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. Revelation 21:4.
As we enter the kingdom of God, there to spend eternity, the trials and the difficulties and the perplexities that we have had here will sink into insignificance.
In the home of the redeemed there will be no tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning, “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Isaiah 33:24. One rich tide of happiness will flow and deepen as eternity rolls on….
Let us consider most earnestly the blessed hereafter. Let our faith pierce through every cloud of darkness and behold Him who died for the sins of the world. He has opened the gates of paradise to all who receive and believe on Him. To them He gives power to become the sons and daughters of God. Let the afflictions which pain us so grievously become instructive lessons, teaching us to press forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ. Let us be encouraged by the thought that the Lord is soon to come. Let this hope gladden our hearts….
We are homeward bound. He who loved us so much as to die for us hath builded for us a city. The New Jerusalem is our place of rest. There will be no sadness in the city of God. No wail of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections, will evermore be heard. Soon the garments of heaviness will be changed for the wedding garment. Soon we shall witness the coronation of our King. Those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer’s glory in the kingdom of God.
It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness…. Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. Maranatha p. 352
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Prayer Requests
—–update—Abigail is gaining strength and health. The State still has custody of her and her parents live hundreds of miles away. They are heartbroken because of the situation that happened through no fault of their own. Please pray that the State will allow her to be moved to a family member’s home until the court case for her to be returned to her parents. Debby
—– Please pray for us as we are trying to switch to long-term visas, and our short term visas expire the end of this month. Two months of national festivals have kept offices closed, and thus slowed things down. D and K
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Dear Friends,
When Ronnie Jay and Esther Marie were children, it was necessary at times to leave them alone for a few hours. In Washington state it was legal for a child as young as 10 to babysit a sibling. Carefully I would explain to them that Eileen was working less than a mile away and made sure that they had phone numbers for all three of us in case their were any problems. I also instructed them that they were not to let anyone inside the house. That rule included friends.
Their best friend, Travis, lived about 1/4 mile away and the three of them enjoyed playing together. Travis would often come over to our house while I was gone. Ronnie Jay and Esther Marie would not let him in, but the three friends still wanted to play together. They thought and thought of a solution to their problem.
Finally one of them had an idea. Travis would stay on the screened porch and Ronnie Jay would open the window. He would not let Travis inside, but they could still play together. In this way they kept themselves entertained for hours. Of course, they were very careful not to tell me of this arrangement until years later.
How often we want despartely to do something we know we shouldn’t, so we rationalize it away. How often we get just as close to our pet sins as we dare, thinking that we are strong enough not to fall again. Should we get just as close to sin as we can? No! We are told “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” Prov 4:27 “flee fornication”1 Cor 6:18 “flee idolatry” 10:14 “Remove from … the way of lying:” Ps 119:29 Paul charged Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Tim 2:22 “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.” 1 Tim 6:11-17
Our Great Creator and Redeemer pleads with us now, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die,” Eze 33:11 He is waiting with longing desire for us to turn away from our “darling sins” and say as did David, ” Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” He has His arms open wide. He is “merciful and gracious and abundant in goodness and truth.” Ex 34: 6 He is ready to receive us. May we come to Him now.
Rose