Can Good People Go To Heaven?

Can good people go to heaven?  I'm serious!  Can those who have been good for as long as they can remember actually make it to heaven?

No.

What?!  What in the world are you writing to us today, Stef?  What kind of blasphemy is this?

It's not a lie, friends.  But I'm afraid too many people I know have become a victim of it.  For you see, you have to be a sinner to be saved.  And from what I am witnessing lately, too many of those close to me are just too good.  They haven't horrible pasts nor skeletons lurking in their closets.  They have lived a good and upright life:  going to church weekly, staying faithful to one person, raising the required 2.5 kids.  They go to work without fail.  They pay all of their bills and are model citizens, voting in each election, attending all of the right meetings and conferences that are community related.  They keep their yards meticulously, their cars without dirt, and their smiles are always in place as they call out to me when I see them on the streets, in the stores, next door.  What's best yet is often they also come from perfect parents who never drank, swore, nor cheated and...you guessed it:  they have themselves reproduced perfect children who are the bedrock of the schools, the star athletes, the A students, the chorus and band standouts.  None of these would know sin if it came up, introduced itself, and declared it had been hiding behind their facades so that they would be fooled into thinking they ever had need of a Saviour.

Oh come on Stef!  If these folks were bad, don't you think they'd repent?  That they'd confess?  I mean, after all--as you stated above--they are in church every time the doors are opened.  Don't you think if they were lost, they'd know it by now?  Do you not believe the Word of God has been preached to them and at some point It convicted them and they made a profession of faith?

No.  Sigh.  I don't.

I do think that yes, the Word has been preached to them.  Yes, they made a profession of faith, got baptized, joined their family's church (ahem), and live their lives without blemish and their reputations are soild.  Wait: my fingers typed the wrong word.  That should be "solid" but... Freudian slip, perhaps?  "Soild" looks a lot like "soiled" doesn't it?  Hmn.  Makes me wonder if these wonderful saints have ever been tainted, have ever been sullied by the world, and if--yes, I'm going to say it again--if they have ever sinned.

Just as a doctor cannot heal you until you admit you are sick, a Saviour cannot redeem you until you acknowledge you are lost.  When I feel good, you will not find me at the Urgent Care center seeking treatment.  I don't go there to have my blood pressure monitored because I don't have issues with it.  I don't routinely visit the Cancer Centers because I am not suffering from this debilitating disease (thank God!).  You won't find me at the hospital either, undergoing scans and tests because, you see, I am healthy.  However, when you do examine me, you will see me often at the House of God.  You will find me actively participating in the sermons and lessons as I write down notes and thoughts that I later follow up on.  You will often hear me (sorry, but it's true) lifting my voice in songs of praise and petitions.  You can visit me in my Pretty Purple Room and see my Bible opened to a new page almost every day (and no, it's not because it's in front of a window and the breeze changes the pages).  Lastly, you will hear me at night with my husband, praying, pondering, and pleading for more knowledge, more wisdom, temperance, and help.  So much help.  Why?  Because I am a sinner.  Not "was" a sinner but "am" a sinner.  In my own self, I am beyond wretched and my condition can only be treated by the Great Physician Who long ago called me to Himself.  

I had to admit I needed Him.  I couldn't help but share with Jesus how awful I had been and how I was afraid would continue to be bad without some help.  I had to tell Him that in my own self I was helpless, lost, and without hope.  And then?  Then it was easy!  I just had to accept His pardon.  I just had to realize Christ Jesus was in control and that my life was not about what He could do to clean me up:  it was instead what He could do to mold me into His image so that others to could come to a saving knowledge that they too were--are!!--in need of Him as well.

