Read the Scriptures First and Foremost...

Anyone having cancer, or other life threatening terminal illnesses, should have hope to fall back on. If and when earthly endeavors fail to deliver us from physical death, we can only have hope for an everlasting spiritual life. I have been blessed with the time to get right with God, whereas those who are taken from this earth in an instant have tragically not received my same opportunity, even as I contemplate that my demise may be sooner than later, short of God granting me a miracle that extends my physical life into very old age. 

That's why I feel blessed by the cancer on the one hand, and disappointed  by what otherwise seems to be an unfair, shortened physical life on the other hand.  I have received the opportunity to reconcile myself to God by being given over 3-1/2 years to grow in my own faith, with an eye toward everlasting spiritual life. But, that can occur only if I seek God, receive his Grace, and have genuine faith, which the scripture says is obtained through reading and accepting the Holy Scriptures. 

Therefore, when I was diagnosed, I made a vow to begin reading the holy scriptures. I have always believed that it offers the key to life after physical death. But, like everybody else, even though I had read the Bible cover to cover in it's entirely several times over the course of my life, my most recent studies, over the last 3-1/2+ years, have enlightened me to the fact that my commitments have basically been "lip service" to what is actually required in the scriptures in order to receive a shot at everlasting life. 

The scriptures say there must be faith, trust, and belief in God's promises in the scriptures. The scriptures say that all persons in the World will live spiritually for an undisclosed period of time by God after physical death. However, only those whose faith and commitments were truly apparent to God prior to our physical death will receive "everlasting" spiritual life. The rest will receive judgement from God, will be sentenced to spiritual torment, and eventually to spiritual death.

If we aspire to the hope of receiving everlasting life, and want to avoid judgement and eventual spiritual death, my belief is that the scriptures offer the key to what is a narrow path of opportunity to potentially receive "everlasting life," through God's grace. The Bible says that the only pathway to spiritual everlasting life is through reading the Bible, which provides a deeper understanding of the potential available to us, as well as the instruction as to our obligations to God and Jesus Christ.  

I always thought the pathway to everlasting life was relatively easy based on my attendance at church, etc..., just express your belief, then you will be saved, you will avoid judgement, and subsequently receive everlasting spiritual life, etc...But, what I've found, after pretty detailed study of scripture, is that it's not really quite that easy.

We must have a basis from which we receive the inspiration to open our hearts, minds, and souls to believe the promises in the Word of God.  Studying the Word of God promises to provide us with that key. The scriptures say that without the key, which is "belief" in the Word and promises of God, we are dead before we even get started. 

Why? because otherwise, it's the World according to ourselves. In my mind, that's a delusional place to begin. In fact, the Bible says if we adopt that attitude, especially after being only summarily exposed to the teachings of the Bible, we have a greater obligation to God, and that we will be judged more harshly than persons in the World that were never even exposed to the Word of God. 

So, that's why I chose to get serious from the day I was diagnosed, I remembered these truths from when I initially read the Bible years ago.  At that time, I just skimmed over the Bible, as many as about three times over the course of my lifetime. But, I didn't have the resources in that time period regarding the modern translations of the scriptures, and the "commentaries" by the experts, which provided ways to understand my obligations to God in order to receive his grace. Well, I have no excuses now, I'm pretty deeply enlightened through studying the scriptures, and my thought is that I am NOT going to screw this up!

I can tell you this, I would have never come to the level of faith I have now were I not exposed more intensely to the scriptures, cover to cover, utilizing the modern day translations of the Bible like the New International Version (NIV), for example. The commentary resources provided a deeper understanding of some of those passages that were still somewhat confusing, even within the modern day translations of the Bible. It's my firm belief that without a sincere committed effort to seek God through reading the Bible, we human beings will never, ever receive God's grace, and the rewards of everlasting life. 

Our ability to believe the truths of God are sabotaged by our fallen nature. The Bible says in similar terms that our doubt and disbelief is in our DNA. There must be an inspirational indwelling of God's truth plus the presence of Jesus Christ in our hearts, and the Bible says we only receive that through a study of the scriptures. If we consciously and intentionally make a study of the Bible a priority, even for only ten minutes at night before going to bed, and we do it consistently, there is a supernatural draw, almost like a inner magnet, which will draw us back to a study of the scriptures often and regularly.  Over time, this magnetic attraction will permeate your being to the extent that eventually you will feel the "necessity" in your heart and soul to come back to a regular reading of the scriptures. That is what has happened to me, and that's what my wife has expressed to me on her part as well.  It's supernatural in nature, and that's the only way I can explain it. 

If you want to review some of the commentaries, the best ones can be found on You Tube, such as Dr. R.C. Sproul/"Legioner Ministries," Dr. John MacArthur/"Grace to You" Ministries, and their compatriots, which are of the same belief system. These are solid, Biblical purists, and not a part of that ilk on that TBN false teachers Television network. Sorry to be so lengthy, but my obligations compel me to spread the Word, and encourage others to give themselves a fighting chance.  I hope you will take my advice to heart, and act on taking advantage of increasing your own faith through a reading of the scriptures, and through a review of the media I've mentioned here as a supplement to what I hope will be your biblical studies.