Are you Good Enough to go to Heaven?

[Cathy Gallups]

The way to find this out is to ask yourself if you have obeyed the Ten Commandments. Most would answer the question, "Well, I've broken one or two, but nothing too serious, like murder, etc.' So, let's go through them and see how you do:
1. You shall have no other gods before me.'
2. You shall not make for yourself any graven image
3. Have you ever taken God's name in vain? You know the list....

Is God first in your life? Do you love God above all else? Have you loved God with all of your heart?
Have you loved humanity as much as you love yourself? You be the judge. Will you be innocent or guilty on Judgment Day of breaking those commandments? I'm not judging you...I'm asking you to judge yourself before the Day of Judgment.
The sentence for breaking these commanments is DEATH...
The law of God is merely like a mirror..all a mirror does is show you the truth. If you see egg on your face, you don't try and wash yourself with the mirror, its purpose should be to send you to water for cleansing. Neither should you try and wash yourself with the mirror of God's Law...that's not its purpose.

The sight in the mirror is not a pretty one, but if you don't face it and acknowledge that you are unclean, then all that 'dirt' will be presented on Judgment Day as evidence of your guilt, and then it will be too late to be cleansed.
What a terrible place Hell must be. If you read in the newspaper that a man received a $5 fine for a crime, you could conclude that his crime was insignificant. But if a man received multiple life sentences, you could conclude that his crime was heinous. In the same way, we can catch a glimpse of how terrible sin must be inthe sight of God by looking to the punishment given for it--eternal punishment. Take time to read what Jesus said Hell was like in Mark 9:43-48.
It is amazing what Jesus has done for you. We are guilty and Jesus paid the price for our sins to be covered by the blood he shed for you and me. We are all sinners!
What should you then do? Simply reent and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Don't put it off until tomorrow. Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. He said "believe on me and you shall have ever lasting life." After we leave this body, we will go somewhere. Jesus Chist gave us the greatest Gift "ethernal life". Read: Romans 6:23
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:2
No bridge reaches God...except one.Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people.
The Bible Says:
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timoth 2:5
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the reghteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God 1 Peter 3:18
Our Response: Receive Christ by personal invitation.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knoc. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20
"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." Romans 10:9

Your choice: Life or death (after you lose your body, it is to late)

[Marinspin]

The divine is kind and inside all of us.

[Petra Hijmans]

I feel God as a huge love and guidance in my heart, and fromout my heart I can be there for the beauty that God shows me. LIVE me Life on our Mother Earth the best I can, with many oppurtunity's to grow.
I believe in LOVE and wish you many blessings in your Live
a warm hug,

[Marc]

A Fable:
There was a king who ruled over a kingdom, and when he passed away his son became ruler of the kingdom. The people of the court and the kingdom decided to throw a celebration for the new king who was to be crowned. The new king was a young man only 14 years old, who upon learning of his new found responsibilities was eager to assume the throne. The old king had wanted to teach him about justice so he made a condition of his coronation, that the new young king would have to show forgiveness to 3 people found in the kings jails. Upon hearing this the new boy king was concerned as to how he could possibly determine who to forgive and who to release. Ultimately he narrowed it down to those who were in the jails for minor things such as stealing food to feed their families or other lesser crimes, but there were still so many to chose form in his prison that he found it difficult to chose. An adviser, mentioned to the soon to be king that 3 of the people were old men who had grown blind while in prison,and perhaps he might consider them more worthy and having suffered enough. So it was decided, that if these 3 blind men could demonstrate their ability to reason and speak, they would be released. Thus, they were given a test. On the day of the coronation each was brought before the king in a large outdoor ampitheater, where each was directed to examine an elephant and describe it to the king. Having never seen or known an elephant before, the blind men were taken one by one to the elephant.

The first blind man touched the tail of the elephant noticing its texture and size, he then, earnestly reported to the boy to be king that such animals were thin and flexible and capable of great speed of movement.

