“As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”¹

The question has often been asked, “If you knew today was the last day of your life, what would you do?”

Do you have any impaired relationships you would want to resolve before you pass on? Have you left a will so your loved ones will benefit from your life’s work? Most important of all, when you come to the end of life’s journey and you stand before a holy God at the entrance to Heaven, if God asked you, “Why should I allow you to enter Heaven,” what would you say? In other words, if you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would spend eternity in Heaven with God?

If not, I urge you to make that preparation today. Eternity is forever. As I did in younger days, many people think that if they do enough good deeds to outnumber or outweigh the wrongs (sins) they have committed, this will qualify them to enter God’s heaven. Wrong.

God’s Word makes it very clear that nobody enters heaven because of their good works. It is only by God’s grace (unmerited favor) that we are given God’s gift of forgiveness and saved for all eternity. His Word says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”²

God’s Word also says, “For the wages [consequences] of sin is death [spiritual death which is eternal separation from God], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”³

Because God is a God of infinite holiness no sinner can ever survive in his presence any more than a moth can survive in a flame. Furthermore, because God is also a God of infinite justice, all sin must be judged according to God’s standard of holiness and perfection, and his justice calls for death; that is, spiritual death which is eternal separation from God in the place the Bible calls hell.

Fortunately however, God is also a God of infinite love. This is why he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cruel Roman cross 2,000 years ago in your place and mine to meet the demands of God’s justice so we can be forgiven of all our sins and receive God’s gift of eternal life. This is the expression of his perfect love.

All you need to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died in your place to pay the penalty for all your sins, and to ask God for his forgiveness and accept his gift of eternal life. The following prayer will help you to do this.

Prayer: “Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs/sins I have committed. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins. Please forgive me. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life to be my Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.”

NOTE: If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, please be sure to Click HERE (https://learning.actsweb.org/decision.php) to let us know you prayed this prayer, and we will send you the URL (web site address) of the free “Ten Steps to Christian Growth” which will help you to grow in your new spiritual life. (Change URL for the Spanish DE)

1. Hebrews 9:27, (NKJV).
2. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV).
3. Romans 6:23 (NIV).

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“Be sure your sins will find you out.”¹

The story is told of a young actor who was trying to impress an important movie director. The actor wanted to send an expensive gift, but he didn’t have the money, but he had an idea. If he could find a valuable vase which was already broken and get it at a very small cost, then he could mail it to the director. He would think it had gotten broken in the mail and would be impressed anyway.

So this actor went to an exclusive store and found a vase that had been broken into many pieces. It was just going to be thrown out, so he was able to get it at a very small cost. He told them to wrap it up and send it and gave them the address. He waited to hear from the director, but heard nothing for several days. Finally he sent a telegram: “Did vase arrive?” Shortly he received this response: “Vase arrived. But why was each piece wrapped separately?”²

As Abraham Lincoln said, “You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

But with God we can never fool him any of the time. “Be sure your sins will find you out”—mine too!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, deliver me from the sin of denial and trying to fool myself into justifying whatever wrong I want and choose to do—let alone trying to fool you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Numbers 32:23 (KJV).
2. From Alan Smith’s Thought for the Day, http://www.tftd-online.com.

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“Prepare to meet your God.”¹

“The popular actress Mary Tyler Moore is admired not only for her professional accomplishments, but also for the way she has coped with a series of personal tragedies. Her sister died in 1978. A year later she lost her only son, Richard, at age twenty-four. Then her brother succumbed to kidney cancer. This was followed by the death of her mother.

“As if these traumatic experiences were not enough to defeat anyone, Mary Tyler Moore has battled diabetes since she was in her twenties. This courageous survivor says, ‘The pain is just as intense as it is for someone who gives up and gives in.’

“Her suffering has made her more sensitive and responsive; more grateful for life. ‘I appreciate,’ she continues, ‘much more now. I don’t take tomorrow for granted, because it simply may not be there.’”²

Gutsy lady. Wise woman. It is well known that most people who develop a depth of character and inner strength have gone through oftentimes intense suffering, but I can’t help but wonder how few don’t (especially in the Western world) take life for granted.

