Friend, is your heart leaping in anticipation? Do you get butterflies tingling in your tummy with the heartbeat racing at the idea of something new? New is exciting. New comes with expectation. Some days, when our eyes open in the morning, it is easy to see the freshness and beauty. But other days may not seem so glorious as bad news spreads, world upsets are made prominent, and the disease of sin runs rampant. On days like this, one can almost hear the unpleasant groaning of creation (Rom. 8:22), and you can almost hear the cry for restored order and healing. And it will come. Any ugliness and dreariness of sin and decay today will all give way to the promise of the new that is to come. We are encouraged that things will not remain as they are now, with the Word encouraging us, saying, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'” (Revelation 21:5, ESV). We will, without a doubt, see the promise of the new.
You are the One we look to for hope and healing. You are the One who gives new life so appealing.
You are the One who brings wholeness from brokenness. You are the One who restores ruins and messes.
You are the One, the mender of breaches. You are the One for whom my soul gladly reaches.
You are the One who shelters and saves. You are the One who raises the dead from graves.
You are the One, all-encompassing truth. By faith, my sight needs no visible proof.
For You are the One who saves from eternal fire. You are the One, my glory and holy desire.
You are the One who bears us on eagle’s wings. You are the One who carries us forever to eternity.
You are the One who saves to the utmost. You are the One in whom my soul gladly boasts.
You are the One, the only one God true and right, to Whom none can compare, my soul’s joyful delight.
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” Isaiah 40:18
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” Deuteronomy 6:4
“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:5, 6
Friend, what a beautiful word “ended” shall be. It signals rest, completion, ceasing, and finishing. It is forever putting to bed contentions, strife, fighting, and hurting; reasons for tears and upsets, knowing in our Lord it is all finally over. The reward ahead is sure for God is our sure foundation. It will not slip through the fingers of faith. The days of toiling have an expiration date and we will lay ahold of that glorious promise: “For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended” (Isaiah 60:20).
Friends, without even realizing it we are on the wheel today. There is a final destination awaiting us in glory and progress is being made on that final product. While the end goal is heaven, here we are formed to be vessels fit for the Master’s use (2 Timothy 2:21). Some days we may feel all right, others our imperfections may seem more pronounced, but take heart for even that great apostle once declared, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect…” (Philippians 3:12). It may be we are still in the process. It may be that the Father’s loving and careful hands are still at the wheel shaping us: “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand…” (Jeremiah 18:6). By faith, allow yourself to be shaped.
One day we shall rise and meet Jesus in the sky, put away this humanity as we step into eternity.
Heaven, at last, will be our home, forever in Your presence we will evermore roam.
No more clouds, sin, or earthly dismay, we will be caught up, raptured away.
The days draw near, with my heart, I look up, anticipating fellowship at the Lord’s dinner to sup.
Eternity is forever, today is temporary, through trials and toils, look up, blessed honorary.
The King will come to take us home, His people, beloved, as His very own.
If you’re not sure of your future bright, let not this day pass without making it right.
Tomorrow’s not promised. Today is at hand. Repent and turn while you still can.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” ~ Revelation 1:7
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:52
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” ~ Titus 2:13
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” ~ Mark 13:26, 27
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” ~ Acts 2:38
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” ~ Acts 3:19
He carried so much. More than “our sins and griefs to bear,”1 He carried the weight, the pain, the inner turmoil, and mental anguish the results of all the by-products of those sins and griefs, upon a heavy-laden heart and mind. Tears welled inside to the bursting, refusing to fall from the eyes that were singularly focused upon a greater joy.
It was the psalmist who wrote, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” Psalm 30:5, recognizing the temporary hold tears and sorrow have, especially when one’s heart is fixated upon a greater joy to be found in the morning.
For Christ, the illness of sin had made its mark on His body and throughout His person. Yet, in the heaviness of the load He carried, and the pain His holy vessel endured, we are told, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.
Although the joy was there for what it would accomplish, let us not approach the pain He endured physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in a lackadaisical fashion. Let us not brush aside what strength of heart and mind this endurance called for. Let’s not subtract what the man, the person of Jesus felt and suffered at the hands of all these afflictions.
So heavy it was, and so hard it was, we couldn’t do it for ourselves: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” 2 Corinthians 3:5.
The tarnished state of man could never find in himself the satisfaction this heaviness of sin required, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. But in Christ, “ God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” Romans 3:25.
