Death, Dying & Eternity (or Do All Celebrities Go to Heaven?)

Scanning the morning news recently, I saw that there were a few "celebrity" death notices. Richard Simmons, Dr. Ruth, and Shannen Doherty. All once celebrated for something earthly, all now dead.

It struck me that so many people tend to speak of the recently dead as if all their sins were washed clean. People tend to try to redefine was death is for their heroes. Someone said about Richard Simmons that he hoped he was "twinkling up in the heavens." Uh, that's not how it works. 

Another habit people have when speaking of the dead - celebrated or not - is to talk only about their brightest qualities. Suddenly, everyone forgets that a person might have been a horrible friend, co-worker, or spouse. The dead are always known for "lighting up a room" or some such thing. Don't get me wrong, while I don't want to be known too soon for lighting up any rooms, I also don't want only my flaws to be remembered when I die. I just want people to stop pretending that Heaven is the destiny of everyone. People who don't even believe in God suddenly assume that their deceased celebrity friend or hero is "singing with the angels" or playing in some heavenly band.

As a Christian, I know that anyone who dies -  no matter how good or horrible they might have been in life - spends eternity where they truly belong. There are, I am certain, going to be a lot of unexpected residents of both Heaven and Hell.

Though I never lived a horrible life or was a horrible person, I know that I belonged in Hell before I accepted salvation. I know that there are people who seem to live saintly lives who will be in Hell.

The dead don't belong in Heaven because of their well-lived lives. No one belongs in Hell because of their crimes and mistakes. Heaven is the gift Jesus offers to those who accept his salvation. Hell is the reward for those who refuse that gift. It is that simple.

I'm not gloating or being cruel when I talk about the celebrities I mentioned. I don't know where they are spending eternity. I don't know what was in their hearts. I just know that it's important not to put human opinions above holy truth.

Because I am no Bible scholar, I like to refer friends with questions to the very useful Got Questions. Here are some answered questions for those who wonder about eternity from a biblical viewpoint:

• Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven?
• Who will go to heaven?
• Why doesn’t God save everyone?
• How can I guarantee my eternal destination?
• Did Mother Teresa go to heaven?
• What is the difference between religion and spirituality?

Warning, for the curious and seeking, this site will send you down a long rabbit hole! I have sometimes spent a couple of hours on there, while just doing some Bible study.

For those who doubt Christianity, I would like to suggest a couple of things:

• Know that it is good to have questions. The Bible teaches faith but not blind faith. Christians are exhorted to be able to give a defense for their faith. (I always point people toward the Bible and study resources.)
• When considering Christianity, don't look at Christians (who are as flawed as anyone else), look at Christ. Who was he really? What proof against him do you have? 
• Study the Bible for yourself. Study it as you would any other document or historical record. If you believe in other historical figures based on historical evidence, why can't you believe in Jesus?
• Study secular evidence for Jesus and the Bible. You might be surprised at the amount of sources available.
• Don't open your mind to everything, but open it to facts.
• If you believe in Evolution, understand why you believe in it. What proof do you have? Who/what are the sources for those proofs? Now apply the same to Creationism.
• Be careful to not believe everything you hear or read. There are shady people everywhere - including in some pulpits. 

I hope that this helps anyone who will someday die - so... everyone!

Peace

--Free

The First & Most Skillful Influencer

 When I was watching a documentary about people using ayahuasca, it occurred to me (not for the first time) just how smart Lucifer is. Do you know how some celebrities manage to change with the times and stay relevant for years and years? That's Lucifer's game. When you think about it, he is the first and best "influencer" ever. And he doesn't even have a Twitter account (or does he?)...

This documentary talks about the currently trendy (or trending) drugs and methods of mental escape. I've been hearing about the ones mentioned more and more in the past 6 or 7 years.

Pot, cocaine, alcohol - those are all so boring. There's nothing glamorous or trendy about doing meth. But there are these new kids on the block: ayahuasca and ketamine. Those are what everyone is talking about these days.

The people in the documentary were talking up the benefits of hallucinogens and psychedelics. In addition to the ayahuasca and ketamine, I heard a lot about mushrooms. A couple of people even mentioned that they prefer these types of "aids" to those peddled by Big Pharma. 

It was interesting that so many people spoke about resorting to ayahuasca to deal with depression or some type of trauma. Many of them also seemed to feel that their experience was very "spiritual". They talked about feeling "connected" to "the universe" or feeling things "on a higher vibration".

(Okay. Side note. When I got hooked on watching all those TikTok reaction videos on YouTube, I very quickly got tired of quite a few phrases. 'Frequency', 'vibration', the 'matrix', and speaking about the Universe to keep from speaking about God. It tired me out. It's as if most of those folks discovered the dictionary for the first time.)

Watching the documentary, I kept thinking that these "new" (or maybe "trendy" is a better word) drugs are not really new. They are newly talked about. They are newly popular outside certain cultures. But Satan has known about them all along.

Maybe I'm being harsh but I feel that people who rely on a drug to "connect" to "the universe" (no, I won't capitalize it), are taking the easy way out. But, then again, I know the Maker of the universe. I connect with Him several times a day when I pray to Him, offer my praise to Him, or seek strength.

I wish I could make some people understand how powerful it is to know that I can be assured of this battle called Life being won. I get depressed, I get sick, I get mad and frustrated and overwhelmed - just like they all do. But through all of that, I have God. I have His promise of eternal joy and peace and delight.

All this world can do to me - and to anyone - is take out physical life. Once my body has been destroyed, I have eternity waiting. I have a new life and a new world waiting. I wish I could make everyone understand that.

But instead of seeking God, some people find it easier (for now) to follow Lucifer (or one one his reps). They will take his empty promises, they will take his drugs, and they will seek him in ways that will eventually destroy them.

And, when people get bored of this drug or that drug or this trend or that trend, the Enemy will be there waiting with a revamp. He will find another new thing to capture the hearts and minds of those who follow him.

I'm sure that this all sounds so fantastical to a non-believer. I pray for those who are unhappy, depressed, frustrated, weary - all of those things that we can be in this life - I pray that they open their hearts to God. 

Peace

--Free

The STEP Bible Resource

 This is just a quick post to mention another nice Bible resource. This link is to the STEP Bible. Here are some bullet points:

• You can download it to use when disconnected from the internet
• You can add various modules (additional Bibles and commentaries, etc.)
• You can make notes.
• It's easy to use the online version.
• I had trouble downloading some of the modules (but there are plenty included).
•  It's a nice alternative for people who like eSword.

That's pretty much it. I hope this helps. Don't forget to check out my old posting where I listed more resources. I might have to start assembling a page dedicated to these.

Peace

--Free