Archive for May 2021

You been married ten, twenty, maybe even 40yrs and your spouse dies. You look forward to the day you reunite in heaven so you can continue the marriage forever. If you are married, or have been married at one time or another, and suffered the loss of a spouse, those thoughts may have crossed your mind from time to time. Here’s another question. You were happily married, and your spouse dies, so after a while you marry again, and God blesses you to have another happy marriage. Eventually you both die at a good old age. Whose wife, or whose husband will that person be in heaven?  Beloveth,. people from the beginning of time have wondered about these types of questions and people have formed their own opinion about the answers to these kinds of questions.

When God came into this world in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that question was asked of Him by some of the religious leaders in His day called the Sadducees, who were seeking to discredit Him. Imagine that for a minute. Here is God in human flesh, the one who created us all individually and man gave us a limited capacity to know certain things, trying to discredit the very God that created him by asking Him the type of questions about marriage that we all at one time or another, have wondered about. Look at it in,…(Matthew 22:23-33)

The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married,.. and having no offspring,. left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also.., and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all,. the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection,.. whose wife of the seven will she be?.. For they all had her.”

 Jesus answered and said to them,.. “You are mistaken,.. not knowing the Scriptures,.. nor the power of God..”  ..  For in the resurrection they neither marry,.. nor are given in marriage,.. but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching..…(Matthew 22:23-33)

The Sadducees, did not believe in the coming resurrection of the dead, like many people today don’t, and so in their mind, this whole ideal of a resurrection was ridiculous to them because if there is one, then who’s wife would this woman be who’s been married seven times if there’s a resurrection? The Lord Jesus Christ answer’s the gross error in their thinking by pointing out two very important points.  Look again at how the Lord answers them in the passage we just looked at,. in (Mathew  22:29),   where Jesus tells them this… “Jesus answered and said to them,.. “You are mistaken”,..and then He tells them two reasons why they are mistaken. He says, 1)..“you do not know the Scriptures,..and  2)… nor the power of God..”

Beloveth, whenever you and I get what we believe about God and about heaven from some place other than the Scriptures there’s a very high probability that we are going to be wrong, no matter how much we feel what you believe is right. The only thing that matters is this, “did God say that”  in the Scriptures?  In correcting the two major errors in their thinking, Jesus begins saying this,

 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven….( Matthew 22:30)

Jesus said,. in heaven there will be no marriage. They neither marry or are given in marriage.

The Sadducees’ question therefore was, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her? The Sadducees,. like a great many people today implied that heaven was simply an extension of things on earth men most enjoy, such as marital relationships… (Matthew 22:23)

Heaven,.. Jesus said, is not simply an extension of the pleasures people enjoy on earth. In fact in the eternal state marriage won’t  be necessary. Once individuals have received glorified bodies no longer subject to death, the need for procreation, one of the basic purposes for marriage, will no longer exist. Believers in glorified bodies will be like the angels in that regard, for angels do not reproduce themselves. (He did not say people will become angels.)..He said, they will be as the angels….Look at it again in… (Matthew 22:29)

For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven….( Matthew 22:30)

So, then whose wife will she be in the resurrection? According to Jesus Christ,.. nobody’s. That might disappoint some people because they are trying to compare this temporal joy here on earth with the eternal joy that all in heaven will have. There is no comparison because you and I cannot conceive in your mind what God has prepared for those who love Him and come to Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is what the Scriptures have said,…

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,..Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”…(1 Corinthians 2:9)

Beloveth, this temporal world at it’s very best, will never be better than the eternal world in heaven that God has prepared for those who love Him. In (John 14:1-3) Jesus says this,

​“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you… I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also…. (John 14:1-3)

Think about this for a moment. If God created marriage, wouldn’t you think He could create something far better and much more satisfying to the glorified body than marriage, if He chose to? That is what God has prepared for those who love Him. If man a creation of God can create the beautiful homes and buildings and cities we see in this world, you and I can’t even fathom in our minds on our best day, how awesome of a place God can create for those who believe in Him.

Then the second major error Jesus corrects in the thinking of these religious leaders concerns the resurrection, which they didn’t believe in. Today, even in our generation, there are people who don’t believe they are going to be resurrected one day. They actually think they are going to just cease to exist. This major error in their thinking Jesus said, also came from the fact that,..”they did not know the Scriptures,.. nor the power of God”….(Mathew 22:29)

If they had read and understood the Old Testament Scriptures,.. they would have clearly seen there is a future life and that when a person dies he continues to exist. To the Sadducees the resurrection was ridiculous because they believed death ended man’s existence. But Jesus quoted a statement God had made directly to Moses at the burning bush: “ I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob in.. (Exodus 3:6). Jesus quotes that verse in (Matthew 22:32)..where God said this,..

I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living… (Matthew 22:32)

Beloveth, when God spoke these words to Moses at the burning bush,.. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been dead hundreds of years ago.  If the Sadducees were correct and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died and no longer existed anywhere, the words “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” should have been “I was ”the God of Abraham, I was the God of Isaac, and I was the God of Jacob.  The use of the words, “I am,” implied that God is still the God of these patriarchs, because they are alive with God and will be in the resurrection of the righteous…… (Matthew 22:29)

So, then no beloveth, there won’t be marriages in heaven, but there will be something far beyond our imagination better.  We can believe that,. because God said that.

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,..Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared,.. for those who love Him.”…(1 Corinthians 2:9)

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If you have lived long enough, you have heard somebody at one time or another say of someone who died, they in a better place now. Usually, it helps to think of that someone in a better place as we deal with the grief and sorrow at the thought of never seeing them again in this life, and never being able to talk to them again.  Those are the types of thought’s that comes to mind. It is part of the grief process that many of us go through, but is that what God Himself actually said?   Do we all just go to a better place?  Let’s look at it.

In the Old Testament book of (2 Samuel 12: 21-23), that’s chapter 12 and verse 21-23, it tells of King David’s grief after God took the child that was born to him because of King David’s sins. This is a man who God Himself said, was a man after God’s own heart.  Although he sinned greatly against the Lord, and the Lord forgave him when he confessed his sin to God, God still took the child. The child born to him died. Then king David’s servants had a question for him after his child died,

Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”  And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:21-23)

There is much more that God did to His servant King David because of his sin but what I want to point out here is that king David had an ongoing relationship with God before this great sin. He and God talked to each other through prayer, through private time alone in God’s word, and worshipping the Lord in the Lord’s house. As you read through the Psalms you see King David’s delight at being in the house of the Lord. So, when God saw his brokenness and sincere sorrow over what he had done in his sin against God,.. God forgave him. It was on the basis of this ongoing relationship the king had with God, that the king expected to see his child again,. in that better place… which we call heaven. As you read through many of the Scripture passages in the various blog post in this website, the one common thing you will see is that the people who end up in heaven, do so because they have some sort of ongoing relationship with God.

Let’s look at another example of this in the New Testament book of Matthew chapter 17 and verse #1-5 it says this;

​Now after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,.. led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased… Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it,.. they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only….(Matthew 17:1-8)

Moses lived somewhere around 1500 to 1400 BC. He had been dead nearly 1400 years but there he was appearing with Jesus Christ on the mountain. Elijah lived somewhere around 900 to 800 BC and had died nearly 800 years ago. So they died some 500 plus years apart from Each other, but here they both are, appearing with Jesus Christ on the mountain,.. because when they both died,… they went to that better place. They see each other and no doubt,. know each other,.. but more importantly,.. they both had a close relationship with God during their lifetimes.  Elijah was one of God’s major prophets in the Old Testament days and Moses, God gave the Ten Commandments through Moses. God spoke highly of Moses to His people,

Then He,. ( God ) said,..“Hear now My words: ..If there is a prophet among you,.I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision;..I speak to him in a dream…Not so with My servant Moses;..He is faithful in all My house…I speak with him face to face,..( Numbers 12:6-8)  

Beloveth,.. what we can clearly see in the case of Moses and Elijah the prophet and a whole multitude of others when we read through the entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews in the New Testament letters, is that the people who go to that better place when they die, are people who had a relationship with God while they lived their lives here on earth.

