THE YEARS BETWEEN THE PROMISE OF GOD AND THE COMING OF THE PROMISED SAVIOR

Between the time when God made His promise and the coming of the promised Savior, there was a period of about 4000 years. Why God was so long in fulfilling His promise we do not know. We are only told that everything was in accordance with His perfect plan.

The Bible tells us a bit about the history of man during this 4000 year period. The purpose of God in placing this history in His Word is threefold:

1. To show that man is moving farther and farther away from God. The sinfulness of man reached a peak during the time of Noah. When it could no longer be turned aside, judgment came upon mankind because of this mounting sin. We read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. Then God destroyed the ancient world by a great flood. The Bible shows that now man’s sin is again mounting up higher and higher and finally another judgment day must come.

2. To show the change which has taken place in the lives of those who believe in every age. There have always been those who believe in the promise and truth of God, although their number has never been large. Still their lives have been as gleams of light in an ever darkening world. Because they believed in God and His way of salvation, their names are still honored. Among this number are found such names as Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David and Daniel.

3. To include in that history the prophecies concerning the coming Savior so that no one might be unsure about Who He is. These prophecies were given hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and yet they all clearly point to Him. Some of the most important of these prophecies are:

To Abraham it was promised that in his Seed (the promised Savior) all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Genesis 12:3.

About 1500 years before Jesus was born, Moses said, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.” Deuteronomy 18:15. And concerning this coming One, God Himself said, “And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy 18:19.

David the King also prophesied concerning the coming Savior, and testified that He would suffer (Psalm 22), die, and be raised again (Psalm 16) and afterwards reign forever. (Psalm 89).

The later prophets, Isaiah and Micah, prophesied that the coming Savior would be God Himself (Isaiah 9:5), Who would become man. His birth was to be by a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and would take place at Bethlehem in Judea. (Micah 5:2).

From all these prophecies, you dear reader, can be sure that it was Jesus who was prophesied about, for only He fulfilled them all.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

GOD'S REMEDY AND PROMISE

The fall of man into sin did not take God by surprise. In fact, He knew before He created him that man would sin, for He knows all things. We read in the Bible that God’s remedy for man’s sin was prepared “from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

After man sinned, it was God who sought the sinners. He called to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” Ever since that time it has been God who seeks sinners. God is seeking you too, dear reader. He has always taken the first step in salvation. Man on the other hand, did not seek God, but hid from Him. He also tried to hide his sin. This characterizes man’s actions from that day to this.

When God judged Satan, He gave a promise to Adam and Eve, and to all mankind in every age. It was a promise of deliverance. Man did not ask for it; it was pure grace. He said, “And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise they head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This is God’s remedy. He Himself would provide a Savior from among the descendants of Eve. He would bruise the devil’s head, thus destroying him and his works. The Savior would save man from the results of his sin. But He would only be able to provide this salvation through suffering. His heel would be bruised. He would suffer in man’s place. Because of that suffering, Adam and Eve, and all mankind, could be saved from sin forever.

After giving this promise, God emphasized this truth by what He did. He refused man’s efforts to hide the results of their own sin. He took goats and slew them. From their hides, He made coats to cover man’s nakedness. In this way God showed them, and us, that nothing man does can truly cover his sin. However, God Himself was willing to make a way for them to be saved. God’s way of salvation required blood to be shed, the blood of the innocent. The coming Savior was going to die in order to save all those who believe on Him.

Four thousand years later when Jesus was beginning His ministry, He received this testimony from John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Three years later He suffered on the cross and was slain that God might forgive and cover our sins. His death provides an eternal covering of righteousness for all who believe.

The Bible says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

Dear reader, you can be sure that Jesus “is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:42.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

MAN'S FALL INTO SIN

In the Garden of Eden there were many fruit trees, which were planted by God to provide food for Adam and Eve. They could eat the fruit from these trees as they wished. However, in the middle of the garden was one tree whose fruit God told them not to eat. This tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, it came to pass that Satan, the deceiver, came into Eden to begin his wicked work of separating man from God. He began this work by placing doubts in man’s mind and heart concerning the goodness and love of God. He said, “Yea, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” By this question he sowed the thought in Eve’s heart that God was withholding something good from them. Now in fact, they could already enjoy every good and pleasant thing according to their heart’s desire. By forbidding them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God was only protecting them from evil, and the misery and death that follow it.

After Eve explained God’s command to Satan, he answered, “If you eat of the tree, you shall not surely die.” That was the word of the father of lies. Then he showed Eve that the fruit of that tree was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” Eve was deceived, and she took of the fruit and ate it. When she carried some to Adam, her husband, he ate of it.

And so they made their choice. They chose to believe the devil rather than God. They chose to do what they themselves desired rather than what God desired. They rebelled against God, and sin entered into the world. The Bible says, “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12.

Their eyes were immediately opened and they knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. To cover their nakedness they made loin cloths from fig leaves.

In the cool of the evening they heard God walking in the garden. Because they were afraid, they hid from His presence. But God sought them, calling out, “Where art thou?” What a beautiful picture! God, who already knew that man had sinned, did not turn His back on them. Instead He sought them, to save them from their sin.

After He found them, God faced them with their sin. Then He punished each according to his part in that sin. The earth was cursed for man’s sake, and Adam was forced to work hard for his food. Eve’s sin was punished with added trouble and pain in bearing children. The serpent, who surrendered himself to Satan’s use, had to crawl on his belly all his life. God told Satan that he would be destroyed by the Seed of Eve, who was deceived by him. God Himself would raise up a Savior who would destroy the devil through His suffering.

After this God made coats of skins for Adam and eve. They were then driven out of the Garden of Eden, away from the presence of God, the Source of all light and good.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

SATAN

Into this happy place, where man had fellowship with God, came the tempter, Satan. He is also called the devil. In the form of a serpent, or snake, he came to Eve. His purpose was to tempt her and thus destroy man’s fellowship with God. To do this, he put the suggestion in her hart to rebel against God.

We do not know much about Satan. We are told by the Bible, our Guide, that he was created by God as an angel of the highest order. He was perfect and good, until he desired to become greater than God Himself. At that time he fell and carried many other angels with him in his rebellion. He became the prince of these angels, and now they all obey his will and wishes.

It would seem that Satan was the most glorious creature that God ever made, who was to stand in His presence. Even now his power is great, but the Bible says that his punishment is both sure and eternal. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10.

His work now is to deceive anyone who will listen to him. He also tries to steal the Word of God from the hearts of those who hear it before they can understand and receive it into their hearts. His purpose is to take man to an eternal hell.

The Bible, our Guide, says:

He is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44.

He blinds the minds of them which believe not lest they should be enlightened by the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4.

He often fashions himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14.

He is the prince of this world. John 16:11.

So it is clear that this evil creature is now set in opposition to God. He desires to deceive and destroy man. With great power and clever cunning he carries on this work, with the help of many other wicked angels. To do this he lies and tempts man with promises of the pleasure and sweetness of sin. To deceive, he often comes to us as an angel of light. His efforts have succeeded so well that he is now called the “prince of this world.” The whole world has been deceived by him. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. You too, dear reader, have been deceived by him. By sinning, you too, have fallen under his sway and power.

There is only one way in which we can be free from his power. We must receive Him as our Savior who came to “destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Jesus can destroy all of Satan’s works in your life. Jesus can eternally break all the devil’s chains that so long have bound you.

John E. Capron

CREATION

In the Bible we are not told what God did before the creation of this world. We are only told that, according to His own will, He did create the world and everything in it. Our Guide, the Bible, reveals this fact in this way, “The worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3. In speaking of creation the Bible says, “And God said . . . and it was so.” Thus he created the world and revealed His mighty power.

The Bible also says that it was God the Son who created all things. “All things were made by Him (Jesus) and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3.

The creation of the world took six days:

On the first day God created light.

On the second day he created the firmament to separate the waters beneath the firmament from the waters above it. He called this firmament heaven.

On the third day God made the dry land. The waters were gathered together into seas. He caused grass to grow on the dry land, as well as herb yielding seed and fruit trees.

On the fourth day He made the sun and the moon. He placed them in the heavens for signs and to determine seasons, days and years. He also made the stars.

On the fifth day God created all kinds of fish and other animals that live in water. The birds were also created on this day.

On the sixth day He created all kinds of animals that live on dry ground. Finally when everything else had been prepared for him, God created man.

On the seventh day God rested from all His works of creation. He blessed and set apart the seventh day for man’s physical rest and spiritual refreshing.

It is clear that after He had created everything else, God created man in His own image and likeness, that He might know God and share His glory and love. Man is different from all other creatures in that he has a spirit that can know God. He alone of all God’s creatures, can know the difference between good and evil, and therefore is responsible for what he does. He was given the power to speak. In his free will was the power to choose sin.

In the beginning God created two people, Adam and Eve, his wife. God made a beautiful garden for them in Eden, where He placed them. They were to tend this garden. Even though they were naked, they were not ashamed. Because they had never sinned, they had no evil thoughts. They had daily fellowship with God and their happiness was complete.

John E. Capron

GOD

What is God like? How can He be described? The Bible, our reliable Guide, answers these questions in two ways. First, the Bible clearly teaches about the nature of God, describing His being and character. Second, it shows us what God is like in His relationships with man. By this we mean that the stories of the Bible have been carefully chosen by God Himself, because they show what He is like. Therefore, in order to know about God, it is necessary to examine His Word from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation.

It is well to remember too, that it was God who created man. Man (or to speak more clearly, you, dear reader) cannot create God. By this we mean that you cannot say that God must be like this or like that, according to your ideas of Him. God, who created us, has also revealed Himself to us in His Word. We must receive His testimony, although it might not agree with our own ideas. Remember, too, that His testimony concerning Himself is only contained in the Guide which He has given us, the Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is a spirit. (John 4:24). This means that He has no body. He did not have a beginning and He will have no end. (Psalm 90:2). He is eternal and unchangeable. (Malachi 3:6). He is all powerful. (Psalm 107:25-27). He knows everything (Isaiah 40:28), and is present everywhere. (Jeremiah 23:23 &24). He is complete in Himself, and does not need anything or anyone to serve or love Him. He is holy (Isaiah 57:15), which means that He hates sin. He is love (I John 4:8), and will forgive everyone who truly repents of his sins, and comes to Him for forgiveness.

God also is a trinity. (Matthew 28:19). There is only One God, but there are three Persons in the Godhead, these three Persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each has His own personality, but there is only one God. God reveals in His Word that man has been made in the image of God. We have three separate parts: a body, a soul and a spirit. In this way, man is an example of what God is like. Man, though having three parts, is only one person.

God’s Word clearly states that “no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” (John 1:18). This means that God has now revealed Himself as clearly as possible in a way we can understand. He became man to reveal Himself to man. In everything He is like Jesus. If we wish to know what God is like, we can find out by studying the life of Jesus.

Finally, the revelation of God to man concerning Himself is now complete. It will never be added to, this side of eternity. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1).

John E. Capron

A Reliable Guide

To understand life, with its purpose and its goal, it is necessary to have a reliable guide. We cannot rely on our own thoughts or conscience as a guide to life, for these often change. Man’s opinions, at best, are never very dependable. And so a reliable guide cannot come from man, but rather must come from God Himself, the One who never changes.

Now, in fact, God has already given a reliable guide to us. It is the Bible. The Bible does not contain the opinions of man. It is the Word of God. Therefore, the Bible alone is a complete and perfect guide to life. It can always be depended on.

The Bible alone tells us about God, the Creator, and His purpose in the creation of man. It alone tells us about sin which separates us from Him, and thus frustrates His design. The Bible alone tells about God’s great love which He showed by sending His Son into the world to save us from sin, thus enabling us again to fulfill life’s purpose. The story of the Savior’s birth, His life, His death and resurrection are all beautifully told in its pages. The Bible firmly states too that He will soon return to earth again as King of kings and Lord of lords. In fact much, much more of God’s truth – past, present and future – can be found in this, HIS RELIABLE GUIDE.

We can assure ourselves that this guide is His Word by examining two things: the way in which God has given the Bible to us; and the way in which He has protected it in all ages, to the present, that it might continue to reveal Him and His way of salvation to mankind.

The Bible was written, from a human standpoint, by around 40 different authors, over a period of some 1600 years. These authors came from every level of society. One was a farmer, others fishermen, kings and prophets. Some were rich, others poor. Most of the time these men did not know one another. But when their writings were gathered together, there was no contradiction in them. All told one story and had one grand theme – the salvation of man by God Himself. This fact alone shows clearly that behind all these human authors there was One Who planned and wrote as He willed.

Even though the Bible has been hated in every century, because it tells of sin, its enemies have never been able to destroy it. Today the Bible stands as a strong proof that God Himself has continually preserved it as His witness to mankind concerning truth.

Whenever the Bible is proclaimed, there darkness disappears. And those who receive its teachings are of all men the happiest, having a deep assurance of salvation.

You too, dear reader, can receive it as your guide. You too can rely on it. “The entrance of thy Word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.” Psalms 119:130

John E. Capron

Understanding Life

If we are to understand life, including its purpose and its goal, and how we can get the most happiness and enjoyment from it, then we must start at the beginning. “In the beginning God . . . “ is the way the Bible begins. This also is where we must begin, if we are to understand and enjoy life. That is, we must begin with God. He alone created life, and He alone can explain it, its purpose and its goal.

Apart from God you cannot understand life. God is light. He also is the Creator and Giver of life. Apart from Him life is dark and has no meaning. The person who denies the existence of God, or who refuses to follow His direction for this life, loses countless blessings, and walks in continual darkness. Such a person lives, but does not know what life means. His whole life, dark and unstable like a rudderless ship, is an easy prey for the storms of life.

Separated from God you cannot be truly happy. There are those who think that happiness comes from owning many things, from having a good job or from receiving praise from other people. But this is not true. The Bible teaches that a person can only experience true happiness when his or her relationship to God, which has been broken by sin, is made right again. In other words, the sin question must be settled first. We must come back to God before we can experience true happiness and peace.

Everything created by God has been made for a certain environment. Each creature can only be truly happy or content, if he is in that environment. Outside of it, he cannot be content. For example, fish have been created by God to live in water. That is their natural environment, and in water they are content. But if taken out of water, they can only flounder and die. The same principle is true of large birds like eagles. They were created to fly unhindered in the air. If caught by man and placed in cages, they walk to and fro, ever looking outward and upward. They are no longer content.

Man too has been created for a certain environment. He has been created to live in close relationship to God, to walk and talk with Him, to know and love Him. But sin has separated us from God. Sin has taken us out of our natural environment. And so we flounder like fish out of water. We pace to and fro like birds in a cage. We seek and seek after happiness and peace, but all our efforts are in vain. We live in uncertainty. Life has no meaning and no goal. We live only to eat, drink and be merry.

From the beginning it is well for you, dear reader, to understand one thing. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.” Psalms 111:10

“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

Speaking Words Of Life

We live in an amazing country. And the freedoms and benefits of living here are enormous. We live in a country that has a healthy food supply. We are not actively at war in this nation. We have medical care for many of our citizens and a free public education system for both genders. We have 50 states but there is freedom of travel among those states without passports. We attempt to support freedom of religion or no religion and if you post something negative about the government on social media you live with the expectation that your post will still be there in the morning. These are just a few of the privileges of living in a free society.

You and I are living in one of the freest societies that have ever existed. But if you look at some of the indexes for civil and political freedoms for 2015 you can see quickly that freedoms have been dropping for 9 consecutive years for many countries in the world.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2015#.VY26qPlViko

In the U.S. our “great experiment in democracy” has not been without ups and downs to be sure. And the expectation of freedom remains strong for most of us in this country. But is it possible to misunderstand our amazing liberties and the effect they have had on us? Do we have this sense that they “belong” to us forever? Have we read enough history to know better? Do we sometimes find ourselves getting angry when something we hold dear in this society gets encroached upon by others in society who look at life differently than we do?

I think it’s almost impossible not to get a sense of entitlement about American freedoms. It is one thing to feel incredibly blessed by living in a free society but it is another thing to believe you are forever entitled to those benefits.

I have noticed something troubling in the last few years in our culture as social media has allowed us to speak quickly and sometimes vehemently about our political and cultural views. What I’ve noticed is we are getting grumpy and sometimes we are getting just plain mean.

Jesus gave us some specific commands in the Bible about how to live. He said “I’m giving you a new commandment. Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” Christ said a lot to his followers when He was here but He continually repeated His command to love each other the way He did . . . personally and unconditionally. The Bible has many positive commands of what we are to do. Love. Give. Be with people who are suffering. Make sacrifices in your giving. Keep loving and don’t stop.

But do you know there are things we are also told we are NOT to do? One verse says “Do everything without complaining or arguing. Then you will be blameless and innocent.” That is an incredibly high standard. And it seems to be so especially in our social media generation. We can speak almost instantaneously into any situation. We don’t have to slow down anymore to be thoughtful in our responses to our friends, our families and our communities. We can be practically instantaneous in what we communicate. The verse that says we are not to complain or argue goes on to say if we will follow that high standard we will shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of Life. The word of Life is the powerful truth of what Christ can do for us as he sets us free from sin and helps us turn back to God.

But notice this verse all starts with whether we decide whether we will indulge in complaining and arguing. If we do this we will not be blameless and can’t really hold the word of Life out to anyone. Our choices of what we post on social media really have consequences.

It took me awhile to understand that a country like this one was going to live on compromise. There really is no way to have a free society without having us all a little dissatisfied all of the time. What helps me is to realize that when I am excited about something going on in our society that someone else probably is not. Someone who, like me, cares about his family, pays his taxes, and does the best he can every day. I need to try to see him as a real person. So what do my friends and acquaintances notice about me when my party is not in office? Do they see me being respectful of the president or do they see something else? Do my Facebook posts make Christ happy? Do the people on the other side of whatever the issue of the day is feel honored by my comments?

I have lived long enough to see a number of U.S. Supreme Court decisions come down. All the way from back in the civil rights movements in the 1960s. When a decision comes down that I might have wished had gone differently do I complain? Or do I get really grateful to live in a country that has branches of government that check each other every day I have been alive. Branches of government staffed by people who have tried to do the best job they know how to do on most days.

So let’s look at our lives. Let’s look at Facebook pages. Let’s listen to our conversations. And let’s listen to the things our children hear us saying every day. And the next time something happens we don’t like (an election, a Supreme Court decision, or the guy who cuts us off in traffic) let’s listen hard to what we think and what we say. And then if we ever get the privilege as believers to live in Malawi or Syria or some of the very toughest places in the world, we might, just might have practiced enough self-control to even think about being ready to live in those places. And be shiners of the light we are privileged to shine to all.

We have become arguers and fighters, not for the gospel, but for our rights as Americans. We are not fighting for the salvation of the lost but are fighting for our freedom of religion in America. We are not called to fight for our freedoms. We are called to set people free with the good news of the gospel.

Followers of Christ all over this globe are suffering horrendous persecution and anguish simply because they confess the name of Jesus and cling to Him as their Savior and Lord. Many of these individuals have no idea what it would be like to have the protections and privileges Christians have in America. But not having those freedoms does not slow them down in living amazing lives of integrity, love and humility in their cultures. And many would have a very difficult time understanding our consternation over the present circumstances we have in America just because we think some of our rights under our constitution seem to be slipping away. To them they would be unable to relate to rights and protection under the laws of their country.

I don’t imagine anyone in America who has enjoyed our present rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms (or as my wife says, ‘freedom to bare arms’) wants to give up any of these rights and I understand the fear, discomfort and upset we can feel personally regarding changes that are taking place in America.

So what are we to do as American Christians? Curse and spew hate at the individuals we perceive as responsible for these changes? Fight and bite and scratch and claw at these individuals? Speak evil of them? Write our Congressmen but not show the simplest of kindnesses to other people? What would a Christian in Syria advise us to do? What would a Christian in Malawi advise? What would Christ advise? Or command? “Go into all the world and preach the gospel making disciples of all men.” Something like that!

Is our focus to be on the political structure of our country and our freedoms or are we to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? Are we to be cursing and condemning other religions or are we to be loving the individuals within those religions and telling them about our Savior?

Some of you may be feeling like it’s a real challenge to care about people who oppose your views. Perhaps those people even feel like enemies to you. Jesus said something very powerful in the Sermon on the Mount. He said “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.45 In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven.” Notice Jesus was and is a realist. He knows we will struggle with relationships and that some people on earth will seem like our enemies. But also notice his command. That we LOVE those people and pray for them.

Jesus told us if we were his friends we would obey His commands. And that includes following Him in choosing to love and pray for our enemies. Just like He did! But, I have seen Jesus give us blessings that went far beyond our having the ability to pray for our enemies. And that is that He would break down the walls between us and our enemies by letting us reach out to them. What might that look like the next time there is someone in the political realm we disagree with? What if we picked up the phone and asked that person what it felt like when his side won? Could we walk in his shoes just for a minute and hear his side of the story? Could we listen to why that issue matters to her so much?

