And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1.
Heaven is a school; its field of study, the universe; its teacher, the Infinite One. A branch of this school was established in Eden; and, the plan of redemption accomplished, education will again be taken up in the Eden school….
The prophet of Patmos thus describes the location of the school of the hereafter:
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away…. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:1, 2….
The giving of the tree of life in Eden was conditional, and it was finally withdrawn. But the gifts of the future life are absolute and eternal….
Restored to His presence, man will again, as at the beginning, be taught of God: “My people shall know my name: … they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.” Isaiah 52:6….
All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s children. With unutterable delight we shall enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. We shall share the treasures gained through ages upon ages spent in contemplation of God’s handiwork. And the years of eternity, as they roll, will continue to bring more glorious revelations. “Exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20) will be forever and forever, the impartation of the gifts of God….
The life on earth is the beginning of the life in heaven; education on earth is an initiation into the principles of heaven; the lifework here is a training for the lifework there. What we now are, in character and holy service, is the sure foreshadowing of what we shall be.43Education, 301, 302, 307.
The Faith I Live By p. 360
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Tanya. She is seriously ill. BL
—-Please pray for Riley who is pregnant and having liver problems. They may have to take the baby early. Please keep them both in prayer. Jean
—-Please pray for Lili. She was in a car accident. Pam
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Dear Friends,
My father-in-law once had a professor named Mr. Henry, who had an unusual way of speaking. He repeated everything he said three times. No doubt he started doing this to make sure that his students understood what he said in his lectures. This way even the slowest writers could take notes with ease. However, it had become such a habit that he did it even when talking to only one student.
Of course, the students made fun of him. They could see no reason for his odd behavior. Behind his back they called him “Mr. Henry, Mr. Henry, Mr. Henry. When they got together in the student lounge, they often thought up possible scenes in Mr. Henry’s life such as, going to the gas station. They decided that he would say to the attendant, “Fill ‘er up. Fill up the car with gas. My fuel tank is almost empty, fill it with gasoline.” Or if he went to the bakery, they imagined he would say, “I would like three cookies. I’ll take one-fourth dozen cookies, please. Please give me a half of a half dozen cookies.” Then the students would laugh heartily. If Mr. Henry ever knew that he was the object of their jokes, he never let on. His motive was good, and although the students might not have realized it, they did have an easier time learning in his class.
Just as Mr. Henry’s redundancy had a purpose, so our Heavenly Teacher must often repeat experiences in our life, so we may learn that which we need to understand. Often God brings us into the same or similar situations for our benefit. It is like learning school lessons by repetition. Having to travel the same “path” over and over again, makes us almost despair, but God has His hand in it, leading, guiding, urging us to make the right decision; so we will not have to repeat that lesson again.
“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.” Job 5:17 Solomon tells us, “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Prov 3:11,12 Paul reminds us, “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Heb 12:5-11
May we cooperate with our Heavenly Teacher as He uses the circumstances of life to change us into His image is my prayer.
Rose

Living the Life of Eden