It’s Monday. Most Mondays for me are blah blah blah.

In reality, that attitude can carry over throughout the entire day or even the week. I do however realize that the correct mindset can change the course of your entire week. This past weekend was filled with unexpected twists. I was battled a stomach virus and boy did me and my body battle; but on today- I woke up with a Spirit of adoration and gratitude to my Father and I wanted to share with you. Join me as we start the week off with expectancy and worship.

Father, we thank you for allowing us to see another day and for continuously having our best interest at heart. Jesus. Your name alone sends me to my knees. My heart races. My stomach churns with butterflies. Your presence is undeniable. Anyone who has felt an ounce of your Spirit would only desire to want more of you. There is no greater feeling than to feel you near me. Give me you. Everything else can wait. If I have you, I have everything that I need.

Father, You know how we are. We mess up. We cry like the babies that we are. We do wrong, expecting no repercussions for our actions. We don’t own up to our mistakes and become self-righteous, or even angry towards you because a particular prayer had not been answered. If we just pause for a moment, and take inventory, we can see that we were and are the reason for the delay. You are just. You are righteous. You operate with integrity. You have wronged no one.

I desire to allow my life to be a living sacrifice for you because without you, I have no life.

• It is your breath in my lungs, which explains why it is so natural to pour out praise to you.
• It is your breath that made me a living soul, which why it is so easy to life up my hands.
• It is your word that spoke to my heart, which explains why your word is so precious to me.

You redeem. You restore. You love.

• Worship is not the slow songs that the choir or praise and worship team sings.
• Worship is not the amount of money we place in the offering basket.
• Worship is not how much time we sacrifice and volunteer to the many church events and auxiliaries. While we understand that these may be expressions of worship, they do not define what true worship really is.

Oh My Father. It is evident to me what worship truly is. True worship is defined by the priority we place on who You are in our lives and where You are on our list of priorities.

True worship is expressed through a lifestyle of holiness. And so Jesus, I decided, to make worship a non-negotiable priority in my life, because you did not make any negotiations on the cross, for my ratchetness. I love you today and always. Forgive me if I have ever stood before you as ungrateful, self-righteous, and worthy. The only thing I was worthy of was death and you took my place instead. 

Finally, as we move throughout the course of this week. I ask that you allow the word to help us see ourselves. Help us to understand that we cannot pray with love, live in hate, but somehow believe we are truly worshipping in the Spirit. 

Lord I ask that the words from my mouth and the mediation in my heart are acceptable in your sight and I humbly ask that you accept this moment of worship and prayer. In Jesus name, amen.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) 

You gave your heart. It was not planned, it just happened. Why? Because you love to love and you love the idea of being loved. You love seeing others happy. You love the way love feels. The only issue is that YOU understand what love is and how it feels (because it’s been given to you all of your life through parents and loved ones; but those you have recently connected with have yet to learn the real meaning of love. Through the years, your love has been displaced. Over and over again, the same result, different characters and so…you have learned to love like the others and their definition of love- with emotions, one-sided, receiving what you can, just as long as you are not hurt. You have become “them.” You have become just like the ones who did not know how to love like you; the ones who were unable to take the broken pieces and reconnect them to become whole. This time, you are the one left with fragments, scattered everywhere. The love you were birthed with has now become loathe- a very strong feeling of disgust and hatred. You hate how you care and you’re disgusted that you were blindsided- multiple times. Not just in marital relationships, but friendships, sibling relationships and business ventures. Hurt seems to follow you.  Love is no longer an action word. It is an untouchable, unreachable, unimaginable dream. The hurt.

Life was not great but it was tolerable. You had the ability to do what you desired. You were able to get up early and stay up late without any adverse affects on your health. Your job was not ideal, but hey, at least you had income to pay your bills and buy something every now and then. Then “it” happened. It seemed out of nowhere, from a routine checkup, the doctors found “something.” You’ve been diagnosed with…but how? You ate clean and fairly healthy. You did a few random exercises here and there. You lived a clean life- for the most part at least.

The words of the family practitioner continue ringing in your ears: “You need this, you need that; this pill will combat this but it has this side effect.” “Oh Jesus what did I do to deserve this,” you thought. You can’t work a full time job because of this…ailment. You can’t sleep at night and it’s difficult during the day to…just. do. anything. What was once an afterthought, to just get up and go, now takes preparation. What will you do now? The suffering and the hurt.

Life told you to give up, but then you met the Healer.

Life said there is no such thing as real love, but then, you met…the Healer.

