WEEK 17 – DAY 4

HEAVEN AND HELL ARE BOTH REAL

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:22-24

The only thing in life that matters is whether Jesus is our Lord. Success, education, riches all fade in comparison with where we will spend eternity. Life on earth is just a mist compared with spending eternity either in Heaven or in torment in Hell. Heaven is real. Hell is equally real. Apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ, man is destined for Hell. Christ died to pay for our sin. If His Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart, drawing you to God through Jesus, then you can be completely controlled by a sovereign but loving Father and spend eternity with Him. In Romans 10:9-11, we read, “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.'” The Amplified version renders the word believes as “adheres to, trusts in and relies on” and confesses as “declares openly and speaks out freely his faith”. This is not a light confession made just to get “fire insurance” against hell. It is a complete reliance on Christ which will result in His control of your life. There is nothing you can do to earn Heaven. It is a gift you receive from God. Jesus died to make it possible.

Father, we thank You for drawing us to Your side and adopting us as Your children. We pray in advance for each person who will read this devotional to surrender control to You if they have not already done so. We pray that we will have opportunities through our writing and in person to lead others into Your Kingdom by sharing the Good News with them.