How to Get to Heaven

If a deceased Christian friend could call you from Heaven, what would he tell you?

He would tell you how wonderful Heaven is. He would want you to make sure that you would come there when you die. He would want you to see him in Heaven when you die.

The Bible says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Sin is breaking God's law. We have all disobeyed God many times in our lives.

The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That means you and I deserve to be punished for our sins. We do not deserve to live. God gave us life, however, even though we do not deserve to live. Not only that, but He wants to give you eternal life - life that will never end, so you can escape His punishment, and you can go to Heaven when you die.

The Bible says Jesus came out of Heaven to seek us and bring us back to Him. Jesus is actually God and wants us to know what God is like. Jesus' body was human and mortal, which allowed God to come down to earth through this human body. Jesus spirit has always existed and is God. Jesus is God the son, and Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Father's expresson of Himself as John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus Himself claimed to be God. In John 8:58 Jesus said, "Before Abraham existed I AM." This name for God is found in Exodus 3:14 and means The Eternal, Self-Existent One. This is the reason Jesus was crucified - for claiming to be God. You can pray a prayer and ask Jesus, "Who are you, Jesus?" I prayed that prayer myself.

As God, Jesus left the beauty of Heaven because He loves us so much and wants to have a personal relationship with us. But there is a problem that separates us from this wonderful relationship with God, and that problem is sin.

God shows us in the Bible that eternal life is a free gift. Eternal life in Heaven is a free gift from God. The Bible calls it "grace." Grace is God's unmerited favor. He loves us even though we don't deserve His love. Because of His great love for us, He offers to give us eternal life in Heaven as a free gift. In order to have this gift, however, you must take it from Him.

God made this possible by sending Jesus to earth. Jesus became the Son of God by taking on a human body, which was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a perfectly sinless life for 33 years. Then He was nailed to a cross until He was dead. He did not deserve to die, because He never sinned-not even once. He took the punishment we deserve, as our Substitute when He died on the cross. He died so that our sin could be punished as God's law demands, and so that we could have eternal life in Heaven by being released from the punishment we deserve. He paid the price of our sins for us.

The Bible says, "God proved His love toward us, in that Christ died for us." He died for you because He loves you, and because He wants you to come to Heaven when you die. How many peole do you know who love you so much that they would die for you? Then three days after He died, He proved His power over death by rising from the dead. Literally. Bodily.

How can you receive the gift of eternal life? It doesn't come through joining a religion. It doesn't come through being good. It doesn't come through baptism or other religious rituals. It comes through receiving Jesus Christ and being willing for God to change your life.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart) and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in." You can open the door by asking Him to come into your heart. If you ask Him to come in, and you are willing to be His follower, just ask Him now. You can pray something like this: