[APRIL 5] The Power of Praise

Read: Isaiah 61:1-3

"The Lord has anointed Me... to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning" 

--Isaiah 61:1,3

Praise is powerful! When Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne was troubled with a coldness of heart toward the things of the Lord, he would sing the praises of God until he felt revived in his spirit. Those in his household were often able to tell what hour he awoke because he began the day with a psalm of praise.

One day, while he was trying to prepare his heart for preaching, he wrote in his journal: “Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy?... Lord, You know all things.... I’ve felt so much deadness and grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Toward evening I revived. Got a calm spirit through [singing psalms] and prayer.” McCheyne had been uplifted by praising God.

Perhaps you feel as if you are mired in what John Bunyan called the “slough of despond.” Lift a song of praise to the Lord. The psalmist said, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever” (89:1). When we do that, the praise will flow not only from our lips but also from our heart. The Lord delights to give “the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:3).

Yes, “it is good to sing praises to our God”—at all times (Ps. 147:1). --Paul Van Gorder

Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven,

To His feet your tribune bring;

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,

Evermore His praises sing. --Lyte

REFLECT ON THIS:

If you find yourself wearing a spirit of heaviness, try on a garment of praise.

[MARCH 25] Far Better

Read: Revelation 21:1-4

"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying."

--Revelation 21:4

Having suffered greatly--first from cancer, and then from the grueling medical regimen--pastor Dan Cummings was tired. After 2 weeks of treatment in Texas, he was looking forward to going back home to Michigan. In a post on his blog, he wrote: "Today is far better...amazing what some hydration will do...Will fly home on the weekend to continue treatment at home."

Dan did return to Michigan, nut several days later, his journey on earth ended. He went home yo be with God--whom he loved with every bit of his weakened body but mighty spirit.

When I view his blog a few days later, his words "Today is far better" jumped out at me. I smiled through my tears in the knowledge that Dan was now experiencing a life that is truly "far better" (Phil.1:23).

Someday we who claim the name of Jesus will also go to that place where there is "no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying." It is a place where there is no more pain and where a loving Father promises to "wipe away every tear from [our] eyes" (Rev.21:4).

The life we have here isn't all there is. There is a far far better place that Jesus is preparing for those who love Him (John 14:2-3). --Cindy Hess Kasper

When our life on earth has ended

We will feel God's warm embrace;

There will be no pain and sorrow

In that far, far better place. --Sper

REFLECT ON THIS:

Heaven--no pain, no night, no death, no tears.

[FEBRUARY 22] Short-Timers

Read: Romans 5:1-5

"Hope does not disappoint." 

--Romans 5:5

I served in the Armed Forces many years ago and have always been thankful that I was able to give those years to my country. I must say, however, that my most memorable time in the service was the brief interval when I was a “short-timer.”

Short-timers are soldiers who have but a few weeks before discharge. They spend their last days “mustering out”—visiting the commissary and the quartermaster’s office to clear accounts and return equipment. What I remember most about that period was my jaunty pace and the happy, carefree spirit with which I carried out my tasks. I had duties but few worries, for I knew I was going home.

Now that I’m an “old-timer,” once again I’m a short-timer. It won’t be long before I’m discharged from my duty here. Again, my pace is jaunty and my spirit is light for I know that very soon I’ll be going home. That’s the outlook that Jesus and His apostles called “hope” (Acts 24:15; Rom. 5:2,5).

Hope, in the biblical sense, means certainty and assurance. It is the firm, unshakable, indomitable belief that we will be raised from the dead (as Jesus was) and will be welcomed into our eternal home. That’s enough to put joy in our heart and a spring in our step this day! --David Roper

God has given us a life abundant
As we serve Him in this world below;
Though our time on earth is surely fleeting,
Hope of heaven makes our pathway glow. --Hess

REFLECT ON THIS:
The risen Christ will come from heaven to take His own to heaven.

[FEBRUARY 11] The Other Side

Read: James 4:13-17

"What is your life? It is even a vapor" 

--James 4:14

When someone said to my friend, “See you in a year,” it sounded odd when he replied, “Yes, see you on the other side.” He meant that he’d see him on the other side of a one-year deployment for the US Navy. But because the phrase is often used of heaven, it made me think about the uncertainty of life. I wondered, Who will be here in another year? Who might by then be on the other side—in heaven?

We certainly don’t know what the next year—or hour—will bring. In his epistle, James wrote about this uncertainty. He rebuked the greedy merchants for boasting about what they would do that day, the next day, or even the next year (4:13). Their sin wasn’t that they were making plans; it was forgetting God and arrogantly boasting about those business plans.

James reminded them: “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (v.14). Commentator Peter Davids says that James was pointing out their foolishness and saying, in essence, “Come now, you who make plans—you don’t even understand how little control you have over life itself.”

No part of life is outside the control of God. So when we make plans, we need to remember, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (v.15). --Anne Cetas

Tomorrow's plans I do not know,

I only know this minute;

But He will say, "This is the way,
By faith now walk ye in it." --Ryberg

REFLECT ON THIS:

Write your plans in pencil and let God have the eraser.

[FEBRUARY 2] Reunion Dinner

Read: Revelation 19:1-9

"Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"

--Revelation 19:9

Many Chinese go to great lengths to attend a traditional annual reunion dinner with their families. Held on the eve of the Lunar New Year, the reunion dinner usually takes place at the home of their parents or eldest sibling.

Chinese working overseas have to arrange their travel bookings early to ensure they have tickets for the heavily booked airline flights and bus journeys. To fail to book early is to risk missing out on the family reunion.

The Bible tells of an even more important reunion dinner in heaven. Revelation 19:9 calls "the marriage supper of the Lamb." Unlike the Lunar New Year reunion dinner, however, no one knows the date for this event except God (Matt. 24:36). Nor do we have to worry about making travel arrangements.

Who is invited to this heavenly reunion dinner? All those who belong to God's family will be there, "those who believe in [Jesus] name: who were born,not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13). 

Will you be at the reunion dinner in heaven? You can secure your place at the heavenly banquet by trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. --C.P. Hia

How Can You Have The Assurance of Heaven?

Recognize your sinfulness (Rom.3:23); 

believe Jesus died for you (Acts 16:31); 

receive Him as Savior (John 1:12); 

trust His promise (John 20:31)

REFLECT ON THIS:

Christ believed is salvation received and heaven assured

[JANUARY 6] Ordinances of Heaven

Read: Psalm 19:1-7

"If I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David" 

--Jeremiah 33:25-26

Mark your calendar now if you want to see the next celestial convergence of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon. On November 18, 2052, you’ll be able to peer through the evening darkness as those solar system neighbors “gather” in a tiny area of the sky. That remarkable juxtaposition of reflective spheres last sparkled the night sky on December 1, 2008, and it will happen again 4 decades from now.

This predictability, as well as things such as eclipses and the return of Halley’s Comet (July 28, 2061), prove the orderliness of the universe. If no fixed set of laws governed the movement of everything in the universe, such predictions could not be made.

Are these set rules more than random standards? Can we see God’s hand in these celestial certainties? Look at Jeremiah 33:25-26. God has in view the covenantal relationship between Himself and His people, and He uses a scientific fact in the analogy. In effect, God says that His fixed universal laws, “the ordinances of heaven and earth,” have the same certainty as His promises to His covenant people.

God’s laws have governed the universe since its creation — and continue to do so with astounding predictability. So mark your calendar, and be amazed by God’s unchanging control. --Dave Branon

A Prayer: Dear Lord, I marvel at the wonders of Your creation. You are such a great and awesome God who does not change. As I place my life in your hands, I will trust You to be faithful. Amen.

REFLECT ON THIS:

The wonders of creation reveal God at work.