Heaven & Hell Series, Part 6: How to Choose Heaven over Hell

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 6: How to Choose Heaven over Hell

There is so much to say on the topics of heaven and hell that this series could easily go on for another month.  I had even originally planned on writing one or two more posts after this one that were more "technical" and "theological" but after praying for several days, I have decided to make this post the conclusion of this series. In my humble opinion, I feel this is the most important information in matters of heaven and hell.  Terrifying reports of hell and beautiful heavenly descriptions beyond measure are all fascinating and get people to really think about where they want to spend eternity.  However, if all one does is think they would love to go to heaven as casually as they would love to visit the castles in Germany, then what good is that information in reference to your soul?  What we really need to understand is how to choose heaven over hell.  

This writing is not based on my arrogant or self-righteous opinions but taken directly from Jesus himself and from other godly men who wrote the inspired Word of God.  I pray you carefully read all these scriptures and let them seep into your soul. 

Let me just start by saying, yes, I believe salvation through Jesus Christ is a free gift we do not have to earn.  But we still have rules to follow if we want to keep this precious gift and not lose it.  Being a Christian is so much more than just being a kind person, it is becoming a new creation in Christ, which means giving up sin and choosing paths of righteousness.

You may believe that we do not need to follow the ten commandments because we are no longer under the old laws.  However, the facts are this: Jesus Christ abolished manmade laws when He died on the cross and shed His blood for our sins, but this does not mean we quit following the laws of God.  Jesus Christ said it Himself. (You can read more about the new covenant here - the writing includes multiple links on the subject: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-parallel-between-new-covenant-and.html )

(Matthew 19:16-21) And, behold, one came and said unto Him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" And [Jesus] said unto him, ".. if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments... Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself... give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."

No, we cannot earn our salvation through our good works, but we will absolutely be judged according to our works and that's what this series has been all about.  Waking people up that there are indeed consequences to all of our actions that are in opposition to what the Bible teaches.

Satan wants you to believe that the rules are there to rob you of joy, but Jesus says following Him brings us true freedom.  (John 10:10 - The thief [Satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.) The rules protect us from hurting ourselves and others.  Jesus loves us and wants us all in heaven with Him.  He longs for all of us to obey His rules not because we want to live in paradise, but because forever would not be paradise without Jesus.  Not because we want a mansion and a crown, but because we want to lay our crowns at the nail-scarred feet of Jesus. The sacrifice of God and Jesus should be enough for us to want to be with Him. (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)  His love, mercy, grace, patience, protection, and holiness should be enough for us to want to do the right things. (Romans 2:4 - The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.) 

Jesus said in Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."  But if you think you have fallen too far from grace and the works you will be judged for can never be forgiven, think again! 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that "The Lord... is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  And 1 John 1:9 promises us that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us just how gracious God is when it says, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Once you truly claim Jesus as your Savior, and repent of your sins, the sins you repent of will be under the blood of Jesus and will be remembered no more. Hallelujah!  Psalm 103:11-12 says, "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." 

After we accept the free gift of salvation, we cannot then just do whatever we want and stay saved. The Bible tells us we must daily choose to crucify our flesh and not sin (Luke 9:23 - And [Jesus] said to them all, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.")  The Bible also makes it very clear that we are not to abuse the grace of God (Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?) because, yes, we can lose our salvation if we chose to live in rebellion against the Lord.

Whether for the first time, second, or more time, it is never too late to turn your life over to Jesus and choose heaven over hell. (You can read my writings on the hope for the backslider here: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/09/what-bribes-have-we-taken-to-crucify.html & https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/07/hosea-141-9-hope-for-backslider.html & https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/07/ezekiel-1823-33-when-righteous-turn.html .

I know this has been a lot to read, so I will leave you with just a few more verses that help you better understand how to make the choice of heaven over hell.  Again, these are not my theories, but from God's Holy Word.

(2 Corinthians 5:10-11 & 15-17) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

(Revelation 20:11-12 & 21:7-8) And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

(Galatians 5:16-26) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. 

I can't end this series and not share my favorite singer of all time's rendition of "This is Just What Heaven Means to Me," written by W. Elmo Mercer.  There are many beautiful versions of Vestal Goodman singing this, I chose this one because I see some of my other favorites in the video like Glen Payne, George Younce, Jake Hess, Vestal's husband Howard Goodman and many others who have gone on to glory.  They are all celebrating with Jesus now! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3KVaMrPBco&list=RDT3KVaMrPBco&start_radio=1 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 5: How to Spot the Fake Accounts

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 5: How to Spot the Fake Accounts

This is little tricky to write because I would certainly never want to call someone a liar so I will not mention the people I believe to be fakes by name.  And I am not claiming to be any kind of expert on heaven or hell so I am not saying what sounds fake to me is always false but could be my misunderstanding of the heavenly realm. However, the number of real versus fake accounts of a heaven or hell usually trends more toward fictional reports than factual.  This may be because the person wants to appear more spiritual than they actually are and also because they want to seek a lot of attention either through a book deal or even just through social media.  