The Scriptures tell us of a person who we know for sure, did not go to that better place. We can be 100% sure of that because it is Jesus Christ Himself,. that tells us that this man didn’t go there,.. although there may have been many at his funeral that got up and said he did.  Luke 16:19-31, tells the story of a beggar name Lazarus and the rich man. It is that rich man that Jesus refers to here.  Both men eventually die and Lazarus the beggar ends up in that better place with Abraham. The Scriptures tell us,.. “that those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham”,( Galatians 3:9 ). So, this beggar, although he was poor, he had become a man of faith looking for the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ at some point in his life.

Not so with the rich man,.. who although he was a very successful man financially doing his lifetime, nothing is said of him having any type of relationship with God during his life. We are told Lazarus dies first then the rich man dies. Look at it in…(Luke 16:22-24)

 So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he 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…( Luke 16:22-24)

Until Jesus Christ returns to take those still living who have believed in Him to that better place, He has prepared for them, there are going to be people, who like this rich man… are going to live their whole life apart from God, with no relationship with God whatsoever, other than acknowledging that He does exist. Although I know where the Scriptures said they will end up when they die, and I believe that with all our heart, only God knows for sure where each individual person is who departs from this life who as far as we know did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ really is right now.  I say that because we just don’t know what went on in their heart as they exited this life. Only God can see what goes on in the heart of people as they exited this life. One of the two thieves that was crucified with Jesus Christ became a believer as he exited this life and went into eternity to be with the Lord and think about this a minute. He went into heaven to be with Jesus Christ in spite of what believers and unbelievers alike thought about him or knew about how he had lived his whole life. No doubt there were people who thought they knew for sure where that wretched thief was going to end up, but they couldn’t see what God could see.

Now in the case of this rich man however, in this Luke 16:22:24 passage, we know for sure where this man ended up because Jesus plainly tells us where this rich man went when he died. So, we can see that the key to getting to that better place,.. is having a relationship with God. It has always been that way. Jesus Christ tells a man that there is only one way to God the Father in heaven, and that is through Him. Look at it in…(John 14:6)

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)

Now everybody doesn’t have to be a great leader like Moses, or a major prophet like Elijah, but everybody has to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Think for a moment about what Jesus said here in (John 10:27-28)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. …(John 10:27-28)

When we develop a relationship with anyone, we eventually know their voice when we hear it. That’s what happens when we believe in Jesus Christ. I talk more about that in the Blog Post titled, “What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ”.

Beloveth, I want to leave you with this thought. If someone came to you who you don’t know, expecting to live permanently in your house with you, simply because they know some facts about you,..would you allow him in? Common sense says no. “I don’t know you“. That would be our thought, along with some other thoughts. This is the response Jesus said He also would have to those wanting to enter heaven who,.. He does not know.

 “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’….( Matthew 7:21-23)

Do we all just end up in a better place? All who willing came to Jesus Christ in their lifetime will go to that better place is what the Scriptures teach. It may be that you sense God speaking to you right now about the need trust Jesus Christ and have that assurance of knowing when you die, heaven will be your home forever. If that’s you, go to the “Encouragement” tap on the “Home page,” and look for the “Prayer to Receive Christ” you can pray to the Lord from the heart, that God will hear when you pray from a sincere heart,..that wants to be forgiven by God. As for this saying that anybody and everybody who dies goes to a better place,..I don’t see anywhere in the Scriptures where God said that.

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If you are like me, you most likely have been to a funeral of a family member, a friend or co-worker. Depending on how close you were to that person, the pain and the grief could be overwhelming.  Thank God that He comforts us through the loved ones He has put in our lives. We all need that closeness, that togetherness that God uses to give us the grace to get through those difficult times in our life as we think about never seeing the person again in our lifetime. I have heard people say many times that that person who died is looking down on us from Heaven. There are a whole lot of people that believe that.  So, what about that? Are we going to be able to look down from heaven and see the things going on earth? As much as I would love to believe that is true, I have to ask, did God actually say that? Well, there is really not a place in Scripture where God actually said that, so I don’t think anybody can say for sure,.. yes they can, or no they can’t. When it comes to God, we have to be very careful about saying He said something if we can’t prove it with the Bible. That being said there are a couple examples that I see in the Bible that lend me to believe that at times when God sovereignly chooses to, He can permit someone in Heaven to see events here on earth.

In the book of Mathew, chapter 17, and verses 1-8 says this,

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” ⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only….. (Matthew 17:1-8)

There was Moses and Elijah who had died hundreds of years ago, and yet here they are, with Jesus Christ on the mountain, seeing Jesus being transfigured right before their very eyes on earth along with His disciples, Peter, James and John. So, you see God allowed people in that eternal world, those already in heaven to see an event in this physical world. So, we know God can and has let people in heaven see an event here on earth.

Another one that comes to mind is in ( 1 Samuel 28:12-20 ). God has rejected king Saul who God put in power over His people Israel and because the of the king’s continual disobedience to Him, God was not talking to him anymore because of his rebellion. The king went to a person involved in the occult for help, something that the Lord hates.

So, God allowed Samuel the prophet of God who had died to come back, not in his physical body, but in a spiritual body like God allowed with Moses and Elijah had to pronounce judgement on King Saul and tell him he was going to die the next day. So here again you have someone in that heavenly realm seeing into this physical world, but in both cases, they were selected events which God allowed for a specific occasion.

Finally, in the Luke, chapter 15 Jesus tells the story of a man having a hundred sheep in the wilderness and one wanders off and is lost. Because of the concern for that one lost sheep the man leaves the ninety-nine others to find that sheep. When he finds it, he calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. Then he says this in verse 7,

“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance..( Luke 15:7)

 Even though this is an illustration Jesus is using to make a point, the idea here could be implied that there may be some in heaven that God sovereignly allows to see an event on earth.  Then if you look at what the Lord goes on to say in verse 10 of the same chapter, where a woman finds her lost coin, He says,

 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

 So, without a doubt we know angels can see into this world, but we also know God can allow people who have passed into that heavenly realm to see into this earthly realm. We saw that in the two previous examples, but in each of these two previous examples the person that has gone to Heaven was allowed by God for specific reasons to see people on earth. Now does that mean everybody that goes to heaven is able to see from heaven all the stuff that’s happening on earth including what’s going on in each one’s family?  As, much as I would like to believe that, in all honesty, I don’t see anywhere that God actually said that.  Now can God do that if He sovereignly chooses to? Absolutely yes. You may have heard about someone who is just about to pass from this life into eternity and God sovereignly choose to let people from that heavenly realm see into this earthly realm just before the person passes away. It may be a family member or friend who is already in heaven. Again, you may see God at the same time allow the person who is about to pass away see into that heavenly realm. I certainly have heard of these kinds of events, and I believe them.  We also have a clear example of that in the Bible in (Acts 7:55), whereas Stephen is about to pass away is allowed to see into heaven and see Jesus sitting on the right hand of God. God in these cases is working out His sovereign plan for that individual’s life. That does not mean that once that individual passes away, now they can see everything going on in the life of their family from heaven. I simply can’t tell you that God actually said that.

