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Many times we put too much emphasis on our physical life and do not spend
enough time thinking about our eternity. It is important that we know where
we are going to go after we die. There is a physical place where our spirit
goes after death. The Bible says that it is either heaven or hell. There
is no other place mentioned in the Bible concerning the eternal destination
of the human spirit. There are only two choices and God has given us a
free will to choose which one we will go to. (Deut. 30:19) (Joshua 24:15)
This is a good story that ministered to my heart to not focus so much on
the material things of life, but rather to focus on the Lord and seek to
do His will because only that will last for eternity. All material gain
that we work so hard for will not have any meaning or value when we die.
Only by making Jesus the Lord of our life and seeking to do His perfect
will, can one truly rejoice and know that they are rich in the eyes of the
Lord. I hope this message ministers to your heart. (Luke 12:20-21)
THE JUGGLER
He was born in Italy but came to the United States as a young man. He
studied juggling and became famous throughout the whole world.
Finally he decided to retire. He longed to return to his home country and
settle down. He took all his worldly possessions, booked a passage on a
ship to Italy and invested all the rest of the money in a single diamond.
He hid the diamond in his stateroom.
While aboard ship, he was showing a boy how he could juggle a bunch of
apples. Soon a crowd had gathered. The pride of the moment went to his
head. He ran to his stateroom and got the diamond. He explained to the
crowd that it represented his entire life's savings. He started juggling
the diamond. Soon he was taking more and more chances.
At one point he threw the diamond high into the air and the crowd gasped.
Knowing what the diamond meant, they begged him not to do it again. Moved
by the excitement of the moment, he threw the diamond even higher. Again
the crowd gasped and then sighed in relief when he caught the diamond.
Having total confidence in himself and his ability, the juggler told the
crowd he would throw it up one more time. This time it would be so high
that it would be out of sight for a moment. Again, they begged him not to
do it.
But with the confidence of all his years of experience, he threw the
diamond high into the air. It actually did disappear for a moment. Then
the diamond returned into view sparkling in the sunlight. At that moment,
the ship lurched and the diamond dropped into the sea and was lost forever.
We all feel terrible about the man's loss of all his worldly possessions.
But God compares our soul as more valuable than the possessions of the
whole world.
Just like the man in the story, some of us are juggling with our souls. We
trust in ourselves and our own ability and the fact that we have gotten by
before. Oftentimes there are people around us begging us to stop taking
the risk because they recognize the value of our soul.
But we continue to juggle one more time...never knowing when the ship will
lurch and we will have lost our chance forever.
By Billy Graham
We never know when our time on earth will end. God has not given anyone
an exact date to when they will enter eternity. This by itself is enough
reason for every person to get serious about where they will spend their
eternal life. We know that our bodies are mortal and will one day return
to the dust of the earth, but that is not true concerning our Spirit. Our
bodies have a beginning and an ending, but our spirit does not. The human
spirit will live on for eternity and by the choices that were made on the
earth; that will determine where that person's spirit will go when they
die. (James 4:13-16) (2 Corinthians 6:2) (Job 34:14-15) (John 3:4-8)
I want you to know and keep in mind that every person that is in heaven
and every person that is in hell made a conscious decision to be there.
Throughout their life they had a choice to make and that was either to
accept Christ or reject Christ. By accepting Jesus Christ into their
life, they have made heaven their home. By not accepting Jesus Christ as
their savior or by delaying their decision unto death, they have willfully
made the choice to not spend eternity with God and in turn went to hell.
(John 14:6-7) (1 John 2:1-6) (Daniel 7:9-14) (Revelation 20:11-15)
It may not be a popular subject to read about, but the truth still remains
that heaven and hell are real places and nobody ends up in either place by
accident. I encourage you with all my heart to accept Jesus Christ into
your heart and life and make heaven your home today if you haven't already.
Jesus is the only answer as we read in Acts 4:12, "Nor is there salvation
in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved." I hope you take this message to heart and not play
games with your eternal soul. With Jesus Christ you have nothing to lose
and everything to gain. (John 14:1-3) (Luke 16:23-24) (John 14:6)
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Isaiah 55:6-7 "Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him
while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy
upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
John 3:16-17 Jesus declares "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn
the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
Romans 10:9-13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture
saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved."
1 John 1:8-9 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
All scriptures can be found in the King James Version.
Today's Selected Poem: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem160.htm
In Christ's Service,
Dwayne Savaya
Gods Work Ministry |
