Because of our sins, we deserve death. Jesus took the punishment for all of our sins by dying on the cross. When Jesus uttered His last words on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He was letting all know that the debt had been paid in full. The Greek word translated, “it is finished”, is tetelestai, which means paid in full. Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice and glorious resurrection three days later accomplished what no human was capable of doing. Jesus washed away all our sins so that we might receive the righteousness of God. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24. Jesus rescued us so that we could be children of God. Praise be to Jesus for His amazing love and sacrifice for us!

A great hymn to sing and remember is, “Jesus Paid it All.” The lyrics have a good connection with Isaiah 1:18 and how we need to solely rely on Christ for salvation. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18.

Jesus Paid it All

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

For nothing good have I
Where-by Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
 
And when, before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat.
​

References:
Stohlmann, M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA: KDP.
Hall,  E. (1865). “Jesus Paid it All.”

​There is a joke about a man who dies and goes to the gates of heaven. The Apostle Peter meets him at the pearly gates and tells the man, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You can tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”
                "Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."
                 "That's wonderful," says Peter, "that's worth three points!"
             "Three points?" the man stated confused. "Well here’s more, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service."
                 "Terrific!" says Peter, "that's certainly worth two points."
            "Two points? How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."
                 "Fantastic, that's good for two more points," notes Peter.
            "TWO POINTS!!" the man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"
                   "Come on in!" exclaimed Peter.

This made-up story illustrates the amazing blessing of being a Christian. We receive eternal life in heaven not based on our good deeds but solely by the grace of God through belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Ephesians 2:8-9 states this well. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. We do good works in response to God’s love, not to earn salvation.    

All other religions are works-based. People have to do enough of the right things to avoid punishment. Christianity is grace-based. Those who are unfamiliar with Christianity or new to Christianity can find this hard to comprehend. I went to a concert several years ago and the singer talked a little bit before singing a song about love. He described that, “The number of teeth on a shark is equal to the number of seeds on a strawberry which is the same as the number of seams on a baseball.” He then followed that up by noting, “That is not true, but love does not always make sense either.”

​God is all powerful and perfect. We are weak and sinful. It does not make sense that God would love us so much. Yet, God showed His amazing love to us by sending Jesus to earth to pay the price for our sins. We deserve death, but instead Jesus died in our place. Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death and the devil for all time! We now have been freely given eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23. This is Good News that we should talk about, share, and discuss often.
Reference
Stohlmann, M.  (2020). The world's greatest future. ​Seattle, WA:  KDP.

God’s promises do not change so we can trust that His wonderful promise of eternal life in heaven will never be taken away. Hebrews 13:8 provides this reassurance. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. In a changing world, we can draw great hope and strength in our unchanging God.

There was an old retired music professor who moved into an apartment. Every day, one of his neighbors, a young man in his twenties would check in on the professor. He would always ask, “What’s the good word of the day?” The professor would then always pull out his tuning fork and hit the metal part of his wheelchair with it. He would then put the tuning fork up to his ear and say, “That is a middle C. The piano above is out of tune and the singer below us sings flat, but that is a middle C.”

It is good to have things that are consistent in our lives. Things that we can depend on, don’t change, and that we can trust. God is that middle C in our lives. He is always the same. He does not change. He is dependable. He does what He promises.

A man was eating at a restaurant and it came time to pay. He asked for the bill and was surprised to hear that the bill was covered. The server simply stated, “He took care of it,” pointing at a man at a nearby table. When judgement day comes, we will be held accountable for all of our sins. It is not something to fear though. When it comes time to be judged for our sins, there will be no record of them. We know that we can point at Jesus and say, “He took care of it.” Jesus is our Savior who takes away the sins of the world!

There is an old saying that Christianity promises you two things; that your life will have meaning and that you will live forever. And if you get a better offer, you should take it. There will never be a better offer. Jesus paid the price for our sins through his death and glorious resurrection three days later. His great love for us provides us eternal life in heaven!
​
As Christians, we know the Good News that leads to eternal salvation. English physicist, Michael Faraday, clearly states this belief drawing on the beautiful words of Job 19:25-27. Heaven is real! “Speculations? I know nothing about speculations. I’m resting on certainties. I know that my Redeemer lives, and because He lives, I shall live also.”

​I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
Job 19:25-27

Reference:
Stohlmann, M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA: KDP. 

When something is mentioned twice in the Bible it is important, even more so the more times it is mentioned. The Bible has over 500 references to heaven! God wants us to know that He has our future in His hands. Our future is wonderful, great, and will be beyond our imagination!

Consider this glimpse into life in heaven. In heaven there is no more suffering or death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). In heaven there is absolute safety and eternal security within the high, thick walls (Revelation 21:12,17). Heaven is a home that is stable and unshakable with firm foundations (Revelation 21:14). In heaven there is no more night or darkness (Revelation 21:25). Heaven is where God’s people gather to worship Him forever and ever (Revelation 7:9). In heaven we will serve God and see His face (Revelation 22:4). We will have a relationship with God that is pure and perfect without any sin (Revelation 21:5). Certainly this is the greatest future!

In our time on earth we can keep our focus on God, His love, and the sure promise of heaven. We need to avoid being impacted by worldly influences. In the movie, Collateral Beauty, Will Smith plays a character that is a successful advertising executive. He describes that to get people to buy something you need to remember three things: love, time, and death. Everyone is looking for love each day, they want more time, and are afraid of death. That is what you tap into in order to sell things to people.

Christians know that there is nothing that you can buy that will have a permanent impact on love, time, and a fear of death. The best way to take care of all three is to keep our hearts and minds fixed on God. God loves us with a self-sacrificing, unending love. God loves us so much that He gives us the free gift of eternal life in heaven with Him. In heaven, we will have unlimited time as we will live for eternity with God. Because of this, we have no need to fear death. When our time on earth is complete, we will be welcomed into heaven with open arms. You might say this is the most successful advertising campaign ever. It is a message that has connected with billions of people. The message has power because it is from God. His Word is trustworthy and true.
​
Since heaven will be beyond our imagination there are many things about heaven that we do not know. We can trust that God is all-knowing and wants only the best for us. Seventeenth century pastor Richard Baxter adeptly describes what our mindset to heaven can be.
​

​Reference
Stohlmann,  M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA: KDP.