Life said accept the cards that were dealt, this will be the death of you. Then. You. Met. THE. Healer.

You were truly introduced to the Healer, and although while growing up, you connected with genuine love, as you became an adult, you were acquainted with lust. But now…you found love again. You’re in love again, and you do not care what people say. Spat in His face, brought to open shame, to pull you from your pain. He is acquainted with your grief because He has experienced it also. He knows what it feels like to be rejected and used, when all He ever wanted to do was love and demonstrate what it really means. The Healer.

“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” Isaiah‬ ‭53:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…The Healer

The Healer showed you what unconditional love really is. You knew it existed, you were just seeking for it in the wrong places and with the wrong guidance.

Many many times before, He has touched situations that seemed irreparable. A woman who had blood issues for 12 years. A man who had everything and lost it all, a man who had a disease where his own kind rejected him and required him to call out “Unclean, unclean!” He specializes in miracles but has one requirement: that our faith be rooted and grounded in Him. Because of sin, diseases of all sorts and every imaginable evil entered the world. So He entered the world and took the punishment of death that you deserved and to prove to you that He can do the impossible…IF you believe. The Healer.

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah‬ ‭53:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

• When glory meets my suffering.
• When mercy meets majesty.
• When the hurt, meets the Healer, you are made alive.

““What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”” Mark‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus told us in this world we would have troubles (John 16:33), but dealing with any degree of suffering is challenging and if we are not careful, we disconnect from the comforting arms of our Savior. We may not ever understand the reasons for our particular trials, but one thing is for certain…those of us who truly love God, our trials work FOR us, not AGAINST us.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

I encourage you today to trust Jesus. Fall into His arms. Through all of your hurt, He found glory in and through you. Allow Him to break all of your fears and doubt. The Healer is waiting to heal your hurt.

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands…” Isaiah‬ ‭49:15-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When the hurt and the Healer collide, grace and mercy restores and realigns us back under the will of our Father.

When the hurt and the Healer collide, get ready for a collision course with greatness.

Have you ever gone to church and it seemed as if the message brought forth was directly pertaining to your situation?

Have you ever thought that maybe what you shared with someone, somehow ended up in the ears of the Pastor and
he based hismessage from your situation?

He just HAD to know what was going on right? 9 times out of 10, the Lord gave the Pastor the message way before your situation became a situation; but the Spirit knew. The Holy Spirit was right there and He knew (and still knows) what’s going on in your life. He’s not ignorant. How do you think doctors, engineers, business owners, lawyers, and even yourselves, received the knowledge that you have?

“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Spirit’s role is to bring conviction to people regarding their sin and to bring them to faith in Jesus and faithful service to Him. But what is this conviction?

True conviction includes repentance, respect, and love for the commitment Jesus has shown to redeem us back to our Father. There was no other way, which is why He is the only way!

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There is also another perspective of conviction. Conviction means the feeling of being sure that what you believe or say is true. Can I tell you something? Once you experience the power of the Holy Spirit, it should not take for someone else to convince you that He is real. More importantly, you should not be easily persuaded to believe otherwise. 

There are many biblical examples of conviction but there is one that is so powerful to me. I’ll make this brief but this example moves me to continue on for the sake of Jesus, come what may.

There was a man by the name of Saul. In short, Saul was angered by what he had seen and filled with murderous rage against the Christians. Before departing on his journey to Damascus, he had asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for permission to bring any back to Jerusalem to imprison them. Then He encounters Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus. What Saul (now Paul) fought against, he now stood for. The things he did to other followers of Jesus, Paul now experienced himself (imprisonment, persecution, beatings, etc). Guess what? It did not matter. He had an encounter with his Savior. His conviction was far more greater than what he would endure because Paul knew Jesus and established a relationship with Him. Paul knew ABOUT Jesus. Then he was personally introduced TO Jesus. 

Do you know Jesus or do you know about Jesus? If we truly know Him, the true love that He has for us, and the power we possess through Him, our sole existence would be to please Him because we know that Jesus, our Savior, is here for us and will take care of us.

Get to know Jesus for yourself. When we are introduced to something new, whether it be a job, a man or woman, a new phone, a new car, a new degree, we sit for hours- days on in, to learn the “ins and outs” and we are excited about it. That’s the same excitement and determination we should have in knowing who Jesus is. Our convictions should both turn us from sin and return us to our Savior.

