Safe Passage

By William D. McGee

This book was written to guide you safely to God and his gift of eternal life. It will assist anyone, especially those who feel lost, broken, or neglected. Please read this book if you are seeking answers, a new life purpose, security, and a place in God’s future kingdom.
I share my life’s journey, including my successes and failures. You will find out how to achieve peace of mind and how to come to know where you can be in eternity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781512798913

William D. McGee

I am age sixty-four and a lifelong resident of Middle Tennessee. I have been married for thirty years, and I have three grown children. I am a longtime member of Brentwood Baptist Church. I am a graduate of Austin Peay State University (1975) with a BS degree with majors in political science, history and philosophy. After college I attended the Nashville School of Law, receiving a JD degree (1980) and admission to the Tennessee State Bar in 1981. I have been in solo practice for over thirty-seven years and a past member of the American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Nashville Bar Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. I have assisted hundreds of Tennesseans over the years with their legal issues, and I am now winding down my law practice. In recent years it was on my heart to write a book honoring God and Christ, and to say some things about my own life’s journey. This book is a Christian writing and was written to help anyone in need of spiritual support. My prayer is that it will be shared by many and will sincerely help those looking for God, real-life answers, and the knowledge of where they can be when death comes.

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Copyright © 2018 William D. McGee.

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Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are from the King James Version.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9892-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9893-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9891-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017912055

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/07/2019

Safe Passage into God’s Kingdom of Heaven

This book was written to honor God, the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, the only true Messiah.

Once this book is published, I direct that ten percent of all gross proceeds be donated to Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee to continue their great work in promoting God’s Kingdom here on earth. That ten percent be donated to the St. Jude Hospital, and five percent be donated to Lane Thomas Foundation. May God bless all their work, and all who pursue God and Christ and the teachings of the Bible, the inspired words of God.

If we serve God… we may own nothing, and yet we have everything (2 Corinthians 6:8–10 NLT).

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Gloria, my beautiful wife of thirty years, for her faithful love, and to my wonderful children, Tiffany, Bryan, and Leigha. Each of their lives has given me extreme joy and a purposeful life, and I thank each of them for their unconditional love and support, and, to my mother and father for their loving support and spiritual guidance; especially their assisting with my trip to Israel in 2005.

I want to especially thank my aunt Barbara for her love and assistance in this writing. Also, I thank our great minister and spiritual leader Dr. Mike Glenn, who is always teaching and encouraging us to study our Bibles and live righteous lives to honor God and Christ.

Thank you to the late Davidson County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Clerk George L. Rooker, Sr., Honorable Judge Hal Hardin, and Mr. James Omer Sr., Esq. These three gentlemen were my mentors and gave me employment to begin my career in the practice of law. I will always be grateful and honored by their trust and confidence in hiring me. May God bless each of them and their families.

An honorable acknowledgment goes to Pastor Joel Osteen, Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. Joyce Meyer, Pastor Allen Jackson, and Dr. John Hagee, all of whom are very good speakers and Christian leaders.

Keynote

This book was written to guide you safely to God and his gift of eternal life. It will assist anyone, especially those who feel lost, broken, or neglected. Please read this book if you are seeking answers, a new life purpose, security, and a place in God’s future Kingdom.

I share my life’s journey, including my successes and failures. You will find out how to achieve peace of mind and come to know where you can be in eternity.

Notice to Readers

Throughout this book there are citations of Scripture taken directly from the Bible such as the King James Version (KLV); most recent editions of the New Living Translation (NLT) and the New International Version (NIV) cited as quotes from Scripture. This was done following a direct quote.

References are made to other sections of the Bible by-the-use of (See) or (See also). This was done for the purpose of directing readers to related sections of the Bible who are interested in further study or research of that particular subject matter which was previously quoted. The format was given simply to assist readers in their Bible study.

Contents

Safe Passage into God’s Kingdom of Heaven

Acknowledgments

Keynote

Notice to Readers

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1     Holy Direction

Chapter 2     Essentials of Faith

Chapter 3     God and Creation

Chapter 4     God

Chapter 5     Divine Authority

Chapter 6     Wisdom

Chapter 7     Prayer

Chapter 8     Every Blessing and Wonderful Peace

Chapter 9     Chosen

Chapter 10   Trials

Chapter 11   Jesus

Chapter 12   Biblical Caution

Chapter 13   Separation

Chapter 14   Tithing

Chapter 15   The Illusion of Wealth

Chapter 16   Rewards

Chapter 17   Second Death

Chapter 18   Worthy

Chapter 19   Future

Chapter 20   Final Thoughts

About the Author

Preface

I am not trained in theology. These are just my thoughts about Scripture and about my life. I fully accept the Bible as the sole truth and the authoritative words of God. My belief is that God is the sole Creator of men, women, the universe, and animals therein. As for Christ, he was there with God from the beginning. God created everything through him [Jesus], and nothing was created except through him (John 1:3 NLT).

The Bible is a very long and verbose book. Parts of it are not easily read or understood. For this reason, I’ve tried to focus on just a few of the hundreds of significant teachings of the Bible. The purpose of this book, is to lead people to the Bible so that they will be saved. I hope that by reading this book people will become more God conscious and will learn things about Scripture that they did not know. Before making any major life-changing decision, please read this book, and then decide what is best for you and your family.

