by David Brenneman
Being ready. Seems easy enough in most cases. But do you prepare for the unexpected? Would you be really ready to, in an instant, stand before Jesus?
My Dear Reader, that's exactly our expectation in Christ.
That 1 moment after death we who are saved are in the very presence of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
Would those you leave behind be prepared for your departure from this world?
Some may say "these thoughts are so dark! So morbid! Who can listen to them?".
My Dear Reader...death is as much a part of living as living is.
We can keep packing our calendars with all kinds and forms of busyness but the inescapable is around the corner. Everyone who has ever lived has a destination...to stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives. Some to everlasting joy in Heaven because of putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation...everyone else to everlasting pain and torment because they rejected the free gift of salvation that was offered to them.
Jesus has sent, the Father has sent, the Spirit has sent NO ONE to Hell. All who are there are there by their own choice to reject God's plan for salvation. Hell WAS a place reserved for Satan and his demons. When Adam and Eve sinned, when Cain killed his brother Able, it began to be the place of torment and pain for humanity.
Being "good" isn't enough to get into Heaven's door.
Being "a wonderful person" isn't enough to get into Heaven's door.
Being ANYTHING isn't good enough to get into Heaven's door outside of receiving the free gift of salvation available ONLY through Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
You can be one of the best helpful people in the world, have devoted your life to helping humanity, and without salvation in Christ Jesus you're not going to go to Heaven after you die.
You can be one of the sweetest people and that's not enough.
What's worse of all things is to know what the Bible says about sin, death and all that that means about the separation between God and mankind and still choose to reject Jesus. To still say no to His free gift.
Many countless people have rejected Jesus out of fear of what they believe He might do to their lives.
My Dear Reader...what Jesus wants to give you after coming to Christ for salvation is the best life you never could know you're missing!
It won't matter what things you might lose after commiting your life to Christ. What you gain will be beyond your comprehension in this time in your life.
Our lives in Christ can't be understood without the Spirit of God who comes into our lives AFTER coming to Christ for salvation. The Spirit explains the things of God that we never could truly understand before coming to Christ.
My Dear Reader this is why it's written in more than a few places in the Scriptures to all who read it to be sure of your salvation in Christ.
You do NOT want to find out the very next moment after you die that you never had a right relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are no second chances.
Countless trillions of people in Hell are crying out to God for a second chance and none will be given to them.
The Bible is extremely explicit about who will never see Heaven.
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 5:5-6.
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46.
You CAN know. There's evidences in what the Bible says are fruit of the Spirit of God that happens within those who are saved.
Read on..
"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.
My Dear Reader one key purpose for this blog is to point people to Jesus.
I want all who read this blog to come to the same salvation in Christ that I found in 1975.
Jesus is returning soon. Will you be among those screaming for Him to come back before the events of the book of Revelation take place or will you be leaving with Jesus to forever be with Him?
You are the decider of your destination...be it Heaven or Hell by your choice to accept the free gift of salvation or your choice to reject it.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:16-18.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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