Come to Jesus

A few days ago I was reading Luke 16: 19-31. Jesus is speaking to his disciples and also to the Pharisees regarding the deaths of the rich man and Lazarus and reminds them of Abraham’s answers. 

  Verses 24-26 say: “Then he (rich man) cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.’ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”

When we die our souls are separated from our bodies. The body remains in the grave – whether buried underground, above ground or cremated, but our souls are immediately transported to heaven or to hell. There is no intermediate place.

 Verse 26 reminds us that at death there is no escape. No amount of praying by our loved ones can move one from hell to heaven. It is the life lived while alive, to whom your allegiance lay, that determines your fate.   Alive or dead, we are either “in Christ” or “in and of the World.”

If you do not know the Lord, only know of Him, make the effort, take the time, do it now before it is too late, and come to Jesus.

If you don't believe in The One True God heaven is not your final destination

If you don't believe in the very one who died for you, how can you honestly believe you will spend eternity in heaven?

Heaven is not the final destiny of every human on earth. There is a hell. It is not a fictitious place.

Living the"good life," believing in "a god," but not The One True God, does not bring you to the place of eternal peace.

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."  (Galatians 6:7)

If you do not have a life set apart
If you have not accepted God's free gift
If you do not believe in Him
If you do not live and walk as Jesus while you have the opportunity,
your eternal home is NOT heaven.

"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Galatians 6:8)

"And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25)

It's your choice, but don't wait

"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)

The Lord God almighty knows all who will come to everlasting life and those who will not. We do not. We are to share the Good News of His Son, Jesus Christ, to all we meet along the ways we travel. Our job is to share, to witness to all we come in contact; their response is between themselves and the Lord. We cannot make the right decision for them.

The other night on television there was a two-part episode of "Ghost Whisperer." A plane had crashed near a city and all except one (who was not even on the plane) died. But they were in limbo land. They didn't know what happened and wanted to know; upon learning, they could make the decision to go toward the light (depicted as heaven) or toward the dark (depicted as Satan and hell).

Our decisions to do what is right are not made at our death (as portrayed in this show), but while we are alive.

At death, our souls have already moved on, based on decisions made while alive. It is then too late. Do't wait until it is too late. Don't keep saying "later, later." You repeatedly say this over and over -- later, after high school, after college, after I have some fun, after this beer, after this trip, after the surgery. Later never comes. When you have died, there is no later. You are in the later and your decision is made.

Do it now. Go into the light. Be part of the light. Live life with the Father, who art in heaven.

The Glory of God, the Paradise of God

Yesterday I read about the Glory of God, yesterday Satan worked overtime to cause friction between Jimmy and me. Yesterday ended, thank God, with Satan on the losing end.

I read John 11: 1-44. It is about Mary and Martha's brother, Lazarus, who died and was brought back to life. In verse 40, Jesus says to Martha, "Did I not say to you that if you believe you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Through Him we can have eternal life. Jesus could have restored Lazarus to good health while he was still alive. But many of Jesus' actions are for us to know and believe and accept and trust that He is the Son of God, that He was sent by God. Lazarus' resurrection from death proved that point. It demonstrated (beyond any shadow of doubt) the glory of God even more than restoration from a sick bed.

There were and there are so many who point fingers, who do not believe, who do not comprehend all that He is and does, now, in time past and in time to come.

You pray. Mary and Martha prayed. But Jesus had something else in mind.
It doesn't mean God is absent when He doesn't answer our prayers. His plans are not our plans. His intentions are not our intentions. He knows more than we will ever know. He knows ALL.


Who are we to become angry and resentful at God for our preconceived thoughts of what we think He should do?

God's presence is everywhere. If He's not where you can feel Him, perhaps you are not doing your part.

Death is only an interlude between life on earth and life in heaven ... or life in hell.

You stand at the portal. What do you choose - life with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to die for our sins, to renew us to righteousness, or life with Satan, a fallen angel, who came to earth to deceive us for his gain alone...

Today I considered Paradise.

Where indeed is that
Is it some Hawaiian island
Some quiet spot off the road near a pond, a good fishing hole perhaps.
Where is Paradise?
What is Paradise
What will we have when we get there
A place of rest
Perhaps Paradise can be found in the deep recesses of our mind
To a place we grew up surrounded by happy thoughts, happy memories.
Or perhaps we think we are living in Paradise
-- would that be like seeing the world around us through rose-colored glasses?

Jesus spoke of Paradise.
In Luke 23, hanging on a cross between two thieves -- one denounced the Lord, the other asked
to be remembered. And Jesus says to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in Paradise." (verse 43)

The apostle Paul spoke of Paradise.
In 2 Corinthians 12, he shares his visions and revelations (perhaps at the time of his stoning), "how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (verse 4)

And John also spoke of Paradise.
In Revelation, during the time of his exile on the island of Patmos, he shares prophecies of God. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." (Chapter 2, verse 7)

Paradise.
It is where God abides. Where He lives. Where His kingdom is. Where His children go.

Paradise is Heaven. And Heaven is Paradise.

What about you? Are you a future resident of Paradise?
Or are you uncertain of where to go, what to do, are you questioning your existence, are you fearful, have you been duped, are you being deceived into believing the best is what you have now, where you are now ... Nothing more.

But there is more. There is Jesus. We must look to Him, stay focused on Him, believe in Him, accept Him, trust Him, obey Him, for us to gain entrance to the heavenly realms of Paradise.

Good-bye, hello

Thought: once you die and are in heaven, are you aware of those still on earth who have not accepted the Lord as Savior?

I asked my husband about this and after some discussion, we determined that since heaven was a place of joy, there could be no sadness. If a loved one was not saved, that would be oh so very sad, but those in heaven would not be aware of it. That is why, while there is still time, those of us who know the Lord - have accepted His offering of salvation - must actively show others the way to the cross. We can't just sit on our duff and hope someone else takes care of it.