Are You Ready For Your Final Day Here On Earth?

One of the most memorable dates for a person is his birthday.  People in all walks of life are very cautious when that very special day comes.  Majority are celebrating this occasion in different places and ways, if they are working, they are filing a vacation to celebrate this with his/her loved ones in special places for a vacation or family lunch or dinner.  This date is remembered and celebrated yearly in different ways and places.   Majority are excited and sometimes have an advance preparation for the coming of that day.  But what about death.  Do you think all people are preparing for the coming of that very unlikely moment?   Most of the people do not want to think of this and do not want to talk about that day to come cause of fear and thinking that anyway this will take years before this will happen and "I'm still young."

When I was about twelve years old, I worked in a private cemetery near the public cemetery in the Philippines as a janitor.  I tried to accept that kind of job because of need.  For ten straight years after the death of our mother, this seemingly shameful job has helped me to support my studies till college.  I learned the importance of handling money cause you have to discipline yourself to wake up early to work hard while you're studying and doing the daily household chores of fetching water in distant places.   These were my routines daily for ten years until I finished my college and masters level of education.  But the most important lesson I learned from this job was the realization to give value on my life.  For that long period of time, I saw and observed personally the arrival of different funeral cars with different dead persons on board in different colors of coffin.  There were babies, children, young people, adult and seniors that are buried weekly.  Part of my regular routine in the morning is to roaming around part of  a five-hectare cemetery just to compute the age of each buried person by deducting the date of death from his/her date of birth to get the age.  In doing this routine, I realized then that death will come to all men at an hour, day, month and year in different time and unexpectedly.  This lesson in life taught me the meaning of a song that says, "Only one life so soon it will pass.  Only what's done for Christ will last."  I grew up in a poor family but the best legacy our mother left us was her strict desire to attend us all in a regular Sunday School class.  The words of God that stored in my mind were triggered easily of my exposure and actual experience as a janitor in a cemetery.

This is the meaning of the passage in Luke 16:19-31 about the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man lived an abundant life and didn't mindful of the flight of the poor and had no regard for God.  He spent his whole life to enjoy life here on earth and he forgot his soul's needs for a Savior.  He had no time for God or may be because he believed that anyway, God is so good!  There was a man named Lazarus, a poor man and just waited for the left over food from the table of the rich man to fall on the ground and to pick these to fill his hungry stomach.  The time came that both of them died.  Lazarus died and the angels of the Lord carried him in his father Abraham's bosom or in heaven.  And the rich man died too and was buried.  In hell where he was tormenting everyday, he looked up and saw father Abraham and requested him to raise Lazarus from the dead and to dip his finger to cool his lips even for a minute.  But Father Abraham told him that his request is very impossible because of the big chasm that God has put between his place of torment or hell and the place of Lazarus in heaven.  So the rich man begged Abraham instead to send Lazarus back to life to tell his five brothers to repent that they will escape from the place of fire where he is tormenting day and night.  He didn't want that his brothers will suffer the same fate he is experiencing tremendously in hell.  But father Abraham told him again that Moses and the Prophets are there preaching the gospel of love and forgiveness and let the people decide weather to repent from their sin or not.  The rich man insisted and continue to beg father Abraham to grant his request knowing that if a dead man will return to his brothers, they will believe.  But Abraham told him again that even a dead man be raised from the dead and to remind them to repent and yet they insist not to believe, its useless.

People of the world,  this passage is reminding us all continuously of the message of repentance until the second coming of the Lord Jesus.  Let us be reminded again on what we have to do to avoid the horrifying experience of the rich man in hell - a place of torment and punishment for eternity:  First, There is a danger that is set for all who will insist to reject and disobey the word of God to repent, and that is hell verses 22-24; Revelation 21:8.  Second,  The good news of salvation and of forgiveness will be shared to all by the true men and followers of Jesus until the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ verse 29, Matthew 28:18-20.  Third, Salvation is for all.  It doesn't mean that only the poor will inherit eternal life and the rich man is not.  The truth is, all who will accept the reminder to repent of their sins and believe in the words of Jesus will inherit eternal life.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.  Fourth,  Life is not permanent.  Death will come unexpectedly.  The bible is very clear to attest that once a person died, right after this is to face judgment Hebrews 9:27.  Once a person died, his soul will go directly to hell if he rejected the reminder of the men and women of God through his words to repent from his sins.  And to him/her who accepted the reminder and who believes in the words of Jesus, he will be saved and become a child of God John 1:12.  Fifth, All true children, followers and believers of Jesus Christ are responsible and accountable to remind their relatives and contacts to repent from their sins and to live a holy life until the second coming of Jesus our Lord Ezekiel 3:16-21.  Lastly, Man has freedom to choose.  True wise man accepts the words of God to repent and to live a new life.  But the foolish man, rejects and ignores this reminder Luke 6:46-49.

Brothers, sisters, and fellow men all over the world,  the second coming of Jesus Christ is soon to happen and his coming is very near.  He wants that all men will be saved from the eternal damnation in hell and he wants them all to live with him in heaven which he prepared for all who will believe in him John 14:1-4.  Don't waste your life.  If you love yourself, believe the reminder of the words of God through Jesus Christ's followers to repent and accept him as your Lord and Savior.  God's love was shown to the world two thousand years ago through the death of his Son, Jesus - the once and for all sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin and salvation of men worldwide.  His free gift of grace is open to all who will accept him today.  Don't be deceived of Satan's very beautiful schemes of materialism, lust, good life, power and others.  Salvation is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.  For there is no other name given under heaven whereby a person can be saved Acts 4:12.  And in John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life.  No one can come to the father except through me."  Wake up!

For more messages about life, salvation, forgiveness, hope, peace and others, visit our website at savelifewithjoy.com or go to our blogs at hopeandlifeforyou.com and Eugenio "EJ" Juarez.  For your suggestions, comments and prayer requests, email us at agn623@gmail.com

God bless you all.