Do “Good Guys” Make it to Heaven? - Purity 919

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a pleasant green lawn and thick stand of trees in the background under the plain light of a mid-afternoon of late summer, uh, comes to us from yours truly and from the distant day of August 16th, 2020. That's my third take saying that, and I still screwed it up. Um, anyway, with the recent snowfall in my neck of the woods, I decided that I wanted to highlight something green today. And so I dialed my phone's photo archive back a ways to discover this rather bland country suburban scene that I captured on Taggart Road in Columbiaville, New York. Just like in Bible study, sometimes with photography, context is king. And while lawn lovers might appreciate this photo for what, what is here, Uh, the reason I took this photo back in 2020 is for what is unseen, because this plot of land was where I spent Christmas Eves, uh, for most of, if not all of, my childhood, as this plot of land was the site where my paternal grandfather's house stood. I believe the address was 55 Taggart Road, but when you look it up on Google Maps now, you will see a little unnumbered square which is what was my grandfather's one-car garage, which is still standing. And you'll notice a sizable gap in the numbered addresses on Taggart Road between 42 and 121. Um, I'm sharing photos, uh, from that little trip down memory lane on the blog today for anyone who wants to see. Um, my grandfather's land went from just to the right of that unnumbered square all the way to the corner of Taggart and Footbridge Road Extension. But after his death in 1990, the house was eventually sold to the owner of 121, who decided to expand their yard and demolish the home where I spent many a weekend with my brothers and every Christmas Eve. I had moved to Stuyvesant in 2020, and out of nostalgia decided to check out my grandfather's property and was shocked at the— that empty space and how the two bushes that had lined my grandfather's front walkway and had always been neatly trimmed had grown into huge unruly mini trees. There's a photo of those on the blog as well. I remembered being shocked at how time had changed so much at my grandfather's place. The land and the garage was still there, but he and my, my grandmother had gone on to eternity. And because they were gone, there really was no reason anymore to visit Taggart Road in Columbiaville. The Christmas Eve celebrations moved to my parents' house, and with their advancing ages, it is unclear just how many more Christmases we will have at the Clark family homestead on Green Street in Hudson, New York. Um, like I said, I wanted to see something green today, and although a little depressing, I decided to share these scenes from a property that has lost its significance because I wanted to set these photos free. And because apparently it was going to be another long December, uh, as, as I got some unexpected, uh, news that one of my co-workers had died after his year-long battle with cancer, um, because I was recently chastised about some of the comments I made while pondering the recent death of another friend, I'm choosing not to disclose my co-worker's name because I could possibly cause additional pain and suffering to his grieving family. With that said, this person who is no longer with us was loved and respected by his coworkers, and because of his death, the company decided to offer us the support of counselors to assist us with our grief. For a big corporation, I thought it was an incredibly nice gesture. However, I generally keep to myself at work and just busy myself with my job. I've been transferred several times throughout the years to various locations and job functions, and sometimes— and, and sometimes still seem to be the last to know a lot of what is happening around, around me at work. Yesterday was proof of this fact as the managers announced that most of you already know that our friend and co-worker had died over the weekend. I didn't know, and finding out in a meeting was quite a shock. I am so out of the loop that I didn't even know that this coworker was sick. At our job, people get transferred, go out on disability, and retire quite often. The people you see on a regular basis one day can be gone the next, and unless you listen to the grapevine, you could never know where they went. So when the managers made this kind gesture, which was quite a shock for me, I had to ask how my coworker died. It had been quite some time since I had seen them, and because of the nature of our job, there could have been plenty of explanations for their absence. And considering the state of the world, an accident and, let's face it, suicide are real possible causes of death these days. So I had to ask and was informed of my coworker's battle with cancer. So I had the odd mix of emotions of sadness over his death, shame for not knowing he was sick, and relief that it wasn't necessarily fairly unexpected and could have been a mercy given the circumstances. To their credit, work gave us an hour to process the news and gave us resources to handle our grief, but then it was back to reality and our regular work responsibilities. And even though I hadn't seen this coworker in over a year and didn't have the closest of friendships with him, he went with me in my memory and in my contemplations throughout the workday. This guy was a nice guy, always willing to help, never a harsh word. This guy was a family man, a wife and kids. This guy was a good worker, a solid tech. This guy was a smart guy. I knew him primarily from our time, uh, at Hudson Valley Community College, as we were both in the same classes for over, over a year getting our associate's degree in telecommunications. As part of a now-defunct program our company had. In those classes, I learned that my coworker had a good sense of humor, seemed genuinely kind, willing to help others, was responsible, took, took his studies seriously, and had some mad math skills, as he was the go-to guy if you needed help with algebra or the equations we had to solve in physics. He was also enterprising, because I recall that he and his wife had started a business to supplement their income back in our school days. By all accounts, he was a solid, good guy. He was around my age, probably a few years younger, so his illness and death are a tragedy. However, because our co-worker's time