It's Time

     Over the past few years and more recently this past week, I have been around families as they have made arrangements for the end of someone's life. There are things that are done far in advance relating to financial areas and deciding who will care for remaining children. There are wills, living wills, trusts, and legal transfers as well as dispersal of family heirlooms. So many things can be planned for and prepared for so that when that unknown time comes, we are ready to move toward the life to come.
      Each time I am faced with this occurrence, I am always anxious to hear about the spiritual preparations that were made for the next life. It is the only question that really matters. Rust and decay will eventually consume everything else except our soul. How do we plan for the time our body no longer can remain joined with us? It is the ageless question? What happens next, Where will I go?
      I believe that God exists. I trust that God exists. Because I trust that God exists, I act upon things in this world according to how I believe God wants me to act. My best way to know what that action is is that I read God's word, The Bible, and follow the guidance of God The Holy Spirit in my life. I spend every day drawing closer and closer to understanding and following God by the teachings of Jesus as well. Here is what I believe must be done to be prepared.

Romans 10:9--If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved

What does it mean to "believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead?" It means that you make decisions based on your understanding of what Jesus desires for you to do. You put yourself below Jesus. You are willing to give up your own plan to fulfill the plan God has for your life. Even if you are not successful in doing all of the right things, you have made a commitment to do it at the expense of your own goals. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified.

What does it mean to declare with your mouth "Jesus is Lord?" --- It means that you are willing to identify yourself as someone who has made Jesus the ruler of your life. You are willing to give up your own identity and become a "follower of Jesus." When someone asks why you are acting this way, you explain to them that it is not your own plan that you are following, but the plan of Jesus. It is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

As you commit to living this life, you begin to see God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit use you to reflect God's word in the world. Your faith grows as you experience God on a deeper and deeper and more visible level in your life.The Bible explains how to be saved in many places and using many similar explanations. The plan is simple, but takes a definite decision. When you are ready to decide to put this plan into effect in your life, pray and tell him that you want to declare "Jesus is Lord." Then trust Him as you live your life seeking to understand and enact His plan for your life. At that point, it is not you that lives, but Jesus living through you.

When the day comes and you are separated from your body, you will be immediately in the presence of the Lord because you are already a part of Him.

Be ready. Live Life.