Suicidal Thoughts, Sin and Salvation

Bill Keller wrote a devotional today that I
recommend to you for your consideration.  It has food for
thought.  He has given me permission to copy his e-mails,
and I'm sure he would be happy if you would share this
with people you know as well.

Do you ever think about ending your life? 

What would such an act do to your relationship with God? 
What does God want for you?

Please read on.

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL   FRIDAY MAY 19, 2006
( Genesis 2:7 )

Suicide.  One of the saddest things that I have to deal
with every single day is the tragedy of someone taking
their own life.  The fact is, right now there are people
reading these words who are actually contemplating
killing themselves.  If this is you, or if you have had
thoughts of killing yourself, know that it is no accident
you are reading these words today. God is trying to speak
to you, so please, LISTEN TO HIM!

You see my friend, God not only loves you very much, but
He is the one who gave you your life and wants you to
live.  It is satan who wants you dead! Never forget that
satan has come to what, KILL, steal, and destroy!  Satan
wants you dead!  The thoughts you have of killing
yourself don't come from God, they come from satan.  He
is the one telling you that you would be better off dead. 
He is the one who is telling you that you should just
give up and kill yourself.  He is the one who is telling
you that the best answer to your problems is to take your
life.  He is the one who is telling you that everyone
else will be better off if you were dead.  He is the one
who is telling you that your life is meaningless and it
is not worth living any longer.

SATAN IS A LIAR!  In John 8:44, Jesus tells us that he is
the "father of lies," that when he speaks, he "speaks his
native language," LYING!  The thoughts you have of
killing yourself are coming directly from the pits of
hell, from the very lips of that liar satan!

God on the other hand wants you to LIVE!  God is Truth! 
It is God who is telling you to live.  It is God who
loved you so much He sent His very Son to die for your
sins.  It is God who is telling you to cast your cares
on Him and let Him see you through those difficult times. 
It is God who says you are not alone, that He will never
leave you nor forsake you.  It is God who is telling you
that your life has meaning and purpose.  It is God who is
telling you that He has given you life and life
abundantly.  It is God who is telling you to trust Him
and LIVE!

So what this really boils down to is who do you listen to,
satan, who is a liar, or God, who speaks Truth? 
Seriously, if you are having thoughts of killing yourself
or if you have ever had thoughts of killing yourself, you
have got to understand where those thoughts are coming
from and ultimately make the choice who you are going to
listen to.  If you are having thoughts of killing 
yourself today, or if you have ever had those thoughts,
make sure you take a moment to ask yourself the critical
question of who you are going to listen to, satan, a liar
who wants you dead, or God, who represents Truth and
wants you to live.

Now let me answer one of the most asked questions I get
each day.  Killing yourself does NOT keep you from
Heaven, the only thing that keeps you from Heaven is
rejecting Christ as your Savior. 

*THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS OK TO KILL YOURSELF OR A PASS
TO COMMIT SUICIDE!!!  Make no mistake, killing yourself
IS a sin.  To even think of suicide is rebelling against
God.  However, the ONLY sin that will send you to hell
is rejecting Christ.  If you have truly accepted by faith
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you commit
suicide, you will spend eternity with God your Creator.

The reason suicide is a sin is because it is God who gives
us life for the purpose of serving and glorifying Him, and
it is ONLY God who can say when our work here on earth is
finished.  Remember, if you accept Him into your heart it
is NOT your life any longer, it belongs to Him.  That
means it is NOT your right to end your life.  That right
only belongs to God.  Suicide is an act of rebellion
towards God!.

I know there are some people who erroneously believe that
if you kill yourself you can't go to Heaven since you died
without repenting of that sin.  According to that
erroneous theology, if you commit a sin, have a massive
heart attack and die instantly without confessing that sin
you committed prior to dying you would be lost for all
eternity.  Sorry, but that is simply not what the Bible
teaches.

Some may ask, what are the consequences of the sin of
suicide since it ends your life?  One of the consequences
of all sin is it keeps us from enjoying our relationship
with the Lord.  Sin keeps us from being all God wants us
to be.  Sin keeps us from knowing the joy, the peace, the
abundance the Lord promised to us in this life.  Those
who commit suicide have already allowed the enemy to blind
them to God's love, otherwise, they would never make such
a horrible choice.  Someone who commits this act misses
the fulfillment of God's perfect plan for their life.  It
is a very sad way to end this wonderful journey, and a
way God never intended!

Suicide is really nothing more than an act of cowardice
and is one of the most selfish things anyone can ever do. 
Despite all the reasons that satan the liar gives you to
kill yourself, it really boils down to the fact that only
a coward chooses this course of action.  Rather than deal
with the problems of life, fight through them, work
towards victory in the power God can give you, you chose
instead to simply stop living altogether.  That my friend
is a coward's answer to their problems.

Suicide is also one of the most selfish acts a person can
commit.  One of the great lies satan feeds a person
thinking about killing themselves is that their family
and friends would be better off if they were dead.  The
truth is, a person who kills themself leaves behind
family and friends, who in many cases, spend the rest of
their life carrying around unnecessary guilt over what
role they may have played in causing the person to kill
themselves.  I deal daily with family members and friends
of a person who has committed suicide and they experience
tremendous guilt over what they may have done to force
their loved one or friend into taking their life.

*To you family members and friends of someone who has
committed suicide, YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY
CHOSE TO DO!  They, not you, made this sad and tragic
choice.  So please, don't put yourself under the
unnecessary burden of carrying around guilt from
something you didn't cause and didn't do.

Let me speak directly to anyone who may be contemplating
suicide this very moment.  It is God who gives us this
precious gift we call life.  Dealing daily with some of
the most incredible human situations you can ever imagine,
I understand the pain, the difficulty, the hopelessness
so many live with each day.  It is always at the lowest
points in our life when the enemy attacks us.  Like with
everything, there are always scenarios, always
circumstances we can point to, but sin is sin, and no
amount of justification changes that.  THERE IS ALWAYS AN
ANSWER OTHER THAN SIN!!!!

I love you, and I care about you more than you will ever
know.  The pain I feel daily as I walk with you in your
time of need is sometimes overwhelming.  But I keep the
truth and promise of God's Word in my heart, and the hope
and love we have in Christ in my every thought.  I will be
praying today for you, that you will never even consider
suicide as an option.  IT IS NOT AN OPTION BECAUSE YOUR
LIFE BELONGS TO GOD.  Only God can say when it is over.

Instead of focusing on the lies of the enemy, on the pain
and the circumstances in your life, look instead to the
Truth we find in God's Word, the promises and hope we have
in Christ and the fact God will ALWAYS give us a path of
escape.  God has a wonderful and perfect plan for your
life.  The key is you have to be alive for that plan to
unfold.  Don't ever take this wonderful gift of life for
granted, because it will be over soon enough.  In the
meantime, we need to be focused on what it is God wants
from our life, what it is God wants us to accomplish each
day for Him.

Let me leave with you two powerful truths from God's Word. 
The first is, He loves you so very much.  The second is,
He is a God of answers.  Embrace His love for you today,
and let Him help you find the answers to those questions
you have.  There is only one option if you know Christ as
your savior and that is to LIVE for Him.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

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(C) Copyright 2006, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

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May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2006 Donald W. Mitchell