Esther Rolle, who played the maid in the hit 1970s sitcom Maude and the strong-willed mother who kept her ghetto family together in the spinoff series Good Times, died Tuesday, November 17th, 1998.

Norman Lear, creator of Good Times, said he cast Esther Rolle because of her strong presence. "Wherever she was, you knew she was there," he said. "The woman had strong conviction."

Esther Rolle died of complications due to diabetes. However, it really doesn't matter how a person die, being prepared for death is what's important. You see, when a person is prepared to meet death, that person will arrive in Heaven immediately following death. And the only way a person could ever be prepared for death is to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Let me make myself crystal clear, all Born Again Believers (Christians) go to heaven after death. Why? Because he or she has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. In other words, that person believed Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and believed that when He died on the Cross at Calvary, that He died a substitutionary death, He died in his or her stead. You see, a penalty had to be paid for our sins, and that penalty is death which is eternal separation from God in Hell ("For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23). However, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all of mankind with His life on the Cross to keep us out of Hell. He is our Savior. And only He could be our Savior because He was perfect, Holy and without sin... He was God manifested in the flesh.

Esther Rolle did many good works, there is no denying that. But the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Good works have never been good enough to get a person into Heaven... you must accept Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior to get into Heaven. He is the only way and says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man commeth unto the Father, but by me."

What about you, are you saved or are you lost and hell bound? "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." God the Father gave Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for you while dying on that Cross at Calvary. And if you continue to reject God's greatest Gift to you, when you finally die, your body will be buried in some grave, but your soul will move immediately from this life into the torments of Hell.

I pray that Esther Rolle was saved. I pray that somewhere along the pathway of life, she sincerely trusted in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ for eternal life. But if you have never done such, you need to right now because tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Thousands die every single day, but today you could prepare yourself for that fateful day. Simply repeat this prayer, "Father God, thank you for your gift, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that He died on the Cross for my sins. I believe He was buried, and I believe He rose from the dead on the third day. I believe He did all of this to keep me out of Hell. And I now accept Him into my heart as Lord and personal Savior and repent of my sins. Please help me now to begin living for Him rather than for myself. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

If you said that prayer and meant it with all your heart, you are Born Again. You are now a child of God, and when you die, you will go and be with the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven. Please continue on to my Christian Resources Web Site.

If you did not say that prayer, WOE IS YOU and when death finally comes upon you, you will arrive in Hell... and there you will suffer for all eternity. That's a long time to be screaming, and burning in fire. It's your choice. YOU chose to go there!