FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

Once the event got underway and the hall was full of guests, the king entered to meet those present. Spotting someone suspicious, he asked, “Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?” (Matthew 22:12). Spiritually speaking, the question is, “Friend, how did you make it into heaven without first repenting of your sin and receiving Jesus into your heart?”—something impossible and unthinkable in terms of the life beyond.What isn’t inconceivable, however, is pretending to be or erroneously thinking one is a part of God’s family while still alive on this earth. I heard recently that 70 percent of Americans think they’ll go to heaven when they die. One might ask, “Aren’t you thrilled at such a large number?” I would be if it was true, but I don’t think it is.The Lord warned in the Sermon on the Mount, “For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. . . Not everyone who says to Me,‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:13,14,21). While in seminary in the mid 1980s, my wife and I had the privilege of spending a few days in Hawaii on the way to a mission trip in Australia.Walking along Waikiki Beach, we admired from afar the luxurious motels and their fancy swimming pools. Although I was grateful just to be there, our modest place, blocks off the beach, couldn’t compare. In a moment of boldness, I suggested that we take a closer look.We left the beach and stealthily sat in cushy chairs beside one of the pools. Just as I was thinking about grabbing a big, white, fluffy towel from its neatly prepared stack, a tan, muscle bound guy in a starched, white uniform walked up and asked to see our room key.

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