Tag Archives: Heaven

On Suicide, Depression, and Heaven

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WoodnhugSome folks asked me today about suicide and heaven. Does someone who committed suicide forfeit any chance of going to heaven? This was my answer:

I’m a believer in Christ. I am by no means perfect, but I accepted Jesus when I was a senior, I love Him; I believe, and I really do my best to follow every day. I’m a Christian. I fail probably 9 out of 10 times, but I really do try to be faithful.

Let’s say I’m driving down the Gandy Parkway here in Petal. Everyone knows I’m a terrible driver. While driving down the Gandy, I have an accident, and I die.

Let’s say the last words in my mouth on the earth are a string of terrible profanities. Words as a Christian, I shouldn’t think, much less say. Let’s say my last thought on the earth is a terrible thought. And then I die.

What happens? Well, the question I ask is this. Does my sinful last action upon the earth outweigh the faith that I have? Does that sinful last action outweigh my faith, my love of Jesus, and my desire to follow Him? I say no.

See we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are not saved (or condemned) by our actions. By our faith. So, if I have faith, but my last action on the earth is a sin, then what we are saying by saying that would send me to hell is that “that” action would outweigh my faith.

And that simply is not what we believe as Christians. We are saved by grace through faith. We aren’t saved by our good actions, and we aren’t condemned by our sinful actions. We are saved or condemned by our faith in Jesus Christ.

We are not saved or condemned by anything we do. Whether it be now or whether it be our last act. We are saved by grace; we are saved by faith. Not by what we “do.”

So, to suicide, if someone is a believer in Christ. If they are Christian. If they have placed their entire faith in Him, and their last action is a mistake, even a major mistake like suicide, as grave as that is, I do not believe that mistake outweighs their faith.

And I know it doesn’t outweigh God’s grace.

I believe that if they are believer, then that final mistake does not outweigh God’s grace.  They are with Him, and have their reward with Him.  As a believer, they will spend eternity in heaven with God.

We can also talk long and hard about issues of disease like depression. Clinical depression is a disease, not a moral failing. Those with diabetes or high blood pressure, they are not morally weak; they just have a disease. So is it with clinical depression. And just like those diseases, depression can cause great harm (even death) to the person that is sick. And just like diabetes, if left untreated, depression can really harm a person and their relationships.

Let me say it again, clinical depression is not a moral failing. It is a disease that should be treated. We don’t judge those that have high blood pressure. Why should we judge those that have this disease.

But in short, not matter what our final act upon the earth is, I believe that if our whole faith is in Jesus Christ, we will be with Him in paradise.

Just my two cents.

This World and the Next

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One of my favorite quotes is by my man CS Lewis.  This is what he says in his book Mere Christianity.

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

I thought about that when I read today’s scripture from John 13:1-4

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

nature_clouds_heaven_019281_In John, Jesus gets up, and He washes the feet of the disciples.  This is an act of great service, one of the greatest acts of service that any would could possibly perform, and our Lord and Savior willingly does it.

This is a great example to us.  Why did He do it?  Because He knew that the Lord had given all things into His hands.  And that He had come from God and was going back to God.  He knew that this world was not His home.

As it for us. This world is not our home. This is not where we belong.

We don’t live for this world.  We don’t live for this world’s praise or honor. We don’t live for this world’s recognition.

We live for our real home.  Our true home.  Our true place.

And because we know that this world isn’t our home, we can live with no fear.  Or worry.  Or stress.  The next world, that’s what we were made for.  And that’ where we are going.

So, live boldly. Live for your real home.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

An Arrow

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In our life we don’t live for others, right?  We don’t worry about the approval of other people.  We live only for God’s approval.  We all know that, we that God’s approval is all that matters.

So, don’t live your life with your eye to “them.”  Their approval doesn’t matter.

That is truth and we should live by it.

But, here’s the rub.  How we live does matter, through. And how we carry ourselves does matter.  The things we do, the impact we have, the difference we make, it does matter.  It really does.  The way we live matters. Listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

fv-cross-art-gbg829ep-1fvcross-crr3Paul hear is talking about things “don’t matter.”  The are stuff won’t saved you or condemn you.  They aren’t salvation matters.  So, they don’t matter for our eternity.  But, they do matter.

And what others think does matter.

Why?

It reflections upon Jesus.  Our lives, the way that we live, the choices we make, they really do reflect upon Jesus. And we want to make sure that what we do, how we live, the choices of our lives, they give God the glory that He deserves. That they draw people to God, not push people away from God.

We want to make sure that our lives reflect the grace of our Lord.

And that our lives point to Him.  Today, you are an arrow.  Pointing to heaven.

