The event happened many years ago, but it left a picture in my mind that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. I was in church, walking up the side aisle when another church member, an older woman who had been so dear to my husband and me was walking towards me. I smiled and greeted her. She jerked her head up, her nose towards the ceiling and swiftly passed by without a word! It was an obvious rejection – not just of my greeting, but of me personally. I was bewildered! So what did I do? I followed her to inquire!
Continue reading “How Does Jesus Respond To Those Who Reject Him?”Tag: Heaven
Not Home Yet
Last week we headed out on a VERY long road trip. We traveled from Tennessee to New Hampshire where I was blessed to speak at the Ladies’ Retreat at The Wilds of New England. My husband wisely decided we should take two days to get there and two to return. The trip was fabulous. We saw some color just getting ready to peak in the next couple of weeks. We saw rivers, Cape Cod homes, mountains, quaint New England towns, and of course the beautiful campsite at The Wilds.
Continue reading “Not Home Yet”He’s Coming! How Will He Find Us?
When my husband and I were dating, we lived several hours apart and the loneliness for him was prevalent every day! But then an occasional weekend would come up that would allow him to be able to travel home to visit with me for a day and half, and my heart would literally be in my throat as I waited and watched for his Chevy Impala to come barreling down the lane to my home!
I kept my eyes peeled out the window, but only after I had prepared myself to greet him. I made sure I was cleaned up and ready for his arrival. I also straightened up the living room for his visit. I knew he was on his way, and I had to have everything ready!
Because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I have a promise that Christ is coming again to take His children to heaven. Christ made the promise the He would return again. We’re waiting for the shout, the voice and the trump of God. We also know that no one knows when He will return. He is coming like a thief in the night. So what does that mean for us as His followers? It means we must be ready. We won’t have time when He comes to go get ourselves clean and fit to meet Him.
I heard a story this week that I’ll share not word for word, but you’ll get the point. There was a family who learned that their son was coming home. He’d been gone a long time and the family was anxiously expecting his return. But on the day of his arrival, the family was found squabbling and fighting. It seems that they were having a disagreement about how the son was coming – one said by plane, another by train, and someone else said he was bringing others with him. When he returned, he found them in this quarreling state. Is that how we want the Lord to find us when He comes? Will all our trivialities really matter on that Day? I hardly think so.
So, how will He find us if He were to come in fifteen minutes?
- Will we have clean hearts?
- Will we be doing His work at that moment?
- Will we have others that are going to heaven with us because we shared the Gospel with them?
- Will we be happy to see Him?
Or
- Will we be squabbling over the things that others are doing that we don’t like?
- Will we have bitter spirits?
- Will we hang our heads because we got busy doing Satan’s work instead of Christ’s?
I John 3:2,3 says,
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Just like I got cleaned up when I knew my boyfriend was going to be coming, if we have the assurance of salvation, God’s Word says we’ll be making sure we’re clean. Not because we’re afraid we won’t go to heaven, but because we ARE His child and we know He’s on His way! We don’t want to be ashamed at His coming.
Friend, are you indeed God’s child? Have you taken Christ as your Savior because you realize you are a sinner separated from a holy God? All you need to do is receive the gift of eternal life through the person of Christ. Tell Him you know you’re a sinner and that you want to receive His gift of salvation that He purchased through His death, on the cross.
Are you looking for Christ to return today? He could come…oh I pray He will come today!
Will I be ready and clean? Will you?
Lovingly,
Former Things
Flu, sinus infection, broken limb, pneumonia, gall bladder attacks, migraines, fever, back ache, joint pain, cataracts, heart attack and a million other maladies are all a part of people’s lives every day. Some people live with chronic pain for years. Others deal with periodic illness. Most all of us surely have had our share of sickness. Even when you read the Scriptures you read about leprosy, fever, blindness, blood issues, lame legs, and so on.
During a recent recurrence of a migraine, I was awakened after midnight with the nausea it caused. I rose to fix myself a cup of hot peppermint tea to ease the discomfort in my stomach. While sipping the steaming liquid in the dim nightlight I’d turned on, I reached for my pad of paper and pen and wrote down some thoughts I’d been thinking during the night. I wrote: Why God allows us to be sick:
- It reminds us how weak our flesh is.
- It makes us run to the Lord. (Remember the woman with the issue of blood who came to find Jesus and touch the hem of his robe?)
- It enables us to sympathize and be compassionate with others.
- It makes us thankful for days when we feel well.
- It reminds us we’re not home yet.
We may not enjoy being sick, but, as funny as it sounds, it is good for us.
Revelation 21:4 says,
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
What a wonderful promise this verse is; I remind myself of it whenever I have a migraine.
Whatever discomfort you or someone you care about is dealing with today, remind yourself of the truth – One Day all these illnesses will be “former things!”
With love (and a cup of peppermint tea),
RefreshHer 