In Lithuania, during the 50 years they were part of the Soviet Bloc, belief in God was seriously discouraged across the board so that Christianity began to fade from society. At the end of the occupation, an accredited Christian university, called LCC, was started by Lithuanians who had fled Lithuania at the beginning of the occupation. Many had settled in places like California, Chicago and Winnipeg.

The school became well known because its program produced excellent employees and leaders. The general course requirements included Bible classes in an attempt to bring Christianity back into the society. Not all became Christians but one graduate that I know of even went on to seminary and started a vibrant, God honoring church which we attended when we were there.

As Christmas approached each year, the school produced a pageant in which the Christmas story was told through word, song and dramatization. Since many local Lithuanians loved music and knew that the school produced quality concerts, they filled the 1,600-seat auditorium for three nights. After the production, some heard the audience comment that the story was told as if it was true! I wonder what impact that had on them as they pondered what they had seen and heard.

What about us? Many who are reading this likely do believe that God exists and that the Bible about Him is true. What evidence do we have that it is true? Does that belief affect our status for eternity? Does that belief affect our lives today?

First, is the Bible true? Actually, whole books have been written on the subject so we’ll only glance at this topic. One piece of evidence we have though, is that there are 300 Old Testament prophecies about Christ and every one of them came to pass. That’s a good start.

Second, is our eternity affected? Recently, someone I’ll call “Paige” told me that she believed that being a good person is enough to go to heaven. Being “nice” is a good thing but “niceness” does not determine our place in eternity. The Bible says in Acts 4:12 that belief in and submission to Jesus is the only way to heaven. In addition to the promise of heaven, we also have the promise of hell. We will spend eternity in one of those places. Read Matthew 25:31-46 for a description.

Third, how will belief in the truths of the Bible affect our lives today? One example from Psalm 23 says that Jesus is our Good Shepherd who will lead and restore us. Do we seek His promised guidance and restoration when we feel too stretched to find peace?

Hebrews 13:5 says that He will never leave us or forsake us. If that is true, how should that affect our days and nights when worry haunts us?

Psalm 32:8 tells us that He has a plan for us and will lead us and guide us in that plan. What if we really sought after Him when a decision loomed before us? Could we find more confidence in the future if we held our own plans loosely so that God could lead us to His best plan?

We end this very brief discourse with my beginning question. What if it’s true? Blaise Pascal, (1622-1662) a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher and Catholic writer put it this way. “If we wager that God exists and we are right, we win everything. If we wager that God exists and we are wrong, we lose nothing.”

Let’s wager that God exists and seeks our good and study His Word so that we lose nothing!

Helen is author of a second book, “Journeys in Faith, Pursing Obedience,” containing more than 50 additional devotionals written for The Minot Daily News.