Tag: Heaven

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Now and Later

JULY 15

MATTHEW 6:20_But lay up for yourselves treasures  in heaven…

Jesus approaches His climax to this principle: hoard your treasures in heaven. So, how are you going to deposit your paycheck into the Bank of Heaven? Very simple: understand what is truly valuable in this life.

Think of heavenly treasure as a candy. Now and Later. All eternal treasures do not require you to be living in heaven. You can enjoy their flavor now and after this life has ended—unlike earthly possessions. 

Rather than candy, the Bible calls these eternal possessions fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Notice the end of verse 23, “against such there is no law.“ When your heart is consumed with these fruits, you can live free—unlike lusts of the earth which create bondage. God says He has no laws against the Fruits of the Spirit.

All the wealth in this life cannot buy these fruits—not even one. They come freely as you feed, nurture, and cultivate your spirit through relationship, prayer, and Bible study.

Your spirit begins to produce fruit.

PRAYER

Magnificent Jesus, Help me possess heavenly treasures in my soul. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ’s treasure is in heaven—He wants mine to be!

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I AM

JUNE 25

MATTHEW 6:14_Your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Take a moment right now and praise God for His willingness to forgive! Praise His heart filled with “mercy that endures forever.”  

God has a name: I AM. The perfect name for the only, true, living, and creating God. HE IS “the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, amen!” And HE IS forgiving.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave up the perfection of heaven to live in a wicked world. There was no other way for you to receive forgiveness and salvation. If there is anything earth people need—it is forgiveness. 

This verse leads back to your Horizontal Ledger.  Jesus knew this principle was so against your natural instinct He repeated it. When He teaches a principle a second or more times—take heed! This is not something to leave on the back burner.

If you forgive others for trespassing into your life, the Heavenly Father forgives you.

To be sure, you’ve done plenty of trespassing.          

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, When I step off the path of Your teaching, I begin to trespass into places I should not be. Praise You for forgiving me. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ forgives my trespasses—He calls me to forgive!

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Omnipotent Rule

JUNE 20

MATTHEW 6:13_For thine is the kingdom…

Psalm 24:1-2 (KJV), “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.” The world belongs to God and everything in it!

All that lives belongs to God. Acts 17:28 (KJV), “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Deuteronomy 10:14, “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.“

I Corinthians 10:26 (KJV), “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” 

And, I particularly love it in I Samuel 2:8 (KJV), “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.” 

Did you get a message from all that? There simply is no getting away from God’s ownership. He is God. He has no beginning, nor will He have an end. When Jesus prays, for thine is, it is a way of recognizing God’s omnipotent rule.

This life will not last forever. God has perfection in store for all who choose it.

Please choose it!             

PRAYER

Omnipotent God, I stand in awe of Your greatness and majesty. I worship You as the living God who set the earth on its pillars. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

 Christ created everything that is—He created it for me!

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Lots of Hallelujah Shouting!

JUNE 8

MATTHEW 6:10_in earth, as it is in heaven.

If you think it is easy to pray, “not my will but Thine be done”—you’ve never really prayed it. In this same account of Gethsemane, we find in Luke 22:44 (KJV),“And being in an agony he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Praying for God’s will to be done caused the Holy Son of God to sweat blood! 

During my time on earth I want the strength and faith to seek God’s will above my own. God’s will is always greater, and it is always full of love and mercy—although I may not see that until His will has been done. God’s will is always goodness and kindness toward people, and is founded on love.

In heaven, God’s will shall be done. I won’t have to be anxious about caving in to my own will. No wonder there will be lots of praising in heaven! Lots of hallelujah shouting! Lots of adoration worship! God’s will is done daily, hourly, and moment by moment. That’s reason to rejoice!

I couldn’t make it in this life without prayer. I need to talk with the Father. I need to pour out my heart before Him. I need to feel His comfort and reassurance in my uncertainty.

God’s will causes my light to shine.         

 PRAYER

Omnipotent God, Praise You that Your will is always better than mine. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.  

Christ knows God’s will—His will make me shine!

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No Wonder It Will Be Perfect!

JUNE 6

MATTHEW 6:10_Thy kingdom come…

We have already discussed the Apostle John’s vision. Revelation 21:1 (KJV), “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” John sees something new. The former things are no more. He sees a brand new heaven and a brand new earth

Let’s gain a little more insight and read verse 4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.“

This new world sounds very good. Perhaps more like the Garden of Eden before the only two people on the planet decided there was a better plan.

I like no more tears. I like no more death. I like no more sorrow. I like no more crying. I like no more pain.

Now check out verse 5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

I like all things made new.

Jesus includes that we pray for this new kingdom to come. Thy kingdom come—this is God’s kingdom.

No wonder it will be perfect!

PRAYER

God Who Makes New, Praise Your great power. You will bring a new kingdom. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ knows there will be a new kingdom—He has told me!