MALIGNANT CANCER... but why worry about it?

Hi, friends, I just got the news from the doctor yesterday...MALIGNANT CANCER! I have always felt bad for people who have cancer, but until yesterday it was always something that happens to somebody else. Now it is something that is happening to me. But let me tell you this with all honesty, I have no need to be afraid. If I die from this, I am actually better off than I am now. Why? Because I know that my sins are all forgiven, God is my Father, Jesus Christ is my Savior, and heaven is my eternal home. I have hope now that I didn't have when I was an atheist. It's not an "I hope so" kind of hope. It's the know-so kind of hope, like I hope the sun comes up in the morning.

If you were in my place...if might die soon, or even die tonight, are you sure that you would go to heaven? You Can Be Sure! Do you remember what Jesus Christ said to the thief on the cross beside Him? "Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." Keep in mind, Jesus didn't say that to a good person. Jesus said that to a very bad person. So if a bad man like him can be sure, bad people like us can be sure, too.

This is how it works. When Jesus Christ died, He suffered our hell for us. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, that was proof that God his Father was satisfied with the sacrifice that His Son paid. Jesus suffered death and hell without ever having sinned, so Jesus Christ paid a debt He didn't owe. Because of my sins (very many and very serious), I owed a debt I could never pay. So when I turned to faith in Jesus Christ,like the thief on the cross, God applied the blood of Jesus Christ to my account, and cancelled my debt!

Does it sound too simple? God made it that way for a reason, so that anybody can have eternal life and be sure of it. Since Jesus Christ did all the work, what we have to do is amazingly simple. You can sum it up in three words...

DEPEND: The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" means to DEPEND on the Lord Jesus Christ. That means that I no longer depend on any good thing I do to save me. I only depend on Jesus Christ and what He did for me when He died and rose again. If I depend on my own good works to save me, I will always be wondering, "When have I done enough?" But if I depend only on what Jesus Christ did for me, then I am sure, not because I'm a good person, but just because I know that what Jesus Christ did is enough. That's what makes all the difference between heaven and hell.

REPENT: Jesus said, "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." To repent means that you want God to change you. I can't change my own heart. Any change I make would be very superficial, and would not last very long. But the Bible also says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." To become a new creature is a change that only God can do to a person. My part is that I have to want God to make that change. That's what repentance means: you want God to change you.

RECEIVE: God considers your heart to be like a house, and Jesus is waiting for you to open the door and let Him in. Jesus Christ said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in..." Jesus knocks at the door of your heart, but He's not going to kick the door in. Jesus is a gentleman, and He's waiting for you to invite Him in. That's what I did. I just prayed to Jesus Christ and said, "Come into my heart and take away my sins." That prayer of nine words changed my whole life, and it can change yours too. It will also change your eternal destiny from hell to heaven. You don't have to know a lot about the Bible and theology. That can come later. But now, in the silence of your own heart, say this to Jesus Christ and mean it: "Lord Jesus, come into my heart and take away my sins."

My prognosis? The doctor says that my chances are actually quite good. But even if I don't die from cancer, I will die from something. We are all dying. But, so what? Death is only terrible for those who are not prepared for it. I'm prepared. You can be to. "I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better." (Philippians 1:23)

I know that there are many born again Christians in the WA family. I invite you all to pray for me in my condition, that "Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death." (Philippians 1:20)