YOU CAN MISS HEAVEN BY 18 INCHES
(By: Stanley Cook)
There is a common saying: "You can miss Heaven by 18 inches." That is about the distance between you head and your heart. I had an intellectual knowledge about Jesus but no heart knowledge. It's like knowing you had a father and knowing your father. I did not know Jesus as my personal Savior.
I had experienced God's urgent call to salvation many times in my life. I told God, 'I'll get around to salvation, but not now.' I was not ready to give up the temporary rewards sin has to offer. Every time I rejected God's offer I fell deeper into sin.
It was in the first week of December 2011 that I began to experience overpowering demonic oppression. My mind was flooded with thoughts that were not my own. The words were cruel and mocking. I heard, "It is too late." "God has given you many chances to repent, to turn to Him ... but no more." I would knock on the door and no one would answer.
Images of my life flashed through my mind. I saw all the times I had heard the gospel and refused to give my life over to God. I was in great distress and anguish. The accusing thoughts would not cease. I felt trapped and helpless. I felt like my situation was completely hopeless. This went on for two days and for those two days I could not sleep.
Going on the third day - I was mentally and physically exhausted. The flood of thoughts, the accusing voices and the images were coming fast and were constant that whole time. Imagine a radio turned up full volume and nothing but unpleasant noise in your head for two solid days. That's as close as I can describe it.
I felt so hopeless and I remember crying out to God. I said, 'To the real God, I beg You to give me another chance.'
The cruel, demonic voices ceased immediately. The constant flood of 'noise' ceased. For the first time in over two days I slept. December 7th 2011 I was born again, praise God!
I have known God's plan of salvation for most of my life. Knowing what to do and doing something about it are of course, two very different things.
I now believe with all my heart that the blood Christ shed cleanses us from all our sins - past, present and future. I believe that when Christ died on the cross, he took the penalty of our sins upon Himself. He willingly sacrificed His perfect, sinless life for us while we were yet spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. He overcame death and the grave on the third day. He was in the tomb. He is alive. He is life and He is coming to deliver us from the judgment soon to come upon this world.
Everything is new. I have experienced the deep unconditional love and acceptance of God. This is something that goes beyond human understanding. I can't think of a word that can fully describe what it's like to know the God of the universe. I have an understanding of holy scripture (The Bible) like never before and I clearly understood the plan Satan had for my life.
I have a deep sense of peace. Knowing Jesus Christ as MY Personal Savior is a real experience. I know I am loved. The burden of shame and oppression has lifted for the first time in my life. I would not trade my relationship with Jesus Christ for all the gold in the world. I mean that with every fiber of my being. I love Jesus and NOW know I am loved and accepted by Him, The Father, and The Holy Spirit - the eternal Godhead. He wants YOU knowing the same thing ... but it's up to YOU. He's waiting to give it to you. It's only about 18 inches away.
Dear Reader - are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake.
To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.
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Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)