Heaven
By Chaz Oswald, Michigan Have you ever contemplated what Heaven is like? I did a brief Internet search and discovered many confused souls trying to describe Heaven. Some describe it as “sitting on clouds all day long, playing a harp”; others say it is a place of one “eternal [and boring] church service.” A few [...]
ODB: So Long
October 22, 2011
READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
[Do not] sorrow as others who have no hope. —1 Thessalonians 4:13
My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!
As believers, we never have to say “goodbye” to the ones we love, as long as they have placed their trust in Jesus as Savior. The Bible promises that we will see them again.
The apostle Paul said that we should not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13), because when Jesus returns, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves and—together with the believers who are still alive—will meet the Lord in the air (vv.15-17). We have confidence that one day in heaven there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4). It’s in that wonderful place that “we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).
Christians have the hope of an eternal reunion with Christ and with believing loved ones who have passed away. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “comfort one another with these words” (v.18). Today, encourage someone with the hope that allows us to say “so long,” instead of “goodbye.”
— Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...ODB: My Fingernails Or His Hand?
October 20, 2011
READ: Psalm 37:23-26
The Lord upholds him with His hand. —Psalm 37:24
Tough times can cause us to get our perspective turned around. I was reminded of this recently as I talked to a fellow-griever—another parent who, like Sue and me, lost a teenage daughter to death suddenly and without warning.
She told me she had been missing her daughter terribly, and she told God she felt as if she were hanging on by her fingernails. Then she felt as if God reminded her that His hand of protection was there to hold her up—that she could let go, and He would catch her.
That’s a better perspective, isn’t it? This picture reminds us that when troubles come and we feel least able to hold on to our faith, it’s not up to us. It’s up to God to support us with His mighty hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 says: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord . . . . Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” And Psalm 63:8 tells us: “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”
In tough times, we can become so preoccupied with our role in “clinging to God” that we forget about His promised protection. It’s not our fingernails that sustain us—it’s His loving, upholding hand.
— Dave Branon
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: A Lesson in Crying
September 21, 2011
READ: Revelation 21:1-7
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. —Matthew 5:4
Has your heart ever been broken? What broke it? Cruelty? Failure? Unfaithfulness? Loss? Perhaps you’ve crept into the darkness to cry.
It’s good to cry. “Tears are the only cure for weeping,” said Scottish preacher George MacDonald. A little crying does one good.
Jesus wept at His friend Lazarus’ grave (John 11:35), and He weeps with us (v.33). His heart was broken as well. Our tears attract our Lord’s lovingkindness and tender care. He knows our troubled, sleepless nights. His heart aches for us when we mourn. He is the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). And He uses His people to comfort one another.
But tears and our need for comfort come back all too frequently in this life. Present comfort is not the final answer. There is a future day when there will be no death, no sorrow, no crying, for all these things will “have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). There in heaven God will wipe away every tear. We are so dear to our Father that He will be the one who wipes the tears away from our eyes; He loves us so deeply and personally.
Remember, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).
— David H. Roper
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: Blessed Assurance
September 12, 2011
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. —2 Corinthians 5:8
As I was talking with a gentleman whose wife had died, he shared with me that a friend said to him, “I’m sorry you lost your wife.” His reply? “Oh, I haven’t lost her; I know exactly where she is!”
To some this may seem like a rather bold or even flippant assertion. With so many after-death theories, one might wonder how we can be really sure where our loved ones go after death, let alone where we ourselves will end up.
Yet, confidence is appropriate for followers of Jesus Christ. We have the assurance from God’s Word that when we die we will immediately be with our Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Thankfully, this is more than just wishful thinking. It is grounded in the historic reality of Jesus, who came and died to cancel our penalty for sin so that we could receive eternal life (Rom. 6:23). He then proved that there was life after death by exiting His grave and ascending into heaven where, as He promised, He is preparing a place for us (John 14:2).
So, rejoice! Since the benefits of this reality are out of this world, we can boldly say with Paul that “we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).
— Joe Stowell
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Joyful Reunion
August 23, 2011
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! —Revelation 22:20
Some years ago when our children were still small, I flew home after a 10-day ministry trip. In those days people were allowed to visit the airport boarding area to greet incoming passengers. When my flight landed, I came out of the jet-bridge and was greeted by our little ones—so happy to see me that they were screaming and crying. I looked at my wife, whose eyes were teary. I couldn’t speak. Strangers in the gate area also teared up as our children hugged my legs and cried their greetings. It was a wonderful moment.
The memory of the intensity of that greeting serves as a gentle rebuke to the priorities of my own heart. The apostle John, eagerly desiring Jesus’ return, wrote, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). In another passage, Paul even spoke of a crown awaiting those who have “loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). Yet sometimes I don’t feel as eager for Christ’s return as my children were for mine.
