Love to hear from and know who is listening
Few people leave this life without any regrets. When the good Lord calls you home to heaven, how can you be certain that you don't leave behind any missed opportunities or any unfinished tasks? When Joyce and I get ready to go camping we spend several days making out a menu and grocery shopping to make sure that we have everything we need in our camper before we depart. I count out my socks and underwear to make sure I have a clean pair for every day and then pack an extra just in case. Many times in the fall I pack both long sleeve and short sleeve shirts as well as jeans and shorts because you never know if it is going to be hot weather or cold weather. The point I am trying to make here is this. Why do I focus so intently on packing my camper for a weekend get away and spend very little time packing my bags and preparing for my eternal home. How can I prepare for my journey to heaven? Here are some steps to help you make sure you are packed and ready for your trip to heaven.
Step number 1: First and most important make sure you have a valid passport. If your going to travel to a foreign country you must have a valid passport or you will be denied entry. The same thing is true if you want to enter heaven. The only difference is your passport into heaven is not a physical passport it is a spiritual passport. In order to obtain your spiritual passport you must complete your ABC's. Admit your a sinner, Believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins and Confess that Jesus is Lord of your life. Only those who have their spiritual passport will enter into heaven. Being a Baptist, a Catholic, a Methodist or a member of any other denomination won't get you into heaven. People don't go into heaven in a group they go in one by one based upon their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Step number 2: Live with a destination mind set. Have you ever thought about how difficult it would be to live in two places at once? As Christians this is the challenge we face every day, we are residents of this life with very real responsibilities, but we are also citizens of heaven. As Christians we need to learn to live with a destination mind set, while we are here on earth we have to learn to prepare to be a citizen of heaven.
Philippians 3:20 NIV But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Step number 3: Refuse to allow your departure from this life to paralyze you with with fear. Nobody leaves this life premature. God has a definite date for your departure to eternity and nobody leaves this life for the next even 1 second before God's appointed time. Death is a necessary step in order to be able to depart for heaven. As a Christian you will close your eyes on earth and the next moment you will open them in heaven.
Step number 4: Make the most of your time on earth. God has allotted a different number of years on this earth for each one of us, so make the most of them. This doesn't mean work hard, save money and pay your debts. While these are good things, they are not eternal investments. Love the lost, care for the less fortunate and share the gospel of Christ so that others may gain their spiritual passport.
Psalm 90:10 NIV Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
So pack for your journey to heaven carefully. Make sure the things your packing are of eternal importance. Live you life in such a way that those who don't know Jesus Christ, will come to know Jesus Christ, because they know you!!!
