Are You Ready?

This week I knew 4 individuals whose lives ended on this earth. Three were in their senior years and one was my age. Now some say that 62 is senior, but I don't think of myself that way. One of the individuals that passed away was 62 years old. I just saw her a month ago, full of life, healthy, and her usual loving self as I spoke to her. Since she was the same age as me, I really considered how limited our time on Earth is. Really, it's only a blink of an eye compared to all of eternity.
She was on blood thinners for a medical condition. She lost her balance and fell back against the wall hitting her head on the wall. As most of us would do, she passed it off as losing her balance and went on with what she was doing, thinking she just bumped her head. This was April 9th.

It turns out, she has a slow blood leakage in her brain and the next day was in the hospital on life support. She passed away April 18th. Today, April 29th she is being buried. I know she loved Jesus Christ and served Him faithfully in her church and community. I know she is now in Heaven in His presence. No more tears, no more pain or sorrow.

Revelation 21:4
"And 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: for the former things are passed away."

Now, some people do not believe in eternal life. Neither did the Jewish Sadducees. That was "why they were sad, you see". These individuals believe that nothing else happens. When a person dies, that is all there is. (Hebrews 9:27)
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

Then, there is a group that believes that God is a good God and He will send no one to Hell. If that is the case, then why did Jesus Christ mention more about Hell than Heaven while He was on Earth? Jesus told a parable (an earthly story to teach a spiritual truth) of a beggar and a rich man. ( Luke 16: 19-31 )

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30 " No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "


There is also a group of individuals that believe if they obey the law, attend church now and then, or just declare they are a Christian, because mother and daddy were, or they went to church as a child, they never broke any of the main 10 Commandments, murder, adultery, stealing, etc., or they were baptized as a baby, have the mind set that they will hopefully go to Heaven when they die. God will weigh their good deeds against their bad deeds and let them into Heaven. (This once was my belief). (Ephesians 2:8)
"8 God's grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn't come from anything you do. It is God's gift. "

There is a group of individuals that believe there are many roads that lead to God, whether it be Hindu,Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. May I give you the very words of Jesus Christ? (Who was born a Jew).

John 14:6

"6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

I always believed that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. That is what I was taught in Sunday School and church. At the age of 26, I understood, that Jesus Christ not only died for the sins of the world, but it became personal to me and I understood that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me. I should have been the one to hang on the cross. I should have been the one to suffer. I am the one that sinned against God the Father, my Creator. Jesus, God's only Son, committed no sin. He truly was God's spotless Lamb offered for sacrifice for mankind's sin.

Romans 5:12, 18 - 19 Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
"12 Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people. "

"18 One man's sin brought guilt to all people. So also one right act made all people right with God. And all who are right with God will live. 19 Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey. But one man did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God. "

So there it is. Ask yourself, "Am I Ready"? If something happened now, an accident, a simple fall, an unexpected illness and you would die in a moment. No time to prepare, no warning, where would you go? If you have declared that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour and are living for Him, you have the confidence that you will be in Heaven with Him.

If you are not sure where you will be when you die, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour is as simple as A, B, C.

A: Admit you have sinned against God the Father in Heaven.

B: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God's Only Son. (Believe: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully. )

C: Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ to others.


Romans 10:9

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Romans 10:10

"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

God bless you for reading to the end of this blog.

Suggested Reading:

The Bible: Beginning with the books of Mark and then John

90 Minutes in Heaven by Rev. Don Piper, his true story of his death and after life experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ElnQUVkWsQ

23 Minutes in Hell By Bill Wiesse, his true story of being taken to Hell by Jesus in order
to tell others.
http://www.spiritlessons.com/Documents/BillWiese_23MinutesinHell_Text.htm

Do you know Easter?

I received this email today from a dear friend. I do not know who wrote it, so I cannot give them credit. It is a beautiful story non the less. True? I don't know about Edith Burns being a real person. I do know that Easter is real. Easter is not about the bunny, eggs, or new dresses. Find out the real meaning of Easter and ask yourself, "Do I know Easter?"

"THE STORY OF EDITH BURNS...

Happy Easter!

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying, "My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you believe about Easter?" Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to church, and dressing up." Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the office quite yet. I believe there is another delivery taking place in the waiting room." After being called back in the doctor's office, Edith sat down and when she took a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are you so sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?" Dr. Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're the patient". With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back and it says you have cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long." Edith said, "Why Will Phillips, shame on you.. Why are you so sad? Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends.. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!" Dr. Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent woman this Edith Burns is!" Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips. Christmas came and the office was closed through January 3rd. On the day the office opened, Edith did not show up. Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will, I'm very near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here next to me in my room who need to know about Easter?" Well, they did just that and women began to come in and share that room with Edith. Many women were saved. Everybody on that floor from staff to patients were so excited about Edith, that they started calling her Edith Easter; that is everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse.

Phyllis made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a "religious nut". She had been a nurse in an army hospital. She had seen it all and heard it all. She was the original G.I. Jane. She had been married three times, she was hard, cold, and did everything by the book. One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick. Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot. When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, "Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for you." Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me, it won't work.. I'm not interested." Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let me go home until you come into the family." Phyllis Cross said, "Then you will never die because that will never happen," and curtly walked out of the room. Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would say, "God loves you Phyllis and I love you, and I'm praying for you." One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith said, "I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that today is your special day." Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the question, "Do you believe in Easter but you have never asked me." Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait until you asked, and now that you have asked." Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter Story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?" Phyllis Cross said, "Oh I want to believe that with all of my heart, and I do want Jesus in my life. " Right there, Phyllis Cross prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart. For the first time Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, she was carried out on the wings of angels. Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said, "Do you know what day it is?" Phyllis Cross said, "Why Edith, it's Good Friday." Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter. Happy Easter Phyllis!" Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did some of her duties and then went down to the flower shop and got some Easter lilies because she wanted to go up to see Edith and give her some Easter lilies and wish her a Happy Easter. When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed. That big black Bible was on her lap. Her hands were in that Bible. There was a sweet smile on her face. When Phyllis Cross went to pick up Edith's hand, she realized Edith was dead. Her left hand was on John 14: "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then lifted her face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, said, "Happy Easter, Edith - Happy Easter!" Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of the room, and over to a table where two student nurses were sitting. She said, "My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?"