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DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY!…Ecclesiastes 11

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You remember that song,  ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy!’?   When you read the last four verses of Ecclesiastes 11,  you’ll think that Solomon himself wrote the lyrics!  Verse 9–  ‘Be happy…and let your heart give you joy…’  Told you so!  Wouldn’t we love to see his wish come true…for us?  Be happy…and joyous?  ‘To let go…’ and, as we say, ‘…let God’?  That’s what I want.

But, to be honest, I think it’s at verse 10 where I face trouble.  ‘So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of the body…’  Oh yeah, right!  Easier said than done, old King!  Get rid of worry?  ‘Cast off’–no return policy in effect!  Don’t look back as salty Lot’s wife did?  The older I get, the more I realize that anxieties have become a very bad, but familiar, habit.  Leaving me deep in a fear-rut.  Stuck.  Mired.  Paralyzed.  Only little old me?!

I’ve known many Christians over the years, who seem to focus on their aches and pains, all things negative, harping over past injustices done to them, spinning their wheels going round-and-round with the ‘same old, same old’.  Am I looking in the mirror?.  Or maybe you are?

I remember being the pastor of a church, where everything came crashing down around me.  Being a pastor can be a difficult calling.  Sometimes I wish I was deaf when the Lord called me to that church.  Maybe I was, and He hadn’t called me there at all.  Could be.  There came a Sunday, when it looked so bleak, that I decided to walk out the back door and never return.  The only other option was to be carried out feet first, and that I would not allow.  I prayed.  I cried.  I left.

Maybe you’re in a difficult place right now.  Where you never thought you’d wind up.  Seek to ‘banish’ anxiety and ‘cast off’ fears by praying… like you’ve never prayed before.  Ask others to pray for you.  Those you trust, if there are any.  Pray for wisdom, whether to dig in your heels and see it through.  Or move on,  saying ‘adios’, for God has better things for me!  I don’t know which way you should go.  I sometimes don’t know in my own life.

Pray for God’s discernment.   Then, follow His lead… as best you can.  Even not knowing for sure, even when we make major mistakes deserving massive blame, even then God will lead us to brighter days and sunnier climes.  Ask for His help.  Trust Him… even when it feels like you can only hold onto one of His fingers.

Then wait… for as long as it takes.  How long?  I have no idea.  I’m not God.  That’s why we turn to Him.  He will see us through.  That much I do know…for sure.  So, I can be happy and not worry!   So can you!  But will we?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, thank you for your faithfulness.   In your name.  Amen.

HERE’S A GOOD CLUE!…Psalm 36

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Recently, I’ve been bothered by all the extra effort required to praise the Lord.  I’ve asked myself:  why it is so difficult ?  Why not like second nature?  Reading Psalm 36 has helped me to find an answer.

Having to exert extra effort to praise our Lord seems like I don’t mean it.  Even worse, trying to placate God with pious platitudes.  Like He can be flattered–  a sucker for a few sweet compliments.  A push-over for some hackneyed ‘old chestnuts’.

To be honest, that’s not my issue.  I do want to spend quality and quantity time praising God.  I really do.  Reading and spending time today in God’s Word at Psalm 36 has given me some hope.  That I’m on the right track.  Stop berating myself for having these difficulties in prayer.

Do you also find yourself asking more for this-and-that rather than applauding God?  Requests galore rather than raving about Him?  Aren’t you sorry I got two new thesauri for Christmas !?!

In Psalm 36 we find a great chasm between sinful man and holy God.  The first four verses are a litany of evil portrayed.  The life and times of the faithless.  King David, who wrote this poem, is burdened for the ungodly.  The Hebrew  ‘oracle’ means ‘burden’.  The wicked sin with abandon, having no fear of God Almighty.  Their god is their own sinfulness.  Their law is lawlessness.  How do they live like this?  Verse two says that they flatter themselves.  They kid themselves not noticing their own destructive ways.  Blind to the truth. Self-talk… as far from honest as possible.

Here is where I gather a smidgeon of hope.  As a sinner, I naturally don’t want to praise God or really have much to do with Him.  My inclination is to focus on myself or those who can benefit me.  Yet new life comes my way from Jesus.  By grace alone.  By His initiative.  None of my good deeds add up to a holy ‘hill of beans’!

