Daily Devotional for Tuesday September 1, 2009

Is Teddy in Hell

(2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Luke 16:19-31)

Is "Teddy" in hell? Some may think this is a cold question to ask, but it is perfectly legitimate since the moment we die we will either be ushered into the glories of Heaven with our Creator for all etenrity if we have a relationship with Jesus, or forever banished to the flames of hell if we have rejected faith in Christ. For all of the gutless disciples of cotton candy preacher Joel Osteen who will email me and tell me only God knows if a person is in hell or not, let me remind you it was God in the Book HE authored, the Bible, who told us explicitly who would be in Heaven and Hell. The bottom line is that those who accept Jesus in their heart and life by faith are assured of being in Heaven, and those who reject Christ's love and finished work on the cross will be in hell. I didn't decide that, God did!

I watched the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy this past weekend. I think the first fact people have to understand about this man is that if his name had been Smith or Jones instead of Kennedy, he would never have been a US Senator these past 46 years. Instead he would have spent decades as an inmate in a Massachusetts correctional facility for his role in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. While the media lauded his legislative accomplishments, there was no mention about that fateful night in 1969 when Kennedy drove his car into the bay and Kopechne drowned to death.

Probably what disgusted me the most over the weekend long celebration of Kennedy's life was the way he was honored for his work in the Senate. Ted Kennedy spent his entire legislative career helping to insure millions of innocent babies would be legally slaughtered in this nation each year, as well as his support in perverting God's Holy Institution of Marriage by allowing men to marry men and women to marry women. The fact is, Ted Kennedy was an enemy of God and opposed God on every major spritual issue of our day for 46 years. Yet despite that, the Roman Catholic Church, a church that stands for life and marriage, allowed this man who helped usher in our current culture of death and destruction of family values to be memorialized within the walls of their church.

Equally outrageous was our current President, Barack Hussein Obama, standing in the pulpit of that Boston church to deliver the eulogy. This is a man who opposes God on every spiritual issue, yet has the audacity to stand in the pulpit of a church, quote a few scriptures, and eulogize a man who spit in God's face during his entire public life. This was simply political theater using God and His church as a prop, making a mockery of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross 2,000 years ago!!!

The Bible, which is our final authority in ALL matters is very clear on death. It is final. There is no such thing as reincarnation, we are not coming back as a petunia. We don't die and go to some special place where people can pray us into Heaven over time. The moment we die, our body is no longer of any use, and our soul lives on for eternity, either forever with God, or forever separated from Him. That eternal destination is determined by only ONE THING, our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Being a member of a certain church CANNOT save you. Being baptized as a baby CANNOT save you. The faith of your parents CANNOT save you. Good works CANNOT save you. A pastor or priest simply praying over you while you are dying CANNOT save you. The ONLY THING that can save you is putting your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. It is a choice, a conscious choice, that YOU and YOU ALONE have to make BEFORE you die. In talking to several dear friends who knew Ted Kennedy, I can only pray that at some point in these last months of his life he made that choice to accept Christ as his savior by faith. No doubt a man as well traveled as Ted Kennedy had to come across many people over the years that shared with him that faith in Jesus Christ is the only road to Heaven. Only God knows our heart, and only God knows if at some point near the end of his life Kennedy made a commitment to Christ. But let me reiterate, as great of a life as he had, as loved as he was by many, it all meant nothing the moment he died. If Ted Kennedy died without confessing Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior he is lost for eternity and in hell this very moment!

I have no doubt that somewhere in the world, within a few minutes of the passing of Ted Kennedy, a man who had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior also died. This man was not known by the world, he did not have a great family legacy, he did not have great wealth, but death is the great equalizer. If Kennedy died without Christ, this man that was known throughout the world, this man that had all the wealth this world could offer, was instantly cast into eternal darkness. At the same time, the man who DID know Jesus, who had no fame or fortune in this life, was instantly ushered into the presence of Almighty God for eternity. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?" (Luke 16:19-31)

I love you and care about you so much. Please pray for Ted Kennedy's widow and family as they mourn his passing. I pray that through his death, those in the Kennedy family will come to know Jesus as their Savior by faith. Ted Kennedy was from a famous family. But being from a famous family in this life does NOT guarantee you anything when this brief journey is over. Each person is responsible for their own eternal destination by their choice in regard to Jesus Christ. You see, it was Jesus that died on a cross 2,000 years ago for your sins and mine. That is why only faith in Jesus can save you.

If right now, this very moment, you do not have the assurance that when your life is over, you will be forever with God, the Bible says that TODAY is the day of salvation. You never have to doubt or wonder again, Bow your head right now, ask God to open your heart, and read the words and watch the video at this following link: www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html I will be praying for you as you make the most important decision that you will make in this life, where you will spend eternity. Only God knows for sure if Ted Kennedy is in Heaven. If he is, it is not because he was from a famous family or he was a great politician, but ONLY because he had accepted Jesus Christ into his heart and life by faith. That is the same choice EVERY person must make before they die.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller