Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Some of we "oldies" may recall that, On March 4, 1966, the following quote of John Lennon of Beatles fame was printed in an interview by reporter Maureen Cleave in the London Evening Standard:

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go firstâ€"rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

This caused quite an uproar but I wonder if, at that time, The Beatles across the UK society might have been more popular than Jesus. And just how popular is Jesus today in the UK? I don't know but the way so many people in the U.S. today want to get Jesus out of the public arena, do they perhaps believe that they or the leaders they put their trust in are more popular than Jesus? And do they agree with John Lennon's song, "Imagine" which said:

    Imagine there's no Heaven
    It's easy if you try
    No hell below us
    Above us only sky
    Imagine all the people
    Living for today.
    Imagine there's no countries
    It isn't hard to do
    Nothing to kill or die for
    And no religion too
    Imagine all the people
    Living life in peace.

The tragedy is that John Lennon was murdered in December of 1980 and at some point, if not already, will discover that there is both a heaven and a hell and will know in which one he isâ€"or in which one he is not!

It doesn't matter if The Beatles were more popular than Jesus to some or many in their heyday. Jesus remains forever and will always have the last say for both time and eternity. Furthermore, when here on earth Jesus promised that he would come again and take all his true believers to be with him in Heaven forever.

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house [Heaven] are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."¹

Men will come and go. False Christs and false prophets will come and go, even heaven and earth as we now know them will pass away, but the Word of Godâ€"including God's promisesâ€"will remain forever.²

Please read the article, "What If There Is a Heaven?" online at: http://tinyurl.com/8jcepz and whatever you do, make sure you have your "Passport for Heaven" before leaving earth. It's totally without charge. You can see how to get it at: http://tinyurl.com/passport-heaven.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your promise that you are preparing a place in heaven for all your true followers. Please help me to be sure that I am ready for heaven should you come today or when I pass from this lifeâ€"whichever should come first. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

For further help see the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian

1. John 14:1-3 (NIV).
2. See Matthew 24:35.

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