eternity

Our Future Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

This month I made a new friend. His name is Marcos and he is a resident at a local nursing home.  His room-mate can’t remember any family coming to visit and the aide who helps bring people in to our church service asked if I would have time to stop in. People like my  friend Marcos are everywhere. What hope do we have to offer them?

“How sweet to hold a newborn baby – And feel the pride and joy he gives”

Go the lines from the Gaither song “Because He Lives” The sweetness of holding a baby is nowhere seen more powerfully than in a nursing home. Sadly there are few people willing to bring their babies in so the staff provides lifelike dolls for the residents to cradle. They gently rock their baby and their faces light up with smiles. It is almost as if God has built into us a response of hope for the future every time we see a tiny baby.

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Whether sitting in a nursing facility or standing in a cap and gown waiting to graduate from high school our future hope is always in the love of God. His plans for us are to give us hope. His plans for our future are always for our good. We can trust Him till our final breathe here on earth, knowing that in a moment we will be breathing in our first breathe of heaven!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.     Jeremiah 29:11

 

No Sunset in Heaven

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As I was finishing my evening bike ride I was struck with the beauty of the sunset. The fleeting moments of the end of another day on our small corner of the earth are so awe inspiring that it leaves us speechless. And yet in Heaven with no more darkness or night there will be no more sunset. The face of Jesus who has perfectly been designing millions of sunsets with no two alike will be more.

That glimpse of sunset reminds us that one day it will be the last sunset and our time here is limited. And I was reminded of the song Wait a Little Longer.

One day may be all that we have to touch a heart, share a burden, dry a tear or feed the hungry. What a Heaven without sunset is like we can’t know but we can shine the love of Christ to someone before dark.

The Great Investment

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And said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15 NKJV

The Dow Jones measures the value of  the biggest companies in our economy and some of us invest there. But there are others called commodity traders who make their money by buying something now that they believe will have a higher value later.

As Christians we are a kind of eternal commodity trader. We have chosen to invest in Jesus No one is forced to be a believer. We must decide to put our trust in Him.

Sadly one of those closest to Jesus chose differently. Even after having observed Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead; forgiving sinners and feeding the hungry Judas still remained focused on himself. He still wanted to know what was in it for him.

Being greedy like Judas means choosing to see value differently than God does. God sees people as His best investment. But when we yield to greed it means we have chosen short term gain as our only reward.

How wonderful it is that God is the opposite of greedy! He never sees us as objects to be used or abused. When it would have been far more convenient for Jesus to remain safely in heaven He came to earth. When a comfortable retirement in some quiet place teaching willing disciples seemed appealing Jesus went to the cross. He stood still when we would have run. He refused rescue when we would have begged for help. He forgave His crucifiers when revenge would have been justified. He did all these things because He chose to love. Love has a high investment cost; but it also has an amazing reward. Jesus believed we were worth the cost of His own life.

The wonderful news is that He can be our reward and He is worth infinitely more than anything else in this universe! Living in love will mean choosing to see people as God does. His Grace gives us the privilege to buy in to the heavenly commodity exchange for free. All we need to do is sign the contract because our shares are already set aside in heaven. You will never beat the great return on investment God offers you this morning by grace. The market is already open. What will you choose to buy in to today?