BYM ONLINE DESK August 2017 | Page 6

August 2017 Heaven and Hell! Dr.Mrs.Lilian Stanley Heaven is a Wonderful Place “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 21:3,4). I close my eyes in pain and open them. Suddenly there is no pain. A door stands open in heaven. Jesus welcomes me with open arms and I run into His embrace. I open His hands and kiss the scars. There is joy and singing everywhere. It is beautiful beyond description. God is seated on the throne. I feel so blessed to be in heaven. All my loved ones surround me. I think of the day I committed my life to Christ, at the age of thirteen. Many were the struggles after that. I had to choose the Narrow Gate and Narrow Road at every turn of life. Satan kept on telling me that I was not a child of God and I would go to hell. I believed him and trembled. I remembered the day when I knelt down alone in my room and cried telling God, “Lord, I cannot overcome this temptation. I want to commit this sin. But I don't want to violate your commands. I feel helpless.” Large drops of tears fell to the floor. I got up and went, too weak to face the temptation. But the temptation was nowhere to be seen. I heaved a sigh of relief. It was battle after battle, assault after assault. But I stood my ground. I read my Bible and prayed. Someone told me, “Just because you are reading the Bible and praying always, don't think you are holy.” I was hurt but I was also warned. Another told me, “Don't think you will be taken up in rapture.” It was a blow to me. I told myself, “God is not finished with me yet.” I worked on myself. I disciplined my body and made it my slave so that I will not be disqualified for heaven. I understood more about God's grace and more about my responsibility. I held on to God's grace and sought His grace to cooperate with Him. Now my life is over and I am here in heaven. My struggles are over. I feel so light that I feel like flying. God has been faithful to me. He did not let me down. I look behind at all my struggles and say, “It was worth it.” This heaven is not at all what I thought it to be. It is a thousand times, a million times and more, more wonderful than my wildest imagination. What a beautiful mansion He has prepared for me! It is a place of unending peace and tranquillity and bliss, where all tears and mourning cease. Come on my friends. Don't be cheated by the devil. Fight the fight. Hold on to your most precious faith. You are living a small life. Eternity awaits you with all its wonders. Do not lose it. If you are tempted to sin, think of what it will be like to be in a burning furnace and pitch darkness forever and ever. If by chance you do fall in sin, come to God in true repentance. He will never cast out one who comes to Him. There is no sin that He cannot forgive, except unbelief. So come in faith. The just shall live by faith. Heaven is waiting for you. It is worth all the sacrifice you make in your earthly life. It is a treasure; it is a pearl of great price. It is worth losing everything to gain it. How did I land up in Hell? “The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and liarstheir place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Rev 21:8). |PAGE 6|