Jesus is worthy of the very best of our love and devotion—and nothing on earth should compare to the thought of seeing Him face-to-face. May our love for our Savior deepen as we anticipate our joyful reunion with Him.
— Bill Crowder
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Awakened By A Close Friend
August 2, 2011
READ: John 14:1-7
Where I am, there you may be also. —John 14:3
A few years ago I had some tests to screen for cancer, and I was nervous about the outcome. My anxiety was magnified as I thought about the fact that while the medical personnel were well-trained and extremely competent, they were also strangers who had no relationship with me.
After awakening from the anesthesia, however, I heard the beautiful sound of my wife’s voice: “It’s great, Honey. They didn’t find anything.” I looked up at her smiling face and was comforted. I needed the assurance of someone who loved me.
A similar assurance lies ahead for all who have trusted Jesus. Believers can be comforted in knowing that when they wake up in heaven, One who loves them greatly—Jesus—will be there.
The Book of Common Prayer expresses this Christian hope: “After my awakening, [my Redeemer] will raise me up; and in my body I shall see God. I myself shall see, and eyes behold Him who is my friend and not a stranger.”
Do you have trouble facing mortality? Jesus promised to be there when we slip from this world into the next. He said, “Where I am [heaven], there you may be also” (John 14:3). What a comfort for believers to know that after death we will be awakened by a close Friend.
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: Pain No More
July 21, 2011
READ: 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? —1 Corinthians 15:55
For a good portion of my life, I shared the perspective of those who rail against God for allowing pain. I could find no way to rationalize a world as toxic as this one.
As I visited people whose pain far exceeded my own, though, I was surprised by its effects. Suffering seemed as likely to reinforce faith as to sow doubt.
My anger about pain has melted mostly for one reason: I have come to know God. He has given me joy and love and happiness and goodness. It leaves me with faith in a Person, a faith so solid that no amount of suffering can erode it.
Where is God when it hurts? He has been there from the beginning. He designed a pain system that, in the midst of a fallen world, bears His stamp. He transforms pain, using it to teach and strengthen us if we allow it to turn us toward Him.
He has hurt and bled and cried and suffered. He has dignified for all time those who suffer, by sharing their pain. But one day He will gather the armies of heaven and will unleash them against the enemies of God. The world will see one last terrifying moment of suffering before the full victory is ushered in. Then God will create for us a new, incredible world. And pain will be no more (Rev. 19:11–22:6).
— Philip Yancey
Pain will either turn us against God or draw us to Him.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: A Family Reunion
July 9, 2011
READ: 1 Thessalonians 2:4-12
We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. —1 Thessalonians 2:7
For the past 29 years, the annual Celebration of Life reunion in our city has brought together members of a unique family. The festive gathering reunites doctors, nurses, and staff from Colorado Springs’ Memorial Hospital for Children with former patients from its neonatal intensive care unit. Some are infants in strollers while others are young teens. Their parents have come with them to say thank you to those who saved their children’s lives and gave them a second chance. Edward Paik’s article in The Gazette quoted Dr. Bob Kiley’s heartfelt response: “Both professionally and personally, for all the staff, this solidifies why we’re in this job.”
I wonder if in heaven there will be many such times when spiritual caregivers and those they helped as “babes in Christ” will reunite to share stories and give praise to God. The New Testament describes how Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy worked among the young believers in Thessalonica with gentleness, “just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7), and with comfort and encouragement, “as a father does his own children” (v.11).
Helping new believers at a critical stage in their faith is a labor of love that will be cause for great rejoicing at the “family” reunion in heaven.
— David C. McCasland
One of heaven’s pleasures will be to share our earthly stories.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: A Royal Wedding
June 11, 2011
READ: Revelation 19:1-10
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. —Revelation 19:7
Weddings have long been an occasion for extravagance. Modern weddings have become a chance for young women to live out the fantasy of being “a princess for a day.” An elegant gown, an elaborate hairstyle, attendants in color-coordinated dresses, bouquets of flowers, an abundance of food, and lots of celebrating with friends and family contribute to the fairytale atmosphere. Many parents start saving early so they can afford the high cost of making their daughter’s dream come true. And royal weddings take extravagance to a level that we “commoners” seldom see. In 1981, however, many of us got a peek at one when the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was broadcast worldwide.
Another royal wedding is in the planning stages, and it will be more elaborate than any other. But in this wedding, the most important person will be the groom, Christ Himself; and we, the church, will be His bride. John’s revelation says that the bride will make herself ready (19:7) and that our wedding gown will be our righteous acts (v.8).
Though earthly marriages last only a lifetime, every bride works hard to make her wedding perfect. How much more, as the bride of Christ, should we be doing to prepare ourselves for a marriage that will last for eternity.
— Julie Ackerman Link
Source: Our Daily Bread
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