How Can I Be Sure I'm Going to Heaven?
This is probably one of the most important, if not the most important question anyone could ask. The answer begins with an understanding of the love of God and can be found in just one verse in the Bible. The Bible says,
Notice first, the reason for Jesus coming to earth: because, "God so loved the world." God loves humanity so much, that he was willing to send His only Son. God loves you in ways you probably can’t even understand. Why does He love you? Because God is love, and He simply chooses to love you. You may not feel loved; you may not feel lovable. Maybe you have really messed up in a big way and you wonder how God can love you. He can, because He chooses to, in spite of what you’ve done. God loves you, so He sent Jesus.
He sent Jesus! This is what the second phrase says "He gave His one and only Son." The Bible says that God the Father, gave His only Son, Jesus, to the world. We celebrate Jesus coming into the world every year at Christmas. Do you know why God sent Jesus? Jesus came into the world for the sole purpose of dieing for our sins. When you do something wrong, it is expected that you are punished. We learn  this even before Kindergarten. Every human being is a sinner and therefore, every human being should be punished. However, instead of us being punished, Jesus was punished in our place when He was crucified on the cross. When we repent (that is, choose to turn away from a life of sin) and ask for  forgiveness, in effect, we're accepting Jesus' death on the cross as if it were our punishment.
But the story doesn’t end with His death. For on the third day, on a Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead. His rising shows that death doesn’t have power over Him and he can live forever. A dead man coming back to life. . .it’s almost too amazing to believe. But this is exactly what the Bible asks of us. . .to believe. Remember John 3:16 above. It has a phrase which says, "that whoever believes in Him. . ." Whoever, means WHOEVER! Whoever can mean YOU! You can believe in Jesus. What do you have to believe in order to go to heaven? The Bible says it plainly. . .,

In other words, to confess with your mouth means "to agree with" the fact that Jesus is your Lord. To receive Him as your Lord, you ask Jesus to come into your life to take charge of your life. To "believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead" means that you believe Jesus, as the Son of God, was dead but came back to life. He lives eternally now! 

If we confess and believe, we get to share in this eternal life. The last phrase says whoever believes in Him, "shall not perish but have eternal life." Without Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we perish. That means when we die, we are eternally separated from God. But with Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can have eternal life. How can you be sure you are going to heaven? Confess and believe as you pray the following prayer: 

Dear God,

I come you to today because I want to live in heaven with you after I die. I confess that I am a sinner and I repent (that is, turn) from my life of sin. I know that’s why you had to send Jesus, your only Son. I realize that He died on the cross in my place and I ask you to forgive me all my sins. I believe that God raised Him from the dead to live eternally. I want to share in that eternal life with Him in heaven. And so, Jesus, forgive me from all my sin. Come into my life, Jesus, as my Lord. I ask You to take charge of my life and I choose to live for you all the days of my life.
 If you prayed this prayer, please email Pastor Jeff and tell him.

 
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