Heaven

The Other Side of the River

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Maybe you were a little like me growing up and you just wanted to fit in (But you couldn’t). In my case it was usually because I was the new kid – over and over again! Being accepted like one of the others was a premium that somehow I was never quite able to pay.  When I found Jesus at the age of nineteen; finally there was someone who was willing to be called my friend. But old ways of thinking can have a way of hanging around and translated into running after acceptance as if I still needed to belong somewhere here on this planet. I was still looking for home.

But Jesus reminds me that fitting in here on earth is not His goal for my life. In fact what we all need more than anything else is the peace that flows from knowing that where God has put us for now is the perfect place to be. He does give us a spot to catch our breath at times like Jesus did at the Samaritan well. But the destination that Jesus has in mind is our real home; and it sits there on the other side of the river.

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In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2-3

 

 

His Whispers

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They call her a child with a disability or sometimes more gently a child with a special need. But sometimes God chooses to send special messengers like my friend Laura to remind me of His whispered promises.

Her wordless smiles tell of a joy that cannot be spoken. Her quiet play reveals a peace greater than we can understand. But best of all is Laura’s unconditional acceptance of anyone shines a light of God’s love for us all. She tells all the gospel in a whisper that points me to the cross and the still small voice of God when He said, “It is finished!” and our hope of heaven was assured!

Hope of Victory

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But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ                       1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV

Sometimes when we are facing a crisis the whisper comes in the dark of night that there is no longer any hope. We feel like a rowboat caught in the tidal wave of serious illness, family turmoil or the death of a loved one. That is exactly the situation which the disciples faced as they accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had asked them to pray with him for one hour but the Bible tells us that

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And when He rose from prayer He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow. Luke 22:45

They were overcome by sorrow, but not their master. Jesus had prayed till His sweat fell like drops of blood. Jesus had continued interceding even when they felt defeated. In the same way He is interceding in heaven for you and I today. Neither our sorrow nor our despair will cause Him to abandon us. He will come and awaken us. He will carry our burdens. He chose in that dark garden to pay the full price for our sin to give us hope. It is that hope which lies behind the cry:

O Grave where is your victory? Death where is your sting? 1 Corinthians 15:55