If your convictions are not strong enough to prevent you from doing wrong, I challenge you to remove yourself from being comfortable with the emotional connection (feeling good but no word to sustain you). Begin to study and learn who God, our Father is and all that He has done to have a relationship with us, throughout history- and what has now been completed through His Son, our Brother- Jesus Christ. 

Most super heroes wear capes, mine wore a cross. Jesus is my Savior, not my religion. 

Almost every week, my husband and I play Uno with our children. This game is an all-time favorite. For one, it allows us to have family time and secondly, for our younger children, it allows us to reinforce and use creative teaching techniques for them to remain comfortable with their numbers and colors. We have played this game with all of our children. As the 2-3 year old children  become comfortable with learning  how to play by themselves, then all the children can plan together without our assistance. It’s something about seeing a child beat their parent; but I promise you, I think my family sets me up to lose. I literally NEVER win a game and my husband wins the most.

At first glance, it seems like I’m losing, but I am not. Although I may never win a game, I am still winning, because I am spending time with my family. While I may not often end up with the “special” cards to get my opponents to “draw four” or “skip” them, I am STILL winning.

Life often presents itself like the game of Uno. It may seem to you that no matter what you do, you just cannot get ahead. Every time you are led to believe that this “next move” is the one that will lead you to joy, it all falls apart. I have been at that point in my life as well. The cards that we are dealt with in life does not often seem fair, IF that’s your perspective. Change your lens. 

There are a few things you can do: Continue to complain about your cards, believe that the next shuffle will be the best shuffle, or walk away – the choice is yours. 

I don’t know about you, but here is what I did. After I shuffled my cards around a bit (got rid of what was hurting me, confessed my sins to my Father, came home, and presented my body a living sacrifice for His glory), I learned how to win with the hand I was dealt. You can do the same thing. They call this day “Motivation Monday” and I desire to motivate you to become so inundated with the words of God, that your conviction about the love of Jesus and all that He is and has done for you, compels those who are lost. 

What is a conviction? It’s a strong feeling of being CERTAIN or sure that what you believe or say is true. Your conviction about Jesus being the Son of God and the Savior of the world, should be so powerful because you know without any doubt, what He has done for you. Guess what? It is powerful, but we don’t often walk in the power. 

Regardless of what situation you may face, with Jesus, all we do is win.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans‬ ‭8:35, 37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Before you were hired, there were specific instructions or guidelines your employer gave you. It’s commonly known as the employee handbook. This book entails what is expected of the employee and what the company will or will not tolerate. It may also provide grounds for termination or things that will cause you to be fired. Not only are we provided a hard copy, but also these stipulations are told to us by the hiring manager. This is to ensure that WE KNOW and are without excuse.

These guidelines become subtly and subconsciously embedded in your brain because YOU KNOW if you do this or that, you will lose your job. Your employer provided you with constraints. A constraint is something that limits or restricts something or someone.

• A dog collar, constrains a dog from running around crazy.
• A fence or gate constrains animals in a zoo to a confined area.
• A child gate constrains toddlers from falling downstairs and injuring themselves at a daycare.
• A password constrains others from accessing your personal information.

Have you ever done something you did not want to do? I mean everyone else did it so it had to be okay, right? Then you had a thought: “I know this is not me, but we are celebrating, it’s all in fun; what or who is this going to hurt?” You had no constraints.

The word of God and the love we have for Him, to not hurt our Father, should constrain or prevent us from doing anything or associating with anyone that offends Him. It shouldn’t take much effort. It should not even be a thought. Simply because of the love He has shown, we should want to prove that we love Him just as much, and so we SHOULD constrain ourselves. In other words, are you glorifying God by being compelled by His love? Just our experience and testimony alone should be enough of a constraint to simply say NO to sin!

When you TRULY love someone, there are certain things that love prevents you from doing. I don’t know about you, but I am convinced, that I am in love with this man who denied Himself for me. No one else was willing to do that. If I had to rely on my own dad, who lives right here in the city and has nothing to do with me or my children for no reason, I could not rely on Him to even be present at my funeral. If he wasn’t present at any graduations (elementary through graduate school) and was not present at my wedding…SURELY I couldn’t expect him to be present at my funeral, let alone sacrifice his life to save mine. Don’t feel bad for me. Honey…he served his purpose. He got me here to serve my purpose for my Savior! But OH MY GOD AND MY SAVIOR Jesus. I don’t care who does not believe, I know He lives.

Jesus it’s not my love FOR you that constrains me but it is your love for US that constrains me. Your love is a constraining force in my life. I was dead, and now I am alive.

