Decision Time

A poll taken of the American people by Marker Facts Telenation for US News & World Report appeared in the June 20, 1997 edition of USA TODAY. It stated that eighty-eight percent of the adults in the U.S. who believe there is a Heaven also believe they will go to Heaven.

Why do so many believe they will go to Heaven? Are they basing their belief on what they hope is true rather than what they really know? In my opinion one reason people don’t want to think they are not going to Heaven is because this is such an important issue. It is for eternity! Deep within they know there is a possibility it will either be Heaven or Hell.

Like it or not, each of us makes a decision that will determine our eternal state of being, even if it is by our silence. That may sound harsh, but it is the truth. All of us must pass over to that other side of the grave. To talk about death is not being morbid; it is rational, because death is inescapable. The Bible says there is coming a final Judgment Day and every person will stand before God. Those who are not believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ are condemned. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

That is actually a fearful thought! Every person should consider it seriously while the opportunity lingers. I am not playing on your emotions. I am addressing your intelligence, conscience, and free will. Death has a way of striking unexpectedly, and when it does, your final chance is gone. There are no extra opportunities. If you are an individual who has not done so, receive the risen Savior Jesus into your heart now. God loves every person, and His plan of salvation is available to everyone, regardless of what they may have done up to this point in their life. Few are worse than the Apostle Paul before he learned the truth of Jesus Christ. He hated the Gospel and was even a leader in killing Christians, but God transformed him.

Repent and accept Jesus Christ into your heart as Savior and Lord. That is what Paul did on the road to Damascus, and it is what millions of others have done. It is the only way to know for sure that you are going to Heaven. If you sincerely mean it, you will experience a spiritual rebirth into the Kingdom of Heaven. You will know that it happened, and you will be in the Kingdom of God and will inherit Heaven as well as many blessings in this life, which come from such a relationship that you now do not understand. God knows you intimately, and He is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for sacrificing Your life on the cross for my sins and making it possible for me to spend eternal life in Heaven. I open the door of my heart and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Take control of the throne of my life, and make me the kind of person You want me to be.”

If these words express the desire of your heart, pray this prayer right now. Christ will come into your life as He promised. It is then important that you locate a church that believes in and follows true biblical Christianity, so that you can be grounded in the Word of God and become active as salt and light in the world.

I have reviewed the basic plan of salvation and what we must do to be rescued from the kingdom of the world and be made a member of the Kingdom of God. “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:11-13).

WATCH FOR MY NEXT BLOG “The Two Spiritual Kingdoms” on March 29^th, 2010

Tags: Bible, death, eternal life, heaven, hell, Jesus, judgment, Kingdom of God, prayer, rebirth, salvation, spiritual, transformed, Word of God