WARNING: Reading this entire page may change your life!
Opening a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA are important steps for your future. But, they are nowhere near the most important thing you can do. As a matter of fact, investing money for your future is not even a close second among the things you need to consider.
Consider this: How long do you plan to live?
If you consider the average life span in the U.S. today, you could live to be somewhere between ages 65 and 95 pretty easily. Is that a long time? Have you planned for what happens next?
Certainly, when we compare our own life spans with all of history, we see that our life span is relatively short. Or, is it?
Have you considered what happens after your current life span? How do you want to be remembered by your loved ones? How will you be remembered by our society? And, as you are being remembered, or NOT, what will you be doing?
Yes, that's right. What will you be doing? If you haven't planned for what comes NEXT, then you could be spending an eternity, very unhappily. We spend so much time during our lives planning for things: college, marriage, career, vacations, hobbies, community service, retirement, etc. But, consider this: our human life span is but a blink of an eye, compared to how long eternity will last.
You may have heard an expression related to financial planning, "People don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan!" Of course, we can avoid spending our retirement years financially poor by using proper planning techniques. So too can we avoid spending eternity in darkness and despair by properly planning for it! There is a wonderful Hope for all of us who decide to properly plan for eternity!
But, you may say, "I don't believe all of that. Once you die, your dead, and then there's nothing."
Years ago people KNEW that the Earth was flat and that, if you sailed too far in the oceans, you would fall off. People KNEW that the Earth was the center of the universe. People KNEW that x-rays were harmless, so they used to x-ray people's feet to determine their shoe size. They KNEW man would never fly. They KNEW he'd never break the sound barrier. They KNEW that he would never go to the moon. Can you imagine what man will KNOW tomorrow?
So, be careful what you decide to KNOW, especially if what you know depends upon what you have to wait upon the future to prove.
But, we do have evidence that there is a future, beyond this life!
Jesus Christ told His deciples,
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4
Do you know the way to Jesus? Do you have a place prepared for you by Jesus Christ? A place you will spend eternity in happiness and peace?
It's almost funny that the deciples didn't immediately know where Jesus was going. Here's what happened next:
"Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:5,6
That's it! This is the answer that so many people are looking for and never find. Jesus Christ is the way to eternal life. There is NO other way, except through Him!
So, how does He provide you with this eternal life? In such a wonderful way. It is His GIFT to you. That's right. He wants to GIVE it to you. All you have to do is to receive it.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
There is not a way for you to work yourself there. You can't be good enough to make it there. You cannot go around Him. You can only go THROUGH HIM!
And, isn't it wonderful that He allows us to accept this gift from Him? Otherwise, we would have to accept what we have earned. Do you know what we have earned? Read that last verse above again, Romans 6:23. Did you catch the word "wages"? Wages are what we have earned. And, Scripture plainly says that, because of our sin, we have earned death. But, we can avoid accepting what we have earned, death, by accepting Christ's gift to us, eternal life.
How do we accept this gift?
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9
Jesus Christ is Faithful and Just to do what He said He would do. He will forgive us all of our sins if we will confess ours sins to Him. And with our confession, we must repent of our sins.
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." II Cor. 7:10
You might say, "Sin. What do you mean, sin? I'm a good person. I give to the church. I volunteer to help with civic projects. I've even given blood and fed homeless people. I'm not a sinner!"
Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Everyone has sinned and is a sinner. Billy Grayham, the Pope, our mothers and fathers, and yes, even ourselves. We are all born in sin, and therefore cannot have eternal life until we have confessed our sin to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord of our life.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--" Romans 5:12
That's right, we are all born in sin. Our sin has condemned us to an eternity in hell after this life. But, Christ died on the cross in our behalf and He conquered death and Hell by rising from the dead on the third day after He was crucified. And, His appearance, alive again after His crucifixion, was witnessed by hundreds of people!
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles" I Corinthians 15:3-7
He took on the sins of the world in our place. He did this for us so we would not have to pay the price of our sins ourselves. That price would be eternal separation from God. Instead, He has given us the free gift of salvation from death to life with Him. But, it is our responsibility to accept this gift. We can't just be good enough or do enough to get to heaven.
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6
Remember the saying, "People don't plan to fail, they simply fail to plan." Make a plan for your eternity. Don't only consider this short human existence that we have right now. When you think about it, what good would it do you to accumulate great and vast fortunes during this lifetime and then spend all of the rest of eternity without Christ, alone and suffering in Hell? Money is an important factor in this life. We have to have it. But, it is not THE important thing in this life. THE important thing in this life is that we confess our sins to Jesus Christ and proclaim Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. If we do this, He will make us new in Him.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" II Cor. 5:17
Do you want a new life? Do you want the peace within your heart that only comes from God, knowing that He has prepared a place for you to live with Him forever? Do you want to live forever in a place that is better than any place that you could ever imagine?
"However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'" I Cor. 2:9
You can have all of that! If you will bow before Jesus and confess your sins to Him, repent and ask Him to forgive you of your sin, and ask Him to become Lord of your life, giving up this world for Him, He will forgive you of your sins and you will have eternal life, forever, in Heaven, with Him!
If this is what you want, then right now, right where you are, bow you're head and pray this prayer:
"Dear Father, God in Heaven, I realize now that I am a sinner, born in sin. Please forgive me of all my sins and fill me with yourself. I renounce my sin and repent and ask that you give me the new life that you have promised in your Word. I accept the sacrifice you made through your Son, Jesus Christ. I accept Christ Jesus as Lord of my life. I give you all of my life, holding nothing back. I am yours, to do with as you will. Direct me in your paths and I will follow. Thank you, Father. I accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, my Lord! Amen.
If you have just prayed this prayer, or one similar to it in your own words, then all of heaven is rejoicing in your behalf! Because, your name is now written in the "Lamb's book of life." I rejoice with you, too. You are now forever saved from eternal death and Hell. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus!
This is now just the first step in the rest of your life, a life that will go on for eternity. If you have just now accepted Jesus as your Savior and would like some guidance from this point forward, please email me at JesusLives@glazegroup.com and I will help you find someone in your area, whom you can contact, who will be very happy to provide you mentoring from God's Word.
Your friend and brother in Christ Jesus,
Wes Glazep.s.
You can still refuse to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and accept what you have earned! Because, the choice is yours! It is the exercise of your own free will.
Remember? "The wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23
"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power..." II Thess. 1:8,9
"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." ... "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:10 & 15
Don't be deceived by the devil and accept what you have earned. Accept the free gift of Jesus Christ, eternal life in Heaven with Him! And, please do it without delay. None of us knows how many days we will spend on this earth. Refusing to accept Jesus is rejecting Him. If today is your last, make sure tomorrow you will be with Him! Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord, today!