Imagine looking down from Heaven and seeing and reacting to the events going on earth. Would Heaven really be Heaven, a place of no more sorrow and pain if we could see everything going on, on the earth?  What did God say about Heaven?

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” …..(Revelation 21:3-4)

Beloved, this is what everyone can look forward to,. who is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to get them into heaven and are willing to allow Him to be Lord in their life by submitting to Him. That beloved, is not man’s opinion. God actually said that.

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If you are among the many people who have a pet or have had one in the past you know they can bring a lot of love and joy into your home and in the life of your family. They are God’s blessing to us for a season and when that season is over it can be a painful time in our life and sometimes that grief over their lost can lead us to wonder,..“will I see my pet again in Heaven?  Next to seeing God and loved ones in heaven that have passed away, seeing that pet you loved just like another family member, is a thought millions of people have wondered about, and understandably so. That was your buddy or your little girl who wanted nothing more than just to be around you. So, when you are faced with that very painful decision to put them down because of an illness or old age it can be very hard on us to see them slowly exit this life. Only people that have gone through that experience can really know what a difficult time it is to have to get through. My heart goes out to everyone who has gone through that experience and those of you who are presently going through that experience.

Having gone through that two times in my own life, I certainly have thought about that question. Is seeing my pet again something that is possible with God?  It is from that standpoint, that I want to address this question. Is this a possibility with God? Does God say anything about the matter in the Scriptures? Over my years of walking with God the Lord has taught me a very important lesson and that is this,..”if God hasn’t spoken on a matter then I can’t honestly speak as if I am speaking for Him on that matter because I don’t know the mind of God or the thoughts of God on the matter. Having said that, I have found that even some of the great preachers of our time, people who truly love God have very different opinions on this subject. Therefore, I want to be clear, right up front before I say anything else. What I am saying here is my own opinion, based on the conclusion I have come to having looked at what the Scriptures tell me about the unlimited power and might of the Almighty God who created us and the incomprehensible love He has for us. God alone has the ultimate answers on this subject. That said, I want to just look at what a few Scriptures have to say about the presence of animals.

The Bible tells us in Genesis, chapter one that in the very beginning of Creation, God created animals. They existed before sin and death ever entered the world through Adam’s sin, (Romans 5:12) says,.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Every one of us came from Adam and Eve and what we all inherited from them once they sinned was a sin nature that causes every one of us by our very nature to want to live life free and independent of the God who created us. Belove that is sin,.. and therefore, every one of us has sinned against God. That is the testimony of God Himself about all of us, in the Scriptures,…   

 “For there is not a just man on earth who does good, And does not sin…(Ecclesiastes 7:20)

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us… If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.…(1 John 1:8,10)

“There is none righteous, no, not one…….( Romans 3:10 )

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. (Romans 3:23)

However, before we all became sinners through inheriting Adam’s sin nature, the world was in the perfect state God created it to be in. Paradise was here on Earth and animals existed in that perfect world God created, and God,. according to the Scriptures,.. was well pleased with all He done in the six days of Creation as He looked on it all.  That is what the Bible tell us in Genesis, chapter one. This was a world in which Adam and Eve could have lived in eternally had they not chosen to sin, and there would have been animals living right along with them.  So, we know it was God’s original intention to have animals on earth along with Adam and Eve. Then when Adam and Eve sinned, death entered into the world (Genesis 3),… and even though death entered the world through their sin, it still pleased God to have animals on this earth,.. along with Adam and Eve even though both they would eventually die now because of their sin.

Then we know from Genesis, chapter 6 that God bought a worldwide flood in the days of Noah that left only eight people alive on the whole earth. Imagine that a minute. Only eight people alive on the whole planet. We also know the before God bought that flood on the earth, God had Noah build an Ark and God sent two of every type of animal He had created into the Ark so they would be keep alive with Noah after the flood. It pleased God to still have animals on the earth after the flood along with man. Why? Because that was God’s original design, a design God says was very good, and it continues to be God’s design even as we,..according to the Scriptures, look for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to this earth one day to rule on this earth 1000 years.

That then, leads me to another passage that comes to mind as I think about all this. That is Isaiah 11, where the Scriptures tell us that animals will exist on this earth during the Millennium. The Millennium is that future 1000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth. It will be a time when the savage nature of beast will be taken away. This will be a supernatural act of God upon the animal world and Isaiah tells us that animals will be right there, where God is on this earth on God’s holy mountain,…

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea….( Isaiah 11:6-9)

So then, we saw that animals were on the earth in the garden of Eden at the creation of the world, when the garden of Eden was here on earth before man fell into sin. There were animals preserved by God in Noah’s day to live on this earth after the flood. Obviously, they exist now right alone with man in man’s fallen state, though both die now.  Then we also saw in (Isaiah 11:6-9), that animals will exist on the earth during the future 1000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth.

So then, when I think about all that, and particularly what God did at the creation of the world,.. what that leads me to understand about the God who created us on that sixth day of Creation is this,.. when God envisioned what a perfect world would look like from His view,..it was a world that has man, made in the image of God in it, and animals existing in it along with man. I say that because that’s is what God did in the beginning when He created this world,.. and when God finished with all He created in those six days, the Bible says God looked upon all He created, and God said it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Since I know that’s how God felt as He looked at all He created, it just seems reasonable then for me to believe that animals will also exist in some form when God, according to His promise, creates a New Heaven and a New Earth…(2 Peter 3:13).

The last book in the bible, Revelation, chapter 5, verses 11-13,.. the apostle John tell us of this heavenly scene God showed him,.. in which there are living creatures, no doubt in angelic form,…

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” …..(Revelation 5:11-13)

I point to this passage to say this,..We are talking about the Most High God here, who can cause every living creature He created to praise Him. Let me say this so there’s no misunderstand of what I am saying here. I am not saying, when a pet dies,… that pet goes to heaven. I can’t point to anything specifically in the Scriptures to clearly support something like that anymore than anybody else can. So far as I can see, when they die, they simply cease to exist. Neither when I refer to a pet, am I referring to any and everything people have chosen to call a pet that God never intended to be a pet. However, what I am ever mindful of about God is this,.. unless God says something is impossible, or God makes one of those “there will be no more” statements that God makes about things in the book of Revelation and other places in prophetic Old Testament books,  I without any doubt whatsoever,.. believe something like seeing a pet again, is possible with God,.. if our Almighty Creator God chooses to make that happen,… to give fullness of joy to those who have become His children through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, whom God loves immensely and eternally. I believe God is Almighty and because I believe that, I believe God is able,.. and it is from that perspective, that I am writing all this. When I talk about God I am not merely talking about a God I know,. only as Savior and Lord,.. but also as the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exist in Heaven and on the Earth. I am talking about a God who power is so great that He simply spoke, and they were created. The Psalmist speaking about the awesome power of God in Psalm 33 says this,

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.  Let all the earth fear the LORD;  Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done;  He commanded, and it stood fast… (Psalms 33:6-9)

Anybody that can do all that by just speaking as far as I concerned, there is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that is too hard for Him that He wills to do. Listen to what the Lord ask Jeremiah His prophet…

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? ….(Jeremiah 32:26-27)

What God wanted Jeremiah to know here is He is not just the Lord, but that He is God Almighty who can do exceeding and abundantly above all you can ask or think. Neither Jeremiah’s mind, nor your mind, or my mind, can conceive the depths of His great power. This very same God who spoke at Creation and formed animals out of the dust of the ground,.. is the same God that is able to speak again and cause a pet to live again if He so chooses to do so. What we are talking about here is really a small thing with God. The life in them came from God and the life in them returns to God who gave it…and if God chooses to do so,.. He can simply speak and cause that pet to live again. And so here’s my own answer to the question God asked Jeremiah that we just looked at,.. “Lord, there is not anything too hard for you. You are God Almighty, who calls those things which are not,. as though they are…(Romans 4:17).

