Choices

Joshua 24:15  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (King James Version)

We all make many choices everyday- what we will eat, what we will wear, or even where we will go and what we will do when we get there. We can choose our friends, which college we will attend, and where we will work. We choose which house or car to buy, or which apartment to live in. We choose who we will marry. We also choose our children’s names.

But by far the MOST important decision that ANYONE will EVER make is one that few people really think about. And that is this- whether or not they will serve Jesus Christ while they are alive, and then spend eternity with Him when they die.

There is only one of two places for you to spend eternity after you die- one is Heaven and one is Hell.

Which choice will you make?

So many people want to enjoy themselves while they are on earth; and they live as if this life is all there is! But the truth is that this life is only temporary. REAL life, that is- eternal life, begins at the moment of death.

In the above scripture, Joshua was telling the Israelites to make a choice- they could choose to serve the LORD- that is, the God who made Heaven and earth, or they could serve the gods whom the people around them served.

He then informed them that he and his “house”- or family- would serve the LORD- the one, true God.

2 Corinthians 5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

2 Corinthians 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Philippians 1:23  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Paul shows us in these scriptures that when we die, we will be with Jesus.

BUT, only if we have repented of our sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior- BEFORE we die.

Now let’s look at an example of a passage of scripture which shows us that not everyone goes to Heaven when they die.

Luke 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. (This is one of the thieves who were crucified with Jesus. “Railed”- means to say something horrible. This person spoke rudely to Jesus.)

Luke 23:40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? (The other thief rebuked the one who had spoken rudely to Jesus- telling him in this verse, and in the next one, that they were both guilty of the crimes that they were accused of, but that Jesus was innocent.)

Luke 23:41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Luke 23:42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. (The thief who rebuked the other one in verse 40 now acknowledges that Jesus is the Messiah.)

Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

In verse 43, Jesus tells the thief who acknowledged Him as his Savior that he was going to be with Jesus. In other words, that thief would be with Jesus in Heaven. (Please note that there is no mention that the thief who spoke rudely to Jesus in verse 39 is going to be with Jesus, also.)

Now let’s look at a passage of scripture which shows us that there IS a Hell, and that some people go there when they die.

Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (“Abraham’s bosom” was a phrase which meant-Heaven.)

Luke 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (We see the rich man here being tormented in Hell.)

These scriptures show us that there are a literal Heaven and a literal Hell.

When people CHOOSE to NOT serve Jesus- they are actually CHOOSING to serve false god(s).

Who will YOU choose to serve?

The Lord, Jesus Christ, who died so that YOUR sins could be forgiven; or the god(s) that the people in the world around you serve?