"Do you care where your friends, family members, and the people you pass by will spend eternity?"
He told us that when someone dies they are still very much alive either in heaven or in hell. I never thought of it that way. I have been asked this question many times before, but for some reason it actually stuck with me this time. I can say all I want to that "I care", but the reality is that I don't care if I don't share Christ with the people around me. True or not?
Maybe the reason that it actually stuck with me this time is because Mark Cahill (www.markcahill.org) is constantly sharing Christ with everyone he meets: waiters and waitresses, passengers on the plane, hosts and hostesses at restaurants, workers in the cafeteria at camp...literally everyone. He is not willing to ask you to do something that he is not willing to do himself.
When I asked myself that question, my answer was obviously "NO", I do not care as much as I thought I did about where people will spend eternity. I had to swallow my pride. I have family members that I do not know if they are born again, I have neighbors that I do not know if they are born again, and I have people all around me that I do not know if they are born again. I will only know if I actually ask them that question. But even if someone says they know where they will spend eternity, you have to know if they know the ONLY way they can be with Jesus when they breathe their last breath.
Here is how you can know...
In John 3, a man named Nicodemus asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" and Jesus' response was, "You must be born again." (The following scriptures will explain how you can be born again.)
Romans 3:23 says, "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (I have sinned, you have sinned, we all have disobeyed God and His standard.)
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Because you and I have sinned, we deserve to live eternity in hell, BUT God sent His only son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins when He died on the cross. He rose again 3 days later and is alive in heaven right now longing for you to come spend eternity with Him.)
1 John 1:9-10 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives." (You must confess your sins to God and He will forgive you of all of your sins.)
Jesus said in Luke 5:32, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (You must feel extreme sorrow for your sins and turn away from your old ways.)
Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved." (You must confess that you want Jesus to be Lord of your life and you must believe that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved.)
Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jesus is the ONLY way anyone can go to God the Father in heaven when they die. There is no other way.)
Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life." (God loved you and me so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross. Whoever believes in Him will live in eternity with God.)
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (There is NOTHING you can do to earn salvation. You cannot be good enough, you cannot go to church enough, you cannot do enough good things to earn salvation. It is a free gift from God through His grace that we are saved.)
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." (You do not have to change yourself. God will give you a new heart and a new reason to live. He will change you if you truly believe in Him.)
To be born again you must confess your sins to God, repent and turn away from your old way of life, and ask Jesus to become Lord of your life. This is what Jesus described to Nicodemus in John 3 about how to be born again. Wherever you are (at home, at church, out shopping), you can ask God right now to be the Lord of your life.
If you are reading this and you would like to give your life to Jesus Christ, I would love to know about it so I can rejoice with you! If you have any questions, I would love to help you find the answer. You can email me at drewstartup@yahoo.com .
Once you are born again, the Bible commands us to be a part of the body of believers (Acts 2:42-47). Find a local church that teaches the truths of the Bible and get plugged in quickly. As a new believer the Bible also commands us to be baptized. Once you find a local church, let someone know that you would like to be baptized because you are born again. This is an outward symbol of your inward commitment to Jesus Christ to let everyone know that you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. Finally, go tell other people about how Jesus changed your life and how they can be born again.
Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
May God speak to your heart as you allow Him, and ask yourself...
"Do I really care where my family members, friends, and the people I meet will spend eternity?"
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