Sin was paid in full. Joy came at the thought and complete process and plan of the redeemed being ransomed from the clutches of darkness. But let us not be unmindful or take lightly the night afflictions He suffered through before the day dawned. In it, there was real pain and real sacrifice beyond the scope of what we can imagine. All for the joy that we might experience a glory unimaginable, where “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
The weight of what Jesus endured could not dim the glory of the greater joy in the morning. Aren’t we glad about it!
He suffered, To save, His greater joy Came to our aid, And satisfied the debt, We could not pay.
His joy is complete, In the sky We shall meet, The blessed Savior Our sins impaled Hands and feet.
Absent are tears Or turning away, Forever with Him We shall surely stay. Accepting His sacrifice Paved the way.
” For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Coming to Jesus with all our wrongs and trusting Him to heal and forgive is a walk of faith: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8). Now, that one has received that gift of God; that gift of salvation, they are now“the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:26.
When Jesus transforms lives with His saving blood, we are renewed, changed, and adopted into the family of God. The old garments of self and sin have been shed and put off, and having “put on Christ,” a new life arises. A great exchange takes place when in Jesus we place our faith, and it is in Him, we want to stay covered. Now, let us press forward and not lessen the steps of righteousness in our lives. Let’s continue onwards and upwards, through struggles and toil, for at the end of life and the things we see, eternity’s gates are waiting for you and me.
I sit on my couch in the early morning, sipping my beverage and eating a bowl of hot breakfast cereal when through my window shines the rising sun. Its brightness captivates me and invites me to the joy of the new day before me.
It’s beautiful to see its rising and to feel the warmth of its encouraging rays stretching out before me. Like one of my cats who always seems to find that perfect spot on the floor to enjoy its richness, I, too, just sit to soak in its shining goodness.
As beautiful, and as welcoming as this morning moment is, I am reminded of the morning of a new day that all believers will be privileged to rise to. A day this physical sun cannot compare to or even touch in beauty and splendor, because, in that place, there will be a “city,” that has “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof,” (Revelation 21:23).
Can you imagine the glory of that moment, of that place?
While I may struggle to put into words the thoughts my heart feels when taking in the reality of those written expressions of our future and the picture of glory they represent, one day all those who are in Christ will see this and so much more for themselves.
No matter how beautiful or hard a moment here may be, they will all be eclipsed by the glorious future that awaits the believing heart. Our hope, rest, peace, and restoration we are yearning for will all come to fruition when we enter the place where God’s glory shines brighter than any sun.
Live for that moment, dear friends. Let the beauty of what will be capture your heart, overshadow any troubles, and strengthen your steps for these days. For these days have nothing on that glory which is to come.
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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Today, many in the United States will gather with family, friends, and others to celebrate our national Thanksgiving holiday. A day we recognize when provision had been made for survival and the abundance of the harvest was reaped and enjoyed. We will gather in living rooms, community centers, church basements, around dining room tables, and elsewhere to remember with gratitude and to feast.
While many dishes will be laid out before us today, the greatest dish, if you will pardon the expression, that we can partake of is the faithfulness of our God. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed,” is what the Bible reminds us in Psalm 37:3. It is only by what God has done in our lives and for us that we are here today. It is only because of His grace and mercy we are not consumed (Lamentations 3:22, 23). Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5), and so, let the center of my affection today and all days, not rest on the feast and the gatherings (although we can enjoy them), but on Him whose faithfulness not only brought us to the joy of the gathering around this table, but will usher us to a more glorious table to come: “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love,” (Song of Solomon 2:4). One day we will fully come into His eternal celebration with uninhibited thanksgiving, gather around and enjoy the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9), and celebrate with Him forever.
But our forever there states with our relationship with Him here. Today, remember to do more than fill your body with food from this natural feast, but take in more of Him, Jesus, that your soul may be eternally satisfied: “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him,” (Psalm 34:8).
“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:11-13)
Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness in our lives and the feasting pleasure of knowing and taking in of You more and more.
“He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” (John 6:56, 57)
His holy provision has been made. Come, and join the feast.
DON’T LOSE HEART. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO AN ETERNAL REWARD! Daily, we may face challenges. Daily, there may be uprisings against our faith. But daily, we are renewed by His strength, power, and grace. The promise before us is greater than the trials in front of us.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” –2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Please Note: Ads below or referenced on this site are prefabricated and mass-produced (of which I currently have no control over) and DO NOT necessarily represent the views and/or beliefs of this site and its admin.
Word For Life Says... 