I wonder why you have chosen to read this, perhaps the title caught your eye. For many, their only encounter with the word Heaven is as an expression of surprise such as “good heavens!”, to others the word is used when comforting a child whose pet rabbit has died, they say “he has gone to heaven”. Sadly, for many folks, it would seem, heaven has little or no meaning, worth or relevance whatsoever, it is of no concern in the busyness of daily living.
I want YOU to know however, that a few moments in careful consideration of the subject Heaven, may well result in a complete transformation of your life and the certainty of a sure place in Heaven, that real place spoken of in the Christian Bible.
Is Heaven real?
Oh! Yes, Heaven is a very real place. We are not talking foolishness, fantasy, fiction
or doing some wishful thinking here. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who said so clearly “I came down from Heaven “. You can see that recorded for us in St. John’s Gospel chapter 6 verse 38 which you find in the New Testament of the Bible. This is Jesus whose life on earth was no fiction but is historical fact. The baby whose birth is celebrated each Christmas, whose life marks human history so that we have AD and BC, facts no thinking person can dispute or deny. This same Jesus rose from death, the authorities who so wanted him dead, could not find any dead body which would have disproved his rising again. He was then seen alive by many, he told them He was returning to his father in Heaven.
The Gospel
At the heart of the Christian Gospel (which means good news) is this FACT, Heaven is indeed a very real place. It was Jesus who taught His disciples the prayer, which I think you must know, “Our father which art in Heaven”. You may even know the Christian Creed in which it is affirmed: “on the third day he rose from the dead, he ascended into Heaven”. The Lord Jesus came from Heaven and returned into Heaven. While here on earth he told His disciples “I go to prepare a place for you and if I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself”. Do take time to look, see and read it for yourself, you find it in the Gospel of St. John chapter 14 verses 1 to 4. Consequently St. Peter when writing to Christians in the first century AD was able to remind them that they had an inheritance “reserved in Heaven for you“. See Peters first letter chapter 1 verses 3 and 4. The scoffing, mocking, careless world today may laugh at the idea of Heaven but at least YOU now have been told that Heaven is indeed a very real Place.
These words have been written to remind you that there are only two destinations for us human beings, either in that indescribably wonderful place, with Christ, with God and His people or: Oh! Yes you have heard of that other place. You may well have used this place name yourself, I hesitate to use it or even type it out, it is often used in bitterness “go to ..”. I find it hard to believe that people are willing to wander on through life not knowing in which place they will spend eternity, eternity where there is no going back. We die, and then we meet the Judge of all mankind who assigns us to eternal destination. Are you willing to listen to Jesus Christ the saviour and what he said about your never dying soul?
You can know and be sure where you are going
Billy Graham, the Christian Evangelist, at his 90th birthday celebration, told how Albert Einstein the Physicist/Philosopher and Nobel Prize winner, who on a train one day was asked for his ticket by the conductor, having searched eagerly in his pockets then his briefcase without success, became agitated and upset. Finally, the conductor said “it’s all right Sir, we all know who you are” to which Einstein replied “young man I know who I am but I don’t know where I am going”. Billy Graham continued, "see this new suit, my family say I am not as fastidious as I once was, so I bought it as a mark of respect to you (the celebration attendees) and I intend to be buried in it for unlike Mr Einstein I know where I am going".
So dear reader, are you at all interested or concerned as to where you are going? YOU sure ought to be. You can be both sure and certain, but you need to be much more than just interested. You need to be honest with yourself and with God. You need to repent, that is, being much more than sorry for your sin, your way of life and indifference to God. Ask God for His mercy and put your trust and confidence in what the Bible says about Jesus Christ the Saviour. “There is no other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved”. Read it in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 4 verse 12. Make sure today, then you too can join all those across the world who having trusted Jesus Christ are sure and certain of their place in HEAVEN.
If you have any questions about any of the topics raised in today’s article, please feel free to send us an e-mail or message on Facebook.
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