Heaven is My Home
John 16:33, Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
I believe you will be greatly encouraged if we look at the Greek meanings, according to the Thayer Greek Lexicon, for many of the key words in this verse. "Peace" means: tranquil state of the soul, fearing nothing from God; content. "Heart" as used here means: to be of good courage or to be of good comfort. "Overcome" means: been victorious over all His foes. "World" means: the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ. If we would insert these meanings, the verse could be read in this way: I have told you all this that you may live in a tranquil state of the soul, fearing nothing from God, being content. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But, be of good courage and be of good comfort, because I have been victorious over all My foes, the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of men alienated from God and hostile to My cause. (These are the very enemies we face today).
1 John 5:4 and 5, " For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God." Take note, it says "defeats", not might, or could , or maybe defeats.
What good news these verses of scripture are, especially in the tumultuous times in which we live. With the isolation, loss, uncertainty, and loneliness caused by the (to date 15 month pandemic) and the unpredictability of what our governmental officials are going to do, many are feeling hopeless, discouraged, insecure, fearful and despondent. Take heart, we believers can experience peace in the midst of trouble and we are overcomers in Him!
My main focus today though, is a topic from which, especially as I get older, I receive some of my greatest comfort. This earth is not my final home! We find many words of encouragement concerning this truth in the Scriptures.
Hebrews tells us that just as those saints who have gone before us, we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth and we have a heavenly home. Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."
Philippians 3:20 and 21, "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Praise God, our weak mortal bodies will be changed into a glorious body like His when we enter our heavenly home!
1 Peter 1: 3-6, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while." We have an incorruptible inheritance in heaven! A place pure and undefiled, beyond reach of change and decay!
2 Peter 3:13 and 14, "But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. 14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight". Such good news! Heaven is His promise and is filled with His righteousness (integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling and acting).
John 14:1-6, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." 5 "No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me." Can you imagine it? We will always be with Him, where He is!
2 Corinthians 5: 1-4 and 8, "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ... 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." When we leave our earthly body and enter heaven, we will have an eternal body, made by God Himself! When we are absent from our earthly body, we are present with the Lord. These scriptures are speaking to those who have accepted the sacrifice of Christ and have received Him as their Savior.
Revelation 21:1-4, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God Himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." There will be no more suffering there, in heaven. Reread verse 4. He wipes away every tear. No death! No sorrow! No crying! No pain! All gone forever!
John 3:16, "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Never forget or lose sight of the fact that we have been created as eternal beings who have an eternal home. It is also important for us to realize that we choose where we will spend our eternity. With Him or separated from Him. Believers in Christ have been promised everlasting life with Him.
We as believers have the promise of heaven as our final home. We can and should rejoice that Jesus is preparing a place for us.
Encourage yourself by keeping His promises in front of your eyes. We used to sing more songs about heaven, i.e. "When We All Get to Heaven", When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" (I'll Be There), There is also the hymn, "Come We that Love the Lord" where the chorus exclaims, " We are marching to Zion..." Then we have Andrae Crouch's, "Soon and Very Soon" which reminds us that this life on earth is temporary.
Sing! Remind yourself of God's promise and truth. Something better is coming! Our hope is not in men, but in God, Who has an eternal home prepared for us. When our physical body dies or Jesus returns, whichever comes first, we will simply go from one life to another and, when we have a relationship with Christ, it is an even better one!
Another wonderful aspect of that day will be the reunion we have with family and friends. I will again see a very good friend who passed away about nine months ago, along with my sister, mother, father, grandparents and many other friends and family members, including some that go back generations, whom I have never met before.
In heaven, we will see colors and hear sounds that we have never seen nor heard before. However, best of all... we will see Jesus face to face! Wow! What a day that will be! Oh, hey, that is another song we can sing!
Colossians 3:1 and 2, "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." In place of the phrase used here 'To set your sights on', in the King James Bible uses the word "seek", and as used there means: seek after, seek for, aim at, and strive after. Keep your mind on things above, where Christ is, and knowing that we will one day be...seeing Him face to face!
Note: the scriptures used today were taken from the New Living Testament.