The Question


		Where will you spend eternity? After death, what's next? Most everyone has asked this question at one time or another in their lives. The Bible teaches that there is a heaven, and there is a hell. When we die, we will spend eternity in one of these places. Which one? Well this depends on your response to sin and to Jesus!


	What is sin? The Bible teaches that God will not allow sin into heaven. So what is sin? Sin is a actually a term from the old days of archery. It simply means to miss the mark. If you hit the bullseye, you're still in the game. If you miss the bulls-eye, you're out. Romans 3:23 states that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Thus, God's bulls-eye is his glory. Anything short of that, and you can't come into heaven. Have you ever... told a lie? ...taken something that didn't belong to you? Gotten mad at someone and said something mean to them...or even just thought something mean about them? Then you have sinned! Sin separates us from God and keeps us out of heaven. Just 1 sin, and you can't come in.


		Sin's penalty... God's Gift. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Remember: Everyone has sinned! So everyone is under a death penalty from God. But, God doesn't leave us there. He sent his son to die on a cross to pay the penalty for us. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."


		It's your choice... Even though you may have heard about Jesus and his death on the cross for your sins, it's not enought to know about God's gift of eternal life... You must accept his gift. If you buy something that has a money-back rebate, you are entitled to the money back. But if you forget to send in the rebate, you'll never get your money. God offers us eternal life. The world tells us we don't need it or that we've got plenty of time. The world tells us there's lots of ways to get to heaven. God says there's just one. In John 14:6, Jesus says, "...no one comes to the Father but through me."


It's your choice... Even though you may have heard about Jesus and his death on the cross for your sins, it's not enought to know about God's gift of eternal life... You must accept his gift. If you buy something that has a money-back rebate, you are entitled to the money back. But if you forget to send in the rebate, you'll never get your money. God offers us eternal life. The world tells us we don't need it or that we've got plenty of time. The world tells us there's lots of ways to get to heaven. God says there's just one. In John 14:6, Jesus says, "...no one comes to the Father but through me." Jesus is your ticket to heaven. If you want to get in, just ask Him to be your Saviour. A possible prayer might be, "Jesus, I know I've done some bad things that would keep me out of heaven, but I know You died to save me. I accept Your gift of eternal life. Help me change and live the way You want me to. Thanks for your gift to me!"