Day 14

14 - JESUS' MESSAGE: THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

John 3:36

I was only four years old when I knelt by my bed and prayed with my mom, asking Jesus to come into my heart, forgive my sin, and give me a home in heaven with Him. As a four year old, my decision was pretty simple. I believed in God. I believed there was a heaven. I believed there was a hell. I made my choice. I chose Jesus! I chose heaven!

We began introducing our girls to a God who loved them, a Savior who died for them, and the hope of heaven at an early age. Our oldest, being the independent one that she is, didn’t want to pray with her mommy or daddy. She was going to do this all by herself. One night, on her own, while laying in her bed, she prayed and put her faith in Jesus as her Savior. She didn’t even tell us until it came up in conversation later.

Knowing how important this was, our oldest began to encourage her younger sister to pray to receive Christ as her Savior too. One day, while we were waiting at the car for the girls to come out, she sat on the couch with her sister and helped her pray to receive Christ as her Savior. When we asked what they were doing, why they had kept us waiting, they informed us of the thrilling news.

Our second daughter, then in pre-school, wanted her best friend to know Jesus too, so she explained the ABC’s of salvation that she had learned at Vacation Bible School to her friend. Right there on the playground at pre-school, her friend prayed a simple prayer, asking Jesus to be her Savior too. The two girls then made their way around the playground, telling their other classmates that they needed to ask Jesus into their heart so they could go to heaven too!

Her three older sisters were concerned that our youngest was taking so long to ask Jesus into her heart. Didn’t she know what was at stake? Heaven. Hell. This was a big deal! They were both relieved and excited when she told her mommy that she wanted to pray and ask Jesus into her heart to be her Savior. It was a cause for a family celebration!

Heaven is a big deal. Hell is a big deal. Jesus speaks about them both. They are real places where real people will spend their eternity, either with God or separated from Him. Do we take this reality seriously, or do we practically live each day as if this life is all there is?

Read Romans 6:23.

• What observations do you make about the two possible fates that await each one of us?

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Just as eternal life means we will be together with God in His presence for all eternity, eternal death means some will suffer the misery and anguish of being separated from God for all eternity. Jesus paints a vivid picture of eternal death for us in His story about two men who die, one rich and the other a poor beggar named Lazarus.

Read Luke 16:19-31.

• What observations do you make about eternal death from Jesus’ story here?

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The Bible makes it clear. We all have a choice, and that choice is simple. We can choose between eternal life and eternal death.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19

Read 1 John 5:11-13.

• What observations do you make about who has eternal life and who doesn’t from this passage?

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Read Isaiah 25:8-9.

• What observations do you make about the reality of eternal life with God from Isaiah’s prophecy?

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Read Revelation 21:4-8.

• What observations do you make about the reality of eternal life with God from John’s prophecy?

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When he was a teenager, a friend of mine was challenged by his youth pastor to go to the mall, sit on a bench, and watch all the people walking by. With each person, he was to imagine that they had a sign on their forehead that either read HEAVEN or HELL. As he sat their that day and imagined all the people that were going to hell because they had never put their faith in Christ for forgiveness of their sins, he wept. Not just little tears either. Uncontrollable sobs. This thought fueled his love for the lost and his passion to share the Good News.

People’s eternities are at stake. Eternity is a long time. Eternity is forever. Eternity is real.

Apart From Him…

• Thank the Father for the gift of Eternal Life that He has given you through His Son.

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Walking As Jesus…

• Go to a park, a mall, or a busy city street, and do some people watching. Imagine every person you see either has HEAVEN or HELL written on their forehead. Ask God to break your heart for the lost, giving you a love for them and a passion to share the Good News with them.

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: