God's greatest gift

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Here it is, Christmas Day, children everywhere went to bed expecting the visit from Santa Claus. They want to see what presents were left for them overnight. We should all take a moment of time before opening gifts to pray, thanking God for blessing our lives. We should also think about the fact that God gave us the greatest gift possible. He gave us salvation and all we have to do is ask.

Salvation is the blessing of eternal life with God in Heaven. Our life here is a temporary passing phase, from the moment we are born we become closer to death and we get to decide what happens after death. We have only two options. Do we spend eternity in Heaven getting to be in the awesome presence of God  glorifying His power and grace or do we spend it in Hell?

 Let's take a moment and look at the difference between Heaven and Hell.

Heaven is described in Revelation 21:10-27 as:

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God: and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12 And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

18 And the building of the wall of it was [of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation [was] jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates [were] twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

 

Hell on the other hand is a place of constant misery, pain, and suffering. Anyone who goes to Hell will be punished with fire and brimstone, there will be pain and the gnashing of teeth, it will be a place filled with darkness and smoke and the most severe punishment of Hell with be the complete absence of the glory of God. This means there will be NO comfort from the pain and torture.

Matthew 25:30 "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"

 

2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"

 

Revelation 21:8  "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death"

 

Mark 9:44 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" 

 

Revelation 9:2  "And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit"  

 

It is our choice on how we want to spend eternity. I have my spot in Heaven reserved and God made it easy for anyone who would like to spend eternity with Him. All we need to do is:

• Acknowledge that we are a sinner
• Believe Jesus is the Son of God
• Believe Jesus came to earth as a babe and died on the cross to atone for our sins
• Believe Jesus arose 3 days later    

If you believe and accept the above statements you just need to confess you are a sinner, ask Christ to become your Lord and Savior and accept Him into your heart. Once you do this you will be receive the gift of Salvation and you should begin to study the Bible to build and maintain a close relationship with God. 


If you are not saved and would like to be but are unsure what to say, here is a good prayer of salvation that must be said out of a genuine heart. 

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.
Amen      

 John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

 

Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

 

If you have been saved take a moment and pray that those who have not will find salvation and if you have not been saved consider Heaven vs Hell and where you want to spend eternity then take a moment to say this prayer and let Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior. It will be the best decision you can ever make for yourself.