I am constrained and restricted and I love it! What about you? Does His love for you constrain or compel you to do what is right or do you live your life free, without restrictions as if you are God and you answer to no one? So what’s holding you back from sin?

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NKJV) For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;

He asked us to completely separate ourselves from evil but instead we disconnect ourselves from our Father and congregate with people who dishonor His name.  

“Therefore Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭6:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 He asked us to talk to Him before we do anything so that we don’t get hurt; instead we talk to Him AFTERWARDS. 

 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 He asked us to pray but instead we complain. 

 “pray without ceasing,”  ‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 He asked us to look out for our siblings (brothers and sisters in Him) but instead we talk about them. 

“You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 He asked us to build each other up; instead we bring one another down and set traps for failure. 

 “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 He asked us not to put anyone or anything before Him; but instead, we place everything before Him and then blame Him for everything that goes wrong. 

 “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.” Proverbs‬ ‭19:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 He asked us to repent and turn from the ways of the world; instead we repeat words with our mouths but our hearts are far from Him. 

 “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ 

• How does rejection from an employer, friend, relationship feel to you?
• How can we demand to be blessed by someone we forced to leave us alone?

By your own actions, you ask the Lord to leave you alone – and that’s what He does. The amazing thing is while being rejected, as a Father who is the ultimate demonstration of unconditional love, He still looks out for you! 

Who is going to demonstrate the character of Jesus? Do we even care anymore?

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Do not wait too late to show Him how much you appreciate Him. We have to evaluate ourselves and actions to determine who we are working for and who we are working with. Give God His flowers while YOU live. 

The word of God shares with us how the Lord created Lucifer, also known as satan. Before he became evil (or evil was found in him), God created him to be a beautiful angel. The Bible says he was covered with every precious stone and precious jewels – some of which I have only read about in the Bible (Ezekiel 28:11-19). But then, satan became prideful and determined that he could be a god and have others worship him just as they worshiped God, our Father.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.

So, the enemy began his quest. He began talking to other angels about his plan but of course he would not prevail. He and his crew were casts out of Heaven to the Earth.

Revelation 12:7-9 (NKJV) And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

However, this exile did not stop satan. Satan’s plan was (and still is) to take God’s creation, who our Father has made in His image and likeness (which is us), trick us and make us follow him and exalt his kingdom of God’s kingdom.

I recall watching this movie that was released in 2008 called “Taken.” The main character is a former government official, who goes through great lengths to find his daughter and her best friend. The two teenagers were kidnapped by human traffickers while traveling in France. This man did everything to find the girls. He flew across the world, to foreign countries with different foreign policies, languages, rules and laws that were different from his native land (the U.S.). Nothing would stop him from being reunited and from taking back his daughter and her friend from the hands of an unknown enemy. I thought about this movie on yesterday and it reminded me of how much God loves us and I had an epiphany, or “ah-ha” moment.

It became so simple to me. I began to see how the enemy had taken us from our Father. We were kidnapped to perform evil acts. God, our Father became angry and would not stand for someone to take from him what was so precious in His eyes.

Isaiah 43:4-5 (NKJV) Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.

The enemy began his plot of deception in the Garden of Eden. Then, God our Father, from Genesis to Revelations, began running hard after us:

• He chose specific people, who He found righteousness in, to save us from all the evil that was happening in the word (Noah)- Genesis chapters 6 and 7 .
• He chose specific people who He spoke mouth-to-mouth with (Numbers 12:5-10), and who He could trust to deliver His word, to give us a list of instructions (commandments – Exodus 20:1-17) that would help shape our character to be like our Heavenly Father (Moses).
• He proved He was with the children of Israel, by leading them during the day in a pillar of cloud, and by a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22).
• He gave specific instructions on how sacrifices should be made for forgiveness of sins, through the shedding of blood of specific animals for cleansing. It was a temporary process until Jesus would be revealed (Leviticus 17:11). Why? Sin is of the devil. God is pure and again, the devil is His enemy.
  • John 8:44 (NKJV)  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
  • He will not be acquainted with anything that looks or behaves like His enemy. To be in God, our Father’s presence, we must be without sin because our Father is Holy.

Yet, something was missing. All of this was not enough. God, desired to be so close to us, so He was willing to sacrifice His only Son, to be created as we are, and become the ultimate sacrifice. Through the death of Jesus, God, sent back His own Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us to be ever so close to us and to never doubt His presence and love for us, His children.