But what if we realize we don’t have any friends right now on the “other” side? If that is the case have we only been hanging out with people who think like we do? Well we can change that. We can ask God to give us someone right in our neighborhood or at work or at the gym to get to know a little better. Even if it’s just to have polite conversation about life. God is faithful to answer those kinds of prayers. Because He cares very much about how we get along with others on this planet. Let Him give you someone you least expect. And just watch what happens to your heart. You may have been commissioned by God to be His ambassador, but He cares as much about your heart as he does anyone else’s. And ours can become hardened. Without us noticing!

In America we have more freedom and privilege than most of the world. Many Christians on this earth know nothing of an environment or government that has affirmed their beliefs. Rather they have had to stand strong in utter darkness at risk of their own lives. We may soon share their experiences in America. We need to prepare for that day to be sure. Perhaps God is preparing you right now. In a world where communication is moment by moment He might be asking you to respond to the Scripture about not complaining and arguing anymore and challenging you to love people. The way Jesus asks us all to love. One person at a time. Who knows? That person might be on the social media you are going to be on today. Do you have an encouraging comment for an “enemy?” Watch out! One day that person might become a friend.

Mark Phelps

The Hope of Heaven

Part of the well-known Lord’s Prayer says: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.

Jesus is asking us to request that the way God does things in heaven will be done right here on this earth. We know God’s kingdom is based on the characteristics of God. He is a good, merciful, and life giving God and those are things He wants to see on earth, and asks us to pray to that end. To me heaven is a far superior reality being invited into our current reality. And I find it interesting that it is Jesus himself who is teaching us that this is a prayer of paramount importance to the believer. In fact Jesus said “when you pray, pray this way…”

We are to ask God to send His kingdom and kingdom ways to this earth. And ask that God’s perfect will be done on earth. Clearly this is a bold prayer because when you look around you realize God’s will is NOT being done on earth. Journalists are still being beheaded and pre-teen girls are being kidnapped in Nigeria and nearly 9 million children under the age of 5 die every year. Jesus wanted God’s will done on earth and He knew it would take some mighty praying. This prayer is Jesus desire to see the perfection and goodness of God colliding with humanity.

So we are praying for “heaven on earth” in the sense that God’s will would start happening right here on earth. Right now! That crime and poverty and rape and kidnap and injustice would stop. Wonderful thought!

But do you know that the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer we are all commissioned to pray is just an interim prayer. It is the one we pray for right now when the world is still a very messed up place. And there is so much injustice to fight. And we need “Your will be done ON earth” very badly.

But one day we will not be on this sin sick planet anymore. Not as it now exists. We will be on the New Earth. And God has promised to live here with us. Wait. What did you say? God is going to live here on this earth? Well, yes!

Here’s what it says exactly:

Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’

So when I think about eternal hope, a hope that has no end…and a hope that does not disappoint that is exactly what Revelation 21 describes . . . A place with no more “death or mourning or crying or pain.”

I think often about the Love and Light of God the Father. Do you know what Revelation 21 says about when we are here together on the New Earth? The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. His love and light that are not confined by anything, that are not held back by our fear or the surrounding darkness. A place where Love is infinite, forgiveness abounds, and people see themselves through the sacrifice and justice of Jesus Christ, fully healed.

On the New Earth everything I have just been saying will be felt by all who are on the New Earth. You know there are days when you still cry and mourn and feel pain. There will no longer be a disconnection between our hope and our reality. Our hopes will have become reality. Our faith will be our eyes! The Hope of Heaven will literally be heaven ON earth. The Holy City of Jerusalem comes down out of heaven and takes up residence right here. Isn’t that an amazing thought?

When I reflect upon the hopeful reality of Heaven/the New Earth, my heart feels more connected to the mercy of God, to His Spirit moving in and around me. I think about Jesus’ magnificent and humble sacrifice. I anticipate a redemptive end to the story of my life. It gives me power to live in the moment, fueled by a certainty of a merciful future. It propels me towards kindness.

But back to today. 2015. When Jesus has me praying “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth”. God wants to bring as much good and safety and kindness and justice as He can while we are still living with sin and sorrow. He truly wants His kingdom to invade this world NOW. So, if I care about injustice and sorrow I should get busy praying the Lord’s Prayer. Even though I know one day all sorrow will be gone. But I can want as much sorrow to be gone now as possible.

What I believe and hope for when we invite Heaven to come into our world is a transformational encounter with the Love of God. The kind of encounter that shapes us, shifts our understanding of the everlasting, beautiful, loving nature of God, and turns every day into an explosive, powerful adventure.