The reality is that none of us has any guarantee of tomorrow. Earlier this month on the I-5 freeway close to our home the traffic was slowed to a standstill. All the vehicles ahead had stopped when a semi-trailer slammed into the car in front of it instantly killing all four young children who were in the car! A similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago although nowhere near as drastic. I, along with several other cars, had stopped at a red light when suddenly we were ploughed into from behind by a heavy pickup truck causing a five-car pile up. I thanked God that I wasn’t killed or seriously hurt. My vehicle was a mess.

Life is fragile. It is not only important that we don’t take life for granted, but also that we prepare today for tomorrow’s life after life. Eternity is forever. Whatever you do make absolute sure you have your “passport for heaven” without which you will not be able to gain entry into God’s heaven any more than you could gain entry into Australia, England, Germany, the U.S.A or numerous other countries without a valid passport. To obtain your passport to Heaven go to: “Passport for Heaven” at: http://tinyurl.com/dm472.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to realize that this life is fragile and that there are no guarantees for tomorrow and that I need to be prepared for life after life. Please help me to obtain my ‘Passport’ for entry into your heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Amos 4:12 (NIV).
2. G. Curtis Jones and Paul H. Hones, 500 Illustrations Stories from Life for Preaching and Teaching, Abingdon Press. Cited in Encounter magazine (ACTS Int. Australia, April-May, 2007.

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“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! / For His mercy endures forever. / Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! / For His mercy endures forever. / Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! / For His mercy endures forever.”¹

In The Chicago Daily News Harold Ruoff wrote, “I read about a postal worker who opened and read the mail which came to the Dead Letter Office in Washington addressed to Santa Claus. In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him. How quick we are to ask and receive. How slow we are to speak the magic word—thanks!”

I’m not suggesting that we give thanks to Santa Claus, but one of my constant prayers is that God will give me a thankful heart for every blessing that he has so freely given to me—and for the innumerable blessing he gives to us that I am not even aware of.

This one thing I know, when I think of my background, if it weren’t for the grace of God, I don’t know where I would be today. I know I wouldn’t be where I am with the wonderful privilege of being able to share the Christian message and gospel with so many people around the world via email and the Internet.

Furthermore, even though I came from a very dysfunctional family background, there is one thing that I will be eternally grateful for, and that is that my parents took me to church and Sunday school where I heard the gospel message and there found Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.

So today, while it is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.A., wherever you and I are, let us make it a day of thanksgiving in our hearts especially for God’s great love gift to the world—the gift of his Son, Jesus, who gave his life on the cross so that you and I could have our sins forgiven and receive a full and free pardon and the gift of eternal life in Heaven to be with God forever.

“Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your everlasting love—that you love me no matter what I have ever done or have failed to do—and that your mercy endures forever. In appreciation for your dying for me help me always to live for you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Psalm 136:1-3 (NKJV).

P.S. Be sure to say thank you to God and to someone every day!
P.P.S. Wishing all Americans a very Happy Thanksgiving Day

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“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”¹

In their book, The Truth Behind Left Behind, Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice wrote about the morning of May 18, 1980, when Mount Saint Helens in S.W. Washington, “exploded with the force of thirty thousand atomic bombs, sending super-sonic concussive waves that flattened everything within 150 square miles. On the heels of that wave, a fifty-foot wall of mud and ash screamed down the mountain and into the surrounding forest land, burying everything in its path and changing the landscape forever.”²

Harry Truman, the eighty-three-year-old caretaker of a lodge on Spirit Lake at the foot of Mount Saint Helens, knew all about the multiple seismographic evidence that warned of a pending massive explosion. Harry claimed that he knew more about this mountain than anybody else. He ignored the endless earthquakes in the preceding two months, the hundreds of steam blast explosions, and the massive eighty-meter bulge on the mountain side.

He claimed it wouldn’t dare blow up on him. But it did. Harry, along with all others who ignored the warning signs, was buried under 600 feet of volcanic ash and material.

When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was here on earth, he repeatedly warned his hearers that unless they put their life right with God, they would be lost without hope forever in the place Jesus called hell. Furthermore, over and over again he promised that he would return to earth to take his true followers to be with him forever in heaven and all who were not ready would be left behind.

As Jesus first coming to earth was predicted in God’s Word, the Bible, hundreds of years before he came and fulfilled in minute detail, we can be just as certain that his second coming will happen just as predicted in God’s Word and as Jesus himself promised.

Make absolute sure that you are not like Harry Truman who disregarded all of nature’s warnings about the pending doom, and ignore God’s repeated warnings. Jesus warned us to be ready because he will come when we least expect it.

