Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
Isn't that wonderful? Jesus said that we can KNOW that our names are written in Heaven. Ladies and gentlemen, I know I am going to Heaven as sure as I know that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. I have no fear of dying. I know that I am a born-again child of God. I know that God has already kept His promise to give me eternal life. I won't receive eternal life when I die, I already posses eternal life. I am writing this article while listening to a wonderful sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles called: "How To Make Death Easier."
That is why the Apostle Paul exhorts every believer in 1st Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” The apostle exhorts us as God's child to LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE!!! That simply means we already have eternal life now! The Bible teaches for believers to grab the bull by the horns! We should lay hold upon the reality of our eternal life. ...
We are already as forgiven as we will ever be when we see God.
We are as justified today as we will be in a million years into the future.
We will never be able to talk to God more freely than we can right now.
Everlasting life that we have right now is the same everlasting life we will have in Heaven.
Heaven will never provide a robe more spotless than the one I wear now.
We are now justified, we are now accepted by the beloved, we are now
Death does not have to be a gorge or a chasm, it can be but a brief step for the believer who lives here on earth as if in Heaven. That is why we read in Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Believers who choose to live in the depths and ugliness of sin here on earth, will feel awkward in Heaven when they get there. Ah, but those believers who walk in the Spirit, and preach the Gospel, setting our affection of things above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1-3), will feel right at home in Heaven.
In Heaven they walk with God, and so do I now. God wants us to so live that our very presence, will be so much what it is going to be in Heaven, that our death will be one small step from one Heaven to another. Dying doesn't have to be a shocking experience for the saint! We can simply go home. 2nd Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Paul desired to be absent from his earthly body, to be present with the dear Lord. I feel the same as Paul. I don't want to die prematurely. The Bible says all men are appointed once to die (Hebrews 9:27).
Someone has said that grace is but the morning twilight of Heaven. Heaven may be in us before are in Heaven! Amen! We can live in such a way here on earth, that will cause us to feel like we are already in Heaven. I receive emails from many believers who are miserable. They are discouraged. They are frustrated with life. It is oftentimes easier for us to analyze other people's lives than our own, because we see them from the outside. Did you ever think about that? The people around me know what I look like better than I do. I have to look in a mirror to see what I look like. I can only see what the mirror shows. But you can see all of me. You can see my 100% of the time while in my presence, but I cannot. So you know what I look like, and see my faults and human flaws, much better than I do. That is why it is much easier for me to help others, than to help myself. The hardest person that I counsel and help, is me!
Anyway, as I mentioned, I receive many emails from discouraged saints. They tell me about their struggles with sin. They tell me about their problematic life. They tell me about their broken family. They tell me about their failures and bitterness. I know right away what is wrong. They are looking at all the wrong things in life. Instead of seeing the goodness of God in everything, they see the bad things in their life. Instead of seeing the gift of living each day, they see the misery of existing another day.
I suffer permanently from a medical affliction called stenosis and radiculopathy. That means I have throbbing, bone-gnawing, constant toothache-like pain in the bony area in back of my neck. This relentless pain has adversely affected my life since 2004. I suffer 24/7, 365 days a year. I have spasms of burning throughout my nervous systemin my body. It is caused by damage to my spinal cord in my neck. Damage at the nerve root is called radiculitis, the opposite of damage at the nerve extremities which is called peripheral neuropathy.
Having said that, I could complain that my arms continually feel inflated with air, but I choose to praise God for having arms. I could focus on my neck pain and complain about it, but I choose to thank God for another day to serve and glorify Him, and to share the Gospel with lost sinners. I could complain and become bitter for my train-wrecked life, but I choose to praise and thank God for still being able to walk, drive and take care of myself. I am not happy in life. Happiness is what "happens" to you. I have lost my marriage, my home, my retirement, my possessions, my pets, my confidence as a man, my church family, my hope of ever having a normal life again here on earth. But I rejoice continually in God my Savior! I am thankful in everything, not for everything (1st Thessalonians 5:18).
God is ALWAYS good to everyone! I am continually awestruck by the brilliance of our more than amazing God. I went for a walk in a local park the other day, and I took this picture of a duck. I praised God for making such a colorful flower and an amazing creature...
God is More Than Amazing!
One regret that I have in life, is that I don't have more time on earth to see all the grandeur of God's creation. Due to cost limitations, and also my less than perfect health, I have not been able to travel much. I couldn't even afford to take a scouting trip from Chicago to Guam in 2004, to see if I'd like to move there, so I just took the leap of faith and did it! I moved 9,000 miles across the earth to a place I'd never even visited, because at the time I couldn't afford to visit. That has been the story of my life. I have always wanted to go visit Europe, Egypt, Israel, Sweden (where my mother was born), Germany, Switzerland and other countries. I hope and pray that someday when Christ returns, that He will make it possible for me to take a tour of the world. That would be so wonderful.
I was restless in Chicago, wanting to move anywhere but there after living there for 37 years. Shortly after moving to Guam in 2004, I started to feel restless there too, and that feeling continued to build until I couldn't take it anymore and moved to Pensacola in 2021. I just got here on July 2nd and I'm already feeling restless, like I should have moved to San Antonio or somewhere else. Honestly, I think the truth is that I will never feel at home in this world until I get home to be with Jesus my God, Lord and Savior. As believers we are not settlers in this world, we are pilgrims passing through! I am confident now that no matter where I choose to move here on earth, I will feel restless, and something will feel like it is missing, and I'll desire to be somewhere else, feeling like I'm missing out. One day at a time.
We fear the unknown, which is the title of my blog. Many people fear not being truly saved. I got saved at age 13, but I lived in painful fear for the next 7 years, afraid of the unknown. "What if?" I kept asking myself. What if I go to Hell? What if I didn't get it right when I prayed? I was in fact saved, confirmed by the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit in me (1st Corinthians 3:24), but I was afraid of what I didn't understand. Long story short, over the years I was like a sponge, sitting on the edge of my seat at church, and studying the Word of God, hungry to learn all that I could about God's simple plan of salvation. And when I gloriously learned just how SIMPLE it is to get saved, all my fears subsided. I have not worried about God's salvation of my body and soul for 25 years. But the absolute, final 100% peace of mind, which solidified my confidence that I was going to Heaven, came when I read Pastor Max Younce's helpful free online book titled: "Salvation And The Public Invitation." I hope you will read it too friend, you won't regret it.
In closing, we fear what we don't understand, whether it be our salvation or death itself. I do not fear dying itself because of God's assuring promises in the Bible, but I don't want to die in a fire or slow manner from being trapped, et cetera. I wouldn't want to die the horrible way that those 97 people did in Surfside, Florida this month, buried under slabs of concrete and rebar. Survivors said they heard victims crying out from the rubble, before going silent. Those people were mostly sleeping, and then sudden chaos and confusion.
Dear friend, are you ready to die and meet your Maker? I am. I KNOW that I am going to Heaven. I KNOW because God promised to save them that believe (rest in by faith) on His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31; 1st Corinthians 1:21; Hebrews 4:9-11). No one needs to fear death or eternity, because God tells us exactly how to prepare for eternity in His inspired written Word in the King James Bible. Kindest regards.
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