How to Prepare for Eternal Life

1. Accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of your life.

If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you have to accept Him in your heart because He is the only way for us to have eternal life.

John 14:6 says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Him.

The Father being mentioned here is God the Father.

Why can't man go to the Father directly? Because of the presence of sin in man's life.

But your sin have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.  Isaiah 59:2

Then they will cry out to the Lord,
But He will not answer them.
Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time
Because they have practiced evil deeds. Micah 3:4

Therefore inorder for us to be reconciled with God, we need a Savior. We need a Mediator.

1 Tim. 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

But we need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and we need to believe that He is the only one who can save mankind.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Acts 16:31

If you declare 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

Jesus is the only way. There is no other way.

First step in preparing for Eternal life is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to have a personal relationship with Him.

2. If you already have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

What preparations must be done?

In my previous post entitled "Is Corona Virus one of the Signs of the End of the Age?", we talked about the return of Jesus Christ. We also tackled a little about the signs of the end of days. And it was clear that nobody knows the hour and the day. As to the end of times nobody knows when that would be. That is the reason why we have to be prepared always. To be watchful and alert at all times.

2 Peter 3:14 says And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1: 14-16

The word holy comes from the Hebrew Word Qodesh which means separateness, apartness.

In the New Testament, the word Holy was taken from the Greek word Hagios which means "set apart by or for God."

God is holy. We are not. But why did Peter tells us to be holy? This verse was quoted from the old testament from the Book of Leviticus when God says to the Israelites "Be Holy for I am holy."

This command is a long and lifetime process of sanctification. This cannot be done overnight in Romans 12:2
It says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Another version says Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Since we are set apart by God, we no longer conform to the patterns of this world. We no longer act the way the world acts. We no longer decide the way the world decides. We must surrender and submit ourselves to God so that He will be able to transform us.

Let God change your life by letting Him change your minds. How? We must read the Bible and apply everything we learned..by everything I mean not selective. Not piecemeal.

But what is the good news here? You are not alone in achieving these things. The Holy Spirit is the One who works in us to sanctify us and to make us holy.

In John 14:16-17 we can find that Jesus said "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

The Holy Spirit will help us all throughout our lives on earth.
Gal. 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

How are we supposed to know all these things? We must read the Bible.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17

Apply biblical principles according to James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

The preparation that we are talking about here is our spiritual preparation.  It is the nurturing of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is the surrendering of our lives to Him.

Holiness is not the path that lead to Jesus Christ, but Jesus is the one that leads us to holiness.

We can never change ourselves. It is a futile effort to try to change ourselves. But if we truly surrender our hearts to God, if we humble ourselves before Him, He will make us holy people set apart to do His will.

It is by Grace that we have been saved through faith..then it is by Grace that we can live holy lives until the return of Christ.

Everything we do for this earth will stay on this earth but everything we do for God will last until eternity.

Decide everyday to live for God. Not for yourself, not for your family, not for anything but for God. What will be the result if we put God first?

Everything else that you need to survive and to live successfully will be given to you. Matthew 6:33 and all these things shall be added unto you.

Is Corona Virus one of the Signs of the End of Times?

Is the pandemic or the spread of the Corona Virus one of the signs of the End of the Age?

What does the Bible say?

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. - Mark 13:8

Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:10-11

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Rev. 6:8

If our basis in answering our question about Corona Virus is these verses of scriptures we can say that yes it is one of the signs of the end of the age.

There are a lot of calamities happening in the different parts of the world.

There have already been wars and rumors of wars.

And this corona virus outbreak is affecting the entire world. It is affecting us.

Is it already the end of times? No not yet. There are Bible scholars who are into indepth study about the End of the World. This study is called Eschatology or the Science of the Last things. They focus more on the study of end times.

Since we are not very much into that, what we will be talking about is how to prepare ourselves for the last days making the Bible as our guide.

Let us open our Bibles to Luke 21:34-36: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

If you read back, Luke was discussing about the signs of the end of the age and he ended the topic with being watchful.

Watchful for what?

v.34 says "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap."

He talks about end of the age and then he says be careful or that day will close on you like a trap.

It will come unexpectedly.  Unknowingly.

We might be trapped because we are busy with unspiritual things:
 1. Carousing
 2. Drunkenness
 3. Anxieties of Life

We might not be affected with 1 and 2 but we might be affected with 3.