The angel Gabriel, was sent by God to tell the virgin Mary that she was going to have a baby without ever knowing a man, for “with God nothing shall be impossible” the angel Gabriel said in (Luke 1:37).   John the Baptist gave a startling statement to some religious leaders of his day when he said to them that, “God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.. (Matthew 3:9). John the Baptist believed that God didn’t even have to use the dust to create man like He did in the beginning to create people. He believed that “God is able”.  Even the devil, who is a fallen angel understands that God is able to do the impossible. We know that because he says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”..(Matthew 4:3). He called on Jesus to do that because he knew Jesus, being God in human flesh, is able. As the children of Israel journey through the dessert wilderness on their way to the promise land, the Scriptures tell us in (Exodus 17:1-7) that God bought water out of a solid rock for them to drink in the wilderness. So, here ‘s the Most High God, who can take a rock and bring water from it, or as John the Baptist said, raise up children unto Abraham from it, or even turn it into bread as the devil tried to get Jesus to do. Belove, we at times focus so much on God as Savior and Lord,.. that we lose sight of the fact that He is also the Most High God of all Creation and Sustainer of all things, who can do anything He chooses to do, with anything He created,.. unless He Himself has specifically said He would not do it, and He doesn’t need any raw materials to do those things.

So then, the idea that a pet can’t live again, not even by a gracious act of the Almighty God, that’s a foreign idea to me as I look at the greatness of God and reflect on His unlimited power. I most certainly believe that God would make something like that happen for the love and fullness of joy of His children, who ask Him. I would never say what God won’t do for His children, if God hasn’t said it.  I simply don’t see anywhere in the Scriptures,.. that God said He can’t make that happen. Just as we love our children and give good things to them, God loves His children and as their God, He is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all they can ask or think…(Ephesians 3:20).

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,.. how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! …..(Matthew 7:11)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?…..( Romans 8:32)

Friend, God longs for you to live eternally with Him in that glorious heaven city He has prepared for you when your time is up here on this earth. It is there that you will be able to talk with God for all eternity about those things that went on in your life that you didn’t understand while you were here on this earth. The only way God says you can be sure that will happen when you breath your last breath is for you to receive His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. God may have already spoken to you in the past about your eternal destiny and this appeal to you right now may be God one more time confirming that it is truly Him speaking to you in your heart. If so, I want to urge you to the “Encouragement” tab on the “Home” page and look for the “Prayers page” to see how you can pray to receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your life and know for sure that Heaven will be your eternal home as one of His children. Then you will know personally what the God who loves you will do for you.

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Did God say that somewhere? That was a question that was on my mind as a young man in my late teens and very early twenty’s. You might be wondering the same thing now as you are reading this and hey, you have every right to wonder about that. It makes it sound like everybody is heading for some type of trouble at the end of their life, doesn’t it? So, if this is just the opinion of some church people that you may run across that’s one thing but if this is something God actually said then the answer to that question becomes really important because one day you, me, and everybody else living today is going to pass from this life into eternity somewhere, and so the only way to approach that final day of our life with peace and confident assurance is to know whether or not God actually said that. Do people really need to be saved, and from what, or is that just a bunch of religious talk? Let’s look at what God actually said it in the Bible.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, and verses 16-18, Jesus Christ makes this amazing statement about God’s love for all people of this world, showing us His heart’s desire for us,

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him,..might be saved...(John 3:16-17)

So then, there is something you and I need to be saved from according to Jesus Christ. Jesus also tells us that everybody who believes in Him will not perish, but everyone who does not believe in Him is condemned already, and they will perish. Look at verse 18 of this same chapter,

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already,..(why),.. because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God…( John 3:16-18).

Beloveth, there are three types of death that are talked about in the Bible.  I want for the moment to talk about two of them in this post.  The first is physical death, which is separation of the soul, spirit from the physical body at death.

^“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also..(James 2:26)

Then the second one, “eternal death”, which is separation from God forever in a place of torment called the Lake of fire,…(Revelation 20:11-15).

^“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire…( Revelation 20:11-15)

This is what Jesus Christ came into this world to save us from, beloveth. It was His love for us that caused Him to take off the robe of glory He had with God the Father in eternity, a place of everlasting joy, and love and peace, a place where He was worshiped day and night before the throne of God by the angels of God,.. and come down into time, to become a little baby first, then grow into man, so that as man, He could live a perfect life before a perfect God and be a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, so that those who choose to believe in Him, would not be condemned to go to that eternal place of punishment called the Lake of fire. That place was never created for man though many Jesus Christ said will end up going there. It was created for the Devil and his angels according to Matthew 25:41.

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels….. (Matthew 25:41)

Everyone is an imperfect sinner who will face a day of judgement before God one day. Every one of us apart from faith in Jesus Christ is a condemned sinner, heading for that place of eternal punishment if we have not placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those words are not just Jesus’ words, they are the very words of God the Father speaking in His Son.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already,..(why),..   because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God…(John 3:16-18).

Beloveth, there is a coming day of judgement, and because God is just, He must punish sin. God takes no pleasure in seeing people eternally separated from Him for their sin. It is because He loves us so much and wants to show mercy to us that He has made only one way to escape the condemnation that every one of us rightfully deserves, and that is through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. That is what God has said through His Son, Jesus Christ.

For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak..(John 12:49-50)

Notice what Jesus Christ said here? He said God the Father, the one who gives you and I our next breath, the one who has determined that you and I were going to live in this generation, and the number of days that you and I are going to live here on this earth,… God the Father, is speaking in His Son,. Jesus Christ.  Jesus said God the Father, gave Him a command, “what I should say and what I should speak”,.

 The letter to the Hebrews 1:1-2 also confirms God the Father speaking in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,..

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (Hebrews 1:1-2)

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world.., but that the world, through Him, might be saved…(John 3:16-17)

One of the sad commentary’s about that verse is the last three words’ “might be saved”. Not everybody will choose to be saved, in spite of all the repeated warnings of a coming resurrection day for every one of us and a coming day of judgement directly from the word of God. Both Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul warned of that coming day,..

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice  and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation….(John 5:28-29)

I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men… (Acts 24:15-16)

So, it is God who has determined to show His mercy to a world that needs to be saved. God actually said that.

Finally, I want to just reflect on a question John the Baptist ask while he was baptizing people in a river, when he looked up and saw some of the religious leaders of his day coming to his baptismal service.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? …. (Matthew 3:7)

Beloveth, you and I have been warned by God Himself, speaking in His Son, Jesus Christ. He warns us because He loves us and wants us to live eternally with Him. There are times I find myself just thinking about the fact that God knew every sin i would ever do in my in my entire life and yet knowing all that He still chose to draw me to Himself through people He bought into my life and various circumstances he bought about in my life. I had to make a decision one day when i heard His voice warning me and calling me to Himself because He wanted me to be a part of His family, in spite of all He knew about me. What an awesome God! God will warn every one of us because He loves us all. The question you me and everybody else has to answer is this, “will you heed the warnings of God”? I said yes because i have seen in His word that there is a coming day of judgement. God actually said that. What about you? What will you say to God?

