Heaven or Hell, Pt.1

We all know that our days are numbered.  What we struggle to understand is what happens when that day comes.  As humans, we struggle with things that are uncertain. It is somewhat difficult to speak on what happens after we die, mainly due to the fact that I am not a man raised from the grave.  I do not want to make the impression that I know exactly how the events will unfold when we die, but I do want to expose you to His word about that day.  None of us know what truly happens, but we have more than we could ever need, His word.  I pray that I can help you hear His word, giving all glory to Him.  God will never give us more than we can handle, and that includes the subject of death.

We have all heard of or experienced the loss of someone.  It is when those we love leave us that we really begin to face the question of what happens.  The sense of uncertainty can magnify our pain.  There is nothing wrong with grieving for those that are no longer with us, for they are people, influences that can never be replaced.  My fear is that some of our greatest sorrows come from the fact that we do not have God at the center of our heart.  At the end of the day we must trust in God, for His plan is perfect.  We must seek His word, for how can a man trust in what he does not know?  Through His word, we grow in our relationship with Him.

So what happens when we die?  The simple truth is we will go to Heaven or Hell.  You must make a choice; you must decide what you are going to believe.  Yes, God is Sovereign, ultimately only He decides who comes to Him and who does not.  But I deeply believe that if you are reading this right now, He wants you to choose Him.  He has put in your heart the desire to seek Him, to find His infinite love for you.  I pray that if you are on the fence or a non-believer, you will continue to seek and learn about God; because once you have experienced God’s love, there is no doubt in my mind that you will choose Him.

Our Label

     As humans we all want to be seen as up-rightous, good to do people.  None of us wish to be sour souls, with our only purpose each day being a thorn in someone else's side.  We all wish to be treated with respect, seen as morally good people by our peers.  With all of the social networking sites and the internet, it is easy to get caught up in the way others see or label us as a person.  And because of this, it is easier than ever for more and more of our peers to gain access to our lives.  Now we don't just have those around us daily that we seek to impress, if you will, but rather we have the people we only see once a month or even longer that we feel our impression needs to be made well of to as well.  Now this opens a door to a greater sense of responsibility of the way we conduct ourselves, because no longer is our image seen by a small group of people, but rather a large community of people.

The Importance of His Blood

     The crucial question that we will be asking throughout our lives is a complex and daunting one.  It is in scripture that we must seek the answer to this mighty question.  We will get to the question later in this blog, but first I want to talk about Exodus 12 and 24.  In short, what has happened up to the point of Exodus 12, is God has instructed Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.  We have had nine of the ten plagues occur, with the tenth on the horizon.  The tenth plague being the plague on the firstborn.  So in Exodus 12, we have God telling Moses what must be done in order to keep Death from claiming the Israelites firstborn.  Don't miss the fact that the Destruction comes to all of the doors, not just the Egyptians.  We all will face Judgement, believer and none believer.
     As for the Israelites, each family is to take a spotless lamb into their home on the tenth day of the current month, and on the fourteenth day, use this lamb as a sacrifice to God.  They were then to "take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses..."(Exodus 12:7)  For when the Destroyer comes, the blood of the spotless lamb will save the families firstborn.  It is by grace that this sacrifice is acceptable to God, and through the faith of the Israelites the sacrifice was applied to them.
    In Exodus 24, God's covenant was confirmed by blood.  Moses and the Israelites were delivered from Egypt at this point and the Lord told Moses to "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel."(Exodus 24:1)  Moses was to approach the Lord alone however, and when he returned he told them the words and laws of the Lord.  They then sacrificed young bulls to the Lord.  I recommend reading the entire chapter of Exodus 24, but I want to focus in particular on Exodus 24:8, "Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you  in accordance with all these words.""
     Then Moses and those with him "...saw the God of Israel."(Exodus 24:10)  Now they didn't actually see His face, as it says they were under his feet and "...God did not raise his hand against these leaders..."(Exodus 24:11)  Now behold the significance of God's law, and the beauty of His Mercy.  God's people are forgiven by blood.  Moses and those with him were covered in the blood of the sacrifice they had made to God, and because of this they were able to stand in His most holy presence.