Me & the Mortician

So, you’ve got five more minutes to live, huh? Read fast. Or maybe you were just curious and are checking this out a bit early just to be on the safe side. I don’t blame you. Good decision.

I’ll never forget the first time I shook a mortician’s hand. As a kid visiting a funeral home with my dad, I was introduced to this morbid man. His pale hand felt clammy, cold, and stiff, like embalming fluid was already pulsing through his frigid veins. It seemed the icy fingers of death himself were coiling around my trembling hand, and like a lethal boa constrictor this ghastly grave digger was steely eyeing his next meal.

My fight or flight survival instinct kicked in big time and I frantically wrestled my bony hand out of the clutches of the grim reaper, and then I bolted out to our car in just the nick of time. Gasping for precious oxygen, I reasoned that I was safe—at least for the time being. But lurking deep in my churning mind like a maddening itch that I could not scratch was the bone chilling realization that my impending day of final reckoning was coming. On that gloomy day I would not be able to escape the strangling grip of death, and I would be snuffed out; just another obscure name chiseled on a rock.

You and I Are Going to Die

Princes and paupers, famous and forgotten, young and old all eventually turn up their toes. As surely as we sucked in our first breath we will wheeze out our last. The passing of a relative, the glimpse of a hearse, the discovery of a new lump, each reminds us that the sand in our fragile hourglass is rapidly running out. I once soberly stared at these weighty words carved on a tombstone,

As you are, I once was.
As I am, you soon will be.

Together we knowingly sigh.

Is this lifetime the grand finale? When the curtain falls is it really all over? Does it all end up in a cold, dark grave? Is there life after death? And if there is, what will it be like?

What If?

What if there really is a Heaven and a Hell. Even though you might not believe that, what if, just what if, it really is true? And what if your soul really will go to heaven or hell when you die? The Bible says it is going to happen. Are you willing to bet your soul that it won’t?

The Bad News

Disobedience to God is called sin and that anyone who sins must be punished. Because Jesus never sinned, he deserved no punishment. But the rest of us, we have blown it big time and deserve to pay the price.

The Good News

However, God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins by dying a horrible death on a cross. Jesus did this for one reason and one reason only—He loves you. And now He offers you the gift of eternal life if you will only (1) believe that He actually did die for you and your sins, and (2) receive this gift by faith.

The Bible says...

1. We are all separated from God by sin.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.—Romans 3:23

2. The penalty for sin is death, both physical and eternal.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 6:23

3. Our attempts to reach God through good works, religion, and philosophy are not
enough.

Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His mercy He saved us—Titus 3:5

4. We can only be restored to fellowship with God (and go to Heaven) by having our
sins forgiven.

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to
God.—1 Peter 3:18

5. Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose from the dead to bridge the gap between God and
people.

Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’—John 14:6

6. We must believe that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when He died on a cross and
accept Him, by faith, as our savior.

To all who received Him, he gave the right to become children of God.—John 1:12

If you want to become a Christian:

1. Admit to God that you are a sinner.
2. Ask God to forgive you for your sins.
3. Trust that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.
4. Invite Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior and Lord.

How to Talk to God About It

The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved [from the penalty of those sins and from eternal punishment] (Romans 10:9).

If you want to take the first step towards becoming a Christian, simply talk to God about it. The words themselves are not as significant as the sincerity in your own heart. So, even though you can pray in your own words, following is a simple and sample prayer that you may want to follow.

Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins and come into my life as my Savior and Lord. By faith, I receive you now. Amen.

Now What?

If you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior, you have taken your first steps toward a new and eternal life. It won’t be without problems, trials, and difficulties, but you now have Jesus living inside you (1 Corinthians 6:17) and He will be your helper and guide in all situations. To learn more about living the Christian life, check out the following link.

http://powertochange.com/experience/spiritual-growth/walkinspirit1/

Also, if you send me an email I’ll send you more information.

God bless you.

© Chip Kirk 2010