“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Psalm 23:6 (NIV) Of all the benefits of God’s goodness, only one lasts beyond your life on earth. The final verse of Psalm 23 expresses the ultimate example of God’s goodness: “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6 NIV). That means you don’t have to fear death—because death is not the end. God saves the best for last. Even if you have a tough life here on earth, if you have asked Jesus Christ to save you, you will dwell forever in the house of the Lord, where there’s no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more sin, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more problems, no more pain, and no more pressure. Heaven is unbelievable. God’s glory is waiting there for you. The Bible teaches, “It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:5-7). Everything you’ve seen in movies about heaven is probably wrong. First, heaven is not nirvana, a dream, or a metaphorical attitude. Heaven is a physical place, not a state of being. It’s a permanent place that will last forever. And it is reserved only for God’s family. Heaven is also not boring! We see a glimpse of heaven in Revelation 21, where we learn that we won’t just kick back and do nothing for eternity. A lot of the stuff you do here on earth is what you’ll be able to do in heaven. You’ll be able to eat in heaven, you’ll be able to sleep in heaven, you’ll party in heaven, talk, fellowship, pray, and sing—just to name a few. Heaven was created for you. There are only two things that you do on earth that you won’t do in heaven. First, in heaven you can’t sin; second, you can’t witness to a nonbeliever about Christ’s love and forgiveness because only God’s children are there. That’s why, once you become a believer, God does not take you instantly to heaven. He wants you to pass on the Good News of salvation and grace. The only reason you’re going to heaven is because somebody told you about the Gospel. Now it’s your turn to tell others. There is so much to look forward to in heaven. We will worship God forever. We will be reunited with those who love Jesus. We will be rewarded for our faith, hope, and love. We will be assigned work that we enjoy doing. What an awesome promise. What a good God!
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“For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!”
2 Peter 1:3 (TLB) The vast majority of people pay no attention to eternity. They’re living for the here and now, which is a waste. Everything that’s “here and now” isn’t going to matter in five minutes, much less 50 years—and certainly not for eternity. If we stretched a rope from California to Tokyo, and that represented all of eternity, your life on Earth would be represented by less than one millimeter. So how do you live in light of eternity? You live for God’s glory, because he’s going to share his glory with you in heaven. The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:3, “For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!” (TLB). You don’t get to choose what’s going to happen to you the rest of your life. But you do get to choose how you respond. You can face the future as a cynic, as a critic, as a pessimist, or as a doubter. You can face the future expecting the worst and experiencing the worst. You can face your future being ungracious to other people, and you can live for your own glory. Or you can face the future with gratitude, generosity, and graciousness and live for God’s glory. Which one do you think will make you happier? Which one do you think will make you more successful? Which one do you think will bring a smile to God and rewards in heaven? Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (ESV). We were created because God wants a family. He wants to spend eternity with his family. He wants to spend eternity with you and me! Heaven is one of the main reasons you can have joy—God has given us eternal life, and living in heaven with him will be amazing! “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us.”
Ephesians 1:4-5 (TLB) To get ready to be used by God, the first thing you need to do is understand the purpose of your life. The Bible makes God’s purpose for you very clear: “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us” (Ephesians 1:4-5 TLB). God made you to be part of his family. He made you so he could have a relationship with you—to love you and to be loved in return. But there’s only one way to become part of God’s family: through faith in Jesus Christ. Not only does God want you to be part of his family but he also wants you to spend eternity with him. Ephesians 1:10 says, “This was his purpose: that when the time is ripe he will gather us all together . . . to be with him in Christ forever” (TLB). God’s purpose is, first, that you become part of his family and, next, that you get to know him. Then he wants you to spend all of eternity with him. History is moving toward a climax. One day God will gather everyone who’s put their faith in him, and they will live together with him in heaven. Life here on Earth is preparation for eternity. The Bible says that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). That means you were made to last forever. You were made for eternity. Every human being is going to live forever in one of two places: with God in heaven or apart from God in hell. God didn’t create you just for the 80 or 90 or however many years you have on this planet. God has long-range plans for your life. So, what is life on Earth about? It is preparation for eternity. In other words, God is more interested in preparing you for eternity than he is in simply making you happy here and now. Of course, he loves you and wants you to be happy—but not at the expense of your preparation for eternity. Life is a dress rehearsal; it’s the warm-up act for the big event. You need to get prepared for eternity by getting to know God, becoming more like Jesus, and letting God use you to fulfill his purpose on Earth. “Those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged.”