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Think about that for a minute. That’s a thought that most of us at one time or another may have had in our lifetime if we believe that God exist.  I certainly have had those thoughts at times in the past. I can worship God anywhere. God can hear me no matter where I am, and He sees what I do. God sees that I am trying to do right by Him and treat people right and help people out when I can. I felt like I can get together with a few people at my house, show them lovingkindness and be worshipping God because God is love, or even just be sitting in my backyard by myself and be worshipping God. It’s not really necessary to be in a church building with a group of people to worship God. That’s their opinion. God is everywhere so I can worship Him wherever I am. This is how I once thought about being in a church and to be perfectly honest, I felt like, I don’t really want to be going up in there anyway until I get myself right. I don’t want to be like some of those people up in there anyway. This is the way I felt about church right up to the time I heard God called unto me from heaven through His word,. and I heard His heavenly call to believe on His Son Jesus Christ, and to listen to Him. One thing I have learned over the years as I have grown in my faith, is that very few people have ever heard the audible voice of God coming from heaven itself. I am not making any claim at all to be one of them, but I can talk about three of those people that the Bible itself tells us who did hear God speak from heaven in an audible voice. They were Peter, James and John, Jesus’ disciples. They were in the mountain with Jesus when a cloud overshadowed then and a voice came out of the cloud, and this is what they heard God the Father speak concerning His Son Jesus Christ,

“While Peter was talking to Jesus,…. a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son… Hear Him!” …(Luke 9:34-35)

That experience of hearing God’s voice from heaven out of those clouds had a lasting impact on those disciples. They never forgot about it. Peter wrote about his experiences after Jesus was resurrected from the dead and had ascended back into heaven where He is now seated on His throne as God. Peter, speaking about that experience with boldness in one of his letters in the Bible, in Second Peter, chapter one, and verses 16-17 he says this,

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ..And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain…(2 Peter 1:16-18)

Beloveth, this was a Heavenly call from God the Father to those disciples who had come to believe in His Son Jesus Christ as their Lord, to listen to what Jesus Christ His Son has to say to them, on whatever subject Jesus Christ speaks to them on. This call to them from heaven is also a call to us today who have also believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. To refuse to hear the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the living God,.. is to refuse to listen to God Himself.  God said, … “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”… God said that here in.…(Luke 9:34-35)

God, the Scriptures said has spoken to us in His Son Jesus Christ. Because it’s God that has spoken in His Son, my opinion and your opinion and everybody’s else opinion has to take a back seat to God’s on whatever subject God speaks on, less we be found sitting in judgement of the wisdom of the very God who created us. Look at it again in the letter to the Hebrews, chapter one and verse one…

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…..( Hebrews 1:1-2)

Jesus Christ Himself told His disciples that the words He spoke were not His, but God the Father was speaking through Him in ..(John 12:49-50)

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:49-50)

Beloveth, God has spoken to us through His Son Jesus Christ, in regard to the question about whether it is necessary to go to church or not. Jesus talking directly to Peter, one of His disciples says this to him,..

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it……(Matthew 16:18)

Stop for a minute and think about this for a minute. We have just saw that God has spoken to us, in His Son Jesus Christ and God has told us to listen to His Son, and what His Son Jesus Christ has just told us is this,.. He is building His church. So, this building of His church is God’s work not man’s. Jesus makes it very clear who’s church it is. He says,.. “I will build My church”.

The word Jesus uses here for, “church” means, `an assembly of called out ones’.  So, when we talk about the church, we a talking about an assembly of people that have been called out by Jesus Christ. Two questions came to mind for me at this point. What are these people being called out from? And, how is Jesus Christ, calling them? Jesus answers the first question in John, chapter 15, and verse19 where He says this to His disciples…

“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but, … I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you….(John 15:19).

The church then, is made up of people that God, through His Son Jesus Christ,.. has called out from this world,.. to be become part of an assembly of people who have made a personal decision to listen to the Lord Jesus Christ. People who have believe who He is, the Lord, their Creator, and have made a personal choice just as Jesus’ disciples did, to follow Him.  That’s what Jesus Christ is building and so before I answer the second question I had to stop and ask myself a question about what I just learned. Jesus said,” I will build My church”, an assembly of called out people. God through Jesus Christ is calling people to an assembly, and so when I decide that I can believe in Jesus Christ and don’t need to go to a church, (His assembly), and tell others that same thing, then I am working against the very thing that the Lord Jesus Christ said He was building, His church, this assembly of people called out from this world unto Him. I would be working against the very God who created me. I would be working against the very God who gives me my next breath, and pause for a minute and think about this,..I am working against the very God that I am going to stand before and be judged by when I pass from this life. Beloveth, when I thought that way and if I influenced others to think that way, I was speaking and working against God Himself, even though I didn’t realize it. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples in Matthew, chapter 12, and verse 30…

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  …(Matthew 12:30).

This world or the world system that the Lord Jesus Christ said he is calling people out of is a way of living life that is independent of God. It is a way of living life without any regard for what God has said on matters unless what God has said will make me happy and fulfilled and benefits what I want out of life. It is a way of living that does not want God having authority over my life while I am living because of what that might mean but wants to be received into heaven at the end of life. It is a way of thinking that believes it’s me and the good that I do in life that God will look at to determine if I get into heaven, rather than trust the sacrifice Jesus Christ has told us He made for every one of us on that cross to pay the penalty for our sins against God. Finally, this world system that Jesus Christ is calling people out of is a way of living life based on what each individual feels personally is right or wrong rather than looking at what God Himself has clearly said about matters in the Scriptures.  This is what Jesus Christ is calling people out of, and into an assembly,… called the church, -His church.

Having understood that God is building His church, and that this assembly of called out people is His work, and that He has called them out of this world to Himself, my second question I had then is, how is He calling them. When Jesus Christ was on this earth, He called His disciples personally. We can see that in several passages,..

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately,.. He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him…..( Mark 1:16-20)

 Jesus Christ has ascended back into heaven, but He is still building His church by calling those He wants to be a part of His church, through people who have already believed in Him, and are obeying His call to them to take the message of the gospel that God has given them, to those God is calling out to, from heaven. It is a heavenly call that God, by His Spirit, begins in the heart. This is what the apostle Paul told the church in his letter to the church in Thessalonica.

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which,… He called you by our gospel,. for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ….(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

 God called those who made up the church of the Thessalonians through the message they heard preached. Beloveth, God loves us all so much more than we could ever comprehend with these human minds we have and that is why I call you beloved as I write, because that’s what you are to God, and I want properly relay God’s heart toward you.

What I had realized about myself as I looked back on the time, I was questioning whether I need to go to church or not is this, I felt that way because of my unwillingness to listen to Jesus Christ. I didn’t want Jesus to reign over my life at that time because of what that might mean to me at the time, and it is only when God began to do a work in my heart that that feeling started to change. The sense of the need to go to a church in our hearts, has been put there by God Himself. Make no mistake about it. It is a Heavenly call, and God at times uses people in divinely appointed times, and places, and even the circumstances of our lives to make that Heavenly call to you and me, although we might not realize it is God calling out to us. This is what the apostle Paul is telling those in the church in Corinth,..

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God…….(2 Corinthians 5:20).

It may be a coworker, it may be a friend, it may be a neighbor, it make be a radio program, it may be a preacher at a funeral or in a church service, it may be a relative or it may be a stranger who God causes to cross your path in your life, or it may be difficult times in our lives that God brings about in order to get us to pause for a minute from the business of the everyday cares of life to stop and think about our eternal destiny. Whatever it is, or whoever it is God decides to use to call us, each one of us have to decide how we are going to answer that heavenly call from Him.  Jesus says,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me…( Revelation 3:20)

I want to in closing, speak to the question I once had about whether I can just get a group of people together at my house and call that a church because I am showing them love because God is love, by saying this,..a group of people together at home is not necessarily a church in the sense of what Jesus Christ calls His church that He is building. Why do I say that?  Well, because this church that the Lord Jesus Christ said He is building has an order to it that God Himself has setup as it pleased Him.