Please understand that this book was not written to preach a sermon, though some sections may sound like it. Rather, it is for me to share my testimony for God and Christ based on my life experiences. Just think of this book as a condensed version of Biblical principles you need to know before you die. The tone of this book is serious, for God is serious, as is eternity. If you choose to read this book (I believe) you will come away with a new positive spirit, confident, peaceful and in a secure mindset about yourself and your future.

Many books have been written about creation, the universe, and God. Actually, there is too much written on these subjects to be condensed and discussed in one book. This book was written to highlight my thoughts and reflections about my own life, acknowledging both my successes and failures in connection with these subjects. I am now age 64. Beginning at about age 40, I came to truly understand the importance of the Bible, and I have been reading it since then. I realized that, if followed, the Bible offers real wisdom, power, and prosperity, with spiritual clarity in thinking (See Proverbs 3:8). The Bible tells us how to receive security in this life (See Psalm 31:23) and eternal security in our afterlife.

Everyone should know that God wants all things good for our lives (See Psalm 32:8), even though we often travel through serious and emotional trials during our lifetimes. Our character and our hearts are tested, and we are disciplined. This is God’s management plan. God disciplines those he loves, which may imply that some people are excluded. We are actually taught that we need to learn to love his discipline (See Hebrews 12:5–11). Nevertheless, we are invited to be saved, and God promises a harvest to all who follow him.

The Bible teaches that we cannot willfully live contrary to God’s commandments without failure and future judgment. Early in Scripture we are warned about the danger of sin. In Genesis 4:7 (NLT) God told Cain, …Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you; but you must subdue it and be its master. God’s commandment is for us not to willfully adopt sin as a lifestyle, as we are commanded to master our sinful nature (See also Romans 6:12–18).

Nowhere have I read in the Bible that God created evil. Evil, I believe, comes into existence through the dark thoughts of men and women, which then results in outward evil conduct. Any temptation to do wrong does not come from God. Remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1:13–14 NLT). It appears to me that all existing evil is caused by fallen angels, or demons (See also, Matthew 12:22–24; 43–45; Luke 4:41; 6:18; Mark 7:24-30), unseen evil spirits, or simply people with evil intent.

For example, in the book of Mark, Jesus confronted an evil spirit. With a shriek, he [the evil spirit] screamed, ‘Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!’ For Jesus had already said to the spirit, ‘Come out of the man, you evil spirit.’ Then Jesus demanded, ‘What is your name?’ And he replied, ‘My name is Legion, because there are many of us [evil spirits] inside this man. Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place (Mark 5:7–10 NLT).

Everyone should understand the reality of life is that unseen evil spirits exist in our world and cause conflict in and between human beings. They are capable of harming all spiritually unprotected lives (See Matthew 12:12). This is confirmed in the book of Ephesians. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12 NLT).

It seems that through creation God has allowed all men and women free will, the ability to independently choose a path of either good or evil. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, this has been the history of humanity: good versus evil. All humans—except Christ, who is God in human form (See Colossians 1:15; 2:9)—have lived on both of the paths of good and evil. God sent Christ here as a way for people to be saved into eternity. Christ said he would one day return. I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth (John 1:51 NLT).

The Bible teaches that God lives in his Heavenly Kingdom, which [in my opinion] is a very real physical place—as is hell. The Scriptures teach that the LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do (Psalm 33:14–15 NLT). As hard as it to comprehend, God oversees each human life he created. For all who read this book, I pray you make it safely into God’s Kingdom of Heaven when you die. I respect freedom of religion, and people are free to peacefully worship God as they choose.

But those who do not fear God, and those who kill innocent, unarmed people (especially women and children), possibly under the guise of religion, or in an impaired mental state, including terrorists involved in the Paris, France bombing (2015), the attack at Brussels Airport in Belgium (2016), the World Trade Center towers on 9/11/01 (Osama bin Laden), the (Pulse) nightclub massacre in Orlando (June 12, 2016), the truck murders in Nice, France, at the Bastille Celebration (July 14, 2016), the Las Vegas, Nevada concert massacre beside Mandalay Bay Resort (October 1, 2017), the church massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas (November 5, 2017), and others are not, in my opinion, religious, nor are they people of God. "The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates everyone who loves violence (Psalm 11:5 NLT, emphasis added). (See also Proverbs 17:19.) Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling" (Proverbs 20:3 NLT). Regardless of what such people say, or what their passion is based on, they are not religious, godly people or sane.

Now, people may or may not accept my views about the universe or God or his Son, Jesus, as outlined in this book. But I pray that many will read and share this book with others with an open mind and a passion for God’s truth. I have written each chapter to be brief and concise about that subject.

Reading the Bible should be of particular importance for younger generations because many seem to be growing apart from traditional religious values and institutions. It seems that in the twenty-first century people are distracted from God, and they want immediate feedback of information. They seem to be more interested in social events and social media than in finding a real relationship with God. I presume that this is due to high-speed technology. And sadly, many people—including myself at one time (had) have no real fear of God.

Many of our younger adults are continually connected to the Internet. They want information immediately, and they can generally find it. (Some information they may find is factually true and some is false.) It is estimated that there are over three billion Google searches per day. There are simply too many worldly desires distracting us away from God (See Ecclesiastes 6:7–12). These days, it seems hard to hold someone’s attention for long periods of time. Long, peaceful conversations with friends and families seems to be events of the past, as we are all too busy—and probably too connected to technology and social media. When asked about religious affiliation, I have heard people now say none or done