I am not saying that all the false heaven and hell accounts out there are all purposefully fabricated as some of these people have themselves been deceived by Satan.  Therefore, not everyone who claims to have either died or had a vision but has not truly seen anything from God is being purposefully deceitful.  Some are themselves deceived by Satan.  Satan loves to imitate the things of God and offer counterfeit experiences because he is the father of lies, the great deceiver, and loves to create chaos and confusion.  If they truly read, understood, and obeyed their Bible however, they would not be such an easy target.

(2 Corinthians 11:13-14) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The obvious ways to spot the fake accounts are just as I mentioned above, we too must read, understand, and obey the Bible.  We can then measure all we hear against the Word of God.  Some reports I have seen that are obvious are people who see false spiritual leaders in heaven such Mohammad, Buddha, etc.  Another red flag is when people claim they are given unbiblical messages and are told such things like they do not need to worry about right and wrong but just be kind to one another. There are even some that report sexually perverted experiences I will not repeat, but those are obviously not from God! 

There are also some things that are plain strange such as a man saying he had to give a drop of blood to Peter at heaven's gate, or a man saying he was see-through and floated around like an apparition. 

I admit, I have been fooled by some thinking they were genuine, but they debunked themselves in interviews.  One woman I sort of believed but was also somewhat skeptical of because she said she was asked if she wanted to stay in heaven and "accidentally" said she wanted to leave so she was escorted out (which seemed unlikely), admitted in an interview that she has always been fascinated with witchcraft.  She also said we need to learn to be one with nature, a very new age concept. And a man I almost believed revealed his false spirit when he described coming back from the dead as "hocus pocus." He also said other strange things I will not waste your time on.  How many times do I have to say exactly what the Bible repeatedly says: God hates witchcraft. If someone fascinated by or practicing the occult really had a near-death experience and was not sent to hell for honoring Satan over God, then you can be sure that Jesus or his angels would have given that person a sound lesson on why the occult is so evil.

If a person's lifestyle has not changed after their experience, then you can also be skeptical that what they are reporting is fake.  Yes, many have seen hell and due to the terror of it, they repented and became devout followers of Jesus.  Or have seen heaven and Jesus changed them before sending them back. But if this person is still living like the world or following a false religion, they the likelihood is that they are not being truthful.

Bottom line here is that if what they are saying does not line up with the Word of God, do not believe what they are telling you! Their confused, deceitful tales are designed either to glorify themselves or deceive you and possibly even send you to hell if you fall for a false message of salvation.  Anything saying there is more than one way to heaven other than through the blood of Jesus Christ or saying it is okay to live in sin as long as you are a nice person is a lie from Satan.

In part 6 I will give you scriptures that will help you better understand what keeps us from heaven and could send us to hell. 

I will leave you with this advice when hearing a testimony of someone seeing heaven or hell, pray that the Holy Spirit gives you discernment so that you will not be deceived and take their bad advice that very well could keep you from heaven.

(1 Corinthians 2:13-14) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(1 John 4:1-2) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

(2 Timothy 2:15) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 4: Visions and Dreams of the Father and the Afterlife, Written by my Husband

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 4: Visions and Dreams of the Father and the Afterlife

Written by my Husband (Mel)

Father God has visited me in around a dozen dreams. Each dream contained a personal message about my future. God the Father is Spirit, and light, and does not necessarily have a bodily form. However, he appeared to me in the form of a very kind older man. Jesus is the bodily form of God who sits upon the throne in Heaven. In a dream, I saw Christ upon the throne seated on the right side of a great light (The Father).

In a dream, the Father approached me to remind me of his protection. I looked up into his eyes and saw love, compassion, kindness, and tenderness. He kissed me on the forehead as the dream ended. He has kissed me on the forehead in two dreams now.

Around twenty-one years ago I had a very profound experience. I was in a hotel room going to bed for the night and saying my prayers, when I felt like my spirit was pulled upward towards the ceiling of the room. I passed through the ceiling and was enveloped in a soft, but bright, white light. I was floating on my back within this light. The Father spoke to me about the apostasy within Christianity. He sounded very sad as he was describing the leaders who were wolves in sheep's clothing. He told me that he was calling me to expose them and warn his children to not listen to them. The Father named some prominent television evangelists and told me that they were not of his Spirit. The Father was very kind, and I felt embraced in perfect love. I felt secure, like a babe in a parent's arms. This experience lasted for five to six hours, and much was conveyed. Whether I was in my body experiencing a vision, or out of the body, I do not know.

