What Happens After You Die?

What do you know for Sure?

Oprah Winfrey said that one question she enjoys asking her show guests is, “What do you know for sure?” I don’t know what you’re thinking, but there is a very simple answer to that question. What I do know for sure is that each one of us will die someday.

We are all part of the statistics that say, “Ten out of every ten people die.” The young dies, and so is the old. The rich dies and the poor is not left out. Death is inevitable.  No matter how we try to ignore the idea of dying, it doesn’t change the fact that we will all face it one day.

So the question isn’t any more about ‘what we know for sure,’ but what happens after we die? Have you ever thought about that? Since you will one day end up in the grave, don’t you think it’s important to consider what happens beyond the grave?

A doctor once said to his team of medical students who were examining a dead body, “If life were only of the flesh then even goats are better, because when a goat dies, its flesh can be eaten, but the body of a dead human being is not edible.” To my utmost surprise, I read in Mark Cahill’s One Heartbeat Away that about two-thirds of atheists and agnostics believe in the existence of an afterlife. Mark Cahill also wrote that, “Eight in ten Americans believe in some sort of afterlife. And 79 percent agree that ‘every person has a soul that will live forever, either in God’s presence or absence.’”

Here’s something to think about, “What happens after you die? What are we here for? Is it just to have an education, party a little, get a job, make money, save some, retire, and then die? Is that all there is to life? Or is there something more?

The Bible offers some important facts about what happens after we die. Hebrews 9:27 for example, tells us that, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” And there is Luke 16:19-31, which talks about the afterlife events of the rich man and Lazarus (a beggar who fed from the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table). For your reading, below is the full story:

Luke Chapter 16

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: ₂₀And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, ₂₁And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

₂₂And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 

₂₃And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ₂₄And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. ₂₅But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 

₂₆And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. ₂₇ Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: ₂₈For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 

₂₉Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. ₃₀And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. ₃₁And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

The above scripture proves beyond doubt the existence of an afterlife. It must be noted that, both the rich man and Lazarus were living before they died (see Luke 16:19-21). Then after death, there was still interaction between them (Luke 16:22-31).

Why was the rich man in hell?

It is because he was not a child of God. Many people think that everybody is a child of God. The fact is that, everybody is a creation of God, but not everybody is a child of God. Why do our parents call us sons and daughters? Isn’t it because they gave birth to us? Similarly, to be sons and daughters of God, we must be birthed by Him. That is what being born-again is about. Jesus said it best, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” – John 3:6-7.

Dear reader, God cannot accept us into His glorious Kingdom if we are not His. This is why we have to surrender our lives and heart unto Him. There are only two destinations after we die; there is Heaven and hell. Heaven is a place of peace, joy, love, and a place where our tears shall be wiped forever. Hell on the other hand, is a place of torment and eternal fire. Decide today where you want to go after you die. Is it Heaven or hell?

God’s Word (the Bible) says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1.  Take action now. Ask Jesus into your life, and live a fulfilling life here on earth and eternal life with God in Heaven.

Let’s pray together, say:

Dear Lord Jesus, I come to you today.

I thank you for loving me and dying on the Cross to save me.

Please forgive me of all my sins, and cleanse me with your blood

That you shared for me.

Today, write my name in your Book of Life.       

Help me to live my life to please you.

All the days of my life, may I worship you and honour you.

Thank you for saving me, In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN!!!

Kindly email us at theyouth4christ@hotmail.com if you prayed the above prayer. Or leave us a message on our Facebook page.

Arguments For, And Against Christmas

Christmas is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world and the only begotten son of God the Father (See John 3:16). With this definition, one could easily think that all Christians celebrate Christmas. But that’s not the case. A good number of Christians worldwide celebrate Christmas, and many also do not. It must be noted that there are strong believers as both ends. So in this post, we bring you face-to-face with some of the arguments against Christmas and those in support of its celebration. Remember to share your own thoughts about Christmas via the comment box at the end of this post.

