Category: Heaven

Thursday 5/17 ~ If everything was perfect, this would be heaven

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The scripture for today, May 17 (5/17) is John 5:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Cover-KINDLE-Thumbnail-New“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’ “

Psalm 115:12 says God is thinking about you all the time. When you’re walking, riding, talking, doing, coming, going. God is always working for you. A popular song a few years ago was, “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.”  But does he always keep you from harm? He gave you free will, and sometimes you don’t make good choices. Others around you have free will, and they sometimes don’t make good choices.

If everything was perfect, this would be heaven. But it is not.  Heaven is for later after we go through some tests. Regardless of what happens here, God is beside you if you fall, ready to get to work, ready to hold out his hand to lift you up.

How he loves you and cherishes you and cares for you. He always will if you follow him.  Then, after you have fulfilled your own work here on earth,  you can follow him right into that perfect world ~ heaven.

~~~BUYLINK for ebook or discount paper:  http://bit.ly/500GoodWorks

Tuesday 5/8 ~ Deadends blocking heaven

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The scripture for today, May 8 (5/8), is Psalm 5:8 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Titus-Cover-Lg Thumb“Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness, because of my enemies ~ make straight your way before me.”

An enemy would like nothing more than to get into a good fight with someone. Do not let that happen. You have better things to do than argue with people.

Set your eyes, not on your enemy, but on the Lord. The path of enemies will take you on all sorts of side trips that lead to dead ends. The path of God rises up before you ~ straight and direct. Never let your attention stray from that path.
Keep on walking on the path of God.

And keep on walking,

and keep walking,

and walking, and walking….

….Until at last, you walk right through the gates of heaven.

Monday 5/7 ~ Lord, why don’t you stop all this suffering?

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The scripture for today, May 7 (5/7), is  1st Peter 5:7 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Thumbnail“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Oh, how hard life can be sometimes. We wonder why God doesn’t stop all the bad things. But, if there were no evil and bad things happening, we would have heaven on earth. Satan is the Prince of this world. 

How many times in a week are you anxious about something? Your job, your home, your children, your neighbors, your government, your health? How many times in a day? Are they heavy? Sometimes almost too heavy to bear?

Name them to God. Tell him all about them. Go into as much detail as you like. Then put them all on his shoulders. That’s what he wants you to do. He will carry those burdens for you.

Yes, this is not heaven on earth. But Jesus provides a way for us to escape to the other world in heaven.  We don’t have to escape; he doesn’t force us. In the meantime, he calls out, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  Why? He cares for you.

 

Tuesday 5/1 ~ It stretches our mind, our heart, our soul

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The scripture for today, May 1 (5/1), is Romans 5:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Of course, if we do not have faith in Jesus, we will not obey any of his commands. He said in John 15:14, “You are my friends IF you do what I command.”

How do we become his friends?  By obeying all his commands. But we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the wages we earn with our sins is body and soul death (Romans 6:23).

That makes it impossible for us to live in heaven. Only the just can enter heaven. Otherwise, heaven wouldn’t be heaven. But how do we become just when the fact remains that we sin by actions, attitudes, and good things we leave undone?

Every time we sin, we come in the clutches of Satan, the originator of both body and soul death.  He holds us hostage. So, God came to us in flesh, paid our fine, our bail, and bought us out of the death prison of Satan. He got us out and declared us not guilty.

But we have to believe he did that for us.  What amazing God we have. We can barely comprehend it. It stretches our mind, our heart, our soul.

Yes, it is a beautiful thing what God did for us. That was his part. Our part is to believe it, accept it, and actively follow it.

That, too, is beautiful.

Sunday 4/8 ~ Oh, that we could all say this at the end of our life

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The scripture for today, April 8 (4/8), is 2nd Timothy 4:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day ~ and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The Apostle Paul was somewhere around his seventies at this writing. He’d been converted probably in his thirties. He’d spent the past forty years telling people how to escape a place they didn’t believe they were going to and disrupting the religion they already had.

Forty years of tolerating persecution, sometimes hungry and cold and beaten and hated. Forty years of seldom staying in a city longer than a few months, always on the go.  Forty years of never being satisfied with the number of people he had reached with the Good News of their escape from Satan, the Good News of a God who actually loved them, Good News of heaven.

Now he was in prison.

“I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Oh, that we all could say this at the end of our life.

Thursday 4/5 ~ It cannot control your heart, your spirit, your soul

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The scripture for today, April 5 (4/5), is Micah 4:5 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-LUKE-KINDLE Cover-Thumbnail“All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

Nations rise and fall. Nations come and go. Nations are founded upon terror and aggression, or peace and democracy. Some nations follow religions which declare that peasants are peasants as punishment for previous lives, so must remain peasants. Some nations follow religions chosen by their national governments and which must be followed upon pain of death. Some nations deny religion completely and destroy anyone who believes anyway.

