message from above

I had a topic in mind to write about today, but while reading a book on evangelism was lead to talk about something else, something much more important.

This life will come to an end, and when it does, I don't know about you but I absolutely want to be certain I'm going to heaven. And there is only one, ONE, way to get there. And it's not by believing in God or religion. *Gasp* right? I would have said the same in the past. But stay with me here.

God is so great, so grand, that we cannot possibly fully comprehend everything about Him. So how can we believe that we can possibly ever do enough to earn our way into heaven? We might like to think we can, we might gauge ourselves based on how well we act or serve compared to others. We might think we will go to heaven because we go to church every Sunday, or we might go to heaven because we feel we've never broken one of the 10 commandments, or because we feel we are more "good" than bad so of course we'll be going to heaven. But, we won't. That won't work. And if you aren't going to heaven, there is only one other place to go, which is why this is SO important to know before that time arrives.

Let's look at the 10 commandments. We are commanded not to commit adultery, but in Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. We are commanded not to murder, but in 1 John 3:15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

The truth is we just cannot be good enough. The sin of Adam and Eve has carried down generation to generation. We are all sinners and no matter how much we try, we will never ever be perfect. We will never ever be good enough for God on our own. But there is very good news to follow!

In the old testament of the bible, people sacrificed animals to transfer their sin onto. But then the Good News! God, out of His love for us, chose to become man and send His one and only Son to earth for us. Since Jesus's life, cruel death on the cross and amazing resurrection, He is now that Savior. Our sins are nailed to that cross. It is finished! He died so that we may live! Not in this life, but the next. So that we may have eternal life with Him in heaven! John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. Wow, God, wow! Still think you can live up to that? I sure don't. And I am SO glad I have a Savior so that I can and will go to heaven when this life ends!

Here's the next thing. Remember, it is ONLY through Jesus that you will go to heaven. It is not through money, cars, jobs, children, clothing, social status, etc. And remember, it's also not through going to church every Sunday or being "good enough". It is through Him and Him alone. Christians don't like to use the word "religion" or "religious" because you can be religious about anything. But it's not about being religious, it's about surrendering your life to Jesus.

God, look at me. I'm a mess. My life is a mess. There is no possible way I could get through this without You. I have fallen short of Your glory in every area of my life and know I can never be enough on my own. That's why I need You. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to suffer, die on the cross and rise again so that we may have life, so that I may have life, eternal life with You! What a gift! Thank You for loving me so much that You chose to do that. I accept You as Lord and receive You as my Savior. Amen!

Pray a similar prayer as that. Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

It's confessing that you have sinned, you are a sinner, just like every one of us who walks this earth. You then truly repent of your sin, truly feel sorry in your heart for all the wrong you have done, which again every single one of us has. Then ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life, surrendering it all to Him. Accept and receive Him as you believe in your heart that He is the only way, truth and life. Surrender your life so that you may have eternal life.

We don't know when our time here on earth will end. We like to think it will be well into our 80's, 90's or even higher, but life never goes as planned or calculated. Don't wait until what you believe will be your last day here on earth, because you just may not get to make this decision if you do. Don't delay receiving the best gift that God has ever given, eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ! And then go and be baptized (even if you were as a baby). Be baptized now as a believer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Your sins have been washed away and you are a new Creation in Him! God chose you to be His child! And if you've made that decision you can rejoice in knowing when your time here on earth ends, there will be something so immensely greater for you on the other side, because YOU are going to heaven! You will see Jesus! God is good! God bless.