Arguments against Christmas (By: Kielenstijn Favour)

In the Scripture, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birtday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day in whitch they were born unto this world. Christmas was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth a feast was established in memory of this event in the fourth century.

In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of Saturnalia as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed. In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birthday of Iranian mystery god Mithra, de Sun of Righteousness. 

On the Roman New Year January 1 houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites where the Teatonic tribes penetrated into Gaul Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian. The December 25 festival of natalis solis invicti, the birth of the unconquered sun, was decreed by the emperor Aurelian in A.D. 274 as a Winter Solstice celebration, and sometime later was Christianized as a date to celebrate the birth of the Son of Light.

Arguments For or In Support of Christmas (By: Bob Godwyll)

Thank you Favour. All your arguments against Christmas may be valid, but they in no way affect the way I celebrate Christmas. Yes, Jesus may not have been born on December 25, but that's of little importance to the meaning of Christmas. There are thousand and one things linked to each day of the year, and Christmas day (Dec 25) will be no exception.

I celebrate Christmas, but do not hate or criticize those who don't. It's just a matter of differences in our beliefs. And the Bible says it is given to each of us a measure of faith.

Secondly, I see nothing wrong with one day of the year set aside to commemorate the birth of Christ, the Saviour of the world. My only problem with Christmas is how it has been secularized, and even such secularization has not made it lost its power of bringing families, friends, old classmates and school mates together to show love to each other.

Each day is a day that the Lord has made, December 25 is no exception, and so we will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). The names given to each day of the week are believed to have different traditional, mystical, and even pagan backgrounds. However, none of such affects what we do or don’t do in each day of the week. It’s the same with Christmas. Whatever affiliations that other gods or traditions have with December 25, had nothing to do with what we Christians do on that day, because December 25 is also a day that God has made.

Family-friendly Movies For Christmas!

Christmas and other occasional events like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day are all characterized by the coming together of family and friends, colleagues, and old school mates and classmates, to have fun, share, and celebrate the joys of each other. However, the gathering could be very boring in the absence of something that can bring joint fun.

During holidays, most people resort to movies as a great source of entertainment. But in a world where obscenity is becoming as popular as President Obama, parents are becoming more and more cautious about the kind of movies their families are exposed to. The following family-friendly movies are perfect for the holidays. They are safe to watch and also full of fun and thoughtful lessons.

My Top 7 Family-friendly movies

1.               1.The Encounter

The desire to save a lost soul at all cost caused Jesus to move Heaven and Earth to become a Waiter at a diner known in the film as LAST CHANCE DINER. But after the lost soul arrogantly rejected His(Jesus’) offer of salvation after all persuasions, others in the diner stand to benefit in the most greatest form; both in the form of more food, as well as eternal life. This fulfills the scripture at John 1:11-12 which says, “He[Jesus] came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” You will surely encounter Jesus as you watch the movie The Encounter. Buy it from Amazon.

2.     It is a Wonderful Life

It’s Christmas in a snowy western US town, but George Bailey (a resident of the town) is thinking of taking his own life to avoid a possible jail sentence after one of his workers misplaced huge sum of money belonging to his company. Minutes before his suicidal thought could materialize; he encounters an angel and confesses to him that he wished he was never born. Following, we see the angel showing George Bailey what the world would have been like without him. As it turned out, the world is better off with him than without him. The lesson is, never say you wish you were not born, because your own life touches a million others. Example, you were born to become somebody's daughter/son, wife/husband, sister/brother, friend, colleague, etc. and all these people's lives wouldn't have been the same without you. It's A Wonderful Life is a great movie.