What kind of nation do you live in? As strong as your nation is, it cannot control your heart, your spirit, your soul. As strong as your nation seems to be, as much power as your government uses to control its citizens, it will not and cannot last forever.

Always remember, there is a forever nation ~ the nation of God, the kingdom of God. No matter what nation you live in, you can have “dual citizenship”. And by being a citizen of God’s forever kingdom, you will walk in it forever and ever and…

Monday 3/26 ~ And then the Creator of the Universe wants to bring you home with him

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The scripture for today, March 26 (3/26), is Galatians 3:26f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-1st Century Worship KINDLE-COVER-Thumbnail“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ because all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

The Muslim religion teaches that God is too far above humans to have such a relationship ~ you know, the parent-child kind, a family relationship. They are taught God created humans to have someone to worship him and be his slaves. Oh, how much they are missing.  And the rest of the world too.

Our Bible says God created humans to have someone to love. He wants to be more than a distant God; he wants to be our heavenly Father. So, when we come out of the waters of baptism, it is like coming out of a watery womb; Romans 6:4-5 says we are then born into a new spiritual life.

Everyone in the Christian world knows that baptism is in the Bible. Today’s scripture explains “…because you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” and therefore we have become sons with Christ ~ adopted sons. (See also Ephesians 1:5).

No need to be spiritually blind and poor and naked (Revelation 3:17).  You can gain spiritual insight, be rich in grace, and be clothed with Christ.

No need to be spiritually orphaned ~ you can become a child of God. He holds out holy arms to you. He wants to embrace you and hold you close as you finish this life on earth. And then, wonder of wonders, the Creator of the universe wants to bring you home with him.

Wednesday 3/14 ~ Are you throwing away your prize?

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The scripture for today, March 14 (3/14), is Philippians 3:14, as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Thumbnail“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has   called me heavenward   in Christ Jesus.”

Toward the end of Jesus’ sojourn on earth, he knew that, out of jealousy, the religious leaders were trying to kill him. So for a while, he stayed out of Jerusalem where the religious headquarters was. Eventually, the time came for him to put himself in their hands. Was it easy for him to do? Definitely not! For he knew his death would be by torture. But he pressed on.

“They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid” (Mark 10:32).

Jesus pressed on. He did not want to go through the crucifixion. Hebrews 5:7 says that “during the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.”

As difficult as it was for him, Jesus pressed on toward the goal to win the prize. But the prize was not for himself; it was for us ~ eternity in heaven instead of hell!

None of us has to go through what he did for our salvation and avoidance of hell. Our little bit of sacrifice is nothing by comparison. Shall we throw away the prize Jesus sacrificed so much for so we can have a little more fun, accumulate a few more things, be a little more important to our friends?

Can you press on? Or are you throwing away your prize?

Saturday 3/10 ~ Will you last forever?

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The scripture for today, March 10, is Colossians 3:10 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

Did you ever make something with your hands and it was your pride and joy?  Were you so proud of it that you would stop at nothing to take care of it and make sure that it lasted forever? Yes, you had a few rules about its care. You had a few rules about who could touch it and who couldn’t. You have a few rules about whether it should be kept at high or low temperature, should or shouldn’t be exposed to water. You were its creator and it was, in a sense, a part of you.

Do you resist knowing the Bible because you think of it as being full of rules from a God who doesn’t really like you and is just giving you a hard time so you can’t have any fun?

Think again. He made you. You are his pride and joy. He will stop at nothing to make sure you will last forever. He made a few rules for your daily spiritual care.  

He is your Creator. He loved you enough to make you, and you are a part of him. Now he wants to take care of you so that you can last forever. Can you love him back ~ your maker and the lover of your soul?

 

Thursday 3/8 ~ If you lost everything tomorrow

On By In emptiness, Heaven, Inspirational, Loss, sacrifice, victoryLeave a comment

The scripture for today, March 8 (3/8), is Philippians 3:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.”

Wow! Paul, who wrote this, considered everything he had previously owned and every position he had ever held as rubbish ~ garbage ~ compared with belonging to his Lord.

Paul apparently came from a well-to-do family since he was born in today’s Turkey but went to school in Jerusalem. He also apparently held a position in the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin, since he could vote on whether to execute someone. So he probably owned a lot of things and had an honored position. The King James Version of the Bible says he considered it all as dung ~ manure.

Where are your priorities? What do you spend most of your time on? The stuff you just have to own, exciting things you just have to do, the power you just have to claim? All to enhance the little inch of your life on earth?

What if a storm destroyed your house, your car, and all your stuff tomorrow?  What if you were banned from a sport you love tomorrow? What if a rumor destroyed your career with all its power tomorrow?  Then what?

Where are your priorities? What do you spend most of your time on? The stuff you just have to own, exciting things you just have to do, the power you just have to claim? All to enhance the little inch of your life on earth?

Or could you consider the deep and unconquerable love of Christ Jesus your Lord the most valuable thing in your life?  Could you accept your loss, take advantage of it, and unleash a different kind of life for Jesus with no regrets?