Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“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)“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3: 16 (NIV)“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
Romans 10: 9-10 (NLT)“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”
James 4: 14 (NLT)“Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13: 40-43 (ESV)“Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
John 17: 3 (NIV)“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!…Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’”
Revelation 21: 4-5a, 7 (NIV)
Today, something which is on my heart for you.
Offered in love.
Let me begin by noting that James, Jesus’ half-brother, reminds us in the scripture passage above that the balance of our time here on earth is unknowable.
And even though we do not usually think about it until the very end, our life on earth is like the morning fog, here a little while then gone, compared to our life hereafter for eternity.
The question for us and for others, then, is—where we will spend eternity after our life on earth ends.
It all depends on whether we choose the option, the only way, God set before us.
That option recorded in the Gospel of John 3:16, and further explained in Romans 10: 9-10, which assures us of eternal life in Heaven when we accept and ask Jesus Christ into our hearts.
Yet too many of us, and so many others we know, act as if we have forever to make the choice as to where we spend eternity.
And if we do not make that choice accepting Christ, the default location is unthinkable—and it would be forever, as Jesus briefly sets out as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 13: 40-43, above.
The choice before us is not made by just attending church, or church membership, or abiding by all the rules, regulations, and requirements of a particular church.
The choice assuring eternal life in Heaven is asking and accepting Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives, then following Him, and acknowledging Him to the world as our Savior and Lord.
Done—Eternal Life in Heaven with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Assured.
Which we then proudly share with another public profession of faith through Baptism, as a new Believer in, and Child of, Christ.
The late Reverend Billy Graham once shared—
“Your future does not depend on the world situation, however grim it might become. It depends on what happened 2,000 years ago at the cross and your acceptance or rejection of the Prince of Peace.”
Our elder Granddaughter, Hannah, asked me years ago when she was about nine or ten, what Heaven was like.
I told her that not having been there yet, I could not say from personal experience. But, reading God’s Word, and conversations with Him, listening to Him, in prayer through the years, and with others who love Him, I offered this as my answer to my precious elder Granddaughter—
“Hannah, think of all the people you love, pets you love, places you love, things to do you love, wonderful memories you have, books you love, games you love, plants, flowers, music, and movies you love, weather and seasons of the year you love, and anything else you love. Then, sweetie, multiple it all by at least ten. That is what I believe Heaven will be like, at the very least.”
If you have chosen Christ, get ready one day for Eternal Life. (John 17:3) Wow!
If you have not yet chosen Christ, may I suggest you do it now.
Then one day, when we all get to Heaven, we will see each other there—Eternal Life with God—forever. It will be an unbelievable, joy-filled, glorious forever!
Amen and Amen!
In His Name–Scott
PS. If you would like to talk about this “choice,” email me at— scott@impactforliving.org
You will love watching and listening to Matt Redman, and his team, share this beautiful song of promise and eternal joy— “One Day (When We All Get to Heaven).”