Shortly after the death of my first wife, I had a dream of Paradise. I saw her standing on a cliff looking out onto a beautiful sea, smooth as glass. The sky was radiant bright colors. I looked to my right and saw my father who died when I was eleven years old. He looked like he was around twenty years old. I saw other loved ones who had passed on, and everyone was clothed in white robes and looked to be around twenty. I saw a large amphitheater made of white stone. It seemed like people were gathered there for some unknown reason.

In another dream, I was standing in Heaven, and I saw very bright, lush, green grass full of flowers of all types. I could hear angels playing harps and singing praises to God above me. I could not see them, only hear their gentle voices. The angels were singing, “holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come”. I then woke up from this experience wishing that I could remain in this place forever. I understood in the vision that this was the abode of the departed spirits, awaiting their resurrection. 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 3B: The Unfathomable Beauty of Heaven

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 3B: The Unfathomable Beauty of Heaven 

There are many more accounts I could share, but I will share just one more.

I had originally planned to do a writing on the vision of Rebecca Springer, but because her account is so extensive, I have decided to instead just share with you a YouTube video of her experience. I highly encourage you to listen to her amazing eye-opening vision. It is almost 3.5 hours long, but you can listen to it as you have time. My husband and I had borrowed this same version of her story from the library a few weeks ago. It would have been better if a woman read this audio book since it is a woman's vision, but it is still worth your time.  If you can't play the video below, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7uuVqvaChQ

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 3A: The Unfathomable Beauty of Heaven

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 3: The Unfathomable Beauty of Heaven

In part 2A I began with Jim Woodford's story of dying and nearly being dragged to hell before he called out for God to save him.  I will now continue with what happened next.  Again, my short retelling is taken both from an interview I watched and from his book, "Heaven, an Unexpected Journey." 

Jim Woodford was clinically dead for 11 hours. In the account of his near-death experience, he says it was 6 words that saved him from hell.  Fist, right before he died, he said, "Jesus, forgive me."  After he had died and was about to be taken to hell by either a demon or Satan himself, he cried out, "Jesus, save me!" It was after his plea for help that three angels came and sent the demon away and Mr. Woodford experienced the unfathomable beauty of heaven. 

I know we all wonder what angels look like.  My husband has seen them while awake, and we have both seen them in numerous dreams.  In all of my experiences, except for one, the angels appear just as humans, but because Mr. Woodford was actually in some kind of heavenly realm, he saw the angels as they would be there.  They ranged from 10-15 feet tall, had violet-colored eyes, and in place of feathered wings as we would expect to see, they had wings made of light (if I am interpreting his description of the wings correctly).  

Mr. Woodford describes heaven as pretty much everyone who has either died or had a vision of heaven has, but it makes his story no less remarkable.  He saw every blade of grass and details much clearer than we see here.  He saw the most beautiful and vivid colors that do not even exist on earth and could not be accurately described. There was no sun, but everything was glowing with the light of Jesus.  He could see both far and near at the same time.  He felt no pain and only felt pure joy and peace.   

If I were to mention all Mr. Woodford saw, this blog would be much too long, so I am going to continue to keep this as brief as possible.  Again, I read his above-mentioned book on my Kindle with a digital loan from my library, so I recommend seeing if your library has a copy or you can look him up on YouTube (just type in Jim Woodford and you will receive multiple results). He mentioned seeing numerous buildings such as for music, a place for spiritual healing, and a nursery for babies/children.  Mr. Woodford said aborted and miscarried babies and children arrive in heaven at the age they were when they died and are cared for by others and are taught the ways of Jesus as they grow up.  This seems unusual, but others have reported the same. Everyone else in heaven appeared to be no older than 33, except for the prophets.  While others have seen mansions, Mr. Woodford saw only small houses that did not seem to be used much. And yes, Mr. Woodford saw animals in heaven.  He interacted with horses and saw a lot of dogs and cats there that had once been pets.  Others have reported seeing and hearing many birds.  

Although I am leaving a lot out, I do not want to omit the most important aspect of his experience in heaven, the second part of the Holy Trinity, Jesus. He did indeed see Jesus face to face!  While Jesus remained at a distance from him, Mr. Woodford clearly saw and felt the life altering love, peace and joy of Jesus.  He described Jesus as radiating light that was like flowing water. Jesus had brown hair curling just above the collar of a white gown.  Mr. Woodford described the eyes in more than one way, which could mean they reflected a variety of colors, but he also said they were eyes filled with intense love and forgiveness.

