Tag Archive for heaven

The Inevitable Reality

2021-06-11 Devotional with Hymn, Magnificent God No comments

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20, NIV).

To most people, even Christians, too much talk of heaven is not intellectually respectable.

We squirm when Jesus talks so often about trying to gain rewards in heaven. That isn’t much of a motive for doing good, is it?

But Jesus had seen heaven, as well as earth. He had a unique perspective on the shortness of life here. The heaven that we feel is so far away is upon us even now.

Jesus pointed to heaven as the ultimate and inevitable reality. He urges us in the strongest terms to be wise – to live our brief lives with that reality in full view.

Jesus emphasized the coming judgment
over and over,
in the strongest terms.
He had seen life from both earth and eternity, and
He urged us to live with eternity in view.
Look all around you: we are
temporary creatures living in a
temporary world.
All we see and touch is
quickly passing.

Hymn: Captives of Eternal Love

What a Day!

2016-10-23 Devotional with Hymn No comments

“They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:15-17, NIV)

Imagine the moment of Jesus’ resurrection,
when the power of the Father crushed death—
we will share in it.

Imagine the full splendor of His glory—
we will share in it.

Imagine when all the universe crowns Him
King of Kings and Lord of Lords—
we will share in it.

Imagine the beauty of His life and love,
spreading, blooming, growing everywhere and forever—
we will share in it.

We will share in all He is.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: In That Morning
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Beyond This Life

2016-07-24 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling . . . For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4-5, NIV)

While we are in this tent, we groan (v. 4). I groan, Lord, even though my body is relatively healthy and free from pain. I groan because of the earthly concerns that burden my mind and emotions. I groan because of a certain restlessness that churns deep inside me. Even when all is going well and my life and work are fulfilling, there is an unsettledness, a feeling that my heart is not home.

My longing for change, for the next stage of life, seems to grow out of this unsettledness. I have a good life, Lord, but the best this life has to offer is not good enough. It doesn’t satisfy. I am thrilled by beauty, but I can’t take it into myself or keep it with me. Attained goals don’t fulfill. The best of times and experiences passes so quickly.

I long to be clothed with my eternal dwelling, to be free from this life of restlessness and lingering death. I long to have a body designed for the being You created me to be, for the being You are making me in Christ:

  • a body that is never a hurdle for my spiritual life but a body that is one with that life, that nurtures it and expresses it and sets it free;
  • a body designed to do Your work throughout eternity, without weakness or hindrance;
  • a body that is Your holy temple, filled only with Your praise.

I grasp for satisfaction and permanency, and I find only You, Lord. Clothe me in You, Jesus. Unite us completely, body and spirit, life to life, forever and ever. I love You, my Lord. Come soon.

The moments of life filled with
waiting and helplessness,
desperation and futility,
remind us that Jesus Christ alone is
our life,
our hope, and
our future.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Longing for Home
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Longing

2015-08-18 Devotional with Hymn No comments

For me, heaven is not a mansion,
a harp, or
angels’ wings.
It is not meeting old friends or
an endless family reunion.
That is not what my heart longs for.

My heart longs for You,
my Father,
my Creator.
My heart longs for my Savior,
my Brother,
my Wisdom and Holiness,
My heart longs for the Second Adam of all I will be.
My heart longs for the Breath of God,
the Wind of God,
the Life of God
blowing fully, freely, and unceasingly through all I am.

I long for
a heart,
a mind,
a world
permeated completely and forever
with God alone.

Come, Lord Jesus!
I long, and
I wait.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Longing for Jesus
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Anticipation

2015-06-30 Devotional with Hymn No comments

In my office hangs a poster of a large whale’s tail. The tail alone is seen above the water’s surface, with the other 99% of the whale being out of sight.

I’ve enjoyed this poster for years. I’ve owned it since before I had a good place to hang it.

What draws me to it, I believe, is its promise. What I see is impressive. But what I don’t see intrigues me more. The whale’s tale suggests a bigger being, a completely different type of being, a deeper life, a greater realm. What I see is a promise of what I don’t see, and it fuels my longing to see and know more.

It reminds me of God. What I know of Him is spectacular, but everything I learn promises even more that I have not yet seen or experienced, that I cannot yet fully grasp. As Job said after describing God’s greatness in creation:

Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand? (Job 26:14, NASB)

God’s promise through Paul is even more explicit:

Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, NASB)

God has poured out Himself, His own breath, His own life force, on all of us who simply trust Him. He has lavished on us His power, wisdom, and love, through the Holy Spirit of His glorious Son. But as great as this Gift is, it is only a downpayment, a deposit, a promise of His full gift of Himself to His people:

Having also believed, you were sealed in [Christ] with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14, NASB. See also 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5)

Consider the greatness of God’s gift of His Spirit. Right here and now He can be more and wants to be more than you have let Him be. But also, let this great gift fuel your anticipation for the greater gift that is yet to come: our complete and constant union with God.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Longing for Home
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For You Alone

2013-09-22 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Lord, if all I do in Your service is done for You,
in response to Your grace to me,
in response to Your call to service,
in response to Your constant leading,
in Your strength alone,
for Your purposes alone,
then why do I still hunger for the praise
and acceptance of people?
Why, Lord?

Free me from such desires for praise that is
vain, empty, and undeserved,
based as much on ignorance as on truth,
misleading to those who offer the praise,
destructive to me who receives the praise.
Help me to find joy only
in serving You.

And when time has proven the irrelevance
of all other measures of success,
I will stand before You.
You will look into my eyes and say,
“Well done,
my good and faithful servant.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: He’ll Understand and Say, “Well Done!”
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