Today, may our lives point others to the goodness and grace of God.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

How to Live

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Jesus is asked what is the way to life. What must one do to inherit eternal life?

That’s a big question, huh? That’s probably one that you want to get right. So, Jesus returns the question and says, what is written.

Listen to how this plays out in Luke 10:25-28:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

8562bf13209e799f6798813cdcb87bf4I love Jesus’ response. He says do this – love God, love neighbor, love yourself, and you shall live.

And I think that He is teaching us something bigger than just “living” for eternity. I think that Jesus is teaching us how to live today. You don’t have to wait until heaven to have to live. You can live today.

See, when we live for something bigger than us, when we live to love God, to love our neighbor, and yes, to properly love ourselves, then we are really living.

But, if we are living to chase stuff, or status, or fame, or our reputation, or whatever, than we really aren’t living. Now, we may be breathing, eating, and doing the stuff of life, but we won’t be living. We will be existing.

But when we live for that, to love God, others, and self, then we are living. We have a purpose. We have a plan. We have something really worth having.

Then, we are truly living.

Today, Jesus shows us to live. How? To love. God. Others. And yes, even love ourselves. Today, let’s truly live for something worth living for. Let’s love God with all that we are. Let’s do our very best to love our neighbor. And let’s forgive ourselves and see ourselves as the child of God that we are.

Let’s not just wait to heaven to live. Let’s live today.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

A Glimpse of Heaven

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urlWhat does eternal life look like? Before you answer that question, stop and think about what I just asked, and what I didn’t ask.

I asked what does eternal life look like. I didn’t ask what does heaven look like.

Now, Andy, aren’t they the same thing? Sort of.

What do you mean by that?

Let me share one of my favorite passages of scripture with you today, John 17:1-3:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Jesus is praying to His Father and he says – this is eternal life – they know the only true God, and Jesus Christ who you have sent.

That’s eternal life. Knowing God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. That’s eternal life. And that starts now. That starts today. That starts the moment we know God through Jesus Christ.

Now, heaven in a place, an eternal place where will know God and be with Him forever. Heaven is a place of resurrection and spiritual bodies. Heaven is a place, if you reading this, we haven’t gotten to yet.

Eternal life is. Being found in God. Knowing God living in God. Breathing in God. Living with God every day of our lives.

That’s eternal life.

And we know that NOW. Today. In this moment.

Every time in our lives that experience God and His grace, every time we experience the moving of the Holy Spirit, every time we know God; through worship, prayer, scripture, service, through the ways that we experience Him, that’s a foretaste of heaven.

That’s a glimpse of heaven. That’s eternal life. And we can know that now.

Today, look for those glimpses of heaven. Look for eternal life in your life today. Look for those moments when you can experience God. That’s eternal life. Knowing the Father through the Son.

No matter where we are today, may we know eternal life.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Our True Home

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pt320_house_block_outlineC.S. Lewis said “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

This world is not our home. We are created for a world other than this.  As awesome as life here is, as awesome as it, as many things as we love, as many blessings as we have, this world is not our home.

We were created for something better.

We were created for our true home.

Jesus puts it like this in John 18:36-37:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

Jesus said, I am a king, but my kingdom is not of this world.  He is not an early king.  He is a heavenly king.  And that is our true home.  Our true home is at home with Him.

But, here’s the cool part. Think about what Lewis said in the beginning. If we know that our true home is with God, we have all the more motivate and call to work hard in this life.

I want as many as possible to join me in our true home. So, I’m going to work to share the good news of grace and mercy.

I want “thy will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven” to not just be something that we say in church, but something that we live out every day.

I want as many as possible to know that freedom and forgiveness that comes in Jesus Christ.

I believe in heaven. And I can’t wait to get there. So because of that, I have the freedom, the call, the joy to live my life with our true home in mind all times.

There is life in that.  Are you living today with your true home in mind?

Won’t you join me?

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Aim at Heaven

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We can’t take it with us. The stuff that we are tempted to chase after and spend all of our time chasing the stuff of this world, we will leave it here with us.

When we pass from this life into true life, the stuff of this world will stay here.

We, in our lives, should not live for, or place our hope and identity in the stuff of earth, but the stuff of heaven.

But, here, here is the key point. When our heart and our lives are on the stuff of heaven, we find life here. When Jesus Christ is our life and our purpose and our heart and mind is fixed on eternity, we find that life here on earth is even better.

In other words, if you want to truly live a life worth living here on the earth, don’t focus on upon the stuff of the earth.

Focus on God.

And you’ll find life here.

CS Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”

Listen to how Paul puts it today in 1 Timothy 6:6-10:

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say that money is evil. He said that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Money is neutral. Stuff is neutral. It’s not good, or bad. It’s how we use it. we can use it for good. We can use it for evil.