Quite understandably, no one who has been to or had a vision of heaven wants to come back to earth, and Mr. Woodford was no exception to that rule.  Since we have his book to read, we know he was sent back into his earthly body, and he said it was a very difficult adjustment.  One we could never relate to but can surely imagine why.  Everything here seemed so gray, heavy, and one dimensional that he suffered depression for a time. He was, however, miraculously healed.  His bloodwork still confirms he has Guillain-Barré syndrome, yet he has been freed from all the debilitating symptoms.  By surrendering his life to Jesus and sharing his testimony, he has been able to better tolerate being back.  

Through his unique experience, Mr. Woodford desires that all we know and understand is that both heaven and hell are very real places, but that Jesus is gracious, kind, and full of love that will quickly forgive us when we ask.     

I will share Rebecca Springer's story in part 3B.

(1 Corinthians 2:9) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

This is a beautiful song of Heaven from Greater Vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQWQT67IwTw&list=RDpQWQT67IwTw&start_radio=1

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2B: The Reality of Hell

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2B: The Reality of Hell

When people believe there is no heaven or hell, this means they do not believe there are any consequences for their actions.  They can do whatever they so choose, and then they will simply cease to exist. A free license to sin, however, is not reality.

While there are many more accounts of people seeing hell I could explore, some are credible and others are questionable. The accounts vary based on what God wants that person to see and based on what they can spiritually and mentally handle.  If you choose to search for such stories of heaven and hell, please pray for discernment to know what is real and fake, and what is from God and what is confusion from Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light and loves to trick people (2 Corinthians 11:14 - For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.) I will list two more that I feel are the on credible side. 

Ronald Reagan (NOT the former US president), was admittedly a very rebellious man.  He had suffered abuse from his alcoholic father which turned him to also abuse drugs and alcohol and end up in jail for manslaughter (caused by an automobile accident) by the time he was 15.  His marriage was one the verge of divorce, and he revealed he was abusive with his children as his father had been.  He had a very hot temper, and one day he took his son to the convenience store when he got into a verbal confrontation with a man walking out of the store.  Mr. Reagan shoved the other man who fell onto a pile of glass bottles.  The man then took one of the broken bottles and began attacking Mr. Reagan.  The artery under his arm was cut so severely, he was about to bleed to death.  The store owner took Mr. Reagan to the hospital but the ER could not help and put him in an ambulance to another hospital.  He was sure he would have his arm amputated.  

While Mr. Reagan lay in the ambulance, his wife now by his side, the driver was sensing Mr. Reagan was close to death and urgently told him more than once, "Sir, you need Jesus Christ!"  I fully admire the boldness of that driver!  

Mr. Reagan did not actually die but had a vision.  What happened next was that it appeared to him as if the ambulance had exploded into flames and he was surrounded by smoke.  He was then in a tunnel filled with smoke where a multitude of voices could be heard warning Mr. Reagan not to come to where they were. Their voices were full of agony, pain, and frustration.  He knew if he went where the voices were, he would be there forever.  A tsunami of loneliness and heavy depression washed over him.  It was as if he was looking down a volcano and he could see fire, smoke, and people inside; they were being burned but not consumed by the flames. He realized he recognized some of the people as his former party buddies who had died due to their reckless and rebellious actions.  The smell of sulfur was the most horrible stench he had ever smelled, and he felt a terror he never knew existed.  His wife later told him he was thrashing about in the back of the ambulance, and she could tell he was experiencing extreme fear.

He awoke in the hospital where he was covered in wounds, but they operated and had saved his arm.

In spite of seeing that hell was a very real place full of the consequences of people's rebellion against God, he still fled from God and had not yet repented.  However, sometime later (I am not sure how much time had passed), his wife gave her life to Jesus.  Her once angry face was so full of joy and peace that he agreed to go to church.  It was there he heard the pastor speak about Jesus as the lamb of God.  Due to the love he had had for a pet lamb as a child (that his father had cruelly killed and thus ignited his spiral into a rebellious lifestyle), Mr. Reagan was very sensitive to the idea of Jesus being the perfect lamb who loved him and died for his sins.  God knew Mr. Reagan would be there that day and had planned the perfect message just for him.  He gave his life to Jesus and never looked back as he now lives for Jesus and shares his testimony in order to encourage others to repent of their sinful lifestyles and to keep others from hell.

The last account I will share is from a man named Howard Storm, a strong atheist that did not believe in life after death.  Mr. Storm was what you would consider a good man, not living a criminal life by any means.  He had been married for 20 years and had a good marriage.  He did, however, admit that he lived a life that was all about himself. He and his wife were vacationing in Paris when he experienced a perforation in his stomach. He spent 8-10 hours in agony in an ER hallway because the hospital was short staffed.  After the long wait, he was informed that the hospital could not find anyone to operate and they had no idea how much longer he would have to wait.  It was then he gave up fighting to stay alive, and he and his wife tearfully said their goodbyes.