What are we busy about?
Are we busy investing for our eternal life? Or are we busy investing for our future on earth?

Who do we live for?

Matthew 6:19-21: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

We need to know who we are in this world.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil.3:20


I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. John 17:14-16

By the time we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, our citizenship and residency changed. We no longer belong to this world. We are already citizens of heaven therefore our perspective of live must have already changed.

Everything we long for and desire for must be for eternity and not for the short and temporary life that we are in.

Our main priority nowadays is to prepare for our eternal life.

Believers are awaiting for two big events that lead to eternal life. Either death on earth or rapture, the second coming of Jesus.

 Hebrews 9:27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Heb. 9:28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

It is clear in Hebrews 9:27 that we die once and then judgment comes.

Or if we are still alive it is written in 1 Thes. 4:16-17 that we will meet Jesus in the clouds on His second coming.

What we do not know is WHEN that would happen.

The question is are we ready?
Ready for both?

We need to secure our eternal lives by being assured of where we are heading after this earthly life.

Everything we do here on earth is recorded and will be accounted for during judgment day.

For believers, everything we do for Christ is accounted so we can accept our reward.

For unbelievers, everything they do is accounted for the punishment of sins.

What are we storing now while still alive? Are we storing treasures on heaven?

The message in Matthew is:
Everything done for the world is useless, it doesn't count but everything done for eternity lasts.  Those are the things we ought to prepare for.

Another question is. Do we stop living life on earth? Does it mean that we will stop and disregard all earthly activities and devote all of our time in building up our spiritual lives?
No.

In 1 Thes. 3, it is written that we are to work and not be a burden to the church. We shouldn't make christianity a reason to be lazy. We ought to still work but we have to be careful and be watchful that when Jesus Christ returns or when death strikes we are ready!  We will not be caught unguarded.

That is the essence of Luke 21:34. We might be so indulged in the pleasures or the anxieties of this worldly life that we forget about our eternal life and unexpectedly, unknowingly, that time has already come.

That day will close on you suddenly like a trap.  And you cannot do anything anymore. You cannot anymore fix yourself because there is no more time to prepare.

Remember the story of the 10 Virgins in Matthew 25 who were waiting for the bridegroom carrying their lamps with them. Five women were wise and took oil in jars with the lamp while the other 5 did not bring any oil with them.  At midnight while the women were asleep an announcement was made that the bridegroom was on his way, the 5 unwise women asked for oil so they can light their lamps but the wise women cannot give them oil because what they have is enough for their own use.  So the 5 women went to buy oil and what happened next was so sad.

Read in vs.10-13

 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We don't want to be left behind.  If we read the Bible especially those that talk about the great tribulation, it is more difficult than what we are going through now.

Luke 21:35 "For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth."

That day will surely come. What is written in the Bible shall come true. So we have to be prepared.

We work - Yes! We worry - sometimes, but, what need do we have in the world that God cannot provide?

We work so we can eat.  Students still have to study.  If you have ambitions in life, go ahead and plan for your future. Dream if you must for yourself, for your family, for your children. Do not stop living your life on earth BUT be alert and watchful at all times.

Luke 21:36 "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

We have to be ready spiritually for that day to come.  Whether we die or we face Jesus during His 2nd coming, what is important is thay we are eternally prepared.

Our life on earth is short. God knows that infact one of His promises for us in 2 Peter 1:3 "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence."

Everything we need pertaining to this life has been given to us. We do not lack anything. But our faith and belief on God's provision and care are different matters to discuss about.

The end of the world may be near or it may still be years from now, we do not know the day and hour but what we do know is that we still have time to prepare and that is now.

If you are reading this blog and has not yet accepted Jesus Christ in your heart as Lord and Saviour, come and pray with me.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ
I am a sinner in need of a Savior.
Forgive me for all the sins I committed my entire life.
Wash me and cleanse me with Your Holy blood.
I accept You Jesus as the Lord and Savior of my life.
From this day onwards, You are the King and the Owner of my life.

Amen.

Again for those who are already in Christ, be watchful.  Do not be indulged in the pleasures and anxieties of this life but always be watchful.

We do not own this life. Stop worrying about what tomorrow may bring instead trust that God has secured your every tomorrow in His hands.