Let me back up a moment and reiterate that it wasn't "easy" to let go of me.  In parts.  I had a lot of baggage that I kept trying to carry into this new relationship but you know what?  I didn't need those clothes of despair!  I didn't need the trunks of broken dreams and unrealized hopes.  I didn't need the letters of reminders of who I used to be for I was now a new creation.  Lastly, I didn't need those chips on my shoulder that I was carrying around and being weighed down by.  They kept me stooped over when my eyes only needed to be on Jesus.  So... eventually, I let them go.  It would have been easier had I (like Brother Matthew aka Levi, The Tax Collector) just left it all behind without a second glance and joyfully accepted the new life, the forgiveness of my sins, and not rehashed them all with Christ through the next several years.  I tend to be a little slow sometimes and refuse to take help when I am too stubborn to think that I need any.  Or too prideful.  Or don't want to put someone out with my problems.  

Do you see where I am going, friends?  If not, let my try to sum it up here.  

1. I am not a saint.
2. I am a sinner.
3. I can not save myself.
4. I need salvation, forgiveness, and sanctification.
5. Jesus offered it to me.
6. I accepted!
7. I have been redeemed!

Let's pray!

Lord, please make a message out of this jumbled mess of thoughts of mine and use these words to let others know--to know, Lord!--that none of us are good.  Yes, in our own selves, we try to live lives that are blameless and we do our best to not cause waves and to be humble and quiet and mind our own business.  But Lord?  Lord, even if we do all of this, there is still need for You.  There, sadly, is still sin in our lives.  We can't escape it and we lie and fool ourselves if we think we are above it.

Help us to constantly be aware, Father God, that were we so good then You wouldn't have had to watch Your Son die such a violent and obscene death.  Easter was celebrated yesterday.  Don't let us wait another year to think of this tremendous sacrifice and contemplate the sinners around us but rather, Lord, help us to acknowledge the sin that so easily besets us on a daily basis.  Help us to see it's me, it's me, it's ME oh Lord.  I am the one who cost You Your Son.  It was my wickedness and pride and sin that made His crucifixion necessary.  

Thank You for this unspeakable gift of redemption, Father.  Thank You for saving me at Christ's expense.  Amazing love, how can it be, that You my King would die for me?  

Sigh.

 In the name of Jesus Christ, I again claim this gift and thank You so much for it.  Amen.

Do you dare to disturb the universe?

What went wrong?  Who messed up?  Where and when did the message get lost?  Is it too late?

These are some of my convoluted thoughts this morning as I ponder a recent conversation with some elderly folks.  And the reason I specify that they are elderly (which to me, by the way, means those who are over the age of seventy) is because surely...surely after all of these years, surely after all that they have witnessed in these decades and changes of the century, surely somewhere along the line they have heard that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, to promise salvation, and to prepare a place with Himself for them to reside.

These people by most's accounts would have the record of having lived a "good life."  They aren't murderers, raised good families, lived peaceable lives, and mostly have stellar reputations in their communities.  Brought up by a God-fearing woman, the gospel was taught to them at a young age.  So now, now that they are in their golden years and have had time and ample opportunity to reflect, how can they speak so frivolously about what comes next?

"I don't believe in God," said one.

"I believe in some sort of higher power," said another.

"Oh yes, I believe in Jesus Christ but I don't believe in heaven," stated one more.

Intrigued and shocked and dismayed and bewildered and confounded and just overall flabbergasted, I pursued my line of questioning with quiet questions and earnest interjections to try to gain a semblance of understanding, and instead I was left with...hmn.  How to say?  I was left with sadness.  Worldly sadness.  My earlier readings in Galatians where Paul asked who had so easily bewitched them as those peoples had strayed from the lessons they had been taught flooded my mind as I too realized this type of thinking can only come from one place.  These older souls have been bamboozled by the master of deception, the king of lies, and the stealer of joy.  Their (perhaps) once acceptance that there was no other way to life and peace and salvation had been trampled out by men and women who perverted the gospel, who made a mockery of it, and by those who convinced through their conniving ways that God wasn't even necessary, that He doesn't exist, and they were given just enough doubt to hope and believe that there is "something out there" that will fix them--should they admit, that is, that they are broken, unwhole, and unwell.  Unfortunately, that "something" has been twisted into a false representation of a savior that many flock to as they believe there is no need of God but rather that that higher power is within themselves.  Their worship is inward to self rather than upwards to my Christ Jesus.  They have been deceived and now give acclaim to those who promise their needs will be fulfilled should they just believe that power can be obtained through worldly measures.

