Everybody trusts in something or someone for answers to the big questions in life: Where did I come from? Why am I here? How I can I have a meaningful life? How can I sustain joy and contentment? What will happen to me after I die--can I do anything about it? People put their trust either in someone else, God, their own wisdom and goodness, the government, or things.
Why did Jesus come to earth?
Jesus came to earth to give forgiveness and life to those who place their trust in Him. He could not provide forgiveness and life without coming to earth, because there had to be a payment for the sin of the human race
John 6:32-35 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
John 6:38-40: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
John 6:47-51 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever
John 3:17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Mat 18:11 "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
John 12:46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
John 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
1 John 3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 1:1-4 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
How good does one have to be to go to heaven?
1. No human is perfect, but God is. Therefore, no person can enter God’s presence on his or her own merit. No person is good enough to go to heaven.
Psa 143:2 And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
Eccl 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.
Isa 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.
Rom 3:10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Ezek 33:17 "Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
It is sometimes difficult to understand why people we think of as "good" are not good enough to go to heaven. In reality, though, even a person who does many good things is still far from God’s holiness and perfection. Say that each person in the world was challenged to swim across the Pacific Ocean. Those who could not swim would drown close to shore. Olympic swimmers may make it several miles, but would also drown. Even the very best endurance swimmer could not come close to making it across the Pacific Ocean. Likewise, even the person who does more good deeds than anyone else, is far from God’s perfection.
2. Sin separates us from God. It keeps us out of heaven, and prevents us from having a relationship with Him, robbing us of joy and contentment.
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
The ten commandments reveal our imperfection. God gave the ten commandments—the Law—so that we would see that we fall short of His perfection and, therefore, need mercy and forgiveness instead of being judged on our thoughts, words, and actions. Consider, for example, the commandment Do not covet. Most people will admit that at some point in their life, they have wanted something that someone else had—their car, house, jacket, hair color, spouse, job, financial status, friends, body, education, parents. In God’s eye, the discontentment itself is sin, even if it does not lead to wrong words or actions.
Rom 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Cal 3:19,24 Why the Law then? 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
4. Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem. Jesus did not abolish truth in bringing forgiveness to man. On the contrary, He fulfilled the Law. Picture God's perfect righteousness and justice on one side of a huge canyon, and human sinfulness on the other. Somehow each person needs to get to God, but gravity stands in the way--nobody can fly across the canyon. In this analogy, the Law serves to reveal to people that a huge canyon exists between God and man. Without the Law, we do not realize that we are sinful and thus separated from God. Jesus Christ is like a bridge extending across the canyon. The absolute truth of gravity still exists, but if we entrust our lives to Christ (walk across Him, the bridge), each of us can have access to God, be accepted by Him, and receive spiritual life.
How Did Easter Celebration Originate and Where Did the Word Easter Come From?
The word Easter comes from the ancient Norse word Ostara, which is what the Vikings called the festival of spring.
The legend of a rabbit bringing Easter eggs is from German folklore.
It tells of a poor woman who, during a famine, dyed some eggs then hid them in a chicken’s nest as an Easter surprise for her children.
Just as the children discovered the nest, a big rabbit leaped away, and the story spread that it had brought the eggs.
Many Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost.
Jesus is God’s gift of life to us. He not only provides the way to forgiveness for sin, but also gives us spiritual life, satisfying the discontentment of our hearts. All of us are guilty before God. The charge is sin. The penalty is death—separation from God forever. We can plead either guilty or innocent. If we plead
How Did Valentine’s Day Originate and How Did Valentine Become the Patron Saint of Lovers?
In 270 AD, the mad Roman emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage because he believed married men made for bad soldiers.
Ignoring the emperor, Bishop Valentine continued to marry young lovers in secret until his disobedience was discovered and he was sentenced to death.
As legend has it, he fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter, and through a miracle he restored her sight.
On his way to execution, he left her a farewell note ending in, “From Your Valentine.”
Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 celebrating love and affection between lovers, and first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages.
What Does The Bible Say About Heaven
What does the Bible say that heaven looks like? Are there sufficient scriptures to tell us? Are the images of the saints playing harps while lying on the clouds of heaven accurate? Can we know for sure what heaven will be like?
What Heaven Isn’t
The tiny chubby cherub angels playing their harps in heaven are not what heaven will be like or are like at this present time. Heaven exists today but humans who are living on earth can not yet see it and the pictures that we have seen of it can not describe it accurately in all its splender, glory, beauty, and majesty. The Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father on His throne they are in heaven right now. What this means is that heaven is for real; it does exist, and there are Christians who have died and gone to heaven and are now with Jesus Christ.
The Three Heavens
There are actually three heavens described in the Bible. The first heaven is what is called the firmament or sky that covers the earth. This is the realm of birds and clouds and surrounds the entire earth.
The second heaven is where the stars, the sun, and the moon reside. This is the space beyond the earth and it covers the entire universe. It is as far as the human eye can see with the help
of gigantic telescopes such as the Hubble telescope.
The third heaven is unseen and is the residence of God, including Jesus Christ and is where the dead martyrs and saints are today. This is the location of the throne of God and where the holy angels surrounding His throne sing day and night, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord our God.
Biblical Eye Witnesses to Heaven
There are several people in the Bible who have been eye witnesses to the heaven before they died. Elijah was caught up into heaven, taken up in a whirlwind and who never tasted death (II Kings 2:1-12). Like Elijah, Enoch who was said to have walked with God, was taken up into heaven without ever tasting death. The apostle John saw heaven through an open door so that he might see and record in the book of Revelation some of the things he saw in heaven (Rev. 4:1).
While Paul was on the Damascus Road on his way to persecute Christians, He saw heaven open up but whether this was heaven itself or just the first heaven where he saw the light, we can not be sure. Acts 9:3-4 described what Paul saw, “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” We do not know for sure, according to the scriptures, whether this was the third heaven, where the throne of God was or not, but can assume it was not for Paul on heard a voice from heaven and he saw only a light from heaven. Nonetheless, heaven is for real and it exists today in every sense of the word.
I am sure you have read or heard about many who have died and seen heaven for themselves. They describe such a realm that is beyond description. Some who died and came back to life revealed seeing their lost loved ones in heaven, their family, friends, and some even their pets. This is difficult to prove, yet the sheer number of these who have seen heaven and came back from death is hard to refute. Only they themselves know this for certain. But the Bible does describe some of what heaven is like in the scriptures. It is, from the human standpoint, indescribable (I Cor. 2:9).
Biblical Descriptions of Heaven
There is a constant chant of holy angels that are continually proclaiming Holy, Holy, Holy over the throne of God. The Mercy Seat in heaven where God sits is surrounded by magnificent angels full of glory and power that proclaim and bless the holy name of God without ceasing. Some of these are described as beasts, full of eyes, with six wings and neither rest day or night in their proclaiming the holiness of God (Rev. 4:8-11).
Heaven Descends to the Earth
After the Kingdom of Heaven begins on earth, after Christ’s return, the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven and heaven, in the New Jerusalem, will then be on earth. Revelation 21:1-2 describes this: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” The very tabernacle of God will be with humans then and heaven is any place where God is at (Rev. 21:3). All pain, suffering, and tears will absent there (Rev. 21:4).
John was carried away to heaven in Revelation chapter 21 and this chapter is perhaps the best description of heaven that we know of; at least the heaven that will be seen by those who are Christ’s today. John describes it in Revelation 21:10-27:
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia [or 1,400 miles!] in length, and as wide and high as it is long [1,400 miles wide and tall!].
17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits [that is 200 feet!] thick.
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst [these last two stones are unknown or only exist in heaven today].
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
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