GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 29

 Psalm 127:2 ~ ~ “God gives His beloved sleep.”

From the book, “We Shall See God” with sermons from Charles Spurgeon and comments by Randy Alcorn.

Continuing, with Randy’s comments:

I’ve never been to heaven, yet I miss it.  Eden’s in my blood.  The best things of life are souvenirs from Eden, appetizers of the new earth.  There are just enough of them to keep us going but never enough to make us satisfied with the world as it is of ourselves as we are.  We live between Eden and the new earth, pulled toward what we once were and what we yet will be.

As Spurgeon puts it, “Here we listen to the whisperings of heaven’s melody, born by winds from afar.”  but there’s a place Christ is preparing for us.  Do you hear the final sounds of construction?  Are you ready to live there with Jesus forever?

In Eden, God came down to earth, the home of humanity, whenever He wished (Genesis 3:8).  On the new earth, God and mankind will be able to come to each other whenever they wish.  We will not have to leave home to visit God, nor will God leave home to visit us.  God and mankind will live together forever in the same home—the new earth.

God declares this truth in Scripture:  “I will put My dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.  I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people”  (Leviticus 26:11-12).  “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)

Desire is a signpost pointing to heaven.  Every longing for better health is a longing for the perfect bodies we’ll have on the new earth.  Every longing for romance is a longing for the ultimate romance with Christ.  Every thirst for beauty is a thirst for Christ.  Every taste of joy is but a foretaste of a greater and more vibrant joy than can be found on earth now.

That’s why we need to spend our lives cultivating our love for heaven.  That’s why we need to meditate on what Scripture says about heaven and to read books, have Bible studies, teach classes, and preach sermons on it.  We need to talk to our children about heaven.  When we’re camping, hiking, or driving or when we’re at a museum, sporting event, or a theme park, we need to talk about what we see around us as signposts of the new earth.

When we think of heaven, as unearthly, our present lives seem unspiritual, as if they don’t matter.  When we grasp the reality of the new earth, however, our present, earthly lives suddenly do matter.  Conversations with loved ones matter.  The taste of food matters.  Work, leisure, creativity, and intellectual stimulation matter.  Rivers and trees and flowers matter.  Laughter and service matter.  Why?  BECAUSE THEY ARE ETERNAL.

Life on earth matters, not because it’s the only life we have, but precisely because it isn’t.—it’s the beginning of a life that will continue without end on a renewed earth.  Understanding heaven doesn’t just tell us WHAT to do, but WHY.  What God tells us about our future enables us to interpret our past and serve Him in our present.

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Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; …

Psalm 5:11

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

Psalm 13:5

But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

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