A few things about us:
We are Independent Fundamental Baptists who love God and love church! We have traditional (some would call it old-fashioned) values and beliefs.
We are a technology-loving family: each of us owns and uses an iPhone (Gracie inherited my iPhone 3 minus the phone service when I upgraded to the iPhone 4.), and we have recently crossed the great divide from using PCs to using a Mac!
I have many interests, some of which I would like to turn into hobbies. This blog is one of them. I also enjoy photography, writing, sewing, making things, organizing, redecorating the house, teaching my daughter, going to new places, and enjoying all of God's blessings in my life!
I hope that you enjoy my blog. Feel free to post comments with suggestions ("be ye kind"). This is mainly a form of creative outlet for me, but I would love for it to be a blessing to others.
Finally, the most important thing in life is to know 100% sure if you're going to Heaven or not. For a minute, really think about this: On a scale of 1 to 100, how sure are you that you're going to Heaven? Are you 50% sure or 90% sure? Maybe you're about 98% sure. If your number is not 100%, then rest assured that you can move that number up to 100 and be 100% sure that you're going to Heaven!
The Bible is very clear that God wants you to know how to go to Heaven! In 1 John 5:13, it says,
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.The first thing you need to know is that we are all sinners. The Bible says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10) and "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23).
We are all sinners: we all do things that God says is wrong. It could be anything from lying and stealing to disobedience to parents and harboring bitterness in your heart. In our eyes, it might seem small, but to God, sin is sin, and we are ALL guilty of sinning.
Here is where sin came from: "Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." You may be familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman that God created. (If not, read Genesis chapters 2 and 3.) God gave them just ONE rule: Do not eat the fruit off of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Wouldn't it be nice if WE just had one rule to follow? That would make life very easy . . . or would it? Eve was deceived, but Adam willingly and disobediently ate the fruit off of the tree, thereby committing the very first sin. From that point onward, everyone has been born a sinner and has a limited life in which to live before we die.
Because of our sin, there is a debt to be paid. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." Just like when we work and earn wages for that work, because of sin, we earn the payment of death. When the Bible talks about death, It doesn't just mean your heart stops beating and you have to buried, but there is something called "the second death." Revelation 20:14-15 says, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The second death is eternal (that means FOREVER) separation from God in the lake of fire, where Hell is. Because of our sin, we deserve to die and go to Hell. That is our payment for our sin.
However, God never wanted any of us to go to Hell! The rest of Romans 6:23 says, "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Getting to go to Heaven is a free gift! That means you can't work for it, go to church for it, pay for it, or even be good for it. It is a free gift. Let's just say it's your birthday, and I want to give you a present for your birthday, so I go to Walmart, and I get you a present. It might be a new sweater or a pretty necklace or maybe a fun toy. I take it to the cashier, pay for it, take it home, wrap it up, maybe put a pretty bow on top, and I deliver it to you. I say, "Happy Birthday!" and I hold out my gift to you. What do you have to do to make it yours? All you have to do is reach out and take it or accept it. You don't even have to say, "Thank you." Would you have to do something for me for that gift? Would you have to come home with me and wash my car or scrub my toilet? No, of course not! Would you have to reimburse me for the gift? No way! If you did any of those things, it wouldn't be a GIFT anymore. See, I did everything for you so that you could enjoy the gift, all you have to do is accept the gift.
Jesus did the same thing for us. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth [shows or proves] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus left His Home in Heaven, came to Earth as a baby, lived 33 years on Earth and never sinned, not one time. He never lied, cheated, stole, killed anybody, talked back to his mom and step-dad, never had a bad thought, never cussed, never did ANYTHING that is a sin. That's pretty amazing to me -- unless you remember that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but he is God, the Son. Anyway, He never sinned. So, did He deserve to die (remember "For the wages of sin is death")? No, He didn't deserve to die. But He CHOSE to die -- not for Himself, but for US, to pay our sin-debt, so that we can go to Heaven! He died on the cross, shedding His blood for our sin and bore all of our sins on His back. He was buried, and three days later, He rose again! He did EVERYTHING for us! All we have to do to get to go to Heaven is ACCEPT His free gift of eternal life!
Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
So how do we accept His free gift? How do we receive salvation?
Romans 10:9-13 says,
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.""Being saved" means being saved from Hell. So when you get saved, which you do by trusting in Jesus and only Jesus to take you to Heaven, you are saved from Hell and are on your way to Heaven.
Notice the last verse, how it says "whosoever." Whosoever means ANYBODY; whosoever means YOU. You could put your name there: "_____My Name_____ shall call upon the name of the Lord [and] _____My Name_____ shall be saved." Does it say, "hope to be saved"? No. Does it say, "Might be saved"? No. It says "SHALL be saved"! All you have to do is place your trust in Jesus that because of what He did on the cross, you can go to Heaven. Even though saying a prayer will not save you, it does give you something somewhat tangible to remember should you have doubts. When I talk to people in real life about getting saved, I have them repeat a prayer after me that goes something like this:
Dear God, I know I am a sinner, and I know I deserve to die and go to Hell. I don't want to go to Hell, so I'm trusting You, Jesus, and only You, to take me to Heaven one day when I die. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus' name, AmenOne more thing I want to share with you. Hebrews 13:5 says, ". . .for he [Jesus] hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." When you get saved, God comes to live inside of you in the form of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made a promise to us that He will NEVER, EVER leave you! Even if you go out tomorrow and do the most awful sin you can think of, He will never leave you and you will always be saved. Jesus died on the cross ONE TIME and you can only get saved ONE TIME. Once you get saved, you are always saved.
The Holy Spirit is also called the Comforter in the Bible. It is He That teaches us (through the Bible and through Bible-believing-and-practicing preachers) and it is He Who comforts us.
If you received salvation as a result of reading this page, I would love to know about it. Please email me at mrsavakinsey@gmail.com to let me know so I can rejoice with you.