Last week we headed out on a VERY long road trip. We traveled from Tennessee to New Hampshire where I was blessed to speak at the Ladies’ Retreat at The Wilds of New England. My husband wisely decided we should take two days to get there and two to return. The trip was fabulous. We saw some color just getting ready to peak in the next couple of weeks. We saw rivers, Cape Cod homes, mountains, quaint New England towns, and of course the beautiful campsite at The Wilds.
Continue reading “Not Home Yet”Category: Heaven
If You Knew You Only Had Another Day…
If you got the news this morning that you only had another day to live, or even two months, how would that change the way you spend today?
I have a precious cousin who has recently been told by the medical staff who have been Continue reading “If You Knew You Only Had Another Day…”
Lessons in a Hospice Room
Being in the presence of a man who is dying and yet is still rejoicing in his spirit is worthy of mental note-taking.
Just last week my husband and I had the blessing of visiting the founder of The Wilds Christian Camp, Dr. Ken Hay, known to most as “Doc.” He was in hospice care after all had been done to help him, yet his body continued to decline. Continue reading “Lessons in a Hospice Room”
He’s Coming! How Will He Find Us?
When my husband and I were dating, we lived several hours apart and the loneliness for him was prevalent every day! But then an occasional weekend would come up that would allow him to be able to travel home to visit with me for a day and half, and my heart would literally be in my throat as I waited and watched for his Chevy Impala to come barreling down the lane to my home!
I kept my eyes peeled out the window, but only after I had prepared myself to greet him. I made sure I was cleaned up and ready for his arrival. I also straightened up the living room for his visit. I knew he was on his way, and I had to have everything ready!
Because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I have a promise that Christ is coming again to take His children to heaven. Christ made the promise the He would return again. We’re waiting for the shout, the voice and the trump of God. We also know that no one knows when He will return. He is coming like a thief in the night. So what does that mean for us as His followers? It means we must be ready. We won’t have time when He comes to go get ourselves clean and fit to meet Him.
I heard a story this week that I’ll share not word for word, but you’ll get the point. There was a family who learned that their son was coming home. He’d been gone a long time and the family was anxiously expecting his return. But on the day of his arrival, the family was found squabbling and fighting. It seems that they were having a disagreement about how the son was coming – one said by plane, another by train, and someone else said he was bringing others with him. When he returned, he found them in this quarreling state. Is that how we want the Lord to find us when He comes? Will all our trivialities really matter on that Day? I hardly think so.
So, how will He find us if He were to come in fifteen minutes?
- Will we have clean hearts?
- Will we be doing His work at that moment?
- Will we have others that are going to heaven with us because we shared the Gospel with them?
- Will we be happy to see Him?
Or
- Will we be squabbling over the things that others are doing that we don’t like?
- Will we have bitter spirits?
- Will we hang our heads because we got busy doing Satan’s work instead of Christ’s?
I John 3:2,3 says,
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Just like I got cleaned up when I knew my boyfriend was going to be coming, if we have the assurance of salvation, God’s Word says we’ll be making sure we’re clean. Not because we’re afraid we won’t go to heaven, but because we ARE His child and we know He’s on His way! We don’t want to be ashamed at His coming.
Friend, are you indeed God’s child? Have you taken Christ as your Savior because you realize you are a sinner separated from a holy God? All you need to do is receive the gift of eternal life through the person of Christ. Tell Him you know you’re a sinner and that you want to receive His gift of salvation that He purchased through His death, on the cross.
Are you looking for Christ to return today? He could come…oh I pray He will come today!
Will I be ready and clean? Will you?
Lovingly,
Sweet Assurance
Yesterday I watched a video from The Wilds Christian camp in New England. My heart was so touched by the testimony of how many lives have been reached through its ministry in the nine years of its existence. But the most compelling part of the video came at about a minute and 45 seconds in when I heard several testimonies from campers from this past summer.
My name is Abby and this week I got assured of my salvation.
My entire life, I considered myself a Christian, but this week God showed me I wasn’t, and I got truly saved.
On Tuesday I got saved because I realized that I needed Jesus and that I couldn’t do it without Him..
In all this world there are many things that we can know about, but the most important truth is to know where you will spend eternity when you die. These young people made that decision based on God’s Word, and now they have the peace in their heart that when they die, or when Christ comes, they will spend eternity in heaven. I love hearing how the one young man thought he’d been saved, but then he learned the truth about what salvation really is and found out he wasn’t saved the Bible way!
The last testimony shared something that many people don’t understand. Going to heaven isn’t based on our goodness, our works, or our ability to save ourselves. It’s all based on what Christ did on the cross.
That is so opposite of a testimony I heard several months ago as I was listening to a Christian radio station. The broadcaster had her grandson, around eleven or twelve on the air with her. She asked him to share about a decision he’d made recently. Here’s what he said,
Well, my grandpa died and I was really sad. I know my grandpa is in heaven. I figured the only way I’d ever see him again was to be saved, so I got saved, and now I know I’ll see Grandpa again.
Does that testimony make your jaw drop? It should, because that is not true salvation. The radio announcer/grandmother gushed and praised him for his decision. But I cried out loud, “What decision?! You see, being saved isn’t a form of escape or a shrugging of our shoulders to get a front row seat to a heavenly ball game we’re sure Grandpa is playing “up there.”
Making the decision to “be saved” is to be rescued by Christ’s death on the cross from the fate of our sin – which is eternal death and separation from God. When we realize that we are sinners and there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves, we understand that our sin was transferred to Jesus when He took our punishment and He died on the cross to pay the penalty. He took our place to make us right before God that we could have eternal life with Him in heaven. It’s with a broken and a contrite heart that we come to God to receive what Jesus did for us. We don’t sign our names to join a church, or do as the radio testimony did and figure heaven is the better option. We bow before a holy God, turn our back on our sin and receive His Son.
If the camera at that camp was on you, could you give testimony to the fact that you have received Christ as your personal Savior and you’re sure you’re on your way to heaven? It’s the sweetest assurance to have in this life, because it will determine your eternal destiny.
If you’ve never trusted Christ, why not stop now and pray a prayer something like this,
God, I know that I’m a sinner and I deserve hell, but I believe that you sent Jesus to die in my place. I repent of my sin and accept what Christ did for me on the cross. Come into my life and save me. I fully trust in You to cleanse my sin. Help me to live for You and to have the courage to tell someone of this decision I’ve made today. In Jesus name, Amen.
I’d sure love to rejoice with you if you accept Christ as your Savior! Would you contact me using the email info in my Contact section here? Don’t allow yourself to go through this life without this sweet assurance!
Lovingly,
RefreshHer 