reincarnation

Unfortunately, death has been all around me lately. Not in my personal family, but in the families of others and some people I know. My mother-in-law informed us on the street she lives, there is one person, or more who die every day. She lives in the Philippines. Covid is a thief of life!

But yet others have passed away from illnesses and diseases we are more acquainted with, like cancer. Losing a family member, friend, neighbor, or a coworker hurts. We mourn, grieve, and cry, because we will miss them, and that’s understood. Although the pain can be great, when one we know passes but has first accepted Jesus Christ as God’s son, and has made a public confession of their faith in him, then we can be assured we will see them again. Our grief is temporary as the sting of death first hits us. That statement is only true if we too have accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts, asking him to forgive us of every wrong thing we have ever done. I sense I need to write that there is nothing you have done that God will not forgive, nothing!

I had a coworker several years back that believed in reincarnation. I learned that as we talked about life after death while riding the commuter train out of Chicago, IL. We respected each other’s views and opinions. You might say he believed that life offered up “Round Trip” tickets. My view was it’s a “One Way” ticket. Meaning, you only get one opportunity to make that important decision to accept Jesus.

²⁷Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment. ²⁸But when we die we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many! Heb. 9:27-28 (TPT)

As my friend and I debarked the train, I turned to him and said, “If you are right, and I am wrong, then I have nothing to be concerned about. But if I am right, and you are wrong, then you will find yourself standing before God explaining to him why you didn’t accept him in your one life.” I went on to explain that the wages of sin, unforgiven wrong deeds, is death. For eternity! As one of my cousins said, “Eternity is a very long time!”

So I ask you, before you die, “Would you like a one way ticket?” Oh, and by the way, no charge. Jesus paid the price for you when he died on the cross.

My friend and I were riding the commuter train, from Chicago, home after a long day. Somehow, the conversation turned to God and each of us shared our beliefs on what happens to us when we die.

He said he was convinced, after we die, we are reincarnated.

Then I shared my belief that if we have accepted Jesus Christ, as God’s son, and have invited him to forgive us of our sin, wrong doing, then when we die we spend eternity in heaven. If we don’t accept Jesus Christ, then we spend eternity in hell.

We were able to listen to each other, with respect, but then I told my friend this; “If you are right, then I have nothing to be concerned about. If I am correct, you may have a long time to regret it.

We exited the train, and before heading to our cars, he said, “You sure have given me something to think about.” I hope and pray he has now accepted Jesus, but on that day, he wasn’t ready.

You have to choose one or the other. There is no way around it. There are no excuses for not selecting. You can’t say it is impossible to know, for God reveals himself to everyone.

Romans 1:19-25 (TPT)

¹⁹In reality, the truth of God is known instinctively, for God has embedded this knowledge inside every human heart. ²⁰Opposition to truth cannot be excused on the basis of ignorance because from the creation of the world, the invisible qualities of God’s nature have been made visible, such as his eternal power and transcendence. He has made his wonderful attributes easily perceived, for seeing the visible makes us understand the invisible. So then, this leaves everyone without excuse.

²¹Throughout human history the fingerprints of God were upon them,yet they refused to honor him as God or even be thankful for his kindness. Instead, they entertained corrupt and foolish thoughts about what God was like. This left them with nothing but misguided hearts, steeped in moral darkness. ²²Although claiming to be super-intelligent, they were in fact shallow fools. ²³For only a fool would trade the unfading splendor of the immortal God to worship the fading image of other humans, idols made to look like people, animals, birds, and even creeping reptiles!

²⁴This is why God lifted off his restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires. They were given over to moral depravity, dishonoring their bodies by sexual perversion among themselves— ²⁵all because they traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served the things God made rather than the God who made all things—glory and praises to him for eternity of eternities! Amen!

Choose God before it is too late. He has already chosen you, and He loves you more than you will ever know.

brady, mark a.

Words to inspire you

“One Way, or Round Trip?”

²⁷Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment. ²⁸But when we die we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many! Heb. 9:27-28 (TPT)

Heaven or Hell?

27 Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment. 28 But when we die we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many! Heb. 9:27-28 (TPT)

²⁷Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment. ²⁸But when we die we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many! Heb. 9:27-28 (TPT)