Sigh.

So, what now?  What is the next step?  Is there a next step?  Remember, I mentioned these are old people.  Old!  Oh no, not out of the picture yet but their lives are more likely to end sooner than later.  Throughout those lives, I feel sure that Jesus has been presented to them.  Not always in a positive way, however, which is why I wonder:  is there time to change their minds?  Is there time to convince, to show, to assure them that He most definitely exists, that He most definitely loves them, and that He most assuredly doesn't want their lives to end this way?

"Hey, I guess they're right. Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."

This is a quote by Lloyd from the movie "Dumb and Dumber." While funny, in part, it is also quite true.  There's a reason why we still have these seniors with us.  There's a purpose for their continued lives.  Maybe it's so you and I can tell them once more about Jesus, the real Jesus.  Maybe it's so they can hear and see Him alive in us.  Maybe it's so they won't die and when we all stand around their gravesides, we won't be wondering if they "made it" but instead will have that quiet faith and assurance that indeed we will see them again, but better still?  That they have come to know Christ Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord.  I've been there, friend, wondering if my dad got saved before he died, wondering if my mother's faith was in Christ or in her own works, hoping that my aunt's professed salvation was real, seeing my mother-in-law lowered into the ground and wondering if her hardened heart had been softened by my Lord's sweet love.  

Yeah, I'm being blunt and some may say judgmental but my word:  we've got to stop wondering and start finding out, start witnessing not with pious words and religious threats but by God, by God, through our lives that are supposed to evidence Christ's salvation!  I'm pretty sure they've heard of Him by now.  It's time to show them through our lives, through our fervent living, and mostly by our loving actions that Jesus is real, that God's not dead, and that through His marvelous gift of His Son, that we can all live too.  We don't have to wonder if we'll make it, hope we get there, or spend countless moments struggling to understand this alleged higher power that is playing with our destinies and wondering if we just do that one special thing that our lives will be made well after all.

Acts 4:12 tells us: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Check up on the senior citizens in your orbit, friends, and make sure they have one last opportunity to know the truth, will you? You might not get the answer you hope for and you might be as confused as I am after talking to them but at least you will have done your part of asking, of perhaps planting a seed--or better still of watering one that is trying to break through that tough soil that has been buried and is now ready to rise, to break through, and to see the Son. Now that would be spectacular!

Let's pray!

Father God, as I penned these words this morning, I did so with a heavy, hopeful, hurting, and hesitant heart. How these folks could be so bewitched is beyond me when Your Word has been evidenced for so much of their lives. And I know it has, Lord, for we are in America. Your Word has not been banned nor hidden from those who seek it. Your people are all around but also Lord, those who mislead and pervert Your Word are all around as well, and sadly, often moreso evident than those who truly know You.

Lord, I pray this morning for boldness for me, for my fellow saints, and for those preachers who have the calling to preach Jesus. May He be lifted up, His offer presented, and His sacrifice appreciated and accepted as we all check up and make sure of our salvation. May Your children not shy away from the hard stuff, Father, but instead, with loving hearts, risk the wrath in hopes of showing them the light, Your light. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, who saved my rotten soul, and offers me hope and assurance. Amen.

Random thoughts of a harried blogger

June 9, 2015                                                       https://youtu.be/zulKcYItKIA

I was introduced to this song this morning and have listened to it four or five times now.  Click on the link and check it out for yourselves and see if you relate.

I'm tired, friends.  I'm tired of policemen being berated for doing their jobs.  I'm tired of hearing the sadness of people's voices as they discuss being alone because their spouses have left them--and their kids--to fend for themselves.  I'm tired of hearing how awful Obama is, how wonderful Bruce Jenner is, and I'm tired of  Christians being attacked because of taking stands that they think they are supposed to.  This Franklin Graham stuff is getting close to mob mentality and...I'm tired of it.

But what should I do?  Should I do anything?  