If Jesus were to come today, would you be ready? If not, I urge you to make your life right with God today. For help be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have warned me time and again to be ready for when Jesus returns to earth to take his true followers to be with him forever in heaven. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins and I ask for your forgiveness for all my sins. Please help me to be sure that I am ready for when Jesus returns. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Matthew 24:44, NIV).
2. Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice, The Truth Behind Left Behind, p. 157-158. Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, Oregon.

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“Behold, I [Jesus] 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.”¹

In response to a Daily Encounter about the famed violinist, Fritz Kreisler, Martha Nixon, a good friend, who some years ago was the well-known soloist with the famed Neil Macaulay musical team, wrote to tell me about a fascinating experience Neil had some years ago.

On one occasion when Neil was in New York, “he paid a ‘small fortune’ to buy two tickets to hear the world famous violinist Fritz Kreisler play at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Macaulay was himself a concert musician who had been heard around the world and highly valued the greater skill of the famous Fritz Kreisler. The performance was brilliant and worth the money spent on the tickets. Mid-concert, however, Kreisler made an amazing comment. ‘The reason I’m a bit weary tonight,’ he said, ‘is because I played on the streets of New York all day today dressed as a busker (street musician) with my violin case opened for donations. It does me good to play for the people. But not one person stopped to listen, or gave me a cent!’”

Interesting that this famous musician was totally ignored amidst the rush and bustle of New York City life. People passing by didn’t take the time to stop and listen. Instead, they turned a deaf ear to him. And yet, at night, people paid a high price to hear him. How sad.

But how much sadder when God “speaks” to us in innumerable ways and we turn a deaf ear to him because he doesn’t appear to us in the way or manner which we expect. Even the religious people in Jesus’ day who were actually looking for and expecting the Promised Messiah (Savior) totally missed him because he didn’t appear in the way or manner that they expected.

So dear reader, whatever you do, don’t turn a deaf ear to God who, in his still small voice may be whispering to you while he is knocking on the door of your heart and life today.*

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to slow down enough to stop, look, and listen when you are trying to reach my heart. Give me the good sense to recognize your call and always respond in a positive manner. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

*NOTE: For help to respond to God’s call go to http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

1. Revelation 3:20 (NKJV).

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“This is the confidence that we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”¹

A friend told me about her minister whose five-year-old son told his father that he was praying for him. Excitedly his dad asked him, “And what did you ask God for?”

“Dear God,” I prayed, “I don’t want my dad to be a minister. Will you please make him the ice-cream man because he makes all children happy?”

We are amused by this child’s prayer but I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t laugh at some of my childish (not child-like) self-centered prayers. As someone else has said, God always answers prayer. Sometimes the answer is “Yes,” sometimes it’s “No,” sometimes it’s “Wait a while,” and sometimes it’s “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Like a loving father, God knows what is best for us and answers accordingly. Of one thing we can be sure, when we come to him through Jesus Christ our Lord with a sincere heart, God always hears and answers our prayers one way or another. One of the keys for getting prayers answered the way we request them is, as the Bible says, to pray in harmony with God’s will.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know your Word and always pray in harmony with your will and always trust that the answer you give is what is best for me and all others concerned. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John (1 John 5:14-15, NIV).

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“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”¹

On one occasion when Joy and I were visiting in New York City, we wanted to visit Ellis Island where many of the early immigrants were processed before being allowed to enter and welcomed into the U.S. From downtown we were told to go on the red line subway train. Not knowing anything about the subway system, we sure felt relieved when we found the right train and boarded it.

Oops … after quite a while we discovered that while we were on the right train, we were headed in the wrong direction. While we were sincere, we happened to be sincerely wrong.

We’ve all heard about football players who have done the same type of thing; that is, they were on the right team, but were running with the ball towards the wrong goal. They were sincere too, but sincerely wrong.

Many a person too, may be in the right church but, without knowing it, may be heading in the wrong direction. They, too, may be very sincere but sincerely wrong.

In younger years I figured that if I did more good things to outweigh the bad things that I had done, that would get me into God’s heaven. That is, by my good works I could earn my way into heaven. Wrong. God’s Word makes it very clear that there is no way we can earn our way into God’s heaven. Forgiveness of sins and the way to heaven are totally a gift from God. This is because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins making God’s gift of forgiveness and a home in heaven possible. All we need to do is confess our sinfulness to God, repent from our sinful ways, and ask God for his forgiveness and gift of eternal life in heaven—and accept these by faith.

The word “repent” literally means to do a u-turn and go in the opposite direction. That is, to turn from our sins and from going our own way to go God’s way.

When it comes to your eternal destiny, whatever you do make sure you are on the right road heading in the right direction. As Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”² Being sincere won’t make it.

Note: to be absolutely sure you are on the right road to heaven read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” online at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know and understand your requirements regarding the way into your heaven as explained in your Word, the Bible. And help me to be absolutely certain that I am going the right way with my sins forgiven and have received your gift of eternal life with a home in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. The Bible (Proverbs 14:12, NIV).
2. Jesus (John 14:6, NIV).

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Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”¹

One of my big struggles as a young man was how could I know if God were calling me to serve him in some kind of Christian work. However, as I look back I can see that had God not been calling me, I wouldn’t have been struggling with the question.

I never did find an easy answer to that question. The best answer I found was in the words of Oswald Chambers who said, “The call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. Only he who has the nature of the sea within can hear the call.”

In other words, a man who is “born to be a sailor” hears in his inner being the call of the sea and never rests until he answers that call and sets out on the high seas. It’s the same with a man or woman who is called of God. He or she will never rest until they answer God’s call.

For me, God had to get me on my back to make me slow down enough to “hear” his call. I had an accident on a construction site that put me in the hospital flat on my back for a week. The day after they stitched me up, I turned on my bedside radio and just “happened” to get the only religious program for the entire day on any station in the city where I lived. The moment my radio came on, I heard a lady quoting the words of the poem:

“If I should stand before the Master [Jesus Christ] today, would I empty handed go?”

Wham! I felt like an invisible arrow pierced my heart and I “heard the call loud and clear.” I prayed, “Okay, God, you win. My answer is yes.” The moment I said yes to God, I knew exactly what my next step needed to be—that was to go back to college to train for the work I am doing today.

Indeed, the call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. And God calls each one of us—some to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to receive God’s forgiveness and gift of eternal life. Some he is calling to serve in a local church as an active lay person. Some to be a good neighbor. Some to be a missionary, pastor, teacher, a local leader, a politician, or a business person. Some to be a wife, a husband, a parent, etc., etc. Whatever it is, God has a calling for each of us. It’s up to us to seek God’s guidance to discover what that call is—and get the training we need to do it as best we can.

Perhaps we could interpret today’s text as, “Many are called but few prove themselves to be chosen ones.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you are calling me to love and follow you, and to use the gifts and talents you have given to me to serve you. Help me to discover exactly what you want me to do. Please give me a “listening” ear so I will hear your call. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Matthew 22:14).

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“To all who received him [Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”¹

Could you imagine seeing a used car salesman give a compelling presentation regarding a particular car you were interested in, had you convinced that this was the perfect car for you and had you ready to sign the purchasing contract when he turned and walked away—and left you standing there aghast without ever closing the sale! That kind of salesman would be fired on the spot if his manager saw what he did.

Sad to say, I believe some preachers are like this. They give a good presentation of God’s message but never give listeners the opportunity to make a commitment to accept Jesus as their Savior. I believe there are many church members who understand the gospel and are ready to accept Jesus but have never been invited to do so. I say this because it is my understanding that so many of the people who have made this commitment to Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade are church members.

It isn’t enough just to believe in our head that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for our sins. The devil knows and believes that. True, we need to believe this but we also need to accept God’s offer of forgiveness and gift of salvation (eternal life) by confessing our sins to him, asking for his forgiveness, and inviting Jesus Christ into our heart and life as Savior and Lord. It also involves making a commitment of our will to follow Jesus. In “salesman terminology” this is closing the sale.

Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door [of his/her heart and life], I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”²

If you have never invited Jesus into your heart and life, asked for God’s forgiveness, and made a commitment of your life to him, I would like to give you that opportunity today. The following prayer will help you to do this:

“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Please forgive me for all my sins. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life and will to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, please let us know by filling in the form at: https://learning.actsweb.org/decision.php. (Be assured that we have a strict privacy policy and will never give any of your information to anyone.)

For further help read “God’s Invitation” at: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w and/or “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. John 1:12 (NIV). 2 Revelation 3:20 (NIV).

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