on Earth is over, I spent a good deal of, uh, deal remembering all that I knew about him yesterday and had to ask the big question. This smart guy Good guy, nice guy. Make it. Did he make it to heaven? If you consider the good versus bad ratio of his life, there's little doubt that the good outweighed his bad by a significant margin. In truth, I can't think of any bad when I remember our interactions in class or at work. I even believe that like most, most of the people from our generation, he was brought up in a religious tradition. And having seen a few religious tradition funerals in my day, I am certain that there will never be any words uttered of speculation in regard to his final destination. However, I remembered something in a conversation with them that made me less certain that he was with the angels in heaven. Uh, my time with my coworker in school is approximately from 2012 to 2014. The program was a 2-year program. But because, uh, of a medical procedure, I didn't graduate with him in, uh, 2014. In fact, it was a 4-year program. Never mind. Uh, yeah, 4 years to get a 2-year degree, you know, 1 day a week, something. Anyway, that's all for the podcast only, uh, as I won't be editing this by, uh, blog. After my surgery, uh, because I said I went out with a medical procedure— after my surgery, I went on to graduate in 2015. I was, I was still a pretty carnal and pretty ignorant born-again Christian during this time, but I was extremely passionate about my faith and would openly talk about the gift of grace that I had received when I put my faith in Christ alone. I don't recall the specifics of our conversation, but my good guy co-worker was pretty clear in expressing his opinion on matters of faith. He stated openly and honestly that he didn't believe in it. His opinion was that there is nothing on the other side of death. And although, as I have testified, he seemed to be a relatively kind and moral person, he didn't claim to have faith in anything. So based on that conversation and what I know about salvation through faith in Christ alone, the indication would be that if the gospel of Jesus is— Christ is true, they didn't make it to heaven. Uh, their disbelief and failure to make peace with God through faith in Jesus would lead one to believe that when my friend, when he died, my coworker discovered that there is something on the other side of life, and that because of his unforgiven sin and independence/rebellion/rejection of God, um, he would be consigned to hell. Mic drop. Anyway, uh, now before you call me a bad Christian who is not making peace for all of this person's grieving family and loved ones, listen, There is hope, and I am not saying they are in hell, okay? Uh, I believe in freedom of speech and I exercise it regularly. I also believe in freedom of thought and usually put the two together in composing these encouragements. Rather than living in fear of what some, some may think or say about me, or of the possible pain that my words may bring to all the possible victims I choose to speak for the higher good. The good news about my coworker's situation is that there was a lot that could have changed about his outlook on life between that conversation in 2012 or '13 and now. We're talking almost 10 years of things to change my— in my coworker's outlook on life and faith. I know I have learned— I know I have learned volumes of wisdom in that time period and have grown in maturity in leaps and bounds. And that time between then and now. Plus, let's face it, my coworker had the reality of death with him from the moment the doctors diagnosed him with cancer. And according to reports I heard yesterday, his suffering was significant and apparent. Did God use the last 10 years of this man's life and his battle with cancer to bring him to a place where he could believe and put his faith in Jesus Christ? Well, our coworker certainly had enough time to consider it, and it is my prayer and hope that somewhere along the line he surrendered his life God and made Jesus his Lord and Savior. On this side of eternity, I will never know if this person put their faith in Christ or not. I guess I could ask, but I think I'll just leave that question unasked and assume what I know is true— that God will do what's right. God never makes mistakes. And whether or not past friends, family, co-workers, or acquaintance make it to heaven or not, I am assured by God's word that they will go where they chose to go. One way or the other. But as for us, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, put your faith in him alone, and know and experience the peace that comes from having your sins forgiven and from being welcomed into God's eternal kingdom. Our coworker had time, but the other people out there might not. So because we know the Lord, we need to be bold and courageous to let people know that the question of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death. His life, death, and resurrection show us that he was the Son of God and God the Son. His resurrection proves life after death, and his words confirm that there is a good place for those who put their faith in him— heaven— and a place of darkness and gnashing of teeth— hell— for those who don't. So keep walking and talking with God, and let people know that all can be forgiven. And a new life can be found here on earth as it— and as it is in heaven for all who believe in Christ and who decide to walk with him. Today's Bible verse comes to us from— verses come to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are Ephesians 6:10-12, and they say, a final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Today's verses confirm the evil forces of darkness are real. But also confirm that we are protected from their attacks when we are strong in the Lord and put on God's armor. I believe every teaching out there on spiritual warfare includes these verses because they deliver the hard truth of demons and the good news of our power in Christ. I'm short on time, but the Word of God confirms God's kingdom and the rebel kingdom of Satan and how the evil one is currently the prince of this world. So any advice that would lead us away from faith in Jesus, no matter how practical or nice it looks, is actually demonic. So don't follow the world's ways, follow the ways of the Lord, and use your faith in Christ as your defense against the lies and temptations of this world. And use the word of God as a weapon to defeat the works of the devil. Sin and negative mind states are all the devil's work. So resist the devil and apply the full armor of God's word to your life to be victorious over the forces of darkness and our own worst enemy, our fleshly selves. