Okay, so I have decided to stop talking about death in my articles, not because I don’t like it or you don’t like it. But there are so many other things that need to be understood in this life and many things we have not touched on, as of yet. Would it surprise you to know how often we may be troubling the Holy Spirit by the things we like in God’s Word and the things we don’t?
And you would be right to include death in that summation. As I have said, death is not something we like to discuss and having said that, we also know it is important to know, because it is a part of this life and according to the Word of God.
In a previous article I wrote about what some think when they lose a loved one, that: They are in a better place. The question still remains, how do you know that? These people always say, “Well, it’s in the Bible.” True enough, it is in the Bible. Yet how do you know the loved one that has passed on belonged to Jesus Christ?
The point is, no one knows for sure because that is between the Lord and that loved one. So this leaves a bit of speculation on our part, am I not correct? Again, that is where the “Rubber meets the road” so to speak.
We read the verses that talk about the love of God for us, and people of other religions say the exact same thing. They simply call God by another name. Yet everyone tells the bereaved families that their loved one is in heaven—when that may not be true. There is a blank spot when we think about this concept; suddenly the ground is a little shaky, right?
The question is, how do we know this for sure? We understand that these people mean well when saying such things; they want to lessen our pain and suffering. And of course, it would be considered crass to ask them: “How do you know this for sure?” We simply shut our mouths and smile back.
What other areas do you think people use the Word of God incorrectly?
How about those who come to church every Sunday? Those who know all the hymns and even some Scripture; yet they have never asked Jesus Christ to save them. Their sins have never been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross. How many will pray to Mary, as they believe she is the Queen of Heaven?
What I am trying to get across to you is this: A little knowledge of God’s Word can be just as bad as knowing nothing. And then in some cases, there is the outright removal of God’s Word or manipulation to make it fit what we want it to say and mean, rather than what is actually there.
Where in the Word of God, does it tell us that we need to make our lives prosperous, financially? Or is the Lord God telling us we need to be a person of integrity, faithful and true to HIM? Where is it in the Bible that God is the ultimate ATM machine? Have you ever read a passage of Scripture, where Jesus Christ made someone filthy rich? Is it where Jesus Christ healed someone that was lame or sick, in an effort to show the need for our Spirits to be healed, as much as our bodies? How about this?:
Matthew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
So if you’re so busy asking the Lord God Almighty for as much money as you can accumulate, how much treasure will you have in heaven? Please remember, everything physical will stay right here on earth…after you die. Of what need will there be for money in heaven, where everything you could ever need will be available to you? Does this make any sense to you?
“They must be in heaven. They were such good people!” This is another common statement, when in actuality we do not know the score with that loved one and the Lord God Almighty! Lets read God’s Holy Word and see what HE has to say to you and me, about our integrity and wealth.
Mark 10:17-21 “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, honour thy father and mother.’
And he answered and said unto him, ‘Master, all these have I observed from my youth.’ Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, ‘One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.’ And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.”
Oops…we just killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. Who would be able to think in this manner and in several sentences convict a person? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. None of us are GOOD, We are as filthy rags.
If for nothing else because of being born a human and having “original sin” from Adam and Eve. It is the most serious question of all, Where is your treasure? Is it found in “religion” or in money or is it in Jesus Christ?
Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
If the Lord God is greater than you or me, then why should we change anything that the Word of God states as fact? Humans are the fallen species…we are the ones that commit sins and need to be forgiven of them through the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary! There is NO HUMAN that is able to do THAT for any of us…ONLY JESUS CHRIST.
The Pope is just a human, like you and me and so are all the other priests and religious leaders. Each one of us NEEDS Jesus Christ and only Jesus Christ. The “Name above all other names.” If you believe anything other than that statement, you are so headed for hell.
Let’s make this really simple: Get yourself a Bible and then begin to read it, from the first sentence to the last sentence, every single word…and then BELIEVE IT. IT IS THE FINAL WORD….STRAIGHT FROM GOD’S LIPS.