Do You Know Where You Will Go When You Die?

I was sitting at my son's first basketball game of this season and I had the opportunity to visit with a friend I haven't really seen since last year and she was telling me all about her husband and how he had surgery to remove a growth that literally showed up on his shoulder last week. The surgery took three hours and they are anxiously awaiting the news about this growth on Tuesday. The conversation quickly turned to faith and how you feel peaceful when you know that you have submitted yourself to God and know that HE is the one that is in control.

She excitedly proceeded to tell me that her and her husband went to a fabulous movie last night and asked if I had seen the movie, Facing the Giants? I replied that I had and gasped at the idea that she had seen the movie, Fireproof, because I have been wanting to see this wonderful movie. As it turned out, they did see Fireproof AND at a local movie theater! We talked a little about this movie and, knowing that she was a Catholic, I asked her if they gave the plan of salvation in the movie, not sure if she knew what this meant and that it would open the door to going through the plan. She said that they did and I told her that I had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Kirk Cameron talk at the truly inspirational Transformation Conference last year in St. Louis and asked her if she has ever seen a million dollar tract. She hadn't so I gave her several, but we didn't really go through the tract or talk about it much as we were suppose to be good moms and make sure to not miss a beat on the court with our son's playing basketball.
I took her through the "Good Person" test and she told me that she had never thought about the whole courtroom scene and I knew that she was really thinking about all of this! Growing up Catholic myself I would hear lots of people talk about hopefully going to heaven or thinking that you were going to heaven because you were good and/or because God is a loving God.
I turned to her and asked, "Do you know where you will go when you die?"
"I'll go to heaven."
When I asked her why? She answered with, "I'm a good person." Then she looked at me with concern in her eyes and jokingly said, "Amy, I felt so sure of myself and now I'm not so sure. I was feeling fine until I came to this darn basketball game." She asked me what she could do?
I told her that she needs to sit down and ask the Lord to forgive her and to put ALL of her trust in Jesus. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and though shalt be saved!" Know that Jesus died on the cross for your sins so that you can KNOW that you will be in heaven for all of eternity. No one can get to heaven because of our sin and we can only get to heaven through our wonderful Savior's free gift. Will you choose his free gift and spend all of eternity in heaven? Pray to the Lord and try to be more like Him.
"Well, what if I sin again?" "We all do, but we can't lose our salvation. The Lord wants us to ask for forgiveness and to try and turn away from sin. "What about if someone murders someone?" "If you break one commandment, no matter which one, we are unable to get into heaven on our own."
She inquired several times about which church I go to and I told her. Maybe the Lord will send her our way to grow in her spiritual relationship with our awesome Savior AND KNOW where she will go when she dies. Her faith is beautiful . . . I pray that she puts all of her trust in God and feel confident about eternity!
At this point, the game was over and she had several tracts in her hand to take with her. I pray that she reads the tracts and is open to talking again later this week or at our very next game.
(As for her friend sitting next to her, when asked about her thoughts on all of this, she really just wanted to stay out of it, but I gave her a million dollar tract too and know that the Lord has big plans for me on Saturday afternoons at Game Time Gym.) The Lord will come out on TOP during this basketball season! - Amy