Your salvation was initiated by God before the world was created. Ephesians 1:4

Your salvation will be completed by God.

You didn't start it, and you cannot stop it.

He worked through our wills, enabling us to receive Jesus by faith.

As one who at one time has believed in Jesus the Son of God and received Him, you cannot help but go to Heaven when you die.

Through believing in Jesus, you died with Christ on the cross, and you were raised by God to everlasting life, your permanent possession.

You cannot lose the forgiveness, the salvation, the everlasting eternal life or the Heaven that God freely gave to you when you were still an unbelieving sinner.

You cannot now avoid Heaven no matter how little good or how much sin you do.

The Holy Spirit is in you--forever.

God forgives all of your sins, past, present and future because of Jesus, who died for all your sins on the cross.

God wants you to rely on Jesus and love and do good.

He wants you to confess your sins and get cleansing. >>1st John 1:9.

But Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, no matter what you do or do not do.

This is grace, the undeserved gift of God.

God's grace and love kill the desire within us to do sin.

Grace makes us want to do good.

There is no fear in the love of God.

You are secure, eternally secure in your salvation, forever.

You, if you believe in Jesus, have eternal, everlasting life.

The grace, goodness and love of God makes us progressively grow in grace, goodness and love (and faith) as we obey Him.

If we choose to follow the desires of our sinful flesh, (our sinful nature), we will receive the natural consequences of sin and the discipline of God on this earth--which may even result in God taking us to Heaven early if we persist in flagrant sin without confession or repentance.

If we do not obey God, we will lose rewards we would have had in Heaven.

But we will never, under any conceivable or inconceivable circumstances, lose our salvation and go to Hell, no matter what sins we do and no matter what righteous acts we don't do.

Salvation is a guaranteed progression from the point that God:

chose us in Christ in eternity,

justified us (declaring us "not guilty" of sin because of our faith in Jesus),

to progressively sanctifying us (making us holy),

to glorifying us in heavenly bodies,

to taking us to Heaven.

Salvation is not a matter of whether you have any faith right now or are not sinning right now or whether you are doing good works right now.

Salvation is a matter of: have you have ever received Christ by simple faith at any time in the past? >>Ephesians 1:13,14.

Everyone who believes in Jesus has *everlasting* life. John 6:47. If you have everlasting life, you can never die spiritually and go to the place of eternal death.

Only Jesus's righteousness is good enough to satisfy God.

The "good" things we do (spiritually) independent of God are filthy and filled with sinful pride.

God says that even if we are FAITHLESS, He remains faithful.

Having believed, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit of God Himself for the day of the redemption and transformation of our physical bodies. Ephesians 1:13,14.

As a believer in Jesus, YOUR NAME is written in Heaven.

You are a CITIZEN of Heaven.

You are the elect and chosen SAINT of God, in Christ.

From God's point of view, it is as if we are already in Heaven--glorified already (since God is outside of time, He can say that we are "glorified." This means that we are already in our everlasting glorified bodies from His eternal point of view, which is beyond the human timeline. It's a "done deal.")

Those who have believed in Jesus are eternally secure and can never go to Hell, no matter what.

Jesus will never let go of those who have believed in Jesus, and we will never perish in Hell, no matter what we do or do not do.

Salvation in Christ is a free, absolute, and guaranteed gift to lost sinners who believe in Jesus.

Salvation is free to us, but it cost Jesus unimaginable suffering and His death.

Thank God that He did this for us, and that He gives many Scriptures convincing us of our secure position in Christ.

Hallelujah!

PS: There is not a single verse in all of Scripture that says a saved person can
by any means end up in Hell.

What if the famous "psychic prediction" woman Jeanne Dixon had a track record of 100%, instead of the approximately 48% she actually has?

What if she (with over 250 predictions predicted PERFECTLY, with 100% accuracy), told you that God Almighty--The LORD JESUS CHRIST--was coming back to Earth, SOON, to JUDGE every human being for their sins, and to send those who did not want Him as their Savior to Hell, and to take all believers in Him to Heaven?

What if you were not a believer in Jesus?

Would that scare you and motivate you?

Why or why not?

Well, do you realize that this is the exact situation we have with the Old Testament prophets in the Holy Bible Scripture predicting the arrival of Jesus?

Over 250 predictions.

100% accuracy.

Let me say that again:
***100.00% VERIFIABLE ACCURACY.***

People want "proof."

The proof is there.

Even if you are not a believer, please do an experiment. If you have a Bible, please turn to Isaiah 53 and read that short chapter. (probably take you 5 minutes)

Or, just put "Isaiah 53" in Google.

Ask yourself Who the Person described there sounds like.

Then realize that this chapter was historically and verifiably written hundreds of years BEFORE Jesus Christ was born.

Over 250 specific prophecies, verifiably hundreds to thousands of years before the fact, in the Old Testament, predict Jesus's first and second arrivals on this Earth.

The next time Jesus comes, could be any minute now, He comes in All-Powerful Final Judgment.

Not as a little baby.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Jesus will soon be Mr. Absolute Holy Terror for those who rejected His death on the cross for their sins.

Isn't it time for you to research the validity of what I am saying?

Or to simply believe in Jesus, the Savior of the World?

I believe in Jesus. I am going to HEAVEN the minute I die. >>John 6:47.

The Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior.

I want EVERYONE to go to Heaven with me!

But so many refuse God's gracious offer.

I hope you are not among them.

God bless you.

The Bible says, "TODAY is the day of salvation."

If you are not alive tomorrow, you will be in either Heaven or Hell.

There is no other place.

There IS conscious existence after death, unfortunately, for those suffering for their sins in Hell.

Believe in Jesus. Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.

God loves you, but His hatred of sin and evil is unimaginable to the human mind.

Again, there is conscious existence after death.

Again, Jesus is the ONLY way to be saved from the punishment for your sins in Hell.

The same Book with the 100% Prediction Track Record says so.

Please believe in Jesus right now and receive the forgiveness of your sins and receive everlasting eternal life and a receive a guaranteed permanent place in Heaven-- right now.

Christianity is always a matter, ultimately, of faith.

The evidence is there, but faith in Christ is something that a person either does or does not receive.

I think a prerequisite for a thinking person might be to believe in objective truth.

A person's thinking must not be very clear if he believes that, for instance, Buddhism and Christianity could *both* be true.

Buddhism teaches that *everything* is God.

Christianity teaches that God exists independently of His creation.

I personally believe that the truth is knowable, to a large introductory degree--that the framework or basic nature of reality can be known.

I also believe that a certain fallen angelic being, a.k.a. The Father of Lies, would like us all to believe that no such certainty is possible.

I strongly believe that a belief in objective truth is a great place to start.

Then you can begin eliminating false ideas and religions, and hopefully, find the truth.

"Seek and you will find."

For me, logically (and I have other experiences and intuitions that tell me) I believe that there are only maybe five basic explanations for the cosmos:

1) God created the cosmos.

2) Evolution (God by another name?) created the cosmos.

3) The cosmos is a self-existing mystery. (seems kinda dumb, but ok.)

4) The cosmos IS God. (But doesn't even the idea that God is outside and in addition to creation seem stronger than this "possibility"?)

5) The cosmos doesn't really exist, and we aren't really here. It's all an illusion. (Isn't this also known as "insanity"?)

***

How you could one imagine any absolute truths without God?

From what would the absolute truth derive its absoluteness?

What would be it's source?

***

I've often wondered why God put all those books in the Bible.

I'm now convinced that part of the reason is historical verifiability.

The Judeo-Christian tradition is so deeply embroidered into history that you could never get it out.

Language,

law,

history,

***fulfilled Old Testament Messianic prophecy,***

people groups,

geography,

nations,

architecture still standing,

***logic and philosophy,***

***spiritual experiences and intuition,***

***emotional longing for God and His comfort, relief, healing, and miracles when we are in extreme pain or mental anguish,***

***universal desire for Heaven,***

ancient, still extant books written by non-Christians verifying the existence Christ and the crucifixion,

***the deaths of the martyrs,***

***the many failed attempts at destroying the Bible,***

and...