“But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased… (1 Corinthians 12:18)

Yes, indeed there have been many churches that have started in homes. Most of the churches that you read about in the Bible were started in homes, but here’s the difference I learned. They were in their foundational stage. Their goal which each one pursued, was to set their church up according to the pattern God has set up in the word of God. It is God that has determined who will be a pastor or teacher, or any other leader in His church. You can’t just gather a group together pick a leader and call that a church. God chooses each member’s place in His church as it pleased Him. God gave these gifted people to the church to equip each church member for the work of the ministry He has prepare them for so that each individual member working together as a whole, will accomplish God’s purposes and be built up and edified, until that church looks like Jesus Christ in the character of its members individually and as a church body.

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Beloved this is what God is building in calling unto us from Heaven, to be a part of. Now can I worship God at home? Yes I can, and I should. Personal time alone with the Lord is something we all need once we have made that personal decision to receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. If I have really believed He is the one who will determine what my eternal destiny will look like based on what I have decided His place is going to be in my life, then I must allow Him His rightful place as God over my life by submitting to His rule. He wants to hear you and I acknowledge Him as Lord.  He is a merciful God who is ready to forgive us when we ready to ask Him. There is no other way to know for sure that Heaven will be your home when you die. If you have not yet done that but in your heart, you sense a need to have peace in your heart about where you will be if you were to die today, then I urge you to go to the “Prayers” page under the “Encouragement” menu to see how to invite Jesus Christ into your life.

Finally, God says to us, do not follow the example of those who choose not to church, or those who don’t make going to church to serve the purposes of God, a priority in their lives. In the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10, and verse 25, the Scriptures, which are God’s words to us in print, God says this,..

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching…..( Hebrews 10:24-25)

Is it necessary to go to church?  Yes it is,… God actually said that.

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One of the most painful things to hear about in the times we live in today, having almost come through a worldwide pandemic that pretty much shut down society as we have known it,.is that there are some precious souls that unfortunately have privately thought about this question,..’is my life worth continuing”.. and for their very own personal and very private reasons never feel comfortable sharing their thoughts that have led them to think about that question with anyone. The isolation that the pandemic bought about, the stress on families and marriage relationships, the loss of love ones, the lack of social activity, the sense of a loss of self-worth, all contribute to stress, anxiety, depression and sense of hopelessness. It may very well be that you are dealing with one or more of these particular things in your own life, and the sheer weight of them just seems unbearable, mentally and emotionally, and you just want out and the only way you see getting out is to end it all. When those types of thoughts run through our minds to be honest, most people really do not feel comfortable telling anybody around you about them. They are the kinds of thoughts can overwhelm our thought life, affecting not only the way we see ourselves now, but how we see any hope for our future,.. even at times wondering within ourselves privately, if this rough time I’m in will ever end, or do I really want to deal with any of this anymore? That then then leads to that question within our heart that our heavenly Father is so concerned about as He looks on the thoughts of our heart, and that question …”is this, is my life worth living on like this?

Belove If this is you, because every one of us has been uniquely created individually, there really is only one other person in the entire universe that knows exactly how you feel, and that is God who created you. What God wants you to know, as He looks at your heart right now and sees you trying to carry that heavy emotional weight that just seems unbearable and has you wondering if it will ever end is this,..God loves you and His concern for your wellbeing is so great, so much greater than you may realize right now, in spite of anything you may feel about yourself,.. and despite what anybody else might think about you. The God that who created you, has such a deep abiding love for you and I that as He looked from Heaven, down through the ages of time as we know it, on what our heart’s greatest need would be, even before we were ever born, He planned to send His Son into this world in the person of Jesus Christ the Lord, so that everyone of us could know the everlasting peace and joy that comes from knowing Him personally, through faith in Jesus Christ his son. God wants you and I to know the peace of God that surpasses all our understanding, that He alone gives,.. now,.. while you are yet living in this life, in spite of your outward circumstances, a peace which God alone gives to those who are willing to call upon Him. It is that God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in them that says to you and I right in the mist of the darkest of valleys in life we may find may ourselves in, with His outstretched arms toward us in His love for us that says,..”yes”,.. your life is worth living”. Belove, it is not by mere chance that you were born in this generation. God has a plan, and purpose for you being here at this time. Listen to what God says about you, me, and everything else He created,…

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him,.. and for Him….. (Colossians 1:16)

There are times when we all read things that just make us just have to stop and reflect a minute in amazement, thinking about what we just read. We stop because we just want to process what we just read and let it sink in. For me, this is one of those things. If all things were created by Him. and for Him,(the Him referring to Jesus Christ), them your life and my life has a God given purpose for being here on earth at this point in history. It is said that the word, “history”, broken up into two words, is His-story. You and I are a part of His- story for this generation. Think about that for a minute. God, in His wisdom chose to have you live in this present generation for His purposes. He didn’t plan for you to live a thousand years ago,..not a hundred years ago, not even a hundred years from now,.. but now, in this time and in this generation, and in this country.

How easy it is to lose sight of that fact as we go through the good times and troubling times in our life. God’s word tells us that some of His greatest servants felt like they just wanted their life to end.  Elijah, the prophet of God fell into a hopeless emotional state after being pursued by those seeking to capture him and just wanted his life to end, (1 Kings 19).  Jonah, who God saved out of the belly of a great fish for the very purpose of sending him to Nineveh to call the Ninevites to repent and turn to God, wanted to die rather than seeing the Ninevites repent and be spared by God, (Jonah 4:3). Things got so bad emotionally in the life of Jeremiah another prophet of God, that he cursed the day of his birth (Jeremiah 20:14-18), and so did Job the Bible tell us in (Job 3:1-16).  What interesting about the life of each of these people is that God used each one of these low points in their lives, and continues to do so even now,.. thousands of years later, to teach us about the great patience He has with us, ..the love He has for us, the great mercy He shows toward people we may think don’t deserve mercy, as well as His faithfulness to us all, in spite of our faults or what we or anybody else may feel about us. Think about this a minute. It is because they endured by God’s grace and did not end their lives, people from every generation after them have been encouraged as we have learned these truths about how the God who loves us deals with us’… through the darkest times they went through in their lives.  It probably never even entered their minds at the time that God would use their life to teach many generations to come,.. but God intended to do all that He did with each of their lives,..even before the world was ever created. The Lord sees everything from the beginning of our appointed time here on earth to the very end of our time here and everything in between, before we were ever born. Think about that a minute.

The God that created us eagerly wants a personal relationship with each one of us. God, wants that relationship in spite of how our pass has caused us to feel about ourselves. God wants you and I to walk in His uniquely individual plan for us. Think about this a minute, “Do you know that there has never, in all the Creation of God, ever been anyone ever created exactly like you?,..And there will never be anyone created after you, exactly like you? Do you know that God, before He ever made the first star, before He ever made the Moon and the Sun, God ordained that you would live in this generation? That you would be born into the family you are in, and that you would meet the people you have met and those you will eventually meet doing your lifetime? Now If that doesn’t have you in awe of Him, think about this one,..God even knew you would be reading this blog post on this day,..and at this very moment,..before He ever said “Let there be Light” at the Creation of the world. You were in the mind of God long before you ever existed. Listen to what the Psalmist says of his own thoughts as he thinks about God’s thoughts toward him… ( Psalm 139:17-18),

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You… (Psalms 139:17-18)

 In the previous verses he thanks God and praises God as he realizes the unique individual he really is,.. who has been created by an Almighty God,. and for God’s purposes,….

