Five Verses to Help You Live For Your Eternal Home

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  • Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12
  • In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 5:10

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  • The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. John 15:19
  • He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

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  • Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7

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Renewal

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you  may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~Romans 12:2

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This weekend I need some Biblical reminders that heaven is my home. Do you?

I asked Ron this morning if he thought that people we love, know, or have influenced will be the first to greet us when we enter into heaven.

Immediately following my face to face encounter with God Himself and Jesus in His glorified state, will I then be welcomed to heaven by some of the people that I love, and connected with most in fellowship here on earth? I sincerely hope so! Further, I hope that I have the privilege of welcoming others into their eternal home and joining with Jesus in saying, “Well done.”

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Today’s post will be simple. Meditate on one of these scripture passages and let your mind marvel at an eternity spent with Jesus.

Why not listen to these encouraging lyrics sung by Moriah Peters? Click here if viewing in a reader.

1. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. ~ Hebrews 11:14-16

2. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. ~ Philippians 3:20-4:1

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you ~1 Peter1:3-4

More often than not, I rejoice at the thought of pure relationships in heaven. Community unstained by worldly desires. True fellowship with believers where jealousy, covetous, pride, idolatry, and adultery will never enter in. Contemplating an eternity where no death, sickness, or malicious acts of violence will terrorize will surely make believers rejoice at these words:

4. Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ~Revelation 22:20

5. 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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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 21:1-4

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We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away? ~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 124

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Making Memories Set Apart

Please welcome our friend and Pastor of Family Ministries, Dr. Aaron Walp, today at This Temporary Home.  I know his teaching will encourage you to love God with all your mind. Thank you Dr. Walp for being our guest.

 

Memory… is the diary that we all carry about with us. ~Oscar Wilde

I have heard it said that you are a compilation of your collective memories. That is, due to your unique life experience you are who you are. For me, I never enter an ocean, lake, or bathtub without considering the remote possibility that Jaws may be in there waiting on me. The smell of hay triggers thoughts of hard work and great friends, as we spent weeks filling two barns with hay for the oncoming winter. The colors of fall propel my mind to moments of anticipation for the upcoming hunting season. And several large novels could not contain the memories of my life.

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It is said, that no culture is more consumed with memories than the Jewish people. For example, they have a tradition of reciting specific scripture verses called the Shema. It is three texts from two books of the Torah. The first section is from the book of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and is a command to love God and teach this love to one’s children. The other passages, Deuteronomy 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41 address the need to obey God’s commands and remember them daily. The faithful recite these passages once in the morning and once at night, and if they have children, they will involve them in the prayer.

In essence, the chosen nation is both remembering as well as making memories for themselves and their children. The idea is that while experiencing times of need, abundance (yes, especially in good times), anger, and temptation, the child’s memories of what God has said will be what they use to make their decision on how to respond. If all one has to recall is humanistic answers, they will likely fail the test set before them, the daily test of life.

God desires His creation to love Him in return for the love He has shown and shows us. He has created a world with such precision that modern science cannot even begin to grasp its complexity. He has built in incomprehensible beauty, intellectual depth, and inconceivable astrological features that boggle and confound the greatest of minds. He is aware of life’s difficulties, unfathomable heartache, miserable moments, and the decisive pull of our sinful heart to run from Him. And it is because of this that He lovingly asks us to make memories that are set apart from this dead world filled with difficult days. He wants His children to be able to focus on things which only exist in the Savior, Jesus Christ. That is, things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Nothing in this world can fulfill this incessant desire for completeness but the word of God. And it is one’s memory of His word through reading, studying, and memorizing it daily that one reaches this pinnacle.

For more information about Aaron Walp, D. Min., please check out his blog at http://walpapologeticrants.blogspot.com/ or find him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/

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Creation: Why does it matter?

