Skip to main content

The Dwelling of God Is With Man

On Wednesday night we concluded our Bible study at church with a brief discussion of heaven. I believe it is good and fitting for us to think about heaven for in those thoughts rest the fulfillment of all of God's promises. So I wanted to share a few verses of Scripture with you, so that we can think rightly about heaven. The following verses speak volumes:

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. 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." (Revelation 21:3-4)

First and foremost, the greatest thing about heaven is that we will live for all eternity in the presence of God. This is the treasure that was lost in the Garden of Eden that Jesus recovered for us. We can dwell in God’s presence. Only when Jesus was on earth did this temporarily take place since it did in the Garden of Eden. But in heaven we will enjoy constant fellowship with God. If this were all that heaven consisted of it would be more than gracious, but there is more. All pain, mourning, sadness, sickness and death will be forever removed.

Beyond this there will be no more robbery, rust, or decay – nothing but beauty, wholeness, peace, and security. And all of this will be provided for us by Jesus’ death on the cross, where sin and death were dealt their fatal blow. It’s good to think about heaven, because it makes us appreciate Jesus and His redeeming work even more!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race

Taming The Flesh Through Suffering

There are at least a dozen books in my pastoral library that deal with battling lust. It is true that this is a huge issue for men and a great source of stumbling to many men and many pastors for that matter - so on one hand I am glad they are there and I am grateful for the insight they have given to me. But I was really struck by a verse of Scripture this morning from 1 Peter 4:1b-2. "for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God." Simply put, I believe Peter is telling us that those who are suffering for Christ's sake have their mind on Christ and suffering and not on the passions of the flesh. The reason so many men battle with lust and fleshly temptations (and I include myself in that group) is that our minds are far from the things of Christ. Suffering in the flesh is the direct opposite of indulging the flesh. The man who is getting lashes on his b

Is That A Bible I See Before Me?

The Weakness of Islamic Evangelism Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did. After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism. If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns s