Thursday, February 10, 2011

Travellers guide to heaven

ACCOMMODATION - Arrangements for first-class accommodation have been made in advance. “In My Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2



PASSPORTS - Persons seeking entry will not be permitted past the gates without having proper credentials and having their names registered with the ruling authority. “There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth… but they which are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:27



DEPARTURE TIMES - The exact date of departure has not been announced. Travellers are advised to be prepared to leave at short notice. “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.” Acts 1:7



TICKETS - Your ticket is a written pledge that guarantees your journey. It should be claimed and its promises kept firmly in hand. “He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24



CUSTOMS - Only one declaration is required while going through customs. “I declare unto you the gospel… that Christ died for our sins… and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day.” I Corinthians 15:1,3,4



IMMIGRATION - All passengers are classified as immigrants, since they are taking up permanent residence in a new country. The quota is unlimited. “They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly… for He hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:16



LUGGAGE - No luggage whatsoever can be taken. “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” I Timothy 6:7



AIR PASSAGE - Travellers going directly by air are advised to watch for daily indications of imminent departure. “We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:17



VACCINATION AND INOCULATION - Injections are not needed, as diseases are unknown at the destination. “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Revelation 21:4



CURRENCY - Supplies of currency may be forwarded ahead to await the passenger’s arrival. Deposits should be as large as possible. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Matthew 6:20



CLOTHING - A complete and appropriate new wardrobe is provided for each traveller. “He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10



TIME CHANGES - Resetting of watches will not be necessary, nor will the watches. “The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. There shall be no night there.” Revelation 21:23,25



RESERVATIONS - Booking is now open. Apply at once. “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” II Corinthians 6:2.



CORONATION CEREMONY - The highlight of the journey is the welcoming reception and coronation which await each new arrival. “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” II Timothy 4:8

May I ask you a question? Am I saved ?

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:22)

May I ask you a question?


If you were to die today, would you go to Heaven to be with God?


Hopefully, you have answered yes, but if not, please read on as we would like to show you that you can know.

People feel that they will go to Heaven for many different reasons. For example, some think they will go to Heaven because they go to church every Sunday while some think that they are a good person and that good people go to Heaven. We''ll, let''s see what God has to say.


In the Bible you can find both bad news and good news. The bad news is something about you and the good news is something about what God did for you.


Let''s take a look at the bad news first....

Bad News #1


The Bible says, you are a sinner.

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


Even if you are a pretty good person overall, in God''s eyes you are still a sinner. In fact, God says there is no good person who does not sin.

"For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." (Ecc. 7:20)


Being that God is Holy and perfect, He cannot allow sin in His presence in Heaven. So, therefore sin is what keeps you from getting to Heaven.

The bad news gets even worse...

Bad News #2


The penalty for sin is death.

"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)

Because of sin, death has been earned. Not just physical death but a spiritual death. In this spiritual death a person will suffer eternal punishment and torment and be eternally separated from God.

God is a just God and sin must be punished. We can do nothing about it on our own...so the good news is that God provides a solution for our sin.

Good News #1

God loves us and sent His Son Jesus Christ to take all of our sin upon Himself and die in our place. His death paid the penalty for ALL of our sins.


"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us." (2 Corinthians 5:21)


"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..." (Ephesians 1:7)

Then on the third day, Jesus rose again [came back to life] and defeated death. He is alive today!

That sure is good news, isn''t it?

The good news gets even better...


Good News #2


You can be saved from having to pay the penalty of your sin through faith in Jesus Christ.


"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..." (Acts 16:31)



"To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)



So, as you can see from this good news, God made a way out for us. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins and take the penalty for us. If we believe in Him as our Savior, He washes us clean from all our sin and gives us eternal life.



"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)


So, after hearing God''s Word here today...Do you believe?


Eternal life is a gift purchased by the blood of Jesus and offered freely to those who put their faith in Him.



If you have now put your faith in Jesus to save you, let us help you word a prayer you can pray right now (realize it''s not the prayer that saves you, it''s your faith in Jesus Christ).


"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I believe you died for my sins and rose again. Please forgive me of my sins. I am trusting you, and you alone, to take me to Heaven when I die. Thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen."


If you have come to know the Lord after reading God''s Word here today please email us and let us know. We would like to pray for you and send you some more information.


"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Little Boy's Explanation of God





It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well? [ .... and he had such an assignment, in California , and someone published it -- I guess miracles do happen! .. ]


THE EXPLANATION OF GOD:



"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.



"God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.



"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.



"Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.



"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him, but he was good and kind, like His father, and He told His father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.



"His dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. Now He helps His dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.



"You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.



"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!



"Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.



"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'



"But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that's why I believe in God.