Monday, August 20, 2007

Are You Ready?

How to be Saved and Know you are Ready for Heaven

Dear Friend;
__Suppose you were standing on the shore of the Niagara river, a mile above the huge falls. It is a bright sunny day and you are greatly enjoying the sights and sounds. Suddenly you see something, in the distance, approaching from up the river. As the object comes closer, you realize that it is a canoe with a man in it. He has no paddle, and is just drifting down the river enjoying the ride, with no thought of any danger.
__You realize that he is in great danger of going over the falls and killing himself. Standing beside you is a tall pole with a round life preserver on it. Attached to the preserver is a strong rope, the other end of it is attached to the pole.
What would you do? Would you let him drift by knowing he is going to be killed when he goes over the falls? Or would you shout to him, and throw him the life preserver?
Why am I telling you this? It is because you may be the person who is in the boat and in great danger, and I am the one with the life preserver. Your danger is not that of going over Niagara Falls, it is the danger of passing out of this life and into a place that is so horrid it cannot be described in all its dreadfulness. It is called Hell. With this in mind I would llike you to consider the facts below. These facts are your life preserver.
__The facts expressed here are not mine, but are what God has told us in His Holy book. This is not my Theology, but it is God's Theology. In other words God is telling us through His Word what we need to know in order to gain entrance to Heaven, and become part of His family. This information is for your eternal welfare, therefore it is extremely important to you. It is my hope that you will take this seriously and do what God wants you to do. Please consider these facts carefully.

Fact 1.
__It is very important for you to know and believe that there is a real place called Heaven.
There is a person in Heaven, and His name is God. He is the one who made the universe, and the world. He made the vegetation, the animals, the birds, and everything that exists.
__Last of all in love God made human beings. He made you.
He is the source of Life, and all life comes from Him. It is important for you to believe that He is your Creator. In Hebrews 1:2 it says - By whom also He made the worlds. Will you now believe that God exists, and He is your creator?

Fact 2.
__The next thing that is important for you to believe is that God has written a book. It is called the Bible. In it God tells you all He wants you to know. He tells you what He has done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future. The first thing He wants you to know is that He made the first man and woman He put on earth. Their names were Adam and Eve. God created them in love. He loved them and put them in a "garden of delights." He wanted them to love Him in retrurn, and obey Him. God gave them one rule to obey. They did not obey it. When anyone disobeys God it is called "sin." This has made a huge problem for everyone. Sin separated Adam and Eve from God. It also separates us from God, because we all have inherited the "sin" nature from Adam. In Romans 5:12 it says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Every person on earth is a sinner. It does not matter how good or how bad you are, we are all sinners because God says so. In Romans 3:23 you can read, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And again in Romans 5:19 it says, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." This sin has put man out of relationship with God. Can you realize the problem? God is holy, just, and true, and does not sin. God cannot have sin in His presence. As a result no one would be able to go to Heaven in this sinful state. Will you now believe that you are a sinner before God. He has just told you so in His word.

Fact 3
__It is important to know and believe that there is a real place called "Hell." It is sometimes called "The Lake of Fire." Read Revelation 20:11 where it says, "And I saw a Great White Throne..." this is where everyone is judged who have refused God's way of escape from hell. To escape you need to have your name written in God's Book of Life. In verse 15 of this chapter it says, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This is a very serious and dreadful end to come to because it lasts forever. In Matthew 13:42 God says, "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." This is something that you need to avoid more than anything else.
Some say that they think that Hell is on earth. It is not! It is a place prepared by God for those who refuse His way of Salvation. God says in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" This means that you need to escape from the judgment of being put in Hell. The answer is that there is no escape from it if you neglect God's great salvation. It is therefore extremely important to accept this "great salvation" now in order to escape Hell. Please understand this and be warned. I am throwing you the lifeline. Please use it.
__There is a false belief around today, and many believe it, that whenever a person dies they automatically go to Heaven. This is a lie and not true. God teaches us in His Word the Bible that you must accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour in order to escape going to Hell. I will explain more on this later.

