The thoughts of the wise

The thoughts of the wise
The Solomon the writer of Ecclesiastes writes,
“Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for all are destined to be mourned; the living should lay this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2.
Here Solomon points out that entering a house of mourning a house grieving the loss of a loved one is better that entering a house that is celebrating.
The way I see it Solomon is right.
Not so long ago my wife’s younger brother died suddenly he was only in his early forties. Young by any standards. One of the common, for lack of a better expression phrases I noted from those who attended the funeral was “he was so young. It just goes to show you, you never know when death will happen.”
Solomon notes,
“The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure. Ecclesiastes 7:4.
The way I see it is the death of someone should cause us to think about out mortality. Everyone knows that we will one day die. Yet it seems in our society especially here in the western nations we don’t plan for death. We live in “the house of pleasure”.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?” Tony Campolo.
Thus my question to you the reader. Upon your death will you be happy?
I as a believer in Christ Jesus believe you can know whether or not you will be happy upon your death. The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
Please think about it.

Why not know where you're going?

Why not know where you are going?

“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 
                                                                                                                                    Acts 16:30,31.
The other day I was meeting with several people who have never really taken time to go to church or to read the Bible. They were talking about going to mediums and fortune tellers. They wanted to know if some of their loved ones had passed on to the right place. If their deaths were peaceful.
It occurred to me that these people had no assurances of eternal life. They believed in an afterlife and God. But they had no assurance that they would get to heaven.
I thought to myself how sad not to have that hope of eternal life with God, because that hope is so easy to have.
The above scripture I quoted tells how to have hope. The apostle Paul said to his jailor,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...”
Through Jesus, God reached down and offered eternal life, salvation, to mankind for free.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                     Ephesians 2:8,9.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                                   Matthew 11:28-30.
Jesus said,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
                 John 10:10
He also said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
As you read this it is thank giving Monday in Canada and I thank God that I have that assurance of eternal life with God.
You can to. It’s as simple as believing Jesus is God’s one and only Son. That He died for your sins and asking Him into your heart and life.
John in his gospel records,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                          John 1:1-4, 12-14 
By believing and having faith that Jesus is truly the Son of God. You have that assurance the certainty of Peace Everlasting and eternal life with God.
And that is something to be thankful for.
Please think about it.