Five Steps to Eternity

Have you ever wondered what you have to do to live forever with your God?  Is there certain things we must do?  Well, I have to tell you this, Heaven is a perfect place that we may enter upon obeying God's requirements.  He will never, ever allow sin to enter there.  That's a hard saying isn't it?  Yes, I know it is, but I also know this, I don't want to go there if I have to suffer like I have suffered here in this world, and I doubt that you would want to go through your suffering again or something of the same order.  There is a saying, that I agree with and it says: 'It is easier to be saved than to be lost.'
I know that you probably don't agree with that and neither did I to begin with but through study of God's word I can understand it better now.  I humbly submit to you that I don't have all the answers as you must have read in my last blog, but I have to believe what God has told us in His word.

Step #1  Recognize that we have a problem.  How hard is that?  Acknowledge that we are sinners.  How hard is that?  I know I have problems and I also know that I am a sinner saved by grace not by my own doings.
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  All includes each of us.
Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray, We have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  God has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, all of us.

Step #2  Believe you can be saved.  That might be hard for some of us who have fallen far from grace but the Scripture promises us that "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and He who does not believe the Son shall not have life, but the wrath of God abides on Him." John 3:36. So my advice for myself and others is pray for Belief and God will give us the belief that we need.

Step #3  Confess and Repent.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Isaiah 55:6,7 also says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near, Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man His thoughts; let him return to the Lord , and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."  No matter how far we have fallen from His grace, we are told that He will ABUNDANTLY pardon, so lets show sorrow for our sin and confess and repent, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.

Step #4  "Willing to receive Jesus as our personal Savior and trusting in the instruction He has given us.  John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life."  And 2 Cor. 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new Creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."  Rev. 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him and dine with Him and He with me."  He is asking us to be willing to come, is that hard to do?

Step #5  Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And share Him with others.  We don't just want to be in heaven without our friends and family, do we?  We must share.  We can share our experience and what God has done for us.  Romans 10:9,10 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  Mark 8:34 says, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

How do we follow these steps? There is only one way and that is submit to God's calling and remember in Hebrews 13:5 He has said, 'I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU."

Check this one out for encouragement.  2 Thess. 5:23,24  "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. HE WHO CALLS YOU WILL ALSO DO IT."

Our duty is to stay surrendered to His will and humbly follow His leading as you search the scriptures to know His will.  Pray for strength to be able to surrender your will.  That is the hardest part of our journey to His kingdom, to surrender self and live in His will.  God bless as you journey on to know your Lord.  Grandma Joan

For this study I give credit to Doug Batchelor, I thought it was worth sharing.