Early this morning, I awakened from a vivid dream.  It was some sort of underground tunnel where people were trapped. A man had set-off a bomb and there was fire everywhere. We were able to save many, but we had to go back for some. They asked for something I didn’t understand at the time, but it turned out to be a puzzle that when put together helped fight off the evil man.

I tell you about this dream because of the sense of urgency it left me with. My heart is heavy for loved ones this morning. Many will spend eternity in an everlasting fire. We will not be able to put it out and rescue them once they are there, but we can share the formula for escaping it.

It isn’t a puzzle. God couldn’t have made it any easier:

Accept His gift and it comes with no strings. He’ll forgive your sin and give you a home with Him.

You’ll be baptized the Holy Ghost and washed in Christ’s blood. You won’t spend a moment in that everlasting fire.

He saved my soul and for that I should show more gratitude than I do, but He doesn’t hold that against me. His love is so great that He chooses to look right into my heart. He sees what others can’t see and He loves me despite my faults. Despite my sins. There are so many religions in this world that will teach you that you have to follow a list of rules to get to heaven. The truth is all you have to do is accept the gift. Yes, that gift might change you. Once the Holy Spirit resides with your quickened spirit you’ll likely never be the same. How could you be the same with the Spirit of God living in you?

The “how to get to heaven” checklist that is provided by so many false religions is just another path straight to hell. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. If you rely on your own works instead of the shed blood of Jesus Christ for your salvation, you will NOT be saved. We cannot be good enough. It is not possible.

The Bible is clear on the matter. Some will intentionally handle “the word of God deceitfully” (2 Corinthians 4:2) by wrongly dividing it and putting passages directed to different people (usually Jews) at different times (the old testament and the coming tribulation) and try to apply it to us now. Yet God doesn’t make mistakes. His word clearly tells you who he is addressing. He doesn’t make you guess. He tells us to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 ). He even warns us of those who would spread another gospel, a false gospel (Galatians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 11:3-4).

If you read the King James Bible in its entirety and ask God for understanding, God will give it to you. He didn’t give us His word to confuse us. He gave it to us for a light, so that we would find His love in this dark world. So that we might be saved.

There is no doubt in my mind or in my heart where I will go when I die. I cannot wait to worship at the feet of my Saviour. Do you have that reassurance? If you die today, where will your soul spend eternity?

The Gospel

Chapter 15:1-8

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; ² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. ³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵ And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶ After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ⁷ After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ⁸ And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

God makes it clear in His word that there isn’t a person righteous enough to get to heaven on their own.

Sinful Man

Romans 3:10
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Psalms 14:3
“They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

The Gift of God

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

John 3:16
“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.”

God’s Righteousness

Thankfully, He makes a way for us to obtain righteousness. We may not be capable of being sinless, but Jesus Christ was. His blood can offer payment for our sins. No other religious system has a loving God who would take on a fleshly body and then sacrifice Himself for them. Our God loved us enough to do that. How can we reject that kind of love?

Hebrews 9:22
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Romans 5:9
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

By Faith Not Works

Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

All you have to do is believe Him and the gift is yours for the taking.

Have faith that when Jesus shed His blood on the cross, when He said “it is finished,” He was thinking of you and your sin. The nails couldn’t hold him to that cross. His love for you did. He could have called ten thousand angels (Matthew 26:53), but instead He suffered and died, to rise again, so you wouldn’t have to spend eternity in the lake of fire. It wasn’t prepared for you. It was prepared for the devil and His angels. Why would you want to go to a place that was never meant for you? You are meant to fellowship with God. He created you for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11).

The song that comes to mind for this post is more fun than you might expect from such a heavy / serious topic, but here it is:

“I Was There When It Happened”