I went to a viewing today and it reminded me that regardless
of who we are, what we have or have not achieved; what we have or do not have;
we will all leave this place at some point. Tomorrow is not promised! And
whether you believe it or not, we WILL meet God.
Do you know God?
The only way to know God is through His Son, Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 (ESV) says, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.’’ John 17:3 (ESV) reads,” And
this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent”.
Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know Him as Savior and Lord
of all?
Please understand, I am NOT asking if you go to church every
week. I am NOT asking if/when you were baptized. I am NOT asking what ministry
you serve in at church. I AM asking if you know that God is Holy (among other
things) and that sin is offensive to Him? I AM asking if you know that you were
born in sin and that you have no power in and of yourself to get rid of your
sin? I AM asking if you have acknowledged your sin and turned away (repented)
from it? Romans 6:23 (ESV) says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Jesus died on a cross several years ago and
the shedding of His blood on that cross paid the price (death) of the sins of
all of mankind. This means He died for you. Then, three days later, He rose from
the dead.
Do you believe that?
Romans 10:9-10 (ESV) says, “. . .because, 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. For with the
heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is
saved.” Believing is a verb. It is action. So, if you are one who claims to
believe this about Jesus and knows Jesus as Savior and Lord, from that initial
point of belief, do you spend lots of time with Him, in prayer and in His Word?
After all, that is how we get to know others. And, have you lived your life in
such a way that points to Jesus? If you have not strived to do so, you may want
to revisit whether or not you truly know Him.
This is crucial because when we die, we will go to one of
two places-Heaven or Hell. Most of believe in Heaven, but many of us question
whether Hell really exists. As a Christian rapper put it, “Hell is real and Hell
is hot, Y’all!” Revelation 20:10 (ESV) says, “. . . and
the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur
where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and
night forever and ever”. And, Revelation
21:6-8 (ESV) goes on to say, “And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without payment. The one
who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my
son. But as for
the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake
that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death’.”
Simply put, those who know God through His Son, Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord will inherit eternal life in Heaven when they die. Those who
do not know Jesus will go to Hell.
