Naughty or nice?

"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left." Matthew 25:32-33

Santa has two lists, the naughty and the nice. It's pretty simple really. If you're on the nice list, you get gifts. If you're on the naughty list, you don't. This type of thinking implies that if your good outweighs your bad, or if you're basically a "good person", you will go to heaven. That's simply not true. There's nothing we can do or not do that will make us good enough. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

God has two lists too- the sheep (nice) and the goats (naughty).  To those on the nice list, "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (v.34) and to those on the naughty list, "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (v.41). You can be sure we will all receive the gift due to us as told in Matthew 25:46, " “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The "naughty" will receive a gift far worse than coal but the "nice" will receive the precious gift of eternal life. Could there be any better present? 

The choice is yours. What better time of year to accept the greatest present ever offered? The best part is, no matter what you have done or where you have been, Jesus is offering this priceless gift of salvation to you today. Through faith, you can open your hands and your heart to receive it. Simply say this prayer:

Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that you died to save me from my sins. I believe that there is no salvation apart from you. I give myself to you today. Come into my heart and live in me that I might have eternal life. Thank you for the gift of salvation and for dying on the cross for me. I pray this in your holy name Lord, Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

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When Love was born - Mark Schultz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKSU9Dbxvrw