Mike’s Faith and Religion Blog

Let’s me start an imaginary scenario. Imagine, that you’re in a park, talking with your friend about life when all of a sudden, a bus runs out of control and heads straight towards you. In a split-second, you realize, this is it - there’s no way to run - and BANG! The bus hits you and you were thrown 20 yards away, dead. Morbid? Yes. Reality? Maybe. All people will die sooner or later. The question is, will you go to heaven? Or will you go to hell?

The next scene starts like this. You see yourself standing before the judgement throne of God. A loud voice - one that sounds like thunder - speaks, “Why should I let you in to my kingdom?” You struggle for an answer and came up with nothing. But you have to give an answer and so you say, “I go to church, I help the poor, I pray, I love my family, and so on and so forth.” Then God replies grimly, “throw this soul to hell.” With a flash, you see yourself amidst the flames of hell. You hear other souls shouting in pain, asking for mercy, begging for water but there was none. You hear many of them gnashing their teeth and wishing themselves to die but they won’t die - they can’t. They’re already dead.

Slowly, you feel the heat of burning sulfur. You smell a rotten scent in the air. You start seeing worms crawling up you. You then start hearing yourself shouting the same words that you heard the first time you entered hell. Oh yes, there’s no way out. If only you knew what to do before you died.

Now, is this reality? Maybe… Snap out of it and read this carefully.

All men have sinned and you cannot wash away your sins by doing good deeds. Because of that, all men will go to hell. Why? Because God is JUST. He judges accordingly every evil thing that we did. Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” That includes you, your priest, your pastor, your parents, your spouse, your kids, and me. Furthermore, the bible says in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” At this point, the bible is not referring to physical death for that is 100% certain unless God intervenes otherwise. Mostly, when the bible speaks of death - it speaks of hell. But if all have sinned, then who will go to heaven? Honestly, none is worthy and that’s why God deviced a divine plan for our salvation all the way from the beginning.

This plan involves His only begotten Son - Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ took the form of man to fulfill one important purpose - to die for the sins of men. He took all the punishment that we were suppose to take. He suffered the pains and anguish of death. Jesus Christ - the immortal Son of God - chose to leave immortality behind just to save you and me. And believe me. He didn’t suffer a simple death. He suffered a very brutal death - murdered to death as a criminal. Why? Because He loves you. For every stripe that the whip gave Him, He was thinking of you. For every drop of blood that went out of Him, He was praying for you. For every step He took on His way to calvary, He was concerned for you. For every pound of weight of the cross that He had to carry, He was helping you. For every nail that went through His hands and feet, He was looking at you. Yes, He was looking at you with all that He is. He endured everything because of you. He was at the brink of backing out but He considered to obey the Father’s will because that’s what’s best for you and me. Imagine such unfailing LOVE.

However, the beauty of this is that Jesus didn’t remain dead. He rose again from the dead! This happened to testify to the world that His sacrifice for our sins was acceptable to God and that it is the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. This is where my hope rests.

So what now? You have two options. Either hell or heaven. Which one? Just in case you want to go to hell, then you can stop reading here and continue living a life of sin. If you choose to go to heaven, then here’s how.

God made it simple - so simple that even a child can understand it. It’s called the “born again” experience. When Nicodemus asked Jesus about salvation, Jesus replied in John 3:3, “Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” As you see, “born again” is not a religion but rather an experience. So how can one be born again? John 3:3 explains it as, “Unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” John 3:16 simplifies it by saying, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The keyword here is believe. I’m not referring to believe as in believing in a story. Rather, I’m referring to believing with all your heart. As in putting your hope and faith on it.

Are you ready? Do you want to go to heaven? Really? If so, pray this simple prayer with all your heart. Say it as if it’s your own prayer.

Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God. I believe that You are God. I believe that You came to earth and took the form of man to die for my sins. I believe that only You can save me from eternal punishment. I believe that Your sacrifice for my sins is enough to save me from my sins. I believe that You died for me and that You rose again from the dead as a testimony to all that You are the only way to heaven. There is no other way besides You. I believe in You. Please forgive me for all the sins I made. Please cleanse me by your blood from all the impurities I have. I invite you to come into my heart. I openly accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Rule over me, Lord Jesus. Take control of my life. Lord, I Love You. Thank you very much. Amen.

Now, if you prayed this prayer with all your heart then you have already received God’s promise of living eternity with Him. No longer will you have to fear death because from now on, death is no more than a transition to a better life with our Creator. You have been born again. You are a new creation. Your old self is gone. God has made all things new for you. And all I can say is, Congratulations! Welcome to the family of the Living God! You are God’s new baby. You now have all the right to call God your Father!

Remember this, no one can grab you from the loving hands of God. From now on, go ahead and ask God to provide for your needs and you will be amazed at His ways. You will see your work / business prosper. You will see your family become happier as you tell them about this experience that you just had. You will see things in a new light. Everything will just be better.

What next? I suggest that you read the bible everyday. A good start will be the book of John in the New Testament. Better yet, you can start with Matthew (also in the New Testament) and read all the way to John. Read it carefully and understand it. Ask God to help you understand. You will find out that everything I told you in this story is biblically supported.

Lastly, if you chose to give your life to God, then please drop me an email at mike@sydel.net so I can pray for you and your spiritual growth. No commitments to me, just to God. God bless you!