Has anyone ever even asked you about your eternity? Many people have likely never been asked this question. But, have you thought about it? Eternity is a long, long time and since Jesus talked about it then it surely is your destination. Where will you spend it is the question that needs answering. Some people, even pastors, have questioned where we will be after our life here. If you have read the gospels or heard a sermon from them, you have heard about it. Jesus died for us to have a chance at being in Heaven with Him so there is a life after this one, the only question that needs to be answered is will you be with Jesus?
If you haven’t given your life to Him then your eternity looks very different. You will be outside the boundaries of Heaven and outside the presence of God. Have you ever thought how that would be? Life would not be here without God’s sustaining it, including each of us.
All of us have those days that try our patience. We lose our keys or our glasses. The car won’t crank or maybe its making some awful noise going down the road. Hopefully, these things won’t happen on a Monday or a Friday but we don’t have control over any of it. God will help you through it. I know when these things are happening it doesn’t feel like God is anywhere near you, but He is.
God loves us and He is there with us wherever we may be. That is why I pray while I’m driving. I need Him to be near so I can get to my destination and back home again. I know He’s always near, but it makes me feel better when I’m in traffic. Our lives can be so useful to Him in many ways. When you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you have access to Him all of the time, every day and in any situation. You are loved more than you realize because the love of God is like nothing we can imagine.
God gives us the strength and the faith to make it through many situations so don’t think you can do it on your own. For some things you might be able to get by without His help but even those could’ve been easier with His help. We are very stubborn at times and I know that I’m not the only one. Allow God to come into your heart and your life so you won’t be going through bad days or good days without Him.
I get this question asked of me at least once or twice a week. Sometimes I answer it with, “Yeah, I’m fine”, but sometimes I really don’t feel fine. Life does that to you when you pass the age of fifty or sixty. The “okay” feeling that you had when you were younger just doesn’t show up as much as it once did. But, God has a plan and I’m letting Him lead me these days, instead of taking off on my own and hoping that He will get me out of trouble. God loves you and me and everyone who lives on this little ball of water and dirt. He doesn’t like the way many of us live and worship gods who aren’t gods at all. He is the only God and Jesus made a way for us to be with Him if we will believe in Him and turn away from our ways.
Read God’s Word and learn more about Him than you know now. Seek Him out and you will find your Savior and Redeemer because He has been waiting for you. All of us don’t have to be evangelists or preachers, just be willing to tell your own redemption story if someone asks where you get your strength from. I wouldn’t be able to even do this if God didn’t give me the words to put here. Being okay with God is not answer when someone asks about your salvation. You have to believe like the thief on the cross, knowing that Jesus will save you when you call on Him.
Is it possible to be a follower of Jesus and not tell others about your Savior? I don’t think so. Because your life will change and your behavior will change when you have given your heart to Him. So, even if you don’t actively tell everyone about your Savior, they will see it in your life and your actions. Some people may say that is the coward’s way of telling others about Jesus, but St. Augustine did it that way a long time ago.
Being a follower of Jesus Christ demands that your life changes and many people will notice it immediately. If your life hasn’t changed, then the Holy Spirit hasn’t made a change in your heart. Some people claim to be Christians and I don’t doubt that some could be, but if their lives haven’t changed significantly from the life they lived prior to their claim of finding Jesus they should seek Him in a Bible-teaching church. Being okay in this life is fine, but consider that eternity is your destination after you die or Jesus returns for the church. Make sure of your eternal destination because you don’t want to go through the wrong door.
All of us live in the world, mainly the three dimensional world that everyone else lives in. But, there is a world here that is darker and more malevolent and evil than we can imagine. We, humanity and anyone who believes in Jesus, are hated there with a deep and abiding hatred that we cannot understand. So we actually live in both worlds, except the world that the devil and his minions inhabit is a spiritual world that occupies the same area that we live in. But, God doesn’t allow him to do as he wishes with the Earth and its inhabitants thankfully.
God is gracious enough that He protects us as we live our lives every day. Life here is literally held in God’s hands because if it were not, the devil would likely kill every person on the Earth. But, God won’t allow him to have that much control on Earth. The devil can only do things that God allows him to do and we should be very grateful for that.
God loves all of us, yet He cannot save all of us because of our stubbornness and refusal to believe in Him. Life can have an extension into the future but only if we believe in Jesus for our salvation from our sins. I ask all of you who may read this to seek a church that teaches from the Bible and learn about your Savior. Then give your life to Him and believe that He saved your soul from an eternity apart from Him.
All of us have a Jordan to cross or be baptized in or even to be cleansed in. Whatever your Jordan may be, don’t turn away from it because it looks dirty or muddy. Jesus stepped into the Jordan because He came to be our Savior. He didn’t need cleansing. He didn’t need forgiveness. He was being washed with the water because His ministry was just beginning. The Spirit sent Him into the wilderness to begin His testing. Not because He needed to be tested, but because His ministry needed to begin with the testing and His victory over the one testing Him.
Our Christian life is our testing ground after we come out of the baptismal water. Every day is a test that we have to pass by leaning on and depending on Jesus to get us through each day. One day at a time, one step at a time. Some of us try to do it on our own and God will let us try it that way but we are more likely to stumble and fall when we do it “our way”. Walk with Jesus every hour and every day, praying and being in a prayerful attitude each and every hour. Why? Because the devil doesn’t stop trying to trip you and me. Every step we take, he puts something in front of us or in our thoughts to cause us to trip and fall. But, we have been forgiven through the blood of Jesus. As long as we confess the stumble or the fall, asking for forgiveness we are forgiven fully and completely.
Life is a constant walk toward Heaven. God knows the date that you will arrive. He is in control and will give us the strength to finish that journey. Follow Jesus into the Jordan and out the other side and your life will have the meaning that God had always prepared for you.
