Don’t Just Hope You’ll Go to Heaven

[Don’t Just Hope You’ll Go to Heaven]( Current Teaching Series [Eternal Realities]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Don’t Just Hope You’ll Go to Heaven]( By Rick Warren — 10/03/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) If you went to a shopping mall today and asked people if they were going to heaven or hell, you’d likely hear many of them say, “I hope I’ll go to heaven.” But hope just isn’t good enough. I pray that’s not your answer. Your eternal destiny is too important not to know for sure. You’re not guaranteed another minute on this planet, much less another hour. The most recent statistics show that mortality rates in the world remain 100 percent! Death is inevitable—so it’s foolish not to be prepared. Don’t put off the most important choice you’ll ever make. The Bible says in 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (NIV). That’s about as clear as you can get. If you have Jesus, you have life. If you don’t have Jesus, you do not have life. You have a choice. You won’t go to heaven because of someone else’s faith. You’ll never go to hell because of someone else’s choice. It’s your choice! You get to decide where you’ll spend eternity. This is why we celebrate Christmas and Easter. If Jesus hadn’t come at Christmas—and then if he hadn’t died and come back to life on Easter—our situation would be hopeless. Nothing you do would matter. You wouldn’t have this choice. The Bible says, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14 NLT). The cross is the answer to your deepest problem: your separation from God. Make the choice today to be reconciled to God through Jesus and to secure your eternity in heaven. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - How does realizing that none of us are promised another second on Earth give urgency to either your decision to follow Jesus or the decision your friends and family need to make? - Who in your life needs to read the message in this devotional? How can you develop your relationship to a point where you can share this message with them? - If the decision to follow Jesus and have life—or reject Jesus and not have life—is so clear and stark, why is it still hard for some people to choose? Are you ready to make the choice? If you are ready to commit your life to Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer: “Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. “I confess my sin, and I believe that you are God, my Savior. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. You have the right to call the shots in my life. “Jesus, I want to relax in your love. Thank you that I don’t have to earn it or deserve it or work for it. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Don’t Just Hope You’ll Go to Heaven]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get the Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Get immersed in the transforming power of God’s Word with Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life: Scriptures and Reflections from the 40 Days of Purpose. This inspirational gift book is a richly designed hardback that weaves Scripture pages with lined reflection pages to give you the perfect resource for meditating on God’s Word. Drawing central themes and Bible verses from Pastor Rick’s timeless classic, Daily Inspiration is an ideal companion to The Purpose Driven Life—or a standalone journal for your personal devotions. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 3 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Eternal Realities. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: The Reality of Hell Message 2: The Reality of Heaven Message 3: How to be Certain You're Going to Heaven [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. 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