I am not sure if Mr. Storm then died or if like Mr. Regan what he experienced was a vision, but this is a brief version of what he reported.  He saw himself standing outside his own body and heard sweet and gentle voices outside the hospital room calling, "Howard, come out here."  He said they used very "syrupy" tones to entice him out. He exited the room into a grey hallway where about a dozen people waited that he thought might be medical personnel.  They kindly encouraged him to follow them, and he thought maybe he was about to have his operation.  However, they walked for an unknown amount of time because time suddenly had no meaning.  He compared the length of the walk as if they walked from Nashville, TN to Louisville, KY (about 175 miles or about a 4-hour walk).  The longer they walked the more hostile the others became.  They began telling him to hurry and to shut up if he asked any questions.  They eventually ended up in complete darkness, and he refused to go any farther. 

Mr. Storm says that what he experienced next was "too ugly" to fully describe as the dozens of people became 100s or maybe even 1000s.  They tore, bit, scratched, ripped, and gouged his flesh until he was covered in painful wounds.  He was unable to fight them, and it went on for an unknown amount of time.  When they stopped for a time, he lay in the dark in physical pain, but the emotional trauma was many times worse.

He heard his own voice say to him, "Pray to God."  Although he had attended church as a child, he could not remember how to pray.  He quoted what he remembered and every time he said the name of God or Jesus, his abusers would scream and yell the worst profanity he had ever heard, but it kept them away from him.  He kept saying prayers and he was soon alone for what felt like an eternity.  He reflected on his life and realized the only god he had served was himself.  He then remembered singing "Jesus loves me" as a child and that he had once believed that God was good and loved him.  He desperately wanted back what he had thrown away.  He called out, "Jesus please save me!" and Jesus was instantly there.

Although I am saving Jim Woodford's heaven experience for part 3A, I will continue with Mr. Storm's account because he did not actually see Heaven.  Jesus took Mr. Storm into His arms and carried him out of the pit and took him to where he called a place in between, neither heaven nor hell. He felt dirty and unworthy, but Jesus cleaned him up, healed the wounds caused by the demons, and filled him with a pure sense of Jesus' love. (Amen! Hallelujah!) He was taken to a different room and shown his life by angels (he did not provide any descriptions of Jesus or the angels). In a nutshell, they made it clear to him that all his kind actions pleased God, but his cruel ones made God unhappy.  Mr. Storm did not want to go back to earth, but Jesus and the angels assured him that they would always be with him as long as he prayed, confessed his sins to God, and gave all his cares, hopes, and dreams to God.

I do not know how long he was dead or unconscious, but as soon as he reentered his body, a doctor miraculously showed up to perform the lifesaving surgery.  

Mr. Storm fully believes he was given the soul changing experience to share so he could help save others.  Which, as I stated at the beginning of this blog, I want the same thing.  If I can convince even one person that there are indeed consequences for living in active rebellion against a holy God because we our soul does indeed continue after we die, then these blogs are worth writing.

(Psalm 9:16-17) The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

I know all this darkness can be difficult to deal with, but please come back for more in this series tomorrow where I will talk about heaven.  There is so much hope and beauty of God's goodness and grace still to be revealed!

(Psalm 86:13) For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2A: The Reality of Hell

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 2A: The Reality of Hell

You may wonder if one of the purposes for me to write this series is to scare people.  The answer would be yes, it is. However, I do not believe we should choose to accept Jesus' free gift of salvation based on fear of hell, but out of love for a gracious, compassionate, and forgiving Savior. However, if fear of hellish torment prompts you to open your Bible and start seeking Jesus and living for Him, then I will absolutely be happy to share the experiences of what other people saw of hell.  Make no mistake, heaven and hell are both very real places, and if you have actively chosen to live in rebellion against God, you will go there the moment you die.

This will be an eight-part series, and before it is concluded, I will absolutely share with you more scriptures on how you can choose where you spend eternity.  In the meantime, please read the Bible on you own, especially the words of Jesus Christ, who spoke about hell more than anyone else in the Bible.

One of the things all the people who have seen heaven, hell, or both have in common are that they feel they were sent back here for the sole purpose of sharing what they saw.  If their stories keep even one person from going to hell, even the terror they experienced was worth it. It is their stories that have inspired me to write this series.  To help further their missions to share the truths that heaven and hell are real.   

Rather than taking the time to write their stories, I could simply give you links to YouTube videos to watch, but I know some people prefer to read, some watch videos, or like me, do both.  You can always search each of the people I mention for their testimonies.  Also, the main reason I do not share an entire video is because sometimes there are false testimonies on the same video as the true experiences, and I do not want to confuse anyone.  I will expose some of the frauds I am aware of in a later writing.  

