My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. Isaiah 32:18.
In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called “a country.” Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home….
There, “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; … and a little child shall lead them.” “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” saith the Lord. Isaiah 35:1; 55:13; Isaiah 11:6, 9. There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful.
Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: … for the former things are passed away.” “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.
There the Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isaiah 65:21, 22.
Maranatha p. 353
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Prayer Requests
—–Peter spiked a temperature of 102.3 degrees last night which triggered a seizure. He is running a 101.1 degree temperature today and has some cold symptoms. Please pray that he gets over this “bug” soon and has no more seizures. Rose
—–Please pray that B finds a job very soon. L
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Dear Friends,
Last week, after taking Ron and Esther Marie to the Kansas City airport,
Eileen and I started for home. It was late and very dark, but we were
making good time. We knew we would arrive home at a fairly decent hour.
As we were driving along, Ronnie Jay called us and asked where we were. We
had just passed a mile marker that told us that we had 116 miles to go. He
said that he would call back in an hour.
In a few miles we stopped for gas. After filling up, we got back on the
highway. There was no sign telling us which way to go, but I hardly
noticed. I was getting tired. I drove onto the highway.
Soon I was making very good time and was thinking that it would not be long
before we were home. Suddenly, Eileen interrupted my thoughts. She said,
“Mom, we just passed a sign that says, “Kansas City.” I told her that
maybe it was just for a road that led to Kansas City, but that we would check at the next exit. It took us quite a few minutes to get to an exit, cross the interstate to read the sign on the other side, and see that we had, indeed,been going the wrong way.
When Ronnie Jay called again an hour later, he asked how close we were to
home, expecting that we would tell him that we were about 40 miles away.
Imagine his surprise when we told him that we still had 111 miles to go!
It can be that way in life as well. We can be going along at full speed
thinking all is well, but we are headed in the wrong direction. We think
we know the way, but we are getting farther from our goal. The wise man
observes, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death.” Prov 14:12
Jesus expands upon Solomon’s observation, “Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt 7:13,14 How can we find that narrow road? How can we find that strait
gate?
David asks, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed
thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O
let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine
heart,that I might not sin against thee.” Ps 119:9-11 “Teach me thy way, O
LORD,and lead me in a plain path.” 27:11 “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God: thy spirit is good, lead me into the land of uprightness.” Ps 143:8,10 As we prayerfully study God’s Holy Word each day, we find the right path. The Bible is like a signpost that points to the “Way, the Truth, and the Life”, Who said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:6, 15
James admonishes us, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to
save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a
doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner
of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the
work,this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:21-25
Our Great Creator promises, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of
your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them.” Eze 36:26,27 Let us ask Him for that new heart.
Let us daily study God’s Word, that we may find that narrow and rugged path
that leads to Heaven. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Heb
12:1,2
Rose