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You,When I was made in secret, ….(Psalms 139:13-15)

Then the Psalmist, having understood the awesome power of God and the foreknowledge of the God who created him says this,

“  Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them….. (Psalms 139:16)

He says, God you saw me even before I was formed in my mother’s womb, and you ordained the number of my days, when as yet there was none of them. My days that you ordained for me Lord God, the Psalmist says, you already had them written in your book before I was ever formed in my mother’s womb.  Belove, God has a purpose for your life which is precious to God. Notice what God said to the prophet Jeremiah, who God spoke to when he was just a youth,..

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb,.. I knew you; Before you were born,.. I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”….(Jeremiah 1:4-5)

It is this same God, that formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb and raised him up to be a prophet for Him,..is the same God that also had a purpose in mind for your life when He formed you in your mother’s womb. The very reason you are still alive on this earth today is because God loves you and has a purpose for your life that He still wants you to walk in. It may be that you feel you have messed up and thinking God cannot use my life because of the mess I have made of it,..but what we saw about God from the lives of those mentioned earlier is that God has great patience with us and loves us, in spite of all our flaws and pass bad pass decisions we have made.  God delights to show mercy to those who are willing to call upon Him.

Belove if this a dark season in your life right now that seems to have no end, know this for sure,..God wants to bring you out of that night season by calling you to look to the Light of this world, His Son,.. the Lord Jesus Christ.

God sees the weight of the emotional burden and despair you are carrying right now, and God is very much concerned about you, and because the Lord does not want you to harm yourself, when those thoughts of harming yourself are continually on your mind,..know this for sure ,..It is God’s is will for you to seek the help of a professional because God sees the depths of that sense of hopelessness you are feeling as nobody else may understand, and just as God brought those you read about earlier through their valleys, God also wants to bring you through yours. Your life is precious in the sight of God, and yes, God even works through professional therapist so don’t ever, ever hesitate to seek the help of a professional if you feel the need to. That knowledge and wisdom to deal with man’s emotional and intellectual state has been given by our gracious God. The Lord works through people to address the emotional, the intellectual, the spiritual, as well as the physical, and social needs of people. Also, in addition to a therapist, what you will most likely find out is that God will have godly people somewhere in your life’s path, to encourage you and pray for you. It may be a coworker, a neighbor, a relative or even someone you just sat next to on a flight. Even the therapist you eventually decide to go to could end up being that person. Whoever it ends up being just know this, it is no accident or coincidence that they are in your life at this time. They are there by God’s design for God’s purposes toward you.

 Finally, belove God Himself wants to be to you, a friend that sticks closer to you than a brother. Think about that one a minute. Take that thought with you the rest of the day. The next time you are out at night, look up at the moon and stars, and those fascinating cloud formations, think about this. The God that created that moon and those stars and ordained those cloud formations you are looking at wants to be your friend. If you have never made a decision to come to God through His Son Jesus Christ trusting Him alone, not your good deeds to get you into heaven, by allowing Him His rightful place as Lord over your life, then God Himself is inviting you to do so today, by going to the “Prayers” page under “Encouragement” menu tab of this website and praying “the prayer to invite Jesus Christ His Son into your life”.  Your life is worth living because of His love for you and His desire for you to live in the purposes He has for your life. God actually said that.

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That is a great question, and one that has had people from every generation wondering about. You see at times people that commit the most heinous crimes and they live to be 80 plus years old,.. and then you see other people that for the most part seem like such niece people, and they die in an accident,.. or of some disease and you are left wondering why? I remember somewhere around eight years of age I sat on a porch with my best friend at the time talking with him,. and my mother called me to come in the house to eat dinner.  So, I left my friend there sitting on that porch next door to us alone. While sitting there eating dinner I heard a cars racing down the street, followed by a loud bang. When we went to the window to see what had happen a drunk driver had hit the curve, went airborne and landed on top of my 8yr old friend and killed him. I have often thought, why did God spare me that day and allowed me to live on right up to this very day. I have come to the conclusion that the plans of God, and the purposes of God are well beyond anything we as human beings could ever fully conceive with the limited capacity of our human minds. God is busy about working out His plans in each generation on a world level, on a national level, on a local level, on a religious level, on a family level, and yes even on an individual level. Nothing happens in Heaven or on the earth unless God allows it or brings it about, even the day of your birth. Think about that a minute:

I don’t know what time of the day or night it is where you are at this moment. If it’s nighttime step outside or look through a window and look up at the night sky a moment and think about this as you look at that sky,

Before there was ever a star that you see in that night sky,

Before there was ever a moon that you see in that sky,

Before there was ever a Sun that you see in the sky,

Before there were ever planets out there in space,

Before there were ever mountains that you see,

Before there were ever birds that you see in the sky,

Before there was ever an ocean or lake or anything in them,

God ordained that you and i would live at this time and in this generation, and..let this one sink in a miniute,..Even the family you and I would be born in. And God ordained that you would meet the people you have met and will meet in your lifetime, and God has even ordained before time began that you would hear these words. None of this is happen chance. An all wise, all-knowing God ordained before the world was, that you would live in this generation, and that you would live right up to this point in time. That same God has a number on the days each one of us will live to see. The Psalmist David as he thought about all this said,

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them…(Psalms 139:16)

Just a few verses earlier The Psalmist as he thought about the Lord’s perfect knowledge of him says this,

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it…(Psalms 139:6)

There’s another example that the Scriptures show us about God’s purposes for each individual life in Luke, chapter 7. John the Baptist a prophet of the Lord, who lived during the time the Lord Jesus Christ walked on this earth, is in prison, and soon will be killed. Look at what Jesus Christ has to say about John,

For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”..(Luke 7:28)

 Jesus said there has not risen a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but this same John is in prison and about to be killed so he’s beginning to wonder if in fact Jesus Christ is the One that the Scriptures promised would come and rule the world. Although Jesus is God in human flesh and the promised one that the Old Testament prophets said would come, He is not stopping what’s going to end up being John the Baptist’s death in prison, and so John has got questions. He sends two of his disciples to Jesus in hope of getting answers.  In Luke, chapter7, and verse 19 it says this,

 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”…(Luke 7:19)

 John the Baptist is in his early thirties at this time, but it is in the plan and purposes of God for John’s life at this time to end, and to bring John home to glory in Heaven. He had fulfilled his God ordained role of preparing the way for our Lord Jesus Christ by proclaiming Him as the Savior of the world and calling men to repent and turn to God through placing their faith in the one that was coming after Him, Jesus Christ. God had a predetermined time for John’s ministry to end.

What God wants us to understand as we are shock at times by the death of someone, or saddened as we have to endure those difficult times together and individually is this, “God has a purpose and plan for this world that is going to culminate in the return of Jesus Christ and a New Heaven and New Earth”, and everything God is allowing to happen, and at times even causing to happen, on an international level, on a national level, and yes, even on an individual level, is moving toward that end. There are people who came into this year alive that are now dead that had no idea this would be the last year of their life. Because you and I don’t know the day God has appointed for us to depart from this life, God call’s us to look to Him, to call upon Him for the forgiveness of our sin against Him because He wants you and I beloveth to live forever with Him in that heavenly city. He alone grants forgiveness to us individually through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we,.. just like John the Baptist can live forever with Him in Heaven when our time is up here on earth. There is nothing more important to God, and it is the very reason God says,..