I have friends that are black.  I have friends that are white.  I have friends that are homosexuals and some that are homo sapiens.   I have friends that are adulterers, thieves, gluttons, boastful, liars.  I have friends who love the USA and friends who are planning to secede from it if given the opportunity.  I guess what I am saying is that I have friends of all backgrounds, races, preferences, religions, and beliefs.  I love them and they love me.  Do we agree on everything?  Hardly.  Do we practice the same lifestyles?  Not even close.  Are we on the same social platforms?  Same political party?  Do we drive foreign or domestic cars?

Who cares??  Why does it matter??  

Sigh.  I've been pondering this blog for several days now, whether to say anything and if so, how to do so unoffensively.  Or, should I speak boldly about what God says and let that damnation get the offenders in due time?  Should I let the masses hound it out and just sit back as mankind wars against itself, with the "experts" telling one another "truth" and from their pious thrones rule the world?  And just what did God really say about it all anyway?  And that, my dear loves, is where I am now.

Proverbs Chapter 6

¹⁶ These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:

¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

¹⁹ A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Galatians Chapter 5

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians Chapter 6

⁹ 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 mankind,

¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And then, blessedly, this verse followed:  

¹¹ And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Without Jesus Christ sanctifying us and making us holy, none of us stands a chance.  None.  No one.  While I am not in any way condoning lifestyles of sin, my role here on this earth is not to judge but to reflect Christ.  Did He turn His back on sinners?  No!  Did He deprive them of His presence or did He seek them out purposely?  I'll help you out with that one:  He came to seek and to save that which was lost.  He didn't have to look far then and He certainly doesn't have to now.  We make it so easy for Him, don't we?  

I've been pondering how to take a "Christian" stand on these issues and I've come up with this:  I don't have to.  I don't have to tell the world how I feel about them and the choices they make.  While I am not to turn a deaf ear nor blind eye to sin, it is not my place to condemn.  Rather, I am to convince them by the way I live my life that when Jesus is allowed to clean up a mess such as me, then there is hope.  There is a future.  And there is love that covers a multitude of sins.  I'm living proof of the wonders God can do when sinners confess their need for a Saviour and allow Him to mold us into the image of His Son.  For you see, I was that fornicator.  I was that thief.  I was that gossiper.  Let's not even talk about my pride issues!  Honor my father and my mother?  Ha!  Take things that didn't belong to me?  Put other gods before my God--the worst sin of all?  With a shamed face and bowed head, I must confess that yes, it's me.  These sins and many more that are too shameful to speak of I had to lay at Christ's feet while He took the blows for my crimes.  Those stripes on His back should have been on mine.  That rejection He faced as God had to turn from Him should have been my final and ultimate judgement.  But it's not.  It isn't.  And it won't be.

Why?  Why Stef?  What makes you so special?  And what proof do you have that you won't be condemned?  How do you know that judgment won't fall on you?  I know some of your past and it's certainly not one to brag about.  How can you be so sure that you are forgiven and that these sins won't be held against you?

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?  For years I've been trying to figure it out myself, trying to believe that I was actually privy to this wonder.  Surely there must be some mistake.  I know me and my thoughts and my actions.  How could Jesus want a thing to do with me, much less have hand-picked me before time began, knowing the shame I'd bring Him?  I can't answer that one but I do know that I'm His.  I do know He saved me and that He loves me in an indescribable manner and all I can do now is thank Him and try to show that love to others.  He saw what I could be and thought it was enough, enough for Him to die for.  He thinks that about you too, my friend.  

So, in conclusion, if He so loved us, ought we not to love one another?  Can't we stand, side by side, in His truths, in His standards, and in His ways rather than trying to get in His way?  He doesn't need us to defend Him.  He needs us to represent Him, to imitate Him, and to lead others to Him.  We can't do that when we are looking down on others.  Only by interaction and side-by-side contact can we influence those around us.  Stop the shunning.  Quit pointing fingers.  When you quote the Bible, make sure you are doing so in the right context and not distorting the Truth.  Pray about things before taking action.  Perhaps the best thing for us to do is just be still.  God's got this.  He knew this day was coming.  It's not a surprise to Him.  Let's not so easily be shaken either.