The Way to Heaven

All the religions of the world are about man trying to get to God. Can I pray enough? Can I fast enough? Do I give enough money to charity? The Bible says, 'Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.' God can see right into your heart. He sees pride and greed. God can see hatred in your heart and calls it murder. We are all sinful deep down inside. Many of us try to live our lives by the good book. We try to be honest, we try not to steal, we try to be kind people, we try to do good deeds. But somehow we never quite manage to get there. Sometimes we say something to somebody and we think afterwards, 'What a horrible thing to say, I wish I hadn't said that.' The Bible says that one day we must stand before God and give an account for every careless word we have ever spoken. A frightening thought.

We cannot get to Heaven by our own effort. The Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' 'There is no one who does good, not even one.' We need a way of getting to Heaven without having to rely on our own righteousness. Jesus died the death of a common criminal on the cross. He had no sin. He died for our sin. Just as a bridge enables us to cross a river, Jesus came to make a bridge between God and man, to span another huge gulf that we could not cross. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sins. If we turn from our sin and turn to Jesus, God can forgive us.

If we believe in Jesus, nothing can seperate us from God. Death can't separate us from God. When we die, we will be in Heaven with him. We will live with God forever. We will see him face to face. We will see him as he is. Our suffering cannot separate us from God. All the bad things we go through in life are trials intended to increase our patience and draw us closer to him. Just as the light of the lighthouse guides a ship through a storm, so the light of God can guide us through the storms of life. Whatever happens to us, we know that there is someone there who cares for us, someone there who is in control. God has a plan for us. Everything that happens is part of that greater plan.

The Bible contains everything we need to know to live the Christian life. Set aside a few minutes a day to read one chapter of the Bible. This is easier than reading it like an ordinary book. It is also a good idea to read the books of Luke, Acts and Romans. These are easiest to understand.