Here’s the hope I see.  Here’s what the Lord has shown me.  Don’t worry.  Won’t be easy.  Stop agonizing.  You’re not there yet.  Keep on… keeping on.  When you don’t feel like it, praise the Lord anyway.  When it feels so wooden and unnatural, praise Him in spite of whatever.  We are new creations, but the old lies close to the surface.  Don’t waste too much time hand-wring, nail-biting, when you get lost in yourself.  The Holy Spirit will knock rather loudly on your door.  Open up and let some fresh air into the dank, dark cells we too often live in.  Got it?  I think I have.  I’ll slip back… but God will lift me up and pull me out.  I’m going to keep at it.  To praise Him.   Join me?  I could sure use the company!

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for making us new creations in Jesus, your Son.  Amen.

I’M SO ASHAMED OF MYSELF!… Psalm 29

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I do think that I should be spending oodles and oodles more time praising the Lord.  But, I have to force myself.  That doesn’t seem right.  What catches me off-guard can be found in Psalm 29.  Take a moment now and read this poem of King David.  The message is crystal clear.

This psalm is all about the Lord.  From the very first verse, with angels giving glory to God, to an extended praise of the Creator and Sustainer of all, concluding with a comforting promise of peace which blesses God’s people.  David says in verse two–‘ascribe(give) to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord…’  Then he goes on with images that evoke powerful emotions, attributing all of creation to the voice of the Lord.  God speaks… and it happens!  Seven times David writes that ‘the voice of the Lord’ did such-and-such.  Seven times.  The perfect number.  All creation…in His control.  My life?  Yours?  Yes, again ‘all’ means ALL!

Eighteen times David uses the personal name of the Lord, Yahweh.  Your Bible will capitalize the word LORD when, in the Hebrew, it is ‘Yahweh’, His name.  Eighteen times, David lifts up the name of God.  Can never say it enough.  But not like the ‘Oh my G..’ crowd, saying it so glibly today.  No taking the name of the Lord your God in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11).  That commandment is one I try to honor in my life.  No cursing or using God’s name flippantly.

What about my prayer life?  No, I don’t use foul language in my prayers!   What’s not right is that I have to force myself to praise Him.  I ask many prayers for family and friends, for mission groups that need His help in doing His work,  for peace in this world and the thwarting of political leaders out only for themselves(I have too many to pray for!).  Pray for pastors I know.  All of this comes easy.  But to stop and praise Him?   That’s not so easy.  Why?  Not sure.

But I’m going to keep the pressure on myself.  Until that praise-muscle is well exercised, robust and healthy.  To remember all those wonderful and undeserved blessings I’ve received from His hand.  For who He is and what He does.  For all of us, especially those who know His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Join me? Ready to praise Him?  Let me concentrate a bit.  Here it comes!  ‘Thank you, Lord, for all you are to us and…’

Prayer:  Lord, today we want to focus on you.  To give you our thanks, our praises.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

PRAISES FOREVER!… Psalm 146

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I must admit it.  Can’t deny it any longer– as much as I’d like to.  No hiding.  Need to bring it out into the open.  What gives?  This sounds serious.  It is.  My prayer life is in shambles.  Too many requests, begging God to act and give me what I want.  After all, I know best!  So I’d like to think!  Seriously, here’s the rub.  Praise needs to be front-and-center in my prayer life.

Why not read those last five psalms?  None are long.   You’ll see what I mean.  Like sturdy bookends, ‘Praise the Lord’, begins and ends each of those soaring songs.  At the very beginning, it’s praise time.  At the very end, it’s all about praise to God.  Nothing less.  That’s what I need.  More praise to the Lord.  More appreciation.  More thanks to Jesus.  More gratitude for the Holy Spirit.

Here’s something that none of us want to be– a phony.  Saying some nice words to God, but actually being manipulative, trying to make ‘brownie points’ with Him, hoping to grab some ‘goodies’ for us.  Know what I mean?  But we don’t want to be sham, counterfeit, self-centered Christians.  Do we?   That’s why I want more ‘hallelujah’s’ in my day…and night.

Hallelujah!  The Hebrew word for ‘praise the Lord’.   ‘Jah’ is the shortened form for God’s name, ‘Yahweh’.  ‘Hallal’ is the verb ‘to praise’.  So, ‘praise Yahweh!’  That’s it!   The Hebrew word ‘hallal’ has a bit of an edge to it.  Yes, it means to praise, but it also carries the connotation of ‘to shine’ and ‘to boast’, to ‘rave about and celebrate’.

