My week has been very busy.  A friend of mine passed away last week so I have spent my time visiting the family, ministering to them, and preparing for the funeral which was on Monday.  The man was older and though he lived a full life, his passing was unexpected.  He will be greatly missed by his family and his friends.  He used to come by and visit with me on and tell me jokes from time to time.  We shared many good times together.

I remember one time we talked about a Sunday school teacher who gave what they felt was a very inspiring lesson about Jesus to a group of 8 and 9 year old boys.  The teacher shared how a relationship in Jesus was the key to spending eternity in heaven with Him.  After the lesson was over the teacher asked all the boys who wanted to go to heaven to be with Jesus.  The teacher proudly watched as one by one the boys’ hands slipped up in the air.  Everybody raised their hands except for Billy.  The teacher, puzzled by the lack of his response, questioned the young man, “Billy, when you pass don’t you want to go to heaven and meet Jesus?”  “Sure, I want to meet Him when I pass,” Billy said, “but you sounded like you was getting together a trip to go see Him today!”

The truth is none of us know when we are going to make that trip.  The Bible says in James 4:14 “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”  We never know what tomorrow may bring.  We can be here one minute and gone the next.  We can be just a day away from making a trip to eternity…an eternity spent with the Lord in heaven or an eternity away from His presence in a place the Bible describes as hell.  My friend who passed unexpectedly knew the Lord and was ready to make that trip.  Can you say that you are ready?  Do you know Christ as your Savior?  Have you received forgiveness for your sins?  If not, you can ask Jesus for forgiveness today.  The Bible promises in Romans 10:13

“That whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  Romans 10:13

When we call upon the Lord, He forgives us and receive us into His kingdom so that when we pass we will spend eternity in heaven with Him.  I pray that you will have a long, full and blessed life.  But even greater than that, I pray that today you will know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior….because no one knows what tomorrow brings.