“Then
as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had
heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice
said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these
things." And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven
and someone sitting on it.” (Revelation 4:1-2).
Although the context of this
Scripture is Jesus calling John to come and experience a vision of Heaven,
there is coming a day when everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will hear
those blessed words, “Come up here.” I remember when I first became a
Christian, there was a song we used to sing in our church that went like this,
“Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King...hallelujah, hallelujah, we
are going to see the King.” To the Christian, the prospect of death is not one
to be feared, but one to look forward to with joyful expectation. As Charles
Spurgeon notes in his Morning by Evening devotional, “We are not called down to
the grave, but up to the skies.” To be absent from the body is to be present with
the Lord, and that’s what makes the hope of Heaven so wonderful.
“For we know that when this
earthly tent we live in is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we
will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by
human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when
we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be
spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. Our dying
bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and have no
bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies
will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God himself has prepared us for this,
and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident,
even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home
with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are
fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we
will be at home with the Lord. So our aim is to please him always, whether we
are here in this body or away from this body. For we must all stand before
Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or
evil we have done in our bodies. It is because we know this solemn fear of the
Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I
hope you know this, too.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-11)
Let me ask you a vitally
important and potentially life-changing question. If you were to die tonight,
and step out of this life and into eternity, do you know for sure that you
would enter into Heaven, to live forever with God? If not, then this day’s
devotional is a very important one for you. One day you are going to stand
before Christ to be judged, to receive whatever you deserve. “Don't you realize
how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you
see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? But no, you
won't listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of
your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. For there is going to come
a day of judgment when God, the just judge of all the world, will judge all
people according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who
persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and
immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those
who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds.”
(Romans 2:4-8). If you keep on sinning, there will be trouble. But if you call
upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in Him, you can be saved,
and there will be glory and honour and peace for you.
“Another reason for right
living is that you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the
coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is
almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don't live in darkness.
Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves
with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. We should be
decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our
behavior. Don't participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery
and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. But let the Lord Jesus Christ
take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires.”
(Romans 13:11-14). Jesus is coming back soon, and it’s time to get ready for
Heaven.
Pastor Chris Jordan
www.beausejourchurch.ca
0 comments:
Post a Comment