That’s where the rub comes in.  Most of praise in this world shines below the clouds.  Rarely above.  Recently we endured a ‘temperature inversion’, as the meteorologists call it.  Where the warmer air above traps the colder air below, giving us dirty air and fog.  Rarely happens, but we had it for almost a week.  Too bad the ‘temperature inversion’ of our selfishness and self-absorption isn’t likewise as rare.   It’s epidemic.  Praise… of ourselves.  Wonderment… at human control over all of life.  What man can do.  Thanks for what money can buy.

God deserves all our praise.  I want to bookend my life with His praises.  From start to finish.   Beginning to end.  Who cares what others may think?  Who cares when we get laughed at and mocked?  Too bad, so sad.  Makes me think– maybe God cares.  Maybe He loves to hear His children singing His praises all day long!  Maybe He matters more than anything else.  No maybe about it.  None whatsoever!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for all you are.  We want to praise you all day long.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS!…Ecclesiastes 7

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We’re experiencing some weird weather.  Excessive cold, abnormally warm, blinding snow, scorching drought, overflowing flooding…you name it, it’s been happening!  What about ‘Polar Vortex’?  Back home in New Jersey, we simply called it a ‘cold snap’!  Big deal…had a couple every winter. ‘Catastrophic weather events’, they’re called now.  The likes of which we’ve never seen before.  Really?  We’re glued to the tube.  Not me.  Drought in California?  Rain here in the Pacific Northwest?  Have seen it all before.  I predict more for the future!  Ain’t I smart?  As my Grandfather Fischer used to say, ‘You’re smart like your father, you dope you’!–and he was the father telling this to his son!!  I do think genius runs in my family!

Weren’t the good old days better?  Foul language and ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ not allowed.  Black-and-white movies and television, radio programs that stretched our imaginations, slide-rulers, diagramming sentences, baseball players who had to work a second job in the winter to make ends meet.

Good old days?  Look at Ecclesiastes 7:10–Solomon warns against such thinking.  He says it’s not even wise to ask about those days.  Why not?  Because it’s more like ‘chasing the wind’.  Living in the past wastes the precious time God gives us right now.  This very moment.  Fresh like ‘daily bread’.  ‘This is the day the Lord has made'(Psalm 118:24).  Like driving a car with that big windshield in front of us as we look forward.  Exactly where we should be looking MOST of the time.  Small rearview and side-view mirrors to glance back infrequently.  Look forward, press ahead, leave behind whatever holds us back.  That’s what the Apostle Paul said(Philippians 3:13-14).

Good old days?  Spending too much time looking back in the rear view mirror of your life?  How about all the time I take thinking about the past?  Like relatives…most long gone.  I miss them.  We had some real characters in our family.   How about Cousin Jane, who was poorly nicknamed ‘Stale Garbage’?  Don’t ask why.  I have no idea.  Marrying someone totally unacceptable to her parents, she escaped from one coast to the other, splitting that little family apart, never to be put back together again.   Aunt Betty and Uncle Herman?  They had the best parties every New Year’s Eve, even though she was terrified that one of her own grandchildren would leave a speck of dust on their plastic-covered living room furniture.  Maybe those weren’t the ‘good old days”!

Press forward…look ahead…to all that God has for us!  Family and friends He has blessed us with NOW!  The work to do for Jesus NOW!  The life He has given us NOW!  The prayers we offer NOW!  Reading our Bibles TODAY!   That’s a life worth living…from NOW on!  Amen?

Prayer:  Lord, we do look forward to all the blessings you have in store for us.  In Jesus’  name.  Amen.

NEED MORE RENEWAL?… Matthew 19: 28-30

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Last time we were reflecting on Jesus words: ‘…at the renewal of all things…’ found in Matthew 19.  Won’t that be amazing when Jesus straightens out all the messes made by all of us?  ‘…the renewal of ALL things…’!  Can hardly wait.  Times have been tough for people throughout history.  Satan relishes death, decay and destruction.  He gets his ‘jollies’ from the worst things thrown our way.

But here in the Bible, God’s Word,  I notice three wonderful blessings promised to those of us who have repented of our sins and welcomed Jesus into our hearts by faith alone.  Is that you?  If not, then pray to Jesus right now accepting Him into your life.

Matthew 19–  three verses containing three incredible blessings.  The first is that we’ll have the responsibility of meaningful work.  The first of the three ‘R’s!  Jesus talks about our judging the world, turning right-side-up what has become topsy-turvy.  What could be better than performing work that we love?  What a blessing– looking forward to that day’s work.  What the one who hates his work can never understand.  Jesus promises His followers that we’ll have productive work to do in His coming Kingdom.  Responsibility is the first ‘R’.

