May 08, 2013
Read | John 14:1-4
Jesus warned His disciples that He would soon be going away. However, the Lord also promised to return someday and take them to a home that He’d have prepared for them (John 14:3). This verse confirms to us that heaven is a real place.
According to the Bible, Christians have citizenship in paradise (Phil. 3:20), our treasure is stored there (Matt. 6:20), and it will be our eternal home (1 Thess. 4:17). God is not describing a celestial dream world. Rather, all believers can confidently look forward to being gathered there, in a tangible dwelling place.
Every Christian’s spirit enters God’s presence immediately after physical death (2 Cor. 5:6). Once the Lord’s timing is fulfilled for the world’s tribulation and judgment, He will renew all things. First, our bodies will be resurrected as immortal, pain-free, and vigorous sheaths for our spirits (1 Cor. 15:42). Later, earth will be transformed into an uncorrupted paradise, and we will also have access to a heavenly city—the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10-27).
In these two spheres of heaven, God’s children will spend eternity serving and worshipping Him. Despite misconceptions about reclining on clouds and playing harps, we won’t be sitting around, doing nothing! We will rest, but this holy respite is from all the things that make life on earth so wearying— temptation, heartache, trials, and pain.
Paradise is beyond our imagination, but we do know that the believer’s life goes on in heaven. As citizens of that realm, we will take up the work of serving and praising God. Moreover, we will enjoy unlimited energy and perfect harmony among the Lord, ourselves, and other saints.
God bless you!
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The Danger in Being a Christian: It began as a Jewish sect; fierce persecution only helped it spread Today's reading: Acts 8 Acts 8:1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. In some countries, a person who becomes a Christian forfeits a good education and job. And in a few countries, a person who converts risks his or her life. One church historian estimates that more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in all preceding centuries put together. Yet, strangely, more often than not, intense persecution of Christians leads to a spurt of growth in the church. An ancient saying expresses this phenomenon: "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." The First Big Advance For a while, the new faith enjoyed popular favor. But very soon it involved grave risk. In the book of Acts, the persecution that produced the first Christian martyr, St...
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