Home — Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “A dwelling place, a place to lie down and rest.”

What do I mean, going home? What home am I talking about? Our earthly home?

No, the Bible tells us these homes that we live in now are just temporary and are going to pass away.

In the book of Revelation 21: 1, the Apostle John wrote, “And I saw a new Heaven and new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth were passed away.”

I’m talking about our Heavenly home.

A wonderful place of rest, joy, peace, safety and happiness forever and ever. Praising our Lord and Savior throughout eternity. Free from pain, heartache, tears, harm, sickness, death, worry and other things that burden us down in this life.

We can’t imagine how wonderful Heaven is going to be. We will never have to worry again about our unsaved loved ones, never have to pray for that one suffering in pain and hearing of another lost soul slipping out into eternity unprepared to meet the Lord.

Oh, what a wonderful place to be, safely home with Jesus. Who wouldn’t want to go there?

But, yet, everyday people are rejecting this precious gift of salvation. Being called out unprepared to meet the Lord and going to that awful place called Hell where the unsaved, the Bible says in Matthew 8:12, “Shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

You see, we’re all going home, somewhere when we die and this life is over. We are going to spend eternity either in Heaven or in Hell.

Today, if God calls us to repentance, we still have time to make that choice, to accept the Lord as our Savior and live with Him in Heaven or we can reject Him and die lost and be cast into Hell and later the lake of fire.

In the book of Revelation 20:14, 15, it says “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.”

In II Corinthians 6:2, “Now is the accepted time, behold, and now is the day of salvation.” Jesus left the splendor of Heaven to die on the cross for our sins so we could escape this awful place called Hell. In 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.”

How can you get prepared to go to Heaven? In the book of Romans 10:9, 10, the Apostle Paul writes, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

“For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” To be saved, we must come to God just as we are in simple, trusting faith.

We must repent of our sins and believe in Christ and follow Him. Jesus says in Matthew 19:29, “And everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Which home are you going to when you leave this life? There are only two choices — Heaven or Hell?

My prayer is that you accept Jesus Christ into your life and make Heaven your home.

I’m like Joshua in the Bible: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

David Hackworth is pastor of Brookdale Freewill Baptist Church in South Point.