Two recent posts addressed some questions about hell (How Not to Invite Someone to Church and Does Hell Exist) and so I thought it would be a good idea to give these 5 reasons to follow Jesus that does not include hell.  Here they are:

1. . . . the life Jesus offers is like a treasure discovered in a field and when you find it you realize it is so valuable that you would give up anything to possess it. God is worth knowing just because of how incredibly awesome he is.  (Matthew 13:44)
2. . . . God’s kingdom is near and you can be an active participant in His kingdom!
3. . . . you have a Father who loves you like no other father you’ve ever known in your life and can now discover what it means to have a daily relationship with him. (Luke 15:11-32)
4. . . . you will never know how loved you really are. (Ephesians 3:17-19)
5. . . . Jesus’ death on the cross was an act of love for you. This love will allow you to feel perfectly safe in the Father’s presence. It frees you to be exactly who you are, weaknesses and all, and never again have to pretend before him.  (1 John 4:7-21)

I also recommend the following post:

7 Reasons You Should Not Become a Christian (And One Reason You Should) by John Bowen (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto)

And, you might find this one interesting as well: Top Ten Reasons to Follow Jesus

Can you add more “positive” reasons for following Jesus?

I decided to “accept Jesus as my personal Saviour” when I was a young child because I was afraid of hell.  I mean, seriously, what 6 year old would not be afraid of . . .

• burning forever in a lake of fire,
• not being able to see anyone else ever,
• and having your eyeballs gauged out with a red-hot poker by Satan himself!

No sir, I did not need any more motivation than that.  I would be stupid NOT to say the sinner’s prayer.  So I did.  Many times.   I also learned that if my friends did not also accept Jesus into their heart, that their blood would be on my hands.  I never understood that one but it is what I was taught.

So without further adieu,  watch this video clip (I hope you find it as amusing as my wife and I did).

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/7225566@N03/3564928729/[/flickrvideo]

I became a Christian because I was afraid of hell.  As I look back, I realize that it was not a very good way to start my relationship with God. 

I am posting this video today as a precursor to tomorrow’s post, “How (NOT) to Invite Someone to Church” where I question the role of hell in evangelism.

If you would like to read the transcript from this video, go to You Tube and click on “more info”. Also, by going to You Tube you will also find these videos of N.T. Wright as well: “Where is Hell Located?”, “What is Purgatory?”, “What does Heaven Look Like?”, and “What Will We Do in Heaven?”

I am tweeting more consistently now and  I installed a plugin here called Twitter Tools and it gives me the option to make a weekly update for my tweets.

Just wanted to try it out, so with a little tweaking here are some of my weekly tweets from last week (with a little added info in brackets):