Then comes rewards.  Yes, He promises that any sacrifice made for Him will be nothing compared to all that He has for us.  The second ‘R’!  His reward…a fascinating life with absolutely no end in sight.  I remember a friend of mine, who should have known better, telling me that if she was only going to float around in heaven, flapping her wings like angels do, playing a harp up on some cloud for all eternity, then she’d rather take a pass.  ‘Not for me’, she said.  Where does it say any of that in the Bible?  We’ll have wings?  Play harps for eternity?  Bored forever?  Not anywhere… from Genesis to Revelation.  Quite the contrary.  I told her so, but she remained stubbornly unconvinced.  She’s in heaven now.  She loved Jesus.  Had some rather strange ideas.   Right now she’s having the most surprising time she could never, ever imagine!

There’s more.  The third ‘R’–surprising rearrangements are ‘a-comin’!  Jesus says that ‘…many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first’.  Don’t worry about your place in heaven, or getting all the recognition you deserved in this life.  Let it go!  To be there, in heaven, with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and angels and all those who have gone before us and those who will join us later… to be with all of them, with no end in sight, no more good-byes, no more painful separations, none of that…ever again!  If I’m the last one in the door, standing up behind the back row,  I’ll not complain.   I’m there!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you have in store for us in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

RENEWAL IS ON THE HORIZON… Matthew 19: 28-30

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For the past few years, my wife Sue and I have been watching friends remodel their 1930’s home.  We watch with absolutely no envy.  Two years and counting.  No, now three years…still not done.  Not by a long shot.  Years and years.  Much the poorer!  Will it be worth it?  We hope so for their sake, and for all that the neighbors have put up with!  As we all know,  any house project will take a lot longer and cost much more than ever thought of or budgeted for.

While reading this brief portion from Matthew 19, I was astonished by what Jesus said in verse 28–‘…at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man…’  I don’t know about you, but to me the world seems like an old house, falling apart, messing up the neighborhood, in need of major remodeling.  That phrase of Jesus?  ‘…at the renewal…’  It’s coming!

The newness is on its way!   The New Jerusalem, new heavens and new earth, new wineskins.  Not a qualified ‘if’, but with surety in His words.  ‘…at the renewal of all things…’  The cold, snowy, rainy winter will finally end!  The drought, forgotten as rain returns.  Blizzard-covered streets, cleared.   Bad times won’t last forever.

I’ve been in situations that seemed to spell the very end of anything good for me.  With anxiety feeling like a permanent, searing pain in my gut, forgetting forever what laughter was like, and what good things the Lord of life could hold in store for me.  But those bad weather days finally lifted.  None too soon!

‘…at the renewal…’–when the downward spiral becomes the upward fix.  Not a few things but ‘…at the renewal of ALL things…’  Not a rearrangement of the living room furniture to cover grease stains or accumulated dust.  No, this will be renewal… of ALL things.  Nothing left out, forgotten or rotten.  Decay will have decomposed    Rubbish will vanish.

May I ask a personal question?  Well, I will anyway!  How about you?  What needs renewal?  Some things left to gather dust and grime for way too long?  I have the feeling that at the judgement of believers, what we have neglected to take care of in this life, God will deal with them, in His own way.  Do you think that we ought to deal with those neglectful things in our lives right now, rather than wait?  I think so.  Probably will take some extra time and cost us more than we imagined.  So be it.  It will be worth it.

‘…the renewal of all things…’  Whatever the price.  However long it takes.  Renewal!  Of ALL things!

Prayer:  Lord, how we need change in our lives.  Please help us.  In Jesus’ name and for His sake.  Amen.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE MUSTARD SEEDS?…Matthew 17: 14-21

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Last time I wanted to focus in on the ‘mustard seed’ of faith mentioned in Matthew 17: 20.  Guess what?  Not one word,  jot or tittle.  Did I forget?  Am I losing it?   Be nice!

Remember where we left off yesterday?  We’ve been to the top of the mountain with Jesus, witnessing His amazing transfiguration!  Elijah and Moses, talking with Jesus, in the sight of  Peter, James and John, His inner circle.

