Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Called Home, The Gospel, A Christian's Life

Well it was tough last week for me and my family, my grandmother passed away on last Sunday and the funeral was on Wednesday. A normal reaction to someone close to you dying is sadness, grief, and a since of being lost. A person who you have loved dearly, spent the majority of your life with, and cared for deeply is no longer with you. I had all of these emotions run through my heart and mind this last week and still dealing with them today, and probably will for some time. But along with those emotions, I can celebrate. Celebrate? Huh? Why would I celebrate someone’s death? Well not only did my grandmother pass away this weekend but my eternal sister in Christ was called home. She has gone on into the presence of God in heaven, a Christian’s real home. She is released from this cursed earth and in a place where sin or the effects of sin does not exist. I celebrate her life of service to the Lord.

Granny, Sister, you will be missed. I love you!

Death, no one wants to talk about it but it is inevitable that we will physically die. The question is where do we go when we die? When we do physically die it does not end there, we will ultimately be Judged by God, the creator, sustainer, taker of life, and spend eternal life in one of two places. Heaven with God or Hell completely absent of God and suffering His wrath, you might disagree but I am sorry it’s true. God has given us the standards to live by and put them on our hearts. The Law is set in us to show us that we are wretched sinners deserving of punishment for not keeping his standards and it will be eternal punishment . God being holy, just, and righteous, he must punish sinners. BUT God is also mercy and love, he provided a way to allow us to spend an eternal life in Heaven. He sent his son Jesus to live a perfect and sinless life, to die on the Cross, and Conquer death by his resurrection. Jesus is the only one ever to live on the earth that is submerged in wickedness, putting on the sinful flesh of man and lived perfectly and completely. He in a culminating act offered himself up as a perfect sacrifice to cover all sins past, present, and future, for those who repent and believe in Him. So those who repent and believe in the Jesus of the Bible will spend everlasting life in Heaven. It's guaranteed!

People who know what above is true live there lives in faith of Jesus, magnifying , glorifying, and praising Him with endurance, joyfully, even though they desire to be free from evil, to be like Him, and with Him forever.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21