Am I Saved?  Part 1: Saved from what?

It's more than the million dollar question.  It's the only question that matters.  If you miss it, you life could be a tragedy.  If you get right with The Question - your life could be a beautiful prelude to a truly forever life of fulfillment, joy and wonder.  Here are seven things you should know:

1. Saved from what?
God is.  God is a person.  He is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and here is the key thing we need to get our heads around, He is Holy.  Holy means so many things: He is perfect, merciful, compassionate, true, faithful, loving, kind...and just.  He won't let injustice, cruelty, carelessness, lies, wickedness and evil go unpunished.  He demands justice.  If you want a snapshot of the definition of what He requires from you, read the Ten Commandments in the Bible.  You'll find them in the Bible book of Exodus, Chapter 20.  Nobody measures up to this pattern of perfection, but the way.  It doesn't matter if you think you are basically a good person.  If you only stole from one person - you are still a thief.  If you only told one lie - you are still a liar.  If you only lusted once...you get the idea.  Actually it's not so much about what you have done, it's more about who you are, that you would do it at all.

So we can view this life, this world, as a place of decision.  You can decide to live your life with God at it's center, or with you as it's center.  In order to allow us to make an informed decision, God has ensured that every life has enough of Heaven in it, and enough of Hell in it.  Our world is full of beauty and ugliness, life and death, friends and enemies, love and hatred, faithfullness and cheaters for us to understand what Holy is and understand what Self-centered is.  God has told us that He has created two places that await us after we die: Heaven and Hell.  Briefly, Heaven is eternal life with God - and all the bliss and wonder that means.  Hell is eternal life without God, and all the horror and pain that means.  While God is in charge of all things, He has allowed us room within His sovereignty, for us to have a role in where we will spend eternity.  By His grace, you get to choose.  He will confirm your decision not only in this life, but on Judgment Day.  So what can we be saved from exactly? Hell, eternal living-death, life without God both here and forever, from 'sin' (which means anything and everything that comes between us and God), from ourselves, from our past (shame), from our present troubles, and from our future without God.

Next episode: three movements of the heart that will move us from unsaved to saved.