The second blind man was lead to the elephant and proceeded to examine only the leg of the animal, his hands touching and taking the shape of the leg. Where upon he spoke to the boy to be king of how an elephant is as large and stout as a tree trunk and covered in a leather bark, for all intents and purposes immovable.

The third blind man was lead to the beast, and took hold of the trunk of the animal examining it with his hands carefully and thoroughly. Whereupon he reported to the boy to be king that such animals were thick and quite flexible much like a snake, but with a curious type of hair coming from a few areas of their body.

The boy to be king was still in a difficult situation, because none of the blind men had fully grasped the elephant's whole being, yet in in their own way,each had spoken what they thought to be true, in an earnest attempt to honor the test and be set free.

In the story the boy who would be king gives the blind men their freedom, thus showing compassion for their honest heartfelt attempts to do as he asked of them. Despite the fact that none of the blind men really explained the elephant in totality, they were all forgiven. Thus, the boy becomes a king, ascending to his throne through his compassion and acceptance of the honorable intent of each of the blind men to tell the truth as they experienced it.

In this way, we as human beings have looked upon the totality of God, in much the same way as the blind men did the elephant. Each of us perhaps convinced that we have achieved a complete and comprehensive understanding of the nature of God. In many ways we are not wrong in our direct experience, for we have touched part of the mystery. Yet if we listen to the others and their understanding of their experience with God, we find very different facts that inform their perception.

This is the context through which I contemplate your question and I find myself answering in this way;

What if heaven and hell were just metaphors for the potential future of the planet earth?
What if the original founders of the church invented these terms to try and make it easier for us to comprehend what it means to be created in his image, to have the powers of creativity and destruction?

Christ, Allah, Buddah, Ganesh, Shivah, Jah .... Are all descriptions handed down to us from our ancestors to be respected, yet, could they be like the parts of the elephant? Could it be that God's nature is vast enough that all are true? What compassion can I offer someone who tells me that their picture of an elephant is better than the next blind man? That their picture of the nature of God is absolute and all who cannot touch that part of the elephant are blind.

If they are fearful that the elephant will shit on them, should I live in fear that we are all going to be pooped on?

With respect to Jesus Christ, with each breath, I honor his teachings of compassion, forgiveness and the call to raise myself up from the darkness of human being. I accept him into my heart, along with his church and the people who have touched the elephant and seen the truth. I mean them no disrespect, or discourtesy.

Perhaps then the keys to the kingdom of heaven lay less in what I think I know, or what has been told to me to be true, and more in my willingness to remain curious about what has yet to be revealed to me.

Out of my own touching of the elephant, I offer that we are here, that the earth is subject to our collective power of creativity and destruction. May we all find the value in the lessons of integrity, hope and compassion from all the sages throughout the ages. May this wisdom serve us in the service of each other and in creating heaven here on earth, until such time as we have touched the rest of the elephant in sufficient breadth to know what of we speak.

In the mean time I am reaching out with with all my senses, and all my intuition, and all my reason to what is revealed.

Marc

[Jay Anthony]

To me this is the traditional, and in my opinion narrow Christian view of God. I guess what we are referring to regarding heaven has more to do with salvation than going to heaven. My belief, which I have derived from the study of many books and religions is that salvation is assured for all who have faith in God, and choose to do his will, simple as that. I believe the Bible is a good guide, but not the infallable word of God. It is the work of mostly well intentioned men over a vast amount of time with many revisions and alterations, some Godly, some not to me. To declare what the path to salvation is based on a flawed source is like setting out to sea without an accurate map to find your destination. You may think you are on the right path because the map indicates that you are, but if the map is flawed you are lost. Service to one's fellow man/women is far more important than being concerned about one's own salvation. One could even consider it narcissistic. To me God's love is so great that salvation is a moot point, and should not concern one for more than a millisecond. Your time can be better spent serving those in need instead of being so self-absorbed in one's own salvation.