It’s how we use it. It’s where our heart is.

Where is your heart today? What are you aiming for?

If we aim at heaven, we find life. If we aim at earth, we miss everything else.

May we aim at heaven and focus on what matters! And may we find life!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

It’s Worth It

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Sometimes, being a Christian is very hard. Jesus never promised us a rose garden. He promised in fact, just the opposite. He said that there would be tough times. He said that there would be trails. He said that we would face tests and worries and strife.

He never said that it would be easy.

He never promised us that.

We see today, though, what he does promise us.  Listen to Luke 18:28-30:

And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

The disciples say – we’ve left everything to follow you. It’s cost us everything. Sometimes, following Jesus may cost us something. It could cost us friends. It could cost us status. We could be mocked. We could be laughed at. We could become the butt of jokes.

Yeah, it could happen. And, to speak the truth, it probably will happen. After I became a Christian, I lost some friends. It’s tough.

Then, why? Why do it? Why should we endure this?

Because it’s worth it. Listen to what He says. To those that have given up such things, there is a reward in heaven.

God sees what you are going through. He sees your challenges. He sees your hurts. He sees your tears.

He honors it. And trust me. It is worth it. There is a something better coming. There is a home better than this home. There is a land where there are no more tears, hurt, and pain. There is a better place, our true home. Our home where we actually made for.

I though of this quote by CS Lewis today – “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought the most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

The pain of this life does not compare with the joy of the next. There is something better coming.

It’s worth it. Be faithful. In the face of scorn, mockery, and hatred, love. Care. Forgive. It’s hard, yet.

But it’s worth it.

Something better is coming.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Not of this World

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Sometimes as Christians we get too caught up in the stuff of this world.

Now, I’m not just talking about silly stuff that takes up too much of our time (i.e., trying to figure out who Ole Miss’ next coach is going to be), but stuff that is really important. I’m talking about the big things. Stuff that really does matter.

Politics. Money. Our job. The economy. The future. These things are all really important. These things really do matter. These things should concern us.

It’s easy to let all of our time, our efforts, our energy get devoted to these things. It happens to us all. But today, listen to what Jesus says in John 18:36-37.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

First, He is a King. Our best friend, our savior, He is a king. The very one who hears our prayers, who walks with us daily, who advocates to the Father on behalf; He is a King. That should give us confidence and security.

But, His kingdom is not of this world.

And for us as His followers, the subjects in His kingdom, this world is not our home. As much as we love it here. As great as it is. As much joy as it might give us as times. This world is not our home.

We have a better home. We have a better place. We have a place of true life awaiting us. Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world. And those that know the truth listen to His voice.

Today, listen to His voice. Calling you deeper. Calling you to Him. Calling you past the things that take up all your time and energy and give you such stress. These things that you think offer you true life; but don’t. The things of this world, both good and bad.

Listen to Him. Listen to His voice. Live in your true home.

And today, as Christians, our job is to make this world as much like our true home, as possible. So, we work for good. We love. We serve. We give. We encourage. We forgive. We want to make this earth as much like heaven as possible.

As we pray, Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. May we work for this today.

But may we remember, that as great as this life is, this world is not our true home. Today, may we live with eternity in our eye.

Something Better

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This passage of scripture that is in our reading today was one of the first ones that I really spent any time reading when I first got serious about my faith. It was one of the ones that really sort of stuck with me. I really spent time chewing on this and thinking about.

It’s Matthew 25:1-13.  Listen to what it says:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

It talks about the fact that our Lord will return one day, at an hour that no one expects Him. When we think about this passage, and others that talk about His return, we tend to focus on one question.

When? When is it? It’s soon right? When?

A lot of folks spent a lot of time talking about when He’s coming back. Lots of mental energy is spent trying to unlock these mysteries. That no one is going to unlock.

So because I’ve always felt that why, I’ve never focused on the fact that no one knows the hour or day, I focused on another part.

This world is not our home. As awesome as this life is, and I love this life, this world is not our home. We were created for something bigger, something better.

We were created for eternity with God. We were made to fully know Him, as He has fully known us. We were made for the beauty of full relationship and communion with God.

So, if your life is just about as perfect as it can be, know this. There is something better. As good as it can be here, there is something better.

Don’t make this world your home. Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t forget that we are just pilgrims passing through. This world is not our home.

And if life is bad. If it is hard. If it is tough. Remember. It is going to get better. Our Lord suffered. And our Lord showed the way to true life. It is going to get better. There is something better.

Live today to the fullest. Be faithful. Love. Serve. Laugh. Share. Give witness to God and His grace. And know that as amazing as it can all be around here, there is something better.

Let’s never forget that.