One cold evening, a renowned Jewish rabbi met privately with Jesus. He attempted to flatter Jesus by telling Him that He must be of God because of all the public miracles He had done. Jesus cut to the chase when He told the rabbi, “Truly, truly I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The rabbi was confused. He reasoned that Jesus was asking him to physically be born a second time from his mother. Jesus clarified his meaning when He said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:6, 7). Two births. One physical. One spiritual. One ushers us into the kingdom of man. The other into the kingdom of God. Have you been born again? Would you know how? Humbly pray to God, acknowledge that you have sinned and broken His laws, ask Him to forgive you, and, by faith, invite Jesus Christ to be your Savior from sin, death, and hell. It’s that simple yet it’s that life-changing. That simple prayer will change your destiny from hell to heaven. It will give your life purpose and meaning here on earth. It’s often called the sinner’s prayer and is the most important prayer you’ll ever pray in your life.

Upon his death, a rich man called out to Abraham from the flames of hell. He begged him to send a man named Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue for he was in agony. Abraham replied that he couldn’t do that for two reasons, first, the rich man was receiving the just punishment for his wanton life; and second, there was a great gulf separating the two such that Lazarus could not cross over even had he wanted. Two men. Two deaths. One physical and one spiritual. Is death the end of life? Yes, life on earth but not life in heaven or hell. We are eternal beings and our souls and spirits live forever somewhere, heaven or hell. Revelation 20:14 describes this second death when it says, “And death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Will you die once or twice? Unless Jesus returns to rescue us and catch us up to be with Him, we will all physically die. The only way to escape the second death, however, is to be born again. If you are, you will only die once physically. If you are not yet, you will die twice, physically and spiritually. I beseech you, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Finally, each of us has a choice to make and our destinies are determined by that choice. If we choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, our destiny is clear. We have eternal life starting right now! “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). If we choose to reject Jesus Christ, our destiny is also determined. We will spend eternity in hell separated from the God who loves us and sent His Son to die in our place. Two choices. Two destinies. The choice is up to you. I plead with you to choose Jesus Christ and choose life. Why? Because . . .

Your eternity hangs in the balance,

Irv