John 5:24 (GNT) Jesus’ death and resurrection release you from judgment. Maybe you’ve imagined a day of judgment that goes something like this: You’re standing outside the gates of heaven in a really long line. You’re slowly moving forward, one step at a time. As you get closer, you start to sweat and wonder, “Am I going to get in? Am I going to make it? Is God going to use a giant TV screen to show every foolish or wrong thing I’ve ever done? Will my every sin be exposed?” I have Good News for you, promised by Jesus Christ himself: “Those who believe in the Son are not judged” (John 3:18 GNT). Or, as he says it later in the book of John: “Those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged” (John 5:24 GNT). Is that good news? Oh, yeah! There's a story of Buddy who said that, when he was a little kid, his Sunday school teacher taught him that God was sitting in heaven, writing down every bad thing that Buddy ever did. She actually made the class sing a song every week that went, “My Lord is writing all the time. Writing, writing, writing all the time.” Buddy said, “It scared me. I just thought, ‘I’m never going to make it to heaven. My list is getting longer and longer.’” Is that the way God treats you when you come to him and put your faith in Christ? No! In fact, God is erasing, erasing, erasing all the time. Forgiving, forgiving, forgiving all the time. He’s sitting in heaven, hitting the “delete” button. Why? Because the Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8 NIV) and love “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV). If you put your trust in the love of Jesus Christ, your sins are wiped out. You can count on God to keep his promise: “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NLT). “If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you.”
Romans 8:11 (GNT) God never promised that life would be fair. Heaven is where everything is done God’s way; life on Earth just doesn’t work like that. We live on a broken planet. But what happens on Earth isn’t all there is to life. You’ll spend 60, 80, or maybe 100 years on Earth. You’ll spend trillions of years in eternity. If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus, the Bible says you’ll spend eternity with God in heaven. That’s one of the most important reasons Christians should be joyful—God has given us eternal life! And eternity will be amazing. The Bible promises: “If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you” (Romans 8:11 GNT). What will heaven be like? You’ll be reunited with people you love. You’ll get rewards. You’ll get rest. You’ll get responsibilities you love. And, as Romans 8:11 says, you’ll get a new body. That’s one of the things I’m most excited about in heaven—no more decaying old body. You were created because God wants a family. He wants to spend eternity with his family. He wants to spend eternity with you and me! And that truth can bring you great joy. “Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here.”
Colossians 3:2 (TLB) When you live in light of eternity, you don’t get discouraged as easily by trouble. You don’t give up because you know what is coming is the best gift you’ve ever been given. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “That is why we never give up . . . These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever” (TLB). Whatever trouble you’re going through right now, here are three things about it:
When you arrive in heaven, you’ll be in awe of being in the presence of Jesus. But if you weren’t so overwhelmed by Christ’s presence, your first thought would probably be something like: “What was I thinking? Why did I spend so much time trying to impress people? Trying to be popular? Trying to pile up a bunch of money on Earth? I had no time to serve God, no time to give, no time to share, no time for relationships, no time for what matters most. I was doing all the seemingly right things. But why didn’t I make more time for what mattered most?” So much of what you do—even some of the good things—is not going to last. You need to realize that every second of your life has eternal implications. Every decision. Every thought. Every action. Every word. Every attitude. Every feeling. Every kindness. Every sin. Colossians 3:2 says, “Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here” (TLB). God is watching and testing you to see what you will receive in heaven. When you live a purpose driven life, you are constantly asking questions like: Will this last? Does it deserve my money? Does it deserve my time? Does it deserve my reputation? And most importantly, you need to ask: Does it make a difference for God’s forever kingdom? “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great.”
Luke 6:35 (NLT) Heaven probably already sounds pretty good to you. But did you know there are going to be rewards in heaven? You will be rewarded for everything you did in obedience to Jesus while on this Earth. God is watching everything in your life. You will be rewarded in heaven for your good actions, speech, and thoughts; for your character and good decisions; and for your generosity and sacrifices. You’ll be rewarded for loving your enemies and for not giving up when it was difficult to do the right thing. You will be rewarded for bringing other people to Jesus Christ. (Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you?) You will be rewarded for putting up with criticism for being a Christian and for being persecuted as a believer. That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV). God is watching it all and is going to reward it all. These rewards have nothing to do with your salvation. The only way you get into heaven is by faith in what Jesus Christ has already done for you. You can’t get into heaven by your good works. But the Bible says that when you get to heaven, you will be rewarded according to your good works. There are all kinds of verses about this. Matthew 10:42 says, “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (NLT). It seems like such a simple thing to give a cup of water to someone or to share a meal. But, every time you do that, it’s like God says, “I’m writing that one down. I’ve got them all recorded.” You get to decide where you want your rewards. Do you want them in this life, or do you want them in the next life? Jesus said, “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great” (Luke 6:35 NLT). If you choose this life’s rewards—like popularity, wealth, fame, success, and comfort—then you will enjoy them for only 80 years or so. But if you build up rewards in heaven, you get to enjoy those rewards forever. Don’t settle for the rewards this world has to offer. As a child of God, you have so much more to work for and look forward to! “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”