As part of my understanding of the powerful adventure available to me right now, I know that God expects me to fight injustice. His Plan A for injustice is the followers of Christ and other goodhearted people everywhere. And there is no Plan B. So if I am committed to seeing God’s ways invade this unsafe and treacherous world, I have to find my place in the battle. Believers in God have been called into spiritual war for the whole time this planet exists. We are not in peace time and we should not act like it. Each of us can find our place in the spiritual war effort whether it’s on the front lines, helping with the supply chain, in communications, funding the war or in the reserves. We all have a place!

We know the Lord is going to return someday. Did you know that according to one estimate, there are over 2,000 references to the second coming of Jesus in the Bible? For every prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ, there are eight that look forward to His second. I recognize that you may be rolling your eyes right now, thinking that you’re going to hear about some wild-eyed predictions related to the end times. Don’t worry -- I’m not going to do any date-setting, for as Jesus said, no one knows about that day or hour.

Even though Bible teachers differ over the details of His return, there is widespread agreement that Jesus is coming back. Jesus said in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” The Bible clearly pictures the coming of Christ at a time when the world does not expect it but it will be a wonderful surprise for those awaiting his return.

The coolest thing is that Revelation 21 lets us know that the “Place” Jesus is preparing will end up being right here. If you are one of those Christians who has worried you will be having to listen to boring harp playing for eternity, that is not true! The Bible says when Jesus comes back we are going to reign with Him! Reigning does not sound boring! (Apologies to all my harp playing friends. David who fought Goliath also played the harp and I personally love music and play the piano.)

I think one of the reasons the bright hope we have in the future matters to me is because I am a victim of abuse. That abuse lasted for about 20 years and then there was an almost 20 year healing process. I lost some ground in my life because of someone else’s wrong doing. And that is true for many of you who are reading this blog. It applies to those of you who are survivors of abuse but also to victims of things like human trafficking, poverty, war and famine. There are a lot of very difficult circumstances some of us deal with who live on this planet. Some of us have had so much taken from us that even though much will be restored in this life there is much that never will be. There are physical and emotional scars many of us are left with. We may be stronger people, but we have some scars.

What I love about what God plans to do when we get to be with Him on the New Earth is restore things to the way they should have been. The Bible talks about our bodies and minds being completely restored and that we will reign with Jesus. I know that is almost more than we can take in. But those of us who have had our bodies ravaged, by cancer or by a perpetrator of abuse, one day our bodies will be new and whole. And we will get a “second chance” at life. We will still be us, but we will have new bodies and there will be no “death or mourning or crying or pain.” Imagine! I almost struggle to understand how I would live without pain and sorrow. But God says it is so. And I am looking forward to that time!

So, am I one of those Christ followers who sit around doing nothing and eating bonbons because “one day it will all be better?” No! I am an active participant in life and think it is my responsibility to tell as many people as I can about this amazing God who loves them but also to alleviate suffering in this life. There is a lot of work to do here. But I do look forward to a whole, beautiful creation filled with people who are not broken any more by sin and the damage it does to us…

In my previous writing I have written a lot about the storms I have experienced in my life as I was growing up and as a young man. And I have had plenty of storms since, storms all throughout my life . . . storms of financial difficulties and health difficulties and more. I try to keep the perspective that when I find myself in the middle of the storms of life: "Even if I do not know when, I know someone is going to come." That someone is Jesus Christ, of course - and his coming is called "the blessed hope and glorious appearing." We persevere through the challenges of this life because our hope is built on the certainty of Christ’s return. When the waves get high, keep your eyes on the heavens for the one who has promised to come again. I’m thankful that Jesus meets us in the storms of life. Always remember that when the storms show up, so does the Savior.

That leads me to a question: Is there a storm in your heart right now? If so, I hope you run to the Redeemer for refuge. The best way to weather the major storms of life is to make sure you are anchored to the Rock of Ages.

If you have never turned your life over to Christ and received His salvation, please do it before it’s too late. 2 Peter 3:9-10 says “God isn’t late with His promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining Himself on account of you, holding back the end because He doesn’t want anyone lost.” He’s giving everyone space and time to change. You can experience the beginning of heaven on earth and continue by living in heaven forever. I hope you join me in this great joy of salvation and great hope of heaven and then watch with me for the return of Christ from heaven and join me in heaven forever!

Mark Phelps