Fact 4
__It is important that you realize what Adam and Eve did when they tried to solve the problem of sin. In Genesis 2:7 you can read that they . . "sewed fig leaves together." In other words they tried to do something themselves to solve their sin problem. It cannot be done. A person who is a sinner cannot remove their own sins. It takes a Holy, Spotless Sinless person to do that. We have to admit that we are all sinners and cannot save ourselves. Will you now accept the fact that you cannot save yourself by anything that you do?
Today Satan convinces people that there is a way that they can do something themselves to satisfy God's requirement to gain entrance to Heaven. This is a lie. Many people are deceived by this. God Himself has told us in His Word in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." This makes it clear that the way to Heaven and the Father is through Jesus Christ.
It is important to realize that -
You cannot be saved by your own works.
You cannot be saved by belonging to a church.
You cannot be saved by a minister.
You cannot be saved by a priest.
You cannot be saved by a rabbi.
You cannot be saved by the mass.
You cannot be saved by doing good.
You cannot be saved by being baptised.

In Psalm 14:3 God tells us, "There is none that doeth good, no not one."
Maybe you think this sounds pretty hopeless, but wait until you read fact 5.

Fact 5.
__It is important for you to realize that something wonderful has happened. In 1 Timothy 1:15 the Bible tells us that, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." In John 3:16 you can come to realize God's extreme love for you when you read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." This is God's great salvation.
__Instead of you trying to save yourself, God out of love for you sent Jesus into the world to take your place and die on the cross receiving God's judgment for your sins. Jesus also shed His blood to wash away your sins. Jesus has done this and has made a way for you to be saved from your sins so that you can go to Heaven and be with Him and enjoy His love forever. He has made a way for you to have your name written in the Book of Life.
__Also in 1 Corinthians 15:3 & 4 the Bible tells us, "Christ died for our sins. according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures."
So now you come to understand that Jesus died for your sins. He was buried, and God raised Him from the dead. He was raised because of the perfection, and completeness of His work, and also because of the fact that God was satisfied with it.
Will you accept the fact that Jesus has died for you and your sins?

Fact 6.
__Another important fact is relationship. When you are born into this world, you are born out of relationship with God. As a result you need to be brought into relationship with God.
__When Jesus was here on earth there was a man who was a very devout Jew - a ruler of the Jews. His name was Nicodemus. You can read about him in John chapter 3. He came to Jesus and said, "I know all about our Jewish faith, but I do not understand what it is that you are teaching." Jesus replied to him, "You must be born again." Nicodemus said, "Can I be born a second time of my mother?" Jesus then explained, "No! when you are born of your mother it is a physical birth into your earthly family. What you need now is a Spiritual birth to be born into the family of God." This is something that every person needs, and you my friend need this. You cannot enter into heaven unless you are part of God's family. The Bible tells us so. In John 3:36 it says, "He that believeth on the Son (Jesus) hath everlasting life:(belongs to God's family) and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life:(not belong to God's family) but the wrath of God abideth on him." God very much wants you to be part of His family. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for you. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins, He paid the price and thus opened the way for you to become part of God's family.

Fact 7.

__It is now important for you to admit your responsibility to accept this salvation that God has provided for you at the expence of His Son. How is this done? It is done by you speaking to God in prayer.
You realize now that you are a sinner, and out of relationship with God.
You realize also that God in His love for you has provided a way for you to have your sins put away, and be saved.
__Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me." By believeing in, and accepting Jesus as your Saviour you can have your name written in God's book of Life, and become part of God's family. Realizing this if you are willing to accept this Salvation that God has provided for you, then you can ask for it by praying the following prayer. In order for this to be of value, you have to express your faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be sincere and really mean it with all your heart. It is your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone that saves you.