3.     Flywheel

It is obvious that being a Christian goes a lot beyond just going to Church on Sundays. How do you ‘be-a-Christian’ in your business? In Flywheel, the husband of a devoted Christian woman dupes his customers by overcharging them for cars bought. But thanks to his loving wife (a true Proverb 31 woman) who was very supportive spiritually. Her husband suddenly repents from cheating his customers, and like Zacheus, returned money to every customer he had ever cheated. His good behaviour is rewarded when a secret study of a television network finds that he is the only vendor selling cars at the right price. Buy Flywheel from Amazon.

4.     To Save A Life

After his best friend takes his own life, Jake Taylor (RANDY WAYNE) is torn between becoming the basketball ball star his dad wants him to be and becoming a life saver by ensuring that no other student take their own life. He is for the latter and finds a man of God who wants to help him achieve that. He became a Christian and seemed to be doing well with the church. Then his past life starts to haunt him. He learns that his girlfriend is pregnant. All his relationships (with his parents, girlfriend, as well as the church) start to deteriorate. Nonetheless, there’s hope for the future, because if God be for us, who can be against us? Buy To Save a Life now!

5.     The Freedom Writers

It’s always said and believed that “Behind every successful man there is a woman supporting him.” Well, is it true for the ladies too? I mean, can we say that, “Behind every successful woman there is a man supporting him?” The Freedom Writers movie has the answer. In the film, a woman is divided between becoming a good teacher to troubled high school students and becoming a good wife to her husband.  The man appeared supportive initially, but as she made remarkable gains at school, her marriage paid for it dearly. The good news came when she changed history because for the first time in history many of her class students made it to graduation.  You surely will enjoy this movie. Get Freedom Writers!

6.     In The Blink of An Eye

This movie is about the rapture of the Church of God. It starts with a police officer and his friend saving a kidnapped lady. The lady’s boyfriend offers them an all-expense-paid cruise trip on a ship. The two officers with their wives together with the lady and her boyfriend set off for their trip. The officer’s wife, his colleague and his wife, are all born-again Christians, but he is not. On the ship he receives series of visions in which his wife, his friend, and his friend’s wife get raptured but he is left behind. He finally became born again and tried to save his boss but there isn't much time for the real rapture to occur. Buy this movie from Amazon!

7.     Letters to God

If you were a postman where would you send letters that have been addressed to God? That’s the kind of problem that one postman had to deal with in this amazing movie. The film tells the story of a little boy who despite having been stricken with a severe cancer, still had such an amazingly strong faith in God. He would write letters about anything; his feelings, family, friends, and even about his sickness, and would address them to God. Then he will hand it over to the postman when he comes. Did God reply his letters? The movie has the full story. Get it from Amazon!

7 Reasons Why It is Good to Marry

Yesterday was Francis and Bridget’s wedding. When are you having yours?

In a world where you have a wedding that cost about twenty million dollars ($20m) end in 72 days, it quite make a lot of sense to have a lot of people dreading marriage and turning a deaf ear when the topic is brought up. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’ wedding reportedly cost $20 million. This amount included $2 million Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring, Kim’s wedding dress costing about $20,000 and a $50,000 wedding day facelift for Kim Kardashian.  If these were not enough, Huffington Post reported that the venue for the wedding costs approximately $30 million.

Despite all these spending on the wedding, Kris and Kim called it quit in just 72 days after the nuptials. News of their divorce got world talking. Well, not just talking but people have begun questioning the integrity of one of the best gifts of God to mankind – marriage. People are rethinking their marriage decisions and finding alternatives. Here’s a question for you all: Is marriage worth the investment it requires in today’s world?

Mr. & Mrs. Francis Dunyoh (3/12/2011)

There’s no doubt that people are loosing faith in the institution of marriage and considering other alternatives. The recent increase in lesbianism, bisexuality and all homosexual activities in societies across the globe is evidence of the fact that people are loosing faith in the union of marriage. But there’s hope, a lot of it for that matter. In this article I share with you seven (7) reasons why I think it is good to marry. You are invited to share your thoughts, comments and feedback via the comment box at the end of the article.

In no particular order, the following are some reasons why it is good to marry: