of people, but I’d found my freedom from drugs and alcohol strictly through my faith in Jesus Christ and in reading the Bible.
He told me that he had gone through several programs of every make, shape, and description, but that he did not make his breakthrough until he also came to grips with the realization that we cannot succeed unless or until we have Jesus Christ take over our lives, (which involves complete surrender on our parts). Apparently he had wealth and had tried to find his peace through it and the material things that it offers, (including mega doses of cocaine), but he found that the black hole inside us cannot be filled with what the world has to offer.
The other day I was in a prison offering my testimony to some hardened criminals. Most were attentive, but a few in the back were being disruptive. I looked at them and said, “You see those guys in the back? They think they’re tough and this Jesus stuff is for sissys. I used to be just like them, but I found out that the world was a whole lot tougher. One day I took a little tab of acid, (LSD) the size of an aspirin and then freaked out with what is commonly referred to as a ‘bad trip’. That was the understatement of a lifetime. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor crying and screaming like a woman, so scared I thought I would literally shake to pieces. I remained like that for three days. I wasn’t afraid of guns, knives, clubs, sociopathic prison inmates or guards, but a little pill brought me to my knees.”
Not long after that I got drunk, crashed a car in a head on collision, and ended up in a coma in the hospital barely hanging on for dear life. The doctors told my relatives that if they wanted to see me alive one last time before I died, they’d better hurry and get there. While in a coma I had a vision that I died. I then watched a review of my rotten life, and after it concluded I was sent directly to hell. The indescribable horror of it is still etched firmly in my brain. When I regained consciousness, I didn’t feel tough, (more like a scared little rabbit).
We all have that hole inside that can only be filled with Jesus Christ’s love. Forget about the trials and tribulations you endure in this mere 80 or so years on this earth; think about being in hell forever and facing everlasting torment. To this very day I firmly believe that God opened a window into hell with these two experiences and allowed me to see the dreadfulness of what is to come to those who reject Jesus Christ.
It is true that modern religion downplays the anguish of hell and indeed some now even doubt or outright deny its existence. They speak from their own twisted theology. Make no mistake the Bible warns again and again about the horror of it. Jesus described hell more than anyone else in the Bible and he didn’t mince words. He said there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” and those who went there would endure “fire and brimstone” and eternal darkness and anguish. Personally I shudder to think of it.
Why do you suppose Jesus Christ talked about it so much?
He warned of hell because He loves us and does not want anyone to end up there. If you aren’t sure that if you were to die today that you will go to heaven, then for crying out loud do something about it. Think about these verses and then SURRENDER your life to Him while there is yet time.
Romans 3:23
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.