***the resurrection of Christ.***

Logically, I come to it this way:

1) The Creation proves God to me:

the infinite stars in the nighttime sky, (trillions of years for the light to get to us--older than the age of many of the stars (!) There is an inherent miracle here!)

the synchronization of sun and moon,

the planet Jupiter,

Saturn's Rings,

the fragile temperature balance of Earth,

the strength and fragility of human life,

Redwood trees,

the digestive system: the Krebs cycle,

childbirth,

humpback whales,

daffodils,

the Praying Mantis,

Seahorses,

seals,

iridescent and translucent jellyfishes,

Blue butterflies,

bald eagles,

great white sharks,

Grizzly Bears,

the human brain,

how blood courses through our veins,

the beauty of women,

the human eye,

the beauty of cumulus clouds and the light streaming through them,

the human mind and consciousness.

conscience

the Moral Law

The awe and wonder of it all.

Love.

The Order of the Universe.

The Architectural Design present in everything everywhere.

2) There is right and wrong, good and evil.

And we all do wrong:

check any newspaper at any time.

Think of any person you have ever known.

Your own memory and conscience.

3) Death exists, and is coming for almost all of us.

4) The question of a life after death and the prospect of punishment of the Creator for our moral wrongs.

5) Jesus

arrives by virgin birth,

does miracles,

walks on water,

causes a storm to cease by speaking three words,

instantaneously heals people of all kinds of diseases,

raises people from the dead,

drives out demons,

gives blind men sight,

gives deaf men hearing,

multiplied bread and fish out of thin air,

speaks unassailable truth,

***fulfills hundreds of specific Old Testament prophecies perfectly,***

***rises from the dead on the third day, after being flogged, tortured, and murdered on a cross,***

appears to 500 people at one time,

promises the forgiveness of your sins, eternal life, permanently sealed salvation, and guaranteed Heaven through faith in Him and His death on the cross

and ascends into the sky in front of the disciples.

11 of the 12 disciples were tortured and killed--martyred--for their faith. Nobody dies for something he KNOWS is a lie.

The Lord Jesus Christ radically altered the course of World History--and He radically altered the lives of millions of those who believe in Him.

That is why I believe in God and why I believe God's Name is Jesus.

"There Is No God"

by Penn Jillette

[Penn Jillette is the taller, louder half of the magic and comedy act Penn and Teller. He is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and has lectured at Oxford and MIT. Penn has co-authored three best-selling books and is executive producer of the documentary film The Aristocrats.]

Penn: I believe that there is no God.

Curtis: Okay. At least you acknowledge that your position is one held by an unprovable and unscientific faith.

Penn: I'm beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do.

Curtis: How are you "beyond atheism"? You believe that "there is no God." That is precisely atheism: no more, no less.

Penn: You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car.

Curtis: We're not talking about elephants in your trunk, here, Penn. We're talking about the Creator of the visible creation. I know you are a magician, but please limit the *misdirection* in this conversation! :)

Penn: You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?

Curtis: Are you saying that you do not believe that mystery, order, goodness, and love exist?

Penn: So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God.

Curtis: If there is no God, why are you so confident that there is such a thing as "truth"? Why would anyone have to "start with no belief in God"? How is that position more logical than starting with a belief in God because of the evidence of the endless stars in the overwhelming night sky, beautiful clouds, majestic mountains, giraffes, whales, orchids, Blue butterflies, people, consciousness, conscience--and mystery, order, beauty, truth, goodness and love?

Curtis: "Truth" is defined as that which is in accordance with the facts outside of your mind.

Penn: She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power.

Curtis: If creation doesn't do it for you, what would, pray tell?

Penn: All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The atheism part is easy.

Curtis: ???

Penn: But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by.

Curtis: Who made those "rules"?

Penn: So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God."

Curtis: Okay. But how do you *know* that to be true? Where is your *proof* of this assertion? Or should we all submit *blindly* to your positive faith assertion?

Penn: Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy.