Hebrews 13:14 (NLT) Heaven is the place God is preparing for his family. When God started thinking up Earth, he also started thinking up heaven. Why? Because he knew you were not meant to live here forever. This is not all there is! That’s a good thing—because you don’t want to live in an imperfect place forever. You want to live in a perfect place that was made just for you, as a member of God’s family. God’s plan for eternity is such an amazing expression of his love. The Bible tells us that God created the entire universe because he wanted a family that would live with him forever. It wasn’t because he was lonely—because God is fulfilled in himself. He wanted to express his love by creating human beings in his image, so that he could adopt us into his family, and we could live with him forever. Ephesians 1:5 says, “[God’s] unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!” (TLB). There’s a word for God’s family: church. The only thing in this world that’s going to last is the church—the people who have chosen to be part of God’s family in faith and obedience. As the Bible says, “We have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay” (1 Peter 1:4 NLT). Because you were made to last forever, you can choose to spend eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you accept your inheritance as God’s child and your forever home in heaven. That inheritance can never be taken away from you! It is God’s amazing gift to you. It changes not just where you spend eternity but how you live life now. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:14, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come” (NLT). Once you become part of God’s family, there’s a whole lot more to life than just the here and now. You realize that this world really is not your home. You’re just passing through! “They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”
1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NLT) The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:18-19, “They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life” (NLT). You are going to enjoy forever what you invest in heaven, and you invest in heaven every time you use money for good. So what’s the best way to do that? Any financial advisor will tell you not to put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, you put your money into different funds for a balanced portfolio. Did you know that God has given different “funds” that you can invest in for eternity? We’re going to look at three today and two tomorrow. These funds are proven. They have a track record. They’re protected. They are risk-free. And they yield enormous dividends. 1. God’s Growth Fund. This is any time you invest in something that is going to grow your character. Proverbs 10:16 says, “The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin” (NLT). So how do you enhance your life with your money? You use it to grow spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. When you use money to develop your skills and become mature, you are investing in eternity. 2. God’s Mutual Fund. This is every time you use money to encourage fellowship and build relationships with other believers. Romans 12:13 says, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality” (NLT). Why does God want you to use some of your money to show love to other believers? There are three reasons. First, it proves that you’re in God’s family. Second, it creates unity. And, third, it’s a witness to unbelievers. 3. God’s Service Fund. This is when you invest in eternity by using money to serve others. God wants you to take some of your money and use it to help people who are in need. Proverbs 11:24 says, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller” (The Message). In other words, the more you help others, the more God blesses you. Why? Because God is a giver. He is generous, and he wants you to become like him. 4. God’s Global Fund. This is when you use your money to share the Good News and bring people to Jesus. Luke 16:9 says, “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (NIV). A lot of people have no idea what this verse means. Is it saying that you can buy friends? Not at all. It means that God wants you to invest in things that help get people into heaven so that when you get to heaven, they will welcome you there. It’s the greatest investment of your life. Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you? 5. God’s Treasury Fund. When you give money to God as an act of worship, that’s called the Treasury Fund. God makes a promise in Proverbs 3:9-10: “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines” (TLB). “The first part of all your income” is your tithe—the 10 percent of your earnings that you give to God through your church. You can’t really give God anything because he already owns it all. But think about the allowance you may have received as a child. If you went out and bought a birthday present for your mom, you really were using her money. Does that mean she liked the gift any less? No—because she cared more about the thought and the love behind the gift. God feels the same way about your giving. The Bible says that wherever your treasure is, your heart will also be there. If what’s most important to you are the things of this Earth, then every day you are moving further away from your treasure. Because every day you are here on Earth, you’ve got one less day to invest in eternity. You’re moving further and further away from the things you’re going to leave behind. But if you’re investing in God’s funds and using your money to serve God’s purposes, then you’re storing up treasure in heaven every day. You’re getting closer and closer to your treasure instead of further and further away. Missionary Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” You’ll find yourself becoming more and more like God as you invest in your character, other believers, and people in need. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
Romans 8:11 (NLT) As believers, we have hope because we are going to live forever. Death is not the end. There is more to the story! One day your heart will stop beating, and that will be the end of your body. But it’s not going to be the end of you. You were made in God’s image. You were made to last forever. This is not all there is. Why do we have hope? Because no matter how bad it seems on earth, it’s just for a while. When you have faith in Jesus, you know you’re going to spend trillions of years on the other side of eternity with no more sorrow, no more sadness, no more sickness, no more suffering. The Bible says in Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (NLT). You probably know there's a difference between people with hope and those without when it comes to funerals. You can see it in their eyes, the terror in the eyes of people without hope. They’re thinking, “This is all I have. It’s over. I will never see this person again. It’s done. That’s all there is to life.” You might compare that to the people at funerals of a believer. They know this is just a transition step. Their loved one is entering real life! They’re going to be with God for eternity. There is grief, of course, but also hope, because they know they will be reunited one day with their loved one who followed Jesus. For a believer, death is not leaving home—it’s a homecoming. Do you have that hope, knowing you’ll spend eternity with Jesus Christ? If not, don’t delay. Make that decision today. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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