Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them.”    Revelation 12:13-14 NKJV

I had mentioned a few weeks back that I had four nieces graduating, but I miscalculated. It was actually five nieces. One graduated 8th grade and will be moving on to high school. Two more graduated high school and will be moving on to college. One graduated with her bachelor’s and has already found a job she loves. And one graduated with her bachelor’s and will be attending graduate school for her master’s degree.

I am so proud of each of these young ladies. They have worked hard to achieve these accomplishments. But my pride is not so much in what they have accomplished, but in their acknowledgement of the Lord in their accomplishments.

For all of us as human beings will have an opportunity to pass or fail as we go through this life. We can only pass with Jesus’ help because we are all sinners in need of a savior (Romans 3:23). Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.”

In school, we study to have a high-grade point average upon graduation. This helps open doors for further opportunities upon completion of our degree. In life, we study our Bibles. In doing so we learn how to imitate Christ. We learn of the great love He has for us. We grow to love Him more and more as we learn of His love and mercy for us. We also learn that He does not tolerate our sin and misbehavior. And we learn of the importance of that constant communication of prayer and Bible study. We speak to Him through prayer and He speaks to us through His Holy Word.

When we reach the end of this life, we face one of two choices. Either we graduate from a life of unforgiven sin into hell for eternity or we graduate from a life of sin that has been forgiven  as we have surrendered to Him and strived to do what is right into heaven for eternity. It’s a choice we must make here and now.

Just as people choose their path in life, we must choose how we will live our life in order to determine our final destination.

When we choose wisely, our death is simply a celebration of our passing from this cold sin-filled world into heaven for eternity.

If we fail to choose wisely, Revelation 14:11 says, “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

This and our Scripture passage for today is referring to those who come through the tribulation. But as someone who believes in a pre-tribulation rapture, I strongly encourage you to be sure you will be gone just before the tribulation begins. Revelation describes it as a horrible time in which people will have to receive the mark of the beast to simply survive.

If you have been unable to stand faithfully in this day and age, it will be much more difficult then.

My prayer for you today is that whenever you leave life on planet earth, you will be celebrating your accomplishment. I pray that you will have chosen wisely and prepared to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior.

Have a great day!