 

 A single visit to the ocean on one vacation will likely not be enough to produce a deep love and appreciation for God’s creation. A single museum visit or concert will probably not instill a deep understanding of how God’s creative image inspires people to create. But moment by moment, as we take time to reflect on creation, sketch a favorite mountain scene, write a poem of praise, or admire the new buds on a tree–and share all of these things with our children–we have the opportunity to cultivate an appreciation for God’s creative greatness in their souls and invite a grateful, in-his-image creative response. ~Sally Clarkson, The Mission of Motherhood, p. 195

 

 

 

As in stooping low we serve, bending the knee we humble, and pouring out we teach, so in quiet observation the created studies the creation and creating overflows. Man cannot help but attempt to create beauty from the beauty observed in creation.

Every gardener knows that in digging down deep, planting a seed, and tending to it regularly new life springs forth from the ground. In the same way newness of life is observed in those who abide with their Creator God. When we hide His word in the soil of our hearts a seed is planted and a harvest is sure to come.

Chance it to say that most outward, outright sin begins as inward iniquity…sin of the mind.

To take the inward iniquity of man and simply deny the outward temptations will not work forever. We must hide God’s word in our hearts that we may not sin against God. Scripture memory gives us a replacement thought, a living Word, to combat inner uttering and outward pulls toward our weak flesh.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. ~Matthew 26:41

Even a father in the faith, Paul, cried out,

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ~Romans 7:15

We are no better and no worse than Paul… and neither are our children. That is why we must teach them God’s word and creation science so that when they are old they will not be easily persuaded to leave the path.

I am very far from having all the answers. However, we are as close to the scriptural truths as we place ourselves.

We must, in the words of Bro. Bill Anderson, put ourselves at the spout where the blessing comes out. Both you and I must do this. Meditation and memorization of God’s living word will bring us closer to this point. Involving our children in this will bring them closer with us.

Today, as we were outside playing in the dirt from which we came, I proceeded to recite the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-20 that I have attempted to memorize the past weeks. At the beginning of the first attempt, Emily asks, “What are you doing?” “I am reciting the scripture I have memorized.” “Like me in Cubbies?” she replied. “Yes, except my verses are all lumped together.”

She and Joshua heard me recite this portion of Scripture around four times as it took that many takes between questions from the children, a settlement of property dispute over a bubble-wand, and other happenings.

In creation, the created was creating and the Creator was glorified.

My children were watching and then followed my lead. Emily picked up her camera and began recording Joshua and the leaves, trees, and grass around her. She also prompted him to recite one of her Cubbies verses. Joshua, in turn, was given my camera and snapped shots of the “birds.” As he aimed the lens at the trees, we watched birds fly in and out as they were singing their praises to God.

 

 

 

Many in our culture would have you believe that religion is for the spirit only. The God who created us made us both intellectual and spiritual; therefore we must teach the Bible, creation, science, math, and everything else under the sun in relation to God, the truths of the Bible, and the evidence of Intelligent Design.

I was first introduced to such thinking above in the book,Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity, by Nancy Pearcy. I was not sure that I was smart enough to read this book…the verdict is still out. However, I finished it. When the final page turned I was met with a quest to learn more, study more, and become more of a worker approved rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

In order for our little children to grow up and not depart from the faith we are teaching them, we must give them the tools they need to defend their faith against our culture, “scientific” theories such as Darwinism, and other worldviews they will encounter.

This begins with a solid foundation of hiding God’s word in their hearts.

Next, we continue equipping them via instruction at age-appropriate levels while engaging them in activities within God’s created order.

By providing evidence of God’s work in nature, it restores Christianity to the status of a genuine knowledge claim, giving us the means to reclaim a place at the table of public debate. Christians will then be in a position to challenge the fact/value dichotomy that has marginalized religion and morality by reducing them to irrational, subjective experience.  ~Nancy Pearcy, Total Truth, p. 178

Here is our video with recitation of the Sermon on the Mount. For the non-blogger friends of mine, it is called a vlog. So, listen and watch til your “vlogging” hearts content. Thanks, if you make it through its entirety.

 

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