The Bible says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Everybody on this earth will face death and then will stand before God and be judged for the life they lived. The problem is, that every one of us has fallen short of the life God wants us to live. “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

But there’s good news! The Bible lays out a plan for us to be saved through Jesus Christ. Did you know that you can know for certain that you will be saved on that day? The Bible says, “These things we have written to you…so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). The question for all who read this is, are you ready for the judgment day? Have you been washed in the blood of Jesus? Do you know for certain that you will be saved? The Bible says, "Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38). If you want to do that today, contact us at the Conifer Church of Christ. We are here to assist you in being prepared to meet the Lord on that last day.

Email: conifercofchelp@gmail.com

Minister: (409)291-1682

Website: coniferchurchofchrist.org

As many of you know, Katy and I took a trip for our 5th anniversary a few weeks ago. We got to see so many cool sites across the island of Puerto Rico. One of the sites we saw was “San Juan Bautista Catedral” which translated into English means “Saint John the Baptist Cathedral.” It is the 2nd oldest cathedral in the United States.

I had no idea that “Juan Bautista” was John the Baptist until one of our tour guides told us. In fact, the capital city is even named “San Juan” after Saint John the Baptist.

I’m not sure why I thought this was so cool. There are cathedrals and cities all over the world that are named after people we read about in the Bible. But for some reason standing in the city, and in that cathedral made it that much cooler for me.

What struck me was the fact that Christianity has had an undeniable influence across the world. It’s easy to see Christianity just through an American lens. However, that view is so short sighted that it misses beauties like the influence Christianity has had in so many other places. So much so that they named their city and their church building after John the Baptist!

As we walked the that cathedral the thought kept coming back to my mind, “If Christianity has permeated the world THAT much throughout history, why can’t we make that happen again?” My point in this article is to encourage you (and me) to not give up spreading Christian influence. We are called to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13ff). Yet when I look around at our nation, I see the Christian influence loosing its footing. Let’s not give up fighting in this world to be the light that overcomes the darkness. Let’s not give up being the salt that permeates everything it touches. Let’s spread the Christian influence so much so that perhaps they’ll begin renaming buildings and cities after the heroes we read about in the pages of Scripture.

-Kolton Ballance