For the sake of not making these blogs the lengths of novels, the stories I am retelling are very much shortened versions.  I am only going to share three stories as they take a while to recount. One in this blog, and two in part 2B.  I will start with the man I mentioned in part 1, Jim Woodford.  I will tell more of his story about heaven in part 3A. This retelling is taken both from an interview I watched and from his book, "Heaven, an Unexpected Journey." 

Jim Woodford lived a very selfish life where he only cared about his own pleasures and his success as a pilot and businessman.  His marriage was not a happy one, and he was facing debilitating pain due to having Guillain-Barré syndrome.  He was in so much pain he was taking large amounts of pain killers.  One day, desperate just to function, he took an unknown number of prescribed pain pills.  He had unintentionally taken a fatal dose (he said he was not suicidal) and quickly experienced a searing pain throughout his whole body.  Feeling he was dying, he cried out, "Jesus, forgive me." He then suddenly found himself standing outside his truck looking in at his own dead body inside the vehicle.  He was lifted faster and higher than any airplane he had flown and was speeding through a tunnel.  When he finally reached the end, he could see a dark door right next to the beautiful grass (I will save his description of heaven for part 3).  

This was a surprise to me to realize that the entrance to hell was literally next to heaven.  However, if you read the account of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (not the one Jesus raised from the dead) in Luke 16:19-31 (posted at the end), the rich man in hell can see the Abraham and the beggar in heaven from his place in the flames.  

Anyway, back to Mr. Woodford's account.  He heard the screeching doors of hell open, and either a demon or Satan himself (he was not sure which it was) was next to him with hideous, grotesque and twisted features.  He said he could feel utter despair in this creature as if he had swallowed and carried tormented souls with him.  He says the voice was as if a snake was speaking.  He told Jim it was his time to go to hell, and Jim was shocked at how well the evil being knew him.  He turned his back to the demon and felt a sharp talon scrape down his back.  In his terror, he called out, "God, save me!"  Suddenly three angels were at his side, and...  I will continue his story in part 3A.

In order to keep this reading from being so long no one will read it, I will continue 2 more testimonies of hell in part 2B.

All these accounts as well as the below verse show not only how terrifying real hell is, but also that we do not go to sleep when we die.  We are either immediately ushed to heaven or hell.

(Luke 16:19-31) There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And 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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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. But 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. And 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. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 1: Introduction

 

Heaven & Hell Series, Part 1: Introduction

Based on the Christian content I watch on YouTube, a video was recommended for me to watch about the near-death experience of a man named Jim Woodford.  I have seen and read quite a few reports of people who have visions of both heaven and hell, some of them have literally died, while others, like my husband, have had dreams and visions without being near death.  However, I am always skeptical that what the person has to say is legitimate, because quite often these reports are made up for the sake of gaining attention, to appear spiritual, or to gain fame/money, and/or the visions were influenced by demons and not from God in order to confuse and mislead people about what heaven and hell are really like. Although only God and Mr. Woodford know for sure, I felt that Mr. Woodoford's story was real.  I also read his book titled "Heaven, an Unexpected Journey" where he goes into greater detail of his experience. 

Mr. Woodford's story prompted me to reread Rebecca Springer's book, "Within the Gates" (Their books were checked out from my library's digital selection for free, so you can also read these at no cost.)  I also watched a few more stories on YouTube.

This is an 8-part series. I am going to give a brief synopsis of each of the above people's stories, will be sharing other experiences, give warnings on what (or who) not to believe, and end with how we can choose heaven over hell. Before I do that, however, I always tend to overexplain myself, so I will do so now!  The reason I feel so compelled to write about this topic is based on an interview I watched where people were asked about their views on heaven and hell.  The large majority of them said they did not believe either place existed or felt that heaven and hell were what we create in our own minds.  It really saddened me that so many people are so blind and callus about what waits for them after time on this earth is over. Our time here is so very teeny tiny compared to eternity, and yet the way we choose to live our life here will depend on where we spend forever.  That should be a sobering fact to all of us, not something to shrug off so lightly. I pray this series reaches at least one person and helps them to think seriously about eternity.

Although I will share more scriptures as we journey through this series, here are just a few to start things off:

The word "heaven" is found in the Bible 691 times (KJV), 55 of those references are in the book of Revelation alone.  The word hell is only listed 54 times (KJV). Hell is not always mentioned by name but as a place with fire and/or brimstone, so technically hell is mentioned more than 54 times, just not by name. For today, I am only going to reference both Revelation 20 & 21 as they mention both places.

(Revelation 20:12-15) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

(Revelation 21:1-27) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

And He that sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new... It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

And there came unto me one of the seven angels... And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal...And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

When you Believe God has not Been Good to You

When you Believe God has not Been Good to You

I often quote Romans 2:4, "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." Yet as I was thinking about that verse today, I realized that when people believe God has not been good to them, it is often why they refuse to change their ways and repent of their sins. They turn this verse upside-down by justifying their actions believing God is not good, so why repent.

People who believe God will prevent all bad things from happening to them or their loved ones end up hating God. They cannot find joy in the midst of suffering or trust in their hearts God is always good. They have difficulty trusting in the love of God. (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)

Not only does God grieve with us, He intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25 - Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.  & Romans 8:26 - Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.). God is fighting for us, but we tend to sabotage our own lives by living in rebellion.

Yes, sometimes God uses negative circumstances to test our love for Him, but in general, God does not intend for bad things to happen to His children. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God wants only the best for us. Does that mean that God does not have any control? No, this means we will never fully know why bad things are allowed to happen because there is a war going on we cannot comprehend. (Ephesians 6:12 - We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.) 

My favorite verse, 1 Corinthians 13:12 (For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.), reminds us that we cannot understand why things happen as they do because we cannot see the big, eternal picture, but when we get to heaven, it will all be crystal clear. This senseless world will make sense.

If we cry out to God, He will hear our pleas. He wants to protect us and save us. It may seem like evil is winning, and I do not believe that this world will ever improve. In fact, I know it will only get worse (2 Timothy 3:13 - But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.). Man’s desire for independence corrupts him more and more. The mentality of not wanting to be told what to do is only getting worse. It is up to you to surrender yourself to God as well as your independence. It is up to you to choose to live right and separate yourself from this world.

 
People love to quote Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Yet they fail to pay attention to the part that says, "to those who love God." Do you really love God or are you just demanding He fulfill your every prayer request and then pout like a spoiled child when you do not get your way? Jesus said in John 14:15," If ye love me, keep my commandments." If you refuse to turn off your ungodly entertainment, give up drinking, cheating, stealing, backbiting, etc. then why do you say you love Jesus? Just so you can use the title of "Christian" to try to get what you want and then turn you back on God when things do not turn out according to your demands? Remember, you can fool people, but you can never fool God; you cannot manipulate the Holy of Holies to bend to your will!

 
1 Peter 1:16 says, "Be holy, for I am holy." Besides this being an excellent verse to remind us to live righteous lives, it also reminds us that a holy God cannot tolerate sin. If you are asking God to bless you in any way, be it a health, spiritual, financial, emotional, or mental issue, you cannot be wallowing in sin and expect Him to answer your prayers. If you feel your prayers are being blocked, it may be that God wants to help you, but your ungodly actions are hindering His blessings.

 
If we are honest, we can all admit that there have been numerous times in our lives we purposely chose to disobey God’s voice. Myself included. In essence, we are making an active choice to separate ourselves from God and hinder our prayer life. Would you expect a boss to keep you on the job if you kept stealing or refusing to show up? No; nor should you expect a holy God to turn the other way when you willfully choose to do the wrong thing.

(2 Chronicles 7:14) If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

The key words there are “if,” and “humble themselves.”

(Psalm 34:18) The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 

Humble yourself and admit you have done wrong. The free gift of salvation begins with repentance and admittance of sin. Then you must begin to and continually walk in holiness to please God (Romans 12:1- I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.).

Romans 6:1-2 tells us God's free gift of grace is not to be manipulated and abused for our own selfish will, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Grace is not an excuse to live however you want because you are a “Christian.” The opposite is true. We need to have a holy desire to please our Creator and live a truly Christian lifestyle. We need daily self-evaluation and repentance.

(Luke 9:23) Then [Jesus] said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 

(1 Corinthians 15:31) I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

Daily very simply means we must crucify our flesh every day not just once. Psalm 139: 23-24 should be a daily prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Bottom line here is to quit using the difficult circumstances of life as an excuse to refuse to do what you know goes against the Word of God. First evaluate your heart and actions to see if you are going against His will so He cannot help you. Then learn to focus on the eternal picture and see how much God loves you and allow "The goodness of God" to "leadeth thee to repentance."

Are you questioning God's call?

Are you questioning God's call?

This post is inspired by a discussion I had with my husband a few nights ago.  I won't go into all we talked about, but my husband was asking me why I have been having doubts about our calling in the ministry.  This is a paraphrased version of the conversation.

I said, "Why would God call me?  I am a nobody, I can be a brat, and I am physically weak."

My husband lovingly responded with, "Jesus knows how much you love Him."

I said, "Yes, I definitely do; more than anything."

"And you want to serve Him with your whole heart, you read your Bible every day, and you follow what it says."

"Well, yes, I try to, but..."

"God wants a humble person who is willing to work for Him, willing to change, and who wants to give Jesus their everything, not some arrogant person who thinks God owes them everything," then he added with a sweet smile, "And you really are not a brat."

As the conversation continued for a while, I realized this would make a good blog topic as I am sure many of you can relate to feeling unworthy to serve the Lord.

(Mark 16:15) And [Jesus] said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

This verse does not say only a certain race, age, gender, economic status, or even only super healthy people can serve Him. We are all called to share His message. Furthermore, we should want to share it:

(Luke 10:2) Therefore said [Jesus] unto them, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."

Here is a writing my husband and I wrote on responding to the call of the Lord https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-lord-of-harvest-written-by-my.html.

God does not demand perfection, but He does expect us to practice what we preach.  

(Romans 2:1, 3, 5-6 & 21-22) Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

In other words, we cannot be a hypocrite and please God.  We should not even be attempting to serve God until we clean up our own lives first.

But now let me get back to the title of this blog and hopefully give all of us some encouragement when we are wondering why God would call us.  We are not alone in feeling inadequate.  In fact, we are in very good company. When God called Moses, he did not say, "Of course you want me.  I am rich, skilled, handsome, and very moral."  No, he was very humble and in fact argued with God insisting God was calling the wrong person (Read Genesis chapters 2 to Exodus chapter 40 for his whole story and specifically Gensis chapters 3-4 to read about when he was called).  God, of course, never, ever makes mistakes, and He was certain Moses was the right man to go before Pharaoh to demand the Hebrew slaves be set free, as well as being chosen as their spiritual leader afterwards.  God did, however, acknowledge Moses' fears and doubts and allowed his brother Aaron to be his helper.

The prophet Jeremiah also questioned God about his calling.  In chapter 1 of Jeremiah, when he is called, Jeremiah feels he is too young and a poor speaker.  Yet just as God had reminded Moses that He had made the mouth, He also assured Jeremiah He would guide the prophet's words.   

Gideon (see Judges chapter 6) also repeatedly questioned God's calling. He also did not arrogantly say, "Of course you are calling me because I am brave and young."  No, the angel had to tell Gideon he was a man of valor, yet he never seemed to believe it.  All throughout his story in Judges through to chapter 8, Gideon is full of insecurities and doubts.

Through these few examples we can see a pattern of humility.  We do not need to be self-loathing for God to use us, but we should never tell God He needs to call us because we are so attractive, talented, rich, Godly, etc.  God does not need us, we need Him.  That's why we want to serve Him and spread His message, because we want others to need Jesus also.  We want to help others remove that barrier of pride and admit they need a Savior and then choose to give up sin so they can spend eternity with a holy God. 

(Isaiah 66:2) "For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been," saith the Lord: "but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."

That verse above, that is the key! Read all the words until they sink in.  

On the night of the above conversation with my husband, he reminded me of these verses:

(1 Corinthians 1:26-31) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Yes, we may feel weak and inadequate, but our holy "foolishness" shares the life of salvation and not the rebellious foolishness of sin's death (see Romans 6:23). That is what it is all about, not glorifying ourselves.  Not seeing our name in lights. Not to be rich.  But to glorify the name of Jesus.  If you have any other agenda, then this next verse is for you.  It is for all those who have served the Lord under false motives and hypocritical actions.

(Matthew 7:21-23) Not every one that saith unto me, "Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;" but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" And then will I profess unto them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

It is perfectly okay to question why God would call you, as it shows humility and a willingness for self-examination. Just make sure you follow through and allow the Holy Spirit to help you work on changing where God says you need to change and to give up the sins He expects you to give up. Nothing is worth holding onto if it means losing your soul, but God is worth giving up everything to serve Him and Him alone!  

I will leave you with this poem I wrote in 2006:

(Isaiah 6:8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then said I, "Here am I; send me."

When Called (2006)
It is an honor to be called out,
To have God say you are ready,
To walk through the battlefield
Equipped in the armor of His holy word;
To take a stand where others fall
And say, “Yes, Lord, use me.”

Not to whimper or cry,
But to shout because you are chosen;
To tremble in awe at such an assignment,
And pray for wisdom and strength;
To try to understand,
And believe God’s will even when things seem impossible;
To say, “Yes, Lord, teach me.”

To feel His blessing grip a hold of you,
And kneel in His presence;
To not give up or give in,
But to push ahead through the muck.

And when you reach the end,
To praise Him for surviving;
To say, “Yes, lord, heal me.”
And not become bitter;
To reflect on all He taught you;
To remember He chose you;
To feel your faith grow stronger,
And heart more open;
To do it all again,
And say, “Yes, Lord, use me.”