Putrid Cake and You

I attended a wedding this past weekend.

It was a wonderful event. Friends and family gathered together to witness the joining of a very happy couple. Unfortunately, it was held on Sunday afternoon. Due to travel requirements and the fast approaching work day, many of those who traveled from out of town had to leave after only a few hours.

When the bride and groom noticed the dwindling crowd, they decided to cut and serve the cake while there were still people who could enjoy it.

Wedding cakes, if you haven't seen one recently, are as much a centerpiece as a dessert. Cakes used to be made by bakers, then pastry chefs, but now there are 'Cake Design Teams', and the prices reflect the team effort. There's even a television show, "The Cake Divas", where teams show off their creations.

But for all the icing, decorations, lattice, bridges, and tiers, if the cake tastes bad, no one will eat it. The foul inner cake outweighs all the enticement and appeal of the outside.

People are the same way. You can put on the best clothes, be polite, smile often, and have a great sense of humor. You might even fool most people into thinking you are a good person, a fine citizen, or even a model church member. But our foul inner-self is clearly seen by God.

1st Samuel 16:7 says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart!"

Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."

What will God give to those who are foul inside, and how do you know how He will see you? It takes only a minute or two to find out.

Have you ever told a lie? What do you call people who tell lies?

Have you ever looked at someone, a video of someone, or a photo of someone, and lusted? Jesus Christ said that if you look with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart. Since God searches the heart, He knows that you've done this.

Have you ever used God's name flippantly, in disgust, or to cuss? That's called blasphemy, and during the time of the Old Testament, the punishment for blasphemy was death. Why? Because you've taken the name of the Holy God, the One who allows you to wake up every day, and used it without reverence. You wouldn't do that with your mother's name, or your fathers, or anyone else whom you love, and you shouldn't do it with the name of the Creator.

How did you do with our short three question test? If you're like most people, you are an admitted liar, adulterer, and blasphemer.

Think that's no big deal? The Bible says, "All liars will have their place in the lake of fire" and that no blasphemer, no adulterer will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Does it concern you, that if you face God tonight, you'd end up in hell? It should.

None of us is guaranteed another day on earth. 150,000 people die every day. Today could be the day for you.

There is no second chance, no reincarnation or holding room. No lawyers to plead your case. Just you and God. The Bible says, "It is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment."

Life. Death. Judgment. Eternity in either heaven or hell.

What has God done to ensure you don't have to spend eternity in hell? He sent His own Son to earth. His name was Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a sin-free life, and for that authorities had Him killed on a cross. He freely gave His life as an offering for us. It was a legal transaction in which your sins were paid for if you are willing to respond. How do you respond to obtain this 'salvation'? Repent, and trust in Christ.

'Repent' means to turn from your sin. It's as though you're standing in a room where you're in charge, but you voluntarily walk out and never return.

Trusting in Christ doesn't mean that you simply believe in Him, or that you "ask Him into your heart." It means that you submit to Him. You live your life for Him. You study the Bible, and obediently follow His commands.

Please repent and trust Christ today. Eternity is a long time to wish you would have responded while you still had time.