__Prayer -Oh God I know that I am a sinner. I know that you sent Jesus to die for me, in my place. I believe that. I know Jesus shed His blood to wash away my sins. I believe that. I accept you now Lord Jesus as my Saviour, wash me clean of my sins, and make me your child forever. Come and live within me, and help me obey your word. In Jesus name, Amen.

__The Bible says in John 6:37 . . "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." Again it says in Acts 2:21 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." The Bible also says in 1 John 1:7 . . "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." Isn't that wonderful! If you prayed the above prayer in faith believeing in the Lord Jesus Christ you are now saved. You are now a child of God. It doesn't matter how you feel, Salvation is a fact not a feeling. ou have cime into a loving relationship with the Lord. Ha has given you a new life - an eternal life, and He has also given you His Holy Spirit. Your name is now written in God's book of life, and you are now part of God's family. You will now escape the lake of fire.
__You may not understand much of this right now,but by reading His Word you will understand more and more each day.
Will you admit that you are saved and on your way to heaven? Will you confess it to others?

Fact 8.
__Another important fact to know and realize is that there is someone who does not want you to pray the above prayer. It is Satan or the Devil. His purpose is to try and thwart God's plan for you. He did that in the Garden of Eden, and caused Adam and Eve to dispbey God and sin. He may be saying to you right now, "Don't pray that prayer." He will do anything to try and stop you from becoming part of God's family.
In James 4:7 it says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." It is important to resist any temptation to put this off, because your future in eternity is at stake. You do not want to spend all eternity in hell. So make sure you accept Jesus as your personal Saviour now by praying the above prayer.

Fact 9.
__It is important to realize that now you can know for sure that you are saved and are on your way to heaven. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: that ye may know that ye have eternal life." What wonderful assurance! In His love God has let us know for sure that we are His. Will you now admit that you know for sure that you are saved?

Fact 10.
__It is important to realize now that you are saved, that you are to turn from your old way of life, and live for the Lord. God has given you a new life in Christ. As a result you need to read your Bible every day,to feed this new life and to get Spiritual food. You should also pray and speak to God. In this way God's Word speaks to you, and as you pray you speak to God. It is a two way conversation. You have now been brought into a very close and special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to talk to you, and for you to talk to Him very often.
You should also try to find a place where you can meet with other saved Christians. This is a way of life that is very blessed and precious. It gives real meaning and purpose for your life. Now that you are saved you can work for the Lord. You can also wait for the Lord to come and take you home to glory as He has promised in John 14:3 where He says, "If I go away I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also."
__Will you now turn from your old sinful way of life and serve the Lord with the new life He has given you?

__To help you with your new life as a Christian you should read my blog entitled "Your Life's Rewards". Go to :-Click Here


Fact 11.
__It is important to realize that when Jesus was here on earth He said to His disciples, "If I go I will come again and receive you unto myself." John 14:3 So Jesus is coming to receive all those who have put their trust in Him, and take them to Heaven. If you have just received Him as your Saviour you will go to Heaven. That is a glorious hope to look forward to. But if you did not receive Him you will be left behind for judgment. Please don't be one who is left behind! Read again about the "Great White Throne" in fact 3.
__In 1st Thessalonians 4:16 it says, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then 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." This is what all Christains are waiting for.

Dear Friend,
If you have made the above choice, and have accepted the Lord as your Saviour, then would you please write me, or email me and tell me the step you have taken. I will send you some helpful literature.
On the other hand if you have chosen not to take this step then you are still in your sins and headed for Hell, and the terrible Lake of Fire. I have thrown you the lifeline, and it is up to you to take it accept Jesus as your own personal Saviour. I do not want you to end up in Hell. It is very important for your eternal future.
To settle this matter NOW is of vital importance, for it determines where you will spend all eternity. Think really hard, do you actually want to live forever in darkness, and regret, where there is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. PLEASE accept the loving, adorable, Saviour while you can. Time is running out.

I trust I will hear from you.
My address is:-
G.S. Burgess
P.O. Box 699
Alliston, ON. L9R 1V9
Canada.
Email - gsjburgess77@rogers.com





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