"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...."
I have been feeling rather reflective this past week. I have been thinking a lot about what Christ has done for me and it has humbled me.
I have also been thinking about the affects of sin on the world...... babies born not thriving, a toddler struggling to communicate or sit up, a young girl having surgery to remove cancer, people sitting under preaching for years and not knowing the Savior, empty materialism, death from cancer, a little 11 month old baby dying from a heart problem, all of us seeking our own idols of the heart.....Knowing this is not our home, soothes the ache, but sometimes it just hurts.
When thinking about the fact that earth is not our home, I often think about the Sunday after Micah relapsed. Pastor John preached a sermon of comfort for us and the congregation. He ended it by giving us hope and reminding us what awaits by reading Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV).
"1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
When this was read, I wept in that pew, like no one was there. Even though we had been through cancer before, it was the first time I was longing for Christ to return so much that it physically hurt me.
There has been a tension in my own mind lately about Jesus coming back.
Since relapse in Dec of 2010, I haven't stopped praying for Jesus to come. I long to be with Him in heaven. But now I am seeing past my own desires and have started to pray that maybe He should wait until the whole world hears. I now have more of a longing for others to see the glory of Christ and for them to be His.
Living in Christ is
realizing we are sinners,
knowing that we need Jesus,
acknowledging that we are nothing without him,
understanding that He died on the cross to pay for them all,
living with the comfort that this world isn`t all there is, it is just a small part of what is to come,
knowing he is all powerful,
is everywhere,
is all knowing,
has all things planned,
never changes,
is always faithful,
has us in His hands,
knowing He listens to our prayers,
realizing that He won't always say yes,
understanding that He lets things happen for our good and to change us, however much it hurts,
having confidence that He will never let us go
All these things are overwhelming and brings such peace and joy. It doesn`t mean we won`t hurt when things happen, but we know where to look and that He will carry our burdens and won`t let us drown in the waves when they are high. He will hold us up. He promises.
I have also been thinking about the affects of sin on the world...... babies born not thriving, a toddler struggling to communicate or sit up, a young girl having surgery to remove cancer, people sitting under preaching for years and not knowing the Savior, empty materialism, death from cancer, a little 11 month old baby dying from a heart problem, all of us seeking our own idols of the heart.....Knowing this is not our home, soothes the ache, but sometimes it just hurts.
"1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
When this was read, I wept in that pew, like no one was there. Even though we had been through cancer before, it was the first time I was longing for Christ to return so much that it physically hurt me.
There has been a tension in my own mind lately about Jesus coming back.
Since relapse in Dec of 2010, I haven't stopped praying for Jesus to come. I long to be with Him in heaven. But now I am seeing past my own desires and have started to pray that maybe He should wait until the whole world hears. I now have more of a longing for others to see the glory of Christ and for them to be His.
Living in Christ is
realizing we are sinners,
knowing that we need Jesus,
acknowledging that we are nothing without him,
understanding that He died on the cross to pay for them all,
living with the comfort that this world isn`t all there is, it is just a small part of what is to come,
knowing he is all powerful,
is everywhere,
is all knowing,
has all things planned,
never changes,
is always faithful,
has us in His hands,
knowing He listens to our prayers,
realizing that He won't always say yes,
understanding that He lets things happen for our good and to change us, however much it hurts,
having confidence that He will never let us go
All these things are overwhelming and brings such peace and joy. It doesn`t mean we won`t hurt when things happen, but we know where to look and that He will carry our burdens and won`t let us drown in the waves when they are high. He will hold us up. He promises.
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