The Lord has told us in a number of places that He will not forsake or leave us alone, but will make it possible for us to live a successful life here and inherit eternal life after the judgment. One of the terrors of life to so many is their fear of the unknown or their fear of what will be after death. These are important considerations and deserve answers, answers though concerning such matters will have to come from God, for He alone knows. It is reasonable to suggest that we must turn to God for answers to such unknown answers simply because no one has ever come back to tell us about the conditions or situation after death; except Jesus Christ and He went back to be with the Father without telling anyone what awaits after death. Since no one knows the answer to these matters except God, let us turn to God’s Book and find out what He says about the matter.
HE WILL NEVER FORSAKE HIS CHILDREN WHO ARE FAITHFUL – The Lord is careful to encourage his disciples that he will always be aware of and concerned about every one of his children. Please note the following Scripture references that state this fact:
Hebrews 13:5, “Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.” (ASV)
Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (ASV)
Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (ASV)
THE CHRISTIAN CAN LIVE A LIFE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD HERE – Everyone has the option to come to God through obedience to Jesus Christ if they will.
Hebrews 5:8-9, “8 though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation;” (ASV)
Revelation 22:17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” (ASV)
Living a righteous lifestyle is a choice: Every person in the world will make a choice about whether or not they will choose to serve the one true God and Lord Jesus Christ. No one will leave this world without making that choice; whether consciously or not. Indeed, some will not choose to serve or even acknowledge the Lord but that is the choice they have made willingly – no one can make another person make the right choice about their eternal destiny. The choice of salvation or condemnation resides in each person’s ability –
Ezekiel 18:20-22, “20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” (ASV)
THE LORD WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BE TEMPTED BEYOND THAT WHICH WE CAN ENDURE – Many people are afraid that they cannot live a faithful life or that the temptations of life are greater than they will be able to bear. God’s Word gives us a different perspective on the subject of living an aceeptable life, we will be able to deal with the temptations of this life is we will put forth the effort, notice the following Biblical reference; 1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.” (ASV)
2 Peter 2:9, “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;” (ASV)
Don’t worry about being unable to live the Christian life; you can, if you will accept responsibility for your conduct, life, speech, and thoughts. Make a conscious decision about being a Christian and about remaining faithful whatever happens in your life. Maybe you will not be perfect but remember God will forgive you over and over again if you will do as you should about your sin – “repent of them’”
REMEMBER THIS FACT: God is faithful and will always accept our repentance of sin if we will come to him seeking that forgiveness.
GOD HAS PROMISED HEAVEN TO THOSE THAT OVERCOME THE TEMPTATIONS OF THIS LIFE – There is an old saying that “Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people,” That is a real good comment about those that will be in that heavenly abode prepared by the Lord for them – cf. John 14:1-3, “1 Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, (there) ye may be also.” (ASV)
Troubles, trials, and tribulations confront everyone in the world. The sinner experiences troubles just like the Christian but the Christian can turn to God for help, the sinner has no where to turn. Let us understand that we can overcome this life and its troubles and go to heaven if we will place out trust in God who will never leave or forsake us. Hang on dear Christian friend – Revelation 2:10, “Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” (ASV)
COME AND GO WITH ME! – Whenever Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage one person that he desired to go with them was his father-in-law. In the following verse Moses pleads with his father-in-law to come and go with them for they (i.e. the people and Jehovah) will do you good – cf.
Numbers 10:29, “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, We are journeying unto the place of which Jehovah said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for Jehovah hath spoken good concerning Israel.” (ASV)
We may say the same thing to everyone we know in this world, come and join with us as we travel our spiritual journey through this life. You see, those of us that are Christians are on a spiritual journey that will end in heaven, “someday.” If we are always faithful; apostle Paul an example – cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “6 For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.” (ASV)
Will you come and go with us? We want you dear reader to become a Christian just like we are and travel your spiritual journey with us. The journey is not difficult or distressing but is filled with Joy, expectation, and hope, each day of our lives here. The true Christian is happy to be traveling this journey that will eventually end in HEAVEN.
REMEMBER THIS FACT: 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (ASV)
BUILDING A SAFE LIFESTYLE – Life here is, at best, contingent on the way that we live. Certainly there are some things that we have no control over that may claim our physical life, such as automobile accidents, and workplace accidents, Yes, sometimes we may loose our life due to no fault of our own.
Things that we may control in life: We may control what goes into our body that may alter our alertness to danger. Today there are many substances that one may take into their body that has the ability to kill us or cause us to kill someone else, some of these are; Alcoholic beverages, Tobacco, Illegal drugs (crack, Marijuana, LSD, misuse of prescription drugs, etc.).
We may control where we go for recreation, for vacations, for entertainment, etc – some questions we may ask ourselves: Will we be safe there, Is there any kind of physical Danger lurking in that place?
We may control the quality of our friendships and continued associations that we deliberately cultivate: Will our associates endanger our lives? Will the place our associates encourage us to go be safe? Do my associates carry guns or knives, Do my associates experiment with illegal drugs? Do my associates drive drunk?
One may see that there are many instances where the individual may avoid entanglements with others that may cause danger to life, Why would a person with good sense want to out themselves in harms way by or through such dangerous situations or entanglements? Surely no Christian will involve themselves in such situations.
CONSIDER YE WELL FRIENDS GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT BUILDING A SAFE LIFESTYLE BY USING THE WRITTEN WORD (i.e. the Bible). Under the previous heading we have shown you some of the dangers inherent in building a lifestyle without God’s instruction. Under this heading let us look at what God says will build a safe lifestyle. Of course, the Christian may also loose his/her life due to no falt of their own in an accident of some kind, caused wholly by others. Because a Christian will not do the same things and go to the same places and will not choose friends and companions that are wicked. He may less likely to die young.
Consider these references:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “9 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (ASV)
Matthew 6:13, “And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil (one.)” (ASV)
1 Peter 3:10-12, “10 For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile: 11 And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil.” (ASV)
3 John 11, “Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” (ASV)
CONCLUDING THOUGHT: “it is always better to follow the right way (i.e. God’s Written Word) than to follow anything else — To build a good, God pleasing lifestyle.