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion…( Hebrews 3:7-8)

 Seek the LORD while He may be found,..Call upon Him while He is near…(Isaiah 55:6)

 Let the wicked forsake his way,..And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,..And He will have mercy on him;  And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon….. (Isaiah 55:7)

 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,.Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,..So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts….( Isaiah 55:8-9)

 I want to end this post on that thought. It is true that the Scriptures teach that God may at times shorten people’s lives due to a judgement for their sin. That truth is taught all over the word of God, but even in those cases it is God that has determined that person’s end. The apostle Paul once ask, “who has known the mind of the Lord, Or who has become His counselor? ..(Romans 11:34). There are somethings about God’s dealings that we will never know on this side of eternity. They are the secret things. God actually said that.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law…(Deuteronomy 29:29)

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When you hear somebody say, I fear the Lord what comes to mind far as you are concerned? Are you thinking God is looking down from Heaven and is ready to get you for the first thing you do wrong? If you are like me, at one time or another you have been driving along a street or highway and looked into your reviewer mirror after hearing a siren and saw the police or highway patrol car behind you flashing lights come on and suddenly your blood pressure shot up and fear began to grip you because you are thinking, “he’s after me”, only to find out after you pull over, he just kept going. It wasn’t really you that he was after, and now you are relieved. Is that the way God expects us to fear Him”? In general no, that is not what God meant when He said fear the Lord.  That is taking it to level of terror and although there is a point that God may allow the fear of Him to get to that point for His sovereign purposes He is working out in a person’s life, in general when the Scripture talks about fearing the Lord, God has something else in view.

If you have a son or daughter that you have raised, one of the first things you teach them is who’s in charge in your house. It’s mom and dad. It is your position as their parent that you want them to respect and reverence. Life is going to be a whole lot easier for them if they listen to you, but if they refuse to honor your position as the parent, there life could get pretty difficult because they will come under your discipline. To fear the Lord is to reverence or respect His position as God. It is to realize that He as God,.. has in His hand my very next breath. It is to respect His position as the Creator of this entire Universe and everything in realizing it all belongs to Him. It is to respect His right to set the standard by which what is right and what is wrong is measured on this earth that He has created, in spite of what society says. It is to respect His right to say what will and won’t go on His planet, this earth and not rebel against it because I don’t like it. We are told over and over and over again in the Scriptures to fear the Lord,

Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him……(Psalms 33:8)

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD….( Deuteronomy 10:12)

“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him….. (Deuteronomy 8:6)

The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened……(Proverbs 10:27)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding……(Proverbs 9:10)

The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant……(Psalms 25:14)

Beloveth, God expects you and I to fear Him, to have that reverential fear of Him that recognizes He alone is God, and as the God who created all things, He has every right rule over all His creation in the manner He chooses to. We as man, whom He has created may rebel against that in the same way we rebelled against our parents when they set the rules of the house we grew up in, but we didn’t determine the discipline we got for rebelling against those house rules, our parents did. We don’t determine the discipline for rebelling against the Lord in His universe, He does. It paid for us to know what mom and dad said if we wanted to stay out of trouble. In the same way it pays to know what God has said if we want to be at peace with Him. We have peace with Him the Scriptures said through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. The promises of the blessings of God are not to everybody. It is for those who fear Him.

Oh, how great is Your goodness,..Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You…In the presence of the sons of men!….(Psalms 31:19)

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD;..He is their help and their shield..(Psalms 115:11)

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting,.On those who fear Him,..And His righteousness to children’s children,…(Psalms 103:17)

The fear of the Lord then, is to live your life in the presence of the Lord. It is to live daily with the knowledge that God sees every thought I have and every deed I do, and to understand that God knows why I did everything I did and said. It is to live with such a reverence for Him that I am not going to just do anything I feel like doing because of that reverence of Him as God my Creator, who I am going to give an account to one day for all I have and have not done while inside this body He has given me to live in while I am on this earth…, His earth. It is to acknowledge that the only way anyone can be forgiven before Him is the way He has said, not what I feel, and that is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who God the Father has committed all judgment to.

The apostle John said he heard a voice from heaven as he was shown things God said were going to happen in the end times, as God brings this world as we know it to an end. He tells us what he heard,

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”….(Revelation 19:5)

So, did God say you and I are to fear Him?  Yes, He did. God actually said that.

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments….(Psalms 112:1)

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That was my mindset during my late teenage years into my very early 20’s. No doubt there are millions upon millions of people today, old and young that think the same way I did. So, what’s wrong with that? If you feel like you need to go to church and read the Bible and all that stuff, that’s good for you. I am not going to knock that, but that’s not what I feel like I need to do. I am just going to live my life, try to treat people right and just enjoy life and when it’s my time to go, I feel like, I am alright with God. I believe in God. I might not go to church, but I believe in God. I just believe in my heart that God is going to let me into heaven because He knows me, and He knows I am not a bad person. That was how I felt, like so many other people, but is that what God actually said? More importantly, is that how God really feels?

The reason it’s important to ask that question is because where I want to go when I leave this world, is Heaven. That’s where we all want to go, to that better place. That’s where God is. That’s God’s house. That’s where the Heaven city is, a place that is so beautiful that our minds can’t even conceive just how beautiful it is. It’s where God’s throne is. It is a place where God wants you and I to live with Him forever when we breath our last breath and leave this life, but let me say this again less we forget, Heaven is God’s house… It’s God’s city. It is the place where God’s throne is, and because that’s so, it is God, not me… that decides what’s necessary to get there. It is what God said,..not what I feel, or what you may feel, that will decide if we go to that Heavenly city.

In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 2,.  God speaks about the feelings we all have individually:

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts… (Proverbs 21:2)

Also in Proverbs 14:12,… God says this:

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death…( Proverbs 14:12)

So according to that verse, God said, I could live my whole life doing what seems right to me and end up not going to heaven when I die, but end up eternally lost, separated from God, forever. Jesus Christ gives us an example of that very thing in (Matthew 7:21-23),

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’…..( Matthew 7:21-23)

Beloveth, pause a minute and think about what Jesus Christ is saying here. This is such a crucial point Jesus Christ is making here. Not everyone who calls Him Lord He says, will enter the kingdom of Heaven. They may feel that they will, but Jesus said no,..Not everyone will. Some who believe themselves to be Christians will not enter Heaven, even though they preach in His name,..even though they do wonders in His name. Wow! Three crucial mistakes they make that Jesus Christ points to here. One, although they felt they knew who Jesus Christ was,.. the Lord, they never knew Him as their Lord. He tells them in verse 23, that “they practice lawlessness’, which means, there was no change in the way they lived life toward Him as a result of their profession of faith in Him. Second, they felt that “doing many kinds of wonderful works, including preaching in Jesus’ name assured them a place in Heaven. Then here’s the critical mistake Jesus points to in their thinking. They trusted their own works to get into Heaven, not God’s work. They actually “relied on what they felt would get them to Heaven, rather than what God actually said was necessary to get into heaven. So, they didn’t seek what God’s revealed will is, in the Bible. They lived their whole life feeling that way and died believing falsely that God felt about them the way they feel about themselves, and Jesus Christ tells them, they were wrong, and since they are dead now, there is absolutely nothing they can do about it, and they are absolutely stunted. Jesus said, those who enter Heaven are those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven…(verse #21). 

So, is God alright with me feeling like I just what to live my life the way I want to and me and Him are good so long as I try to just be the best person I can even if I am not involved in all that Church stuff. I think we can clearly see the answer to that is no. We may feel otherwise, but God did not actually say that. Anyone that does not personally trust Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and dies in that state has no hope of getting into heaven. They will not enter Heaven according to Jesus Christ.  There are some people that we all know if their name is bought up in a conversation, but they don’t necessarily know us. We see them on TV, or read about them, or hear about them through somebody else. To enter Heaven, we must know Jesus Christ personally as our Saviour and Lord, but more importantly, He must know us as one who has invited Him into our life as Lord.

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