God, our Father, went through great lengths to redeem us back to Him and to prove to us how much He loves us, desires to be with us and us with Him, and would not stop at nothing to protect us from satan. God can’t stand satan and is He wrong? Do you really care for your enemy? Without the grace of God and a mind to please Him…if there was no recognition of God or having a fear of Him, being accountable to Him and forgiving those who have offended you, that person that deliberately plotted to hurt you or your family would create feelings of hurt, anger, disgust and revenge in your heart. You would want to hurt them back.

Let me put it in simpler terms. How would you feel if someone stole something valuable from you? How would you feel if someone broke into your home? How would you feel if someone tried to kidnap one of your children? Think of all the feelings you have right now about the questions that I am raising, especially the last one. Now you understand why our Father HATES the enemy and why He is desperately trying to show you that all the evil and hurtful things you have experienced in this life are not from our Father – it is of the devil.

God has been trying to show us how evil satan is and what evil intentions he has planned behind the imagery of fun and power.

Revelation 20:10 (NKJV) The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

There is no hope for the enemy and he is trying to destroy your chances of hope. You may have not realized it until now and that’s okay. Come home. Your Father is waiting on you.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It’s almost that time. Another new year is fastly approaching. It is the beginning of the last quarter of 2016. I’m unsure how you feel, but for me, this year has flown by.

By the end of this quarter, we will embrace a new President of the United States. By the end of the year, we will see changes within other government offices and newly elected officials will bring new policies, new laws and more changes. By the end of the year, we will celebrate the history that has been made and the doors opened for an African American to be elected for two full terms as President. 

What will you change by the end of 2016? 

• Will you carry over the same habits and the same resolutions that were made in January of this year?
• Do you still carry the proclamation of “this being your year?”
• Is your 2016 still going to be greater than your 2015?
• Are you just as enthusiastic about change now as you were back in January?
• Are you still seeking to lose the weight you aggressively planned to lose by this time?
• Are you still holding on to grudges and unforgiveness?

The good news is that it doesn’t matter how we started or even where we are now. What matters is how we finish.

Everyone can start strong, and most times we do; but not everyone finishes strong. Why is that? Starting is fun; it’s new. Starting brings fresh ideas and more imagination and something to looking forward to. Starting is exciting and emotional, but have you noticed that it doesn’t take much time for the initial adrenaline rush to wear off?
It’s time to get back into your “New Year’s” state of mind. Anything God starts, He completes.

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”‭‭ Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NKJV‬

The Holy Spirit is determined to complete the purpose He has for us, through us, but we must allow the work to be performed. 

1. Jesus is not just the Author but also the Finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)
2. Jesus is not just Alpa, but also Omega. (Revelations 1:8)
3. Jesus is not just the beginning, but also the ending. (Revelations 1:8)

Since we are made in the image of God, we should have that same quality of finishing, but we must focus now. 

1. Revisit and think of the goals you had written earlier in the year and make them approachable.  
2. Prioritize and set target dates for completion, so you can visibly see progress. Create a vision board to remind you of your goals. 
3. Speak it. The words we speak can change the course of our future in an instant. 
4. Believe it. Belief is what pushes us and gives us hope to press on. 
5. Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you so that your goals align with His will and purpose. 

Think it. Write it. Speak it. Believe it! Your new year can start now!

Doesn’t matter where you live, what you possess, what you inherit, what family you’re born into, the color of your skin, where you work, how much you make, or where you choose to worship. We all have at least one thing in common: everyone that was born will experience death. However, you do have options. It’s a multiple choice question and it’s really simple.
Please select from the following options:

1. Death
2. Life

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Either you choose to live or you choose to die. With these options are stipulations and here is where the struggle begins. Sometimes I think God gave us too much freedom. Let’s be honest, we haven’t always been the best at making decisions. If we were good at it, the option to live would be a no brainer. Why wouldn’t you choose to live forever? Why wouldn’t you choose peace both now and forever? Why wouldn’t you choose protection over endangerment? Most people don’t like following directions or like when directions are given. We like to give them – but following them is sometimes a challenge.

The enemy is good at what He does. Why? I’ve said it before- he’s been in the presence of God, so He knows what it is and how it feels to experience the power and Majesty of the Sovereign God. So the enemy blinds us to see the reality and benefit of choosing life. Think about this. If being in God’s presence was not good, why would the enemy try to exalt his throne and kingdom above the Lord’s? Why would he want what God has?
Hell is not the conclusion. Choose death and you experience the second death:

Revelation 20:14 (KJV) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

There are multiple choices, but one solution to all of your problems –Jesus

John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me

John 14:3 (NLT)When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am