“Just one more time….”  Have you ever heard that expression?  Maybe it was you when you were young and you wanted another ride on the merry go round.  Maybe it was one of your children wanting to do something after you decided enough was enough.  How many times do we tell God that…..I wonder?

What is the first commandment?  To love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Well, that’s simple enough even a child could understand it, yet what about when God says we are not to do something?  Are we saying, “Just one more time”?  Some people think God just doesn’t want us to enjoy life, thus He gave us so many “Thou shalt not….” rules.  Quite the contrary, God DOES want us to live life to the fullest, joyfully, abundantly, and without hurt.  So in His wisdom He set down some ground rules to keep us from being hurt.  And yet, we want to rebel and do the opposite, not only disregarding what God has warned us not to do, but stubbornly saying “Just one more time….”.  And one more time becomes another one more time.

And then when the devil has fully gotten us in trouble and has covered his tracks, we have the gall to think God has caused us the trouble, when all the time He was gently warning us, Don’t do that, it will hurt you. But we wouldn’t listen, would we? That goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter three.  I won’t quote it here because I want you to go read it for yourself, for when you see it with your own eyes, it will mean more to you.

God created Adam and Eve without imperfection, without sickness, without poverty, why He even showed them where the gold was, and He said the gold was GOOD gold, not that cheap old imperfect alloyed gold we buy today, but the pure stuff.  God made EVERYTHING good.  Why?  So His children could have good things to enjoy.  But what happened?  God gave Adam and Eve dominion over EVERYTHING in the whole earth except ONE TREE.  That tree, God kept for Himself, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  And He told Adam and Eve to leave it alone, for in the day they took of it, they would surely die.  Well, the devil lied to Eve and told her she would NOT surely die.  And she took of the tree and gave to Adam also, and they BOTH were born into sin.  And from that day forward, even unto today, we sin and say, “Just one more time”.  Only, it isn’t one more time and stop, but continually, Just one more time.

You see, if we would only go back to the First Commandment, the blood of Christ Jesus, shed for the remission of our sins, would pay the penalty for our sins, and our obedience to the Commandment would put a stop to that “Just one more time” problem.  There would BE no more “Just one more time.”   Have you ever heard an alcoholic say “Just one more time”?  Maybe they think they aren’t addicted, and they can quit anytime they want.  Problem is, they never WANT to quit.  That’s what sin does to us, it first deceives us into thinking we can quit anytime, but really, we can’t quit, because “Just one more time” has taken us over.  Gambling, drugs, tobacco, overeating, stealing, cheating, lying, alcohol, you name it, they are all “Just one more time” things that pay wages, and the wages of sin are death.  But nobody sees it that way, and that’s why so many people go down the wide road to destruction, because they don’t see any harm in “Just one more time”.

And another one bites the dust, and another one, and another one.  And the devil is laughing and saying “Just one more time…..”   And he will never stop until he has destroyed all.  You’re on his list, did you know that? Is there anything you can do to stop him?  Read on.

God is tugging on your heart to turn to Him with your whole heart while you still have a chance.  So I’m going to ask you just one more time, will YOU receive Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior right now?   Do it now before sin claims another victim. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)

Now, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I’m sure you also know someone who doesn’t know Him.  Send or give this to him or her, and let the Holy Spirit do His work.  You don’t need to be a preacher to preach the Gospel, simply pass this on. Make plenty of copies.  Keep doing it, just one more time…..