Beginning at Matthew 17:14,  Jesus and these three approach a crowd.  A man comes right up to Jesus, kneeling before Him, stopping Him in His tracks, begging for mercy for his son, who has some kind of devilish condition that causes him great bodily harm, along with utter heartache and worry for all who love this troubled youth.  The distraught father says that he has asked for the disciples’ help…but to no avail.  They were ineffectual and useless!  How Jesus’ words must have stung their ears and scorched their souls–‘O unbelieving and perverse generation…’

Who… us?  Painful words to hear.  Especially in light of what they saw up on that mountain.  The Father’s affirmation of Jesus, the Son.  Being with Moses and Elijah.  All of this should have led to MORE faith.  What they had seen with their eyes and heard with their ears.

Jesus then says that if they only had a tiny bit of faith, like the size of an itsy-bitsy mustard seed, they could pray, seeing God work miracles.  Like moving mountains, in a manner of speaking.  Jesus wants us to witness His work in this world…and in our lives.  It doesn’t mean we must be a Billy Graham or a famous writer of a ‘Reflections’ devotional!   But who knows?

A small mustard seed.   Nothing pretentious.  No putting on airs or wearing masks.  Simply trusting Him.  Refusing to be defeated by all the demonic and demoralizing forces around us.  Mountains of bitterness and revenge–move aside!  Mountains of unforgiveness– get lost!  Asking God to pick up our emotional rubbish for His disposal–good-riddance!

Got any mountains to move?  To talk with God about?  To see what God does best? Moving mounds of bad memories, laced with various shades of shame.  Piles of dirt shoveled on top by others.  Things left behind as the Lord lifts them from our shoulders.

Would be quite a silly scene, with me all hunched over, trying to carry around the heavy weight of what no longer exists.  Ridiculous.  What ludicrous waste.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who does exactly that.  Right?  You know who I’m talking about!  Spend time with your Lord.  He loves you.  Trust Him.  He will forgive.  And here’s the best part–He will forget!   Mountains will begin to move aside.  Doesn’t take mounds of faith to move those mountains.  Only a tiny mustard seed.  That’s Jesus’ promise.  That’s good enough for me!  And you?

Prayer:  Lord, we do trust you.  Increase our faith.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED!… Matthew 17: 1-23

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Can you imagine?  Chosen by Jesus.  Not all.  A few.  Three to be exact.  Selected to go up that mountain.  Peter, James and John.  They can’t say ‘no’ to Him.  How could they?  Not to Jesus.  If He says ‘follow’…they follow!  No questions asked.  Off they go.  Then strange things begin to happen.  Jesus’ face shines as bright as the sun.  His clothes become brilliant white.  They must cover their eyes.

Now what?  They think they’re seeing things.  Not things…people.  Not anyone–  Moses, the great law-giver and Elijah, the great prophet!  Talking with Jesus?  The three of them?   Is this some weird dream?  What did those three apostles eat for dinner?  No, this is for real.  Should they build a shelter with a plaque on it commemorating this great religious event?  When they think the confusion is lifting, a thick fog rolls in, and they hear a voice.  Not any voice.  I  mean… THE VOICE!  Get it?  The Father announcing that Jesus is His Son and that He loves Him.  Besides that He tells them that they should listen to Jesus.  That’s enough.  Down they go on hands and knees in utter fear and trembling.

What’s happening?  What’s next?  They finally garner a bit of courage to look up.  There’s Jesus alone.  They’re all ears, as God the Father has told them.  Listening.

How about that healing of the young boy, casting out the demon?  Pretty good!  This is turning out much better than they thought…until He tells them what they don’t want to hear.  No, Jesus.  Not that.  To die?  What?   Can’t be right.  But then…

Back to today.  I love this story–the Transfiguration of Jesus.  It tells me that those closest to the Master faltered in their faith.   They should have known better, didn’t quite get it, but still beheld all His glory and none of His condemnation.

Looking back on my life, there were many times when God was close to me.  I knew His hand was on me.  Still I cowered in fear, wondering where God was or if He cared.  How sad.  My two-faced faith.  Trusting God yet dogged by worries, all at the same time.  Like those three disciples in Matthew 17.  Not much different from us.  They saw.  They heard.  And yet…

What should WE do?  Actually nothing special.  It’s more like waking up and paying attention–‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.  LISTEN TO HIM.’  There it is.  Getting into our Bibles.  With Him in His Word.  Listening and waiting for what He has to say to us.  And when we mess up, as we all do, get right back to Jesus.  Talk with Him, love Him…listen to Him.  Two ears, one mouth–take the hint!

Prayer:  Lord,  we want to see more of Jesus and to listen to Him.  Amen.

NEED MORE RENEWAL?……. Read Matthew 19:28-30

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Last time we were reