Your Eternal Destiny

At some point in every person’s life, we think about the afterlife. What happens to us when we die? Do we just cease to exist, our spirit and soul wipe away? Or is there more? There is more. There is heaven, a place made for us, a place so wonderful and peaceful we cannot even comprehend its glory. There is also hell, (also known as hades) a place so devastating we couldn’t even begin to imagine the horror. If you were to die today, where would you go?

Revelation 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of life, And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judge, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:1-2 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Many people believe that you must be good, or at least not a murderer or a drug addict to get into heaven. Still others hold the popular belief that going to church on Christmas, Easter, and Sunday School as a kid is enough. This is what the Devil would like for you to believe. To go to heaven, we must realize that we are all sinners. To sin is to do anything against God’s will or disobey God in any way. We are all sinners because Adam sinned and through Adam sin entered the world and spread to all men.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

On your own, there is nothing we can do good enough to get into heaven. First, I want to convince you that we are all sinners. Here is what the Bible has to say about sin (the Bible is, after all, the ultimate authority on the subjects):

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:21 So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There has only been one man who did not sin, and that man was Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, He shed blood atoned for all the sins of every person who would believe in Him. You may be thinking, why not just let everyone into heaven—why did Jesus have to die? If God is so powerful, why not just make everyone obey Him? God created us because He wanted to have a relationship with us, but how fulfilling would a relationship be with a person who did not choose to love freely? God must make a penalty for sin. Before Jesus, people had to atone for their sins by sacrificing animals and rituals, but God found that even then, man was too sinful. Therefore, God had a plan for salvation so that he could have the relationship with us that He desired.

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Once we have realized that we are sinners, the first step that we must take for salvation is faith. We must step out in faith and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

You cannot be saved without Jesus. Just being a good person is not enough, nor is it possible to earn your way to heaven by doing good deeds. It is only by God’s grace through faith that you can be saved.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Once we believe that Jesus died for our sins and that it is through our faith in God’s promise of salvation through Christ, we must make a profession of our faith. This means that we must confess that Jesus is our Lord and Savior with our mouths.

Romans 10:9-10 That 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.

Have you ever heard the term ‘born again’ and wondered where that comes from and what it means? It comes from God's word. The Bible tells us that we must be born again to see the Kingdom of God. Our first birth was our natural birth, in the flesh, our natural body is for this earth, and we must be born again it’s our second birth in the Spirit. It’s our Spirit that has eternal life.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

John 3:5-7 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The scripture says that you must be born of the water and the Spirit, it is referring to water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Once you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior and His living in your heart you will find that you have a desire to be cleansed from your sins and to change from your old sinful ways. Through water baptism, we can die to our sinful nature and be resurrected spiritually. This “death” and resurrection” symbolizes Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

Romans 6:3-6 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

                                                             Water Baptism

Water baptism is somewhat of a controversial issue among Christian churches. The controversy centers around two basic issues: when and how. First, let's look at the issues of when. Some believe that you should be baptized as an infant, while others believe that it should be done later in life. When you look at baptism and its purpose, which is to die to our old sinful self and be resurrected in Christ as a new and cleansed person, it seems only logical that it must be done later in life when you are consciously able to decide to live for Christ is baptism meaningful. Before you can be baptized you must first repent. To baptize an infant makes no sense, an infant cannot talk to repent, but it is fine to dedicate your infant to the Lord.  Second, let us look at the issue of how. The controversy surrounds the issues of wording during a baptism and the method of baptism. As to wording, some believe that you should be baptized in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Others believe that baptism should be done only in Jesus's name. The Bible has many scriptures about baptism, all of which say to baptize in Jesus's name.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”

Acts 10:47-48 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Only once does it say in the name of The Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit. Jesus is speaking to His disciples and gives them this command.

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.

After His death, the Apostles, (the Apostles were the original 12 disciples who were with Jesus during His ministry on earth and Paul, who was appointed by Jesus after His resurrection), when recalling Jesus's command about baptizing all nations that the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ name, His name is powerful. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is not a name they are His tile, His name is Jesus, when you search the scriptures about baptism there was no baptism done in The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

Colossians 3:17 And Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

All that we do, in word or deed, should be done in Jesus’ name, including words of prayer and the deed of baptism.

Some churches baptize with a sprinkle on the head, while others baptize by fully immersing the person in water. Remember, the purpose of baptism is to allow us to die for our sins and be cleansed.  When we are lowered into the water, it represents Jesus’ death and burial; then we are brought out of the water, it represents Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, we symbolically die to our sins and are resurrected to a new life in Christ through baptism. Here are some examples of people who repented and were baptized in the bible. All these people were baptized by immersion in water, as adults. They were not sprinkled as infants.

Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of Life.

Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water.

Acts 8:38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water.

Colossians 2:12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

There is not even one scripture in the bible that supports infant baptism or sprinkling. These practices are man-made traditions. In the Bible, God gives us examples of how He wants us to be baptized. We should be obedient to the Lord and do it His way not man’s way.

                                                                      Holy Spirit

Now let’s look at the scriptures of people that was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.

Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father,” which” He said, “You have heard from Me;” for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave utterance.

When all these people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they all began to speak with other tongues. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God and it’s for us today- not just for the people who lived in Bible times. It is for you and your children.

Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said to them,” Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

It is important to believe the word of God and be baptized and be saved, so we won’t be condemned. The sign of a believer is they will be speaking in tongues and casting out demons.

Mark 16:16-17 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Some people believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior but don’t believe in speaking in tongues and that’s why they are lacking power in their life, or they have not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit. If you are one of these people I would like to encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to fill you with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and to give you your heavenly language. keep asking till it happens. Speaking in tongues is a heavenly prayer language between you and God, and no one understands, not even the devil, so when you pray in this language the devil won’t be able to hinder your prayer.

1 Corinthians 14:2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.

God’s plan for salvation is for us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and for us to be born again of the water and the Spirit. See- Romans 10:9-10, John 3:3-7, Mark 16:16-17, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:38-39

Here is a prayer you can do to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,

Dear Lord Jesus; Thank you for dying on the cross so I can be saved. I ask you to forgive me for all my sins and ask you to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Lord please fill me with your Holy Spirit give me my heavenly prayer language and help me to be in God’s perfect will, Lord give me the faith to receive it. I love you and thank you for answering my prayer. I ask these things in Jesus's name. Amen.

To the reader; I would like to thank you for reading my blog, If you enjoyed reading this blog please visit my website for more blogs.  God’s blessing to you all.