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship, And today we begin chapter 12, or chapter 32, of The Saints, depending on your version. But this version is the Bonhoeffer's Works Volume 4 Discipleship, not the original Cost of Discipleship translation. So if you want to see that latest version of The Saints by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, go to m.tforchrist.org and you'll see the beginning of the chapter. Um, at the bottom of today's blog post. And so, and so we start another day in this long December that I've, uh, in the last week have received news of, um, the death of two people that were in my life in one way or another. You know, not the closest of friends, but I knew these guys, and they were both around my age. And so it makes me appreciate my life, and it really makes me appreciate my relationship with the Lord. Through faith in Jesus Christ. Um, in my walk, um, you know, I've had my scares and, and moments of, of doubt and everything. And, uh, you know, in the face of COVID-19, you know, we didn't know what was going to happen. We didn't know it was, you know, it could have been super plague and everyone's gonna die. Um, but, uh In that, in the fear of COVID-19, I had to work two jobs. I had a plan for my life to get myself out of a bad situation and get myself a new home for me and my children. And so I had to make the life and death decision, you know, without knowing it, um, what I was gonna do. Am I gonna go out into the danger zone and work, work out where COVID-19 is running rampant through our country? Am I going to live in fear or am I going to live in faith? And even though I didn't know whether or not I would live or die, I chose to live and I chose to trust the Lord. And I've been, you know, and in a way, you know, it was a significant part of my walk to overcome the fear of death. It's like, because I know God is good and I know God will, you know, will call me home when he calls me home. And, uh, when you, when you get to that place, when you, when you get to it experientially, um, you realize another level of your freedom in Christ. Um, you know, when you're not worried about when you die, when you're willing to surrender your life, um, to the Lord, um, to do his will, um, you're free. And, um, that's why I make these messages, is to encourage people because we don't know how long we have on this earth. We, um, you know, we know things pass away. Our relationships are on borrowed time from the moment we form them, but our relationships can endure forever if we have faith in Christ. And so it's very important during this Christmas season to minister to those who are hurting, but encourage them that there is great hope in Christ, in Christ alone, that the suffering is for, you know, but for a time and a season here on earth. But life and joy and peace all come through faith in Christ. So we have to share that message. And if I make someone angry about the contemplation of someone going to hell, forgive me, because the Lord has. And the Lord would want me to encourage people to put their faith in Christ. I have no doubt about that. Whether or not our coworker friend made it to heaven, I will never know. Well, I'll know when I get there, right? But I'm not making a judgment, I'm just making an encouragement. To hear the dismissive tendency, the dismissive words that he had regarding eternal matters and faith in Christ, I wish I could say it was uncommon, but that's pretty common these days, especially among us men. You know, we're just powerful in our own might. We don't need anybody or anything. And unfortunately, that's the doctrine of demons. That's, you know, God knows my heart. Well, unless he knows it by you putting faith in Christ, he's going to show you how desperately wicked it's spin, and he's going to send you to live without him as you've chosen to live without him all your days. So yikes, you know, happy Tuesday message before Christmas. But this is real life, and, um, it's going to come to an end. And when it does, the only people who stand are the people who stand with God through faith in Jesus. So we're not gonna compromise that message. We're not going to be silent in regards to it. As much as I, you know, talk about joy and peace that comes from living, you know, through following Jesus Christ on the path of Christian discipleship, um, you know, let's not get it twisted that this isn't just a self-improvement project. This is a rescue mission. He literally saves our lives. And so, you know, I'm gonna throw you a— throw you everything I can to encourage you to not only say a prayer to make Christ your Savior, but to follow him. And so you'll know without a doubt that you're part of his kingdom, that you're part— you have peace with him, you know, because the Holy Spirit will reveal to you in ways, many ways, that you are, you are in his, in his good graces as you walk with him. So Let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we pray for our friends, our coworker's family, um, and friends, Lord, who are grieving the loss in this Christmas season. We're praying for our other friend who died last week unexpectedly. Um, Lord, death can be a relief, um, to pain and suffering, but Lord, um, we pray for the, the, the relief that comes from the assurance of their salvation. Through faith in Christ, we pray for all of these people who are suffering, um, that they would consider you and, and your goodness and the hope that's found in Christ alone, regardless of their loved ones' actions or behaviors or, or beliefs, that they would choose for themselves to follow and believe in the Lord Jesus. Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or reading the message today. We pray for them to be blessed. We pray for them to, um, have you come alongside them in their prayer request and in their walk. And Lord, as always, we pray for you to go before us today, encourage us in the way we should go, and show us the things you need us to see and the things you need us to do to best represent you here on Earth. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.