Curtis: I believe you when you say that taking this step informs every moment of your life. If there is no God, as you say, why would it be a problem if you were "greedy"?

Penn: I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough.

Curtis: Where did love, truth and beauty come from?

Penn: It has to be enough,

Curtis: But I sense from your words that it's NOT enough.

Penn: but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me.

Curtis: So you are content with life having no ultimate meaning?

Penn: It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more.

Curtis: So God is there, but you don't want to be "rude"? You just want to ignore Him?

Penn: Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven.

Curtis: Yet...

Penn: I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.

Curtis: So life is a meaningless lottery? Where's the "joy" in that? What if you had NOT won the "genetic lottery"?

Penn: Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories.

Curtis: If you cover your eyes with your hands, do you believe that you disappear, too?

Curtis: It sounds like what you are really looking to do is get rid of accountability to the God you have a sneaking suspicion is really there.

Curtis: Does "kindness" forgive sins? Is there no justice in your view of things?

Penn: That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful.

Curtis: How do you know what "good" is? And what about the sins you've ~already~ committed?

Penn: I have to try to treat people right the first time around.

Curtis: Where did you get your sense of "right"? Are you implying that believers in God do not try to treat people right?

Penn: Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic.

Curtis: Bless you!
Actually, it doesn't. You believe what you believe for your own circular reasons.

Penn: I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures.

Curtis: Are you implying that believers in God cannot do this? I am reading your words right now...

Penn: Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong.

Curtis: The benefits of your atheism seem very few. Who is the "we" in this sentence that is "agree(ing) on reality"?

Penn: We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate.

Curtis: Don't we all do this anyway?

Penn: I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith."

Curtis: So does this mean that you are a closed-minded man who is not open to the opinions of people who absolutely disagree with your position?

Penn: That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less.

Curtis: You believe what you believe in your heart, so you said. Is there anything I can say that will shake your faith?

Penn: But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do."

Curtis : Do your beliefs held by faith mean more to you than anything I can say?

Penn: So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun.

Curtis: So do you want to have some fun and let me prove to you that you are wrong and that God is?

Curtis: Do you think that there is no learning path involved for those who believe in God?

Penn: It means I'm learning something.

Curtis: Are you implying that believers in God cannot learn anything?

Penn: Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future.

Curtis: What believer in God that you have met believes that "all the suffering in the world" is *caused* by God?

Curtis: Are you saying that all of the hospitals named "St. Luke's" and other Christian names are not helping people and alleviating suffering?

Penn: No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.

Curtis: How is that a logical statement? Where is the substantiation for this statement?

Penn: Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have.

Curtis: Penn, do you have "room" for only so many beliefs? If so, how is advanced learning possible for you, then?

Curtis: Can you prove "love" exists?

Curtis: Can you prove "truth" exists?

Curtis: Can you prove "beauty" exists?

Curtis: Scientifically?

Curtis: Well, Penn: Neil Peart,
Julia Sweeney, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins didn't make any sense with their Atheistic faith, either... :)

Curtis: God bless you! :)

Believers in Jesus have a
PERFECT AND HOLY,
SINLESS,
CHRISTLIKE,
KNOWING,
UNCONDITIONALLY LOVING,
NEW (UNSELFISH!) SELF
that is
FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD.
As believers
PRAY TO JESUS,
BELIEVE GOD'S WORDS and
OBEY JESUS' WORDS RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE,
they live a
PEACEFUL AND JOYFUL AND LOVING
NEW LIFE,
CONNECTED TO GOD,
that was
NOT POSSIBLE
before.
THIS IS THE PROGRESSIVE WORK OF GOD IN BELIEVERS THAT MAKES
FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT
BELIEVERS PROGRESSIVELY MORE AND MORE PRACTICALLY AND TRULY GOOD,
IN CHRIST,
BY GOD'S GRACE.

IT IS *VERY* EASY TO CONTINUALLY LOSE SIGHT OF AND FORGET THIS VERY EMPOWERING AND LIBERATING TRUTH, TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, and thus fall back into powerless and frustrated and defeated -fleshly- Christian living.