“Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
― Isaiah 49:23

Let’s cut to the chase. I write this book to assure you that your future is secure!
God and His Word remain utterly trustworthy. Nothing else can match the Bible (including Google) for finding the truth. The world needs Jesus now more than ever—it needs His words now more than ever. I am not sure there has ever been a more critical time to be reading the best-selling book of all time (i.e., the Bible).

The Bible is unequivocal about our future. Sickness and death are not the end of our story. There is a place called heaven that will be better than anything we can imagine here on Earth. The Bible is clear that heaven will be beyond anything our imagination can create.

There is one big problem. We must acknowledge the presence of evil. According to the Bible, “the whole world is under the control of the evil one .”(1) Satan has been present in our world from the very beginning. (2) The apostle Peter described Satan as “a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to deceive and tear apart.” (3) Just turn on the evening news, and you will see fresh evidence. Every night. I can’t even answer my phone or respond to an email for fear that someone may be trying to deceive me. We are increasingly under attack from all directions.

This is a direct result of the Bible losing relevance in society today. The Bible has been moved to second fiddle. It is no longer playing the leading role in guiding humanity’s choices, and the results are telling. As an example, I am reading a book right now (non-fiction) where the protagonist describes the Bible as “archaic, old, and meaningless in modern society.”

Without God and His deep wisdom as an anchor, we interpret life with only human insight, leaving us hanging by a thread.

My goal with this book is to change that trajectory by injecting the promise of heaven into the world, especially to those closest to me. Heaven derails Satan’s goal of destroying our future. The whole reason God sent Jesus to Earth was to conquer death and to assure us about heaven, which includes victory over death. (4)

We spoil Satan’s plan for our demise by keeping our eyes fixed on heaven. The evil one does not want us to believe there is a heaven. He does not want us to read the truth of scripture. Heaven gives us the hope that the evil one wants to destroy. Heaven gives us security about where we are going. Heaven will be a world without Satan; it will be nirvana.

I recently had a discussion with a customer at Trader Joe’s that gave me a taste of how far we have strayed from God’s word. One of the things I enjoy about being in the store is that you gain a pulse on your community.

“We are going to let them decide …”

A young lady came to my line at the cash register with a shopping cart of groceries. She was pregnant and clearly ready to have the baby any day (or hour!). I struck up a conversation about how she was doing as I was scanning in the groceries. I enjoy talking to expectant parents to relive the wonderful memories of our two children being born. I asked her the usual questions: When are you due? What hospital? First child? How are you feeling? It all went smoothly until I asked,

“Do you know if it is a boy or girl?”.

She paused, as I continued to scan the groceries. Then she looked up at me and responded,

“Well, we are going to let them decide.”

I continued bagging her groceries while trying to figure out what she meant. Then it hit me: She would not identify the sex of their baby by the fact that it came out as a boy or a girl. She would let them decide!

Oh my. How sad.

I quickly finished bagging the groceries and sent her on her way with good wishes for the delivery. But it was hard for me to reconcile what just happened. I have thought about it many times since.

Fighting Evil

I stand behind the Bible as my only source of truth. Our life is a sacred gift from God, and the Bible answers how we should use it.

Satan is trying to drag us into the abyss. His goal is to see us lose hope, telling us that the Bible is outdated and irrelevant. Heaven is the last thing he wants us to think about. Heaven destroys his plan for us. It’s his worst nightmare.

I do believe something unrivaled awaits me in heaven. The very best we may have experienced here on Earth cannot possibly measure up to what God has planned. (5) Experiencing a sunset at the beach, a wildflower in the mountains, or a pelican riding the draft of a breaking wave; are just appetizers for what God has in store for us in heaven. It will be a place of complete sensory delight and breathtaking splendor with personal joy in relationships that is beyond our grasp.

The evil one won’t take away my hope! My future is secure in Jesus Christ.

Let me know how I can pray for you. (6)

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
― John 16:33

————-Footnotes——–

1. 1 John 5:19 (NIV):
   “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
2. Genesis 3:1 (NIV):
   “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
3. 1Peter 5:8 (TLB):
   ”Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.”
4. 1John 3:8 (NIV):
   “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
5. Revelation 21:4 (NIV):
   “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
6. Click “Contact Mike” at surfingforbalance.com.