Preparing for the Eternal Future
It is wise to prepare for our eternal destiny. Each of us is created with a soul that has an eternal future. Our destiny is determined by the choices we make in this lifetime. God desires all of us to spend eternity with Him in a peace and joy that is indescribable. God has prepared things for us in Heaven that we cannot begin to imagine!
“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him–these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10
The Eternal Destiny is Heaven or Hell: The Eternal Future is self-determined!
Jesus tells us that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
God wills for all of us to become citizens of heaven. That is the birthright for each and every soul, but souls can sell their birthright to the devil by choosing NOT to embrace God’s will and in this way they reject God and the Paradise that He has prepared.
“The wicked shall perish . . . they shall consume away” Psalm 37:20
God “will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” 2 Thessalonians 1: 8 – 9
“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 9-11
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelations 21:8
We must repent and make our lives right with God to inherit the eternal peace and joy of heaven! Let us not forgo the ecstasy of living eternally in the presence of God by living a life of sin and failing to ask for forgiveness!
Too many souls have yet to repent and embrace the message of Our Lord Jesus that can be summarized in one word: LOVE!
“If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment–to love one another–is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.” 1 John 2:4-9
I have read estimates that anywhere from 100 to 200 million Christians are being persecuted in the world for their faith in Jesus. Some of these people are being condemned to live in prisons, some are being tortured and executed for their faith. For those of us who are free to practice our faith it is difficult to understand why would anyone want to hurt someone because of what they believe in?
Jesus warned His apostles when He was on earth that “the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” John 16:2
From the very beginning of Christianity, followers of Jesus were being persecuted and killed. And still today this tragedy is occurring. And some try to justify this heinous crime in the very name of God!
Satan is the great deceiver and his plan is always to motivate some sort of sin, murder being his ultimate goal. “…He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
To prepare for our eternal future requires that we invite Jesus into our hearts and our lives. We must let the Holy Spirit give us a new life in Christ Jesus so that we will be equipped to fight the good fight of faith.
Satan wants you with him in hell and he plays a strategic ‘mind game’ that you need to understand. Satan wants you to focus all of your energy on YOU! Pleasure and self-gratification is what Satan wants you to focus your entire life on. He wants you to pursue what ‘feels good’ without any consideration of what God wants. God on the other hand wants to lift us up to live lives of purpose and meaning. God wants us to surrender our lives to Him, trusting in His wisdom and in His love, enabling us to focus on satisfying His Holy Will and giving Him glory. God wants to free our minds to consider the holy things that please Him.
The battleground for your soul begins in your mind. Satan wants to control your mind and he has deceived many people to believe the ultimate lie which is this: that the only way for you to be truly happy is for you to take care of #1 – YOU! Satan wants you to pursue an empty, sinful existence based on greed and pleasure devoid of any consideration for the well being of others. That’s the way to hell! The devil wants you to be arrogant, full of pride, quick to judge, quick to hate, abusive, inconsiderate and unwilling to forgive because that’s the path that leads to violence, vengeance, war and murder. Remember the Holy Scripture: “he (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning.” John 8:44
“Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.” 1 John 3:15
Friends of Jesus, the mysteries of God are not usually understood in a miraculous moment and yet some of us may be privileged to have an epiphany of sorts where we suddenly understand that we are on the wrong path, focused on the wrong things.
I had one of those miraculous experiences and I am convinced that it was so that the grace given to me could be shared. I was 40 years old when I heard God’s voice speaking to my heart. I was at the time lonely, depressed and uncertain I even wanted to live. God asked me this question: “What is love?” I thought I knew what love was so I answered “love is a feeling”, but to this God said, “wrong” with a voice of kindness and gentleness. So I asked “what is it then?” God said, “love is a choice”.
God knew that like so many souls Satan had played ‘the mind game’ with me. I was making too many decisions based on how I ‘felt’ without any real consideration to what God wanted. I have spent the last thirteen years, considering carefully the choices I make on a daily basis in order to try to please Jesus who I know loves us all so much! On this spiritual journey I have found a peace and a joy and an intimacy with Jesus that is indescribable. Yet sometimes the joy of living in God’s love is still shrouded in suffering. Our family has not been exempt from pain, illness or challenges, but I know my Lord Jesus is with me every step of the way.
We cannot please God without the Holy Spirit living within us. I know we must pray daily for God to send His Spirit into our hearts to show us the way He wants us to go. Our Lord Jesus will free us from lives that our selfish and impure if we make room for Him in our hearts, praying continuously for His love to guide us in each and every choice.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
Let us pray,
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
The Spirit of God gives birth to the works of God and without the Holy Spirit we will never find the path to heaven.
If you are reading this you probably have faith. You probably have confessed your sins and invited the Holy Spirit into your heart to guide you and help you to live in accordance to God’s Holy Will.
But have you considered your important role as a ‘prayer warrior’?
We are at a war with the forces of evil in the world that want souls to lose their eternal birthright to live in peace in the paradise God has created for souls who love Him.
‘Prayer warriors’ are people who are praying for God’s Holy Spirit to help people who are lost in lives of sin to hear the voice of God speaking to their conscience.
In a physical war, people arm themselves with guns and ammunition, but in a spiritual war, we must arm ourselves with faith and righteousness deeds, praying continuously for God’s mercy upon all.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” Romans 12:17
Jesus said “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3
Sin is burdensome for it weighs on the conscience, but love is the truth that sets souls free. To be ‘born again’ means to be born of the Holy Spirit and to allow the Spirit of God to direct all our actions and in that way God can live in us and work through us to transform our world and create peace and justice.
I invite you to be a ‘prayer warrior’. If you have found God and are now living a life of righteousness how privileged are you?
You are on your way to heaven!
So like a good Soldier of Christ, pick up wounded souls by the power of your prayers and righteous living and bring them to God for healing and mercy. In the current days of darkness, where so much sin has entered into the world through the great deceiver, Satan, you must become like the little star that illuminates the night sky.
Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
Let us unite in prayer. We must pray for souls that are in the grip of the devil doing his evil deeds—greed, sexual impurity, corruption, hatred, violence, murder, war…they are the ways of the devil. But faith, hope, charity, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and justice…these are the pathways to God’s eternal kingdom.
I invite you follower of Jesus to join The Mercy Movement. We are people of prayer calling upon the omnipotence of Our Saviour Jesus Christ to save souls and revolutionize our world, ending violence, creating peace and spreading the power of God’s love in our world. These outcomes will never be achieved without God’s intervention. So if you have faith believe that God will be true to His promise to restore our world.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
If you believe in God then believe in prayer and believe that God wants to save all souls. We as His disciples can be a part of God’s plan of salvation by committing our lives to loving God and one another.
Let us unite in prayer every day at the time Our Lord Jesus died for us, 3pm, in our local time zones. At this time we remember the Passion of Christ and we pray for the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of souls most in need of God’s mercy. We bring all the needs of our broken world to God’s throne as we humbly ask for God’s forgiveness and grace to become the people He wants us to be.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13