Prayer – Lord, life is more than food, drink, clothing, and shelter. It has a spiritual element that only You can fill. I just want to please You—that’s my goal. To delight You in all that I think, say, and do—because You know what I’m going to think, say, or do even before I do. I can trust You and am so looking forward to eternity with You…in a new eternal body. I am confident in this promise of one day being at home with the Lord. Guide me that I would make good decisions…today and in the coming year…knowing that You will judge me for what’ve done and am going to do.
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. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we
long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on
heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 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. God himself has prepared
us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are
always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies
we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing.
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. So whether we are here in
this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must
all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve
for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (Underlined
for emphasis.)
Meditate.
Consider God’s promise in this scripture. Read God’s word and listen to what He
is saying.
Have you
read this scripture passage before? Read it again.
There is so much there…it is almost
overwhelming. Are you growing weary…tired…in your present body? I’m tired…but I’ve
had a bad winter cold—a typical virus that lasts a couple of weeks. Tiring.
This
is a very comforting passage giving us high hopes for the future. God has a
plan for our future. He’s not leaving us in limbo—but He’s prepared a place—a home
in heaven—and new bodies. How exciting! We can just believe. Believe and
obey. That way when we stand before Jesus Christ someday—being judged for what
we’ve done—we’ll please Him. Love is the key to obedience and life.
But be very careful to obey all the
commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the LORD your God,
walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with
all your heart and all your soul." Joshua 22:5
"Today I have given you the
choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on
heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose
life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice
by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to
him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you
will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob." Deuteronomy
30:19-20 (Underlined for emphasis.)
Love is the key to life.
We all
have choices to make. Spiritually for me that means choosing to learn more
about God, strengthen my relationship with Him, and loving Him more. It means
listening and obeying Him. These passages in Deuteronomy and Joshua gives us—just
like the Israelites—a choice to make. Choose life. We have the choice to choose
hope—eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior and walk in His
way. Love. God is Love. Walk in love obediently.
What do you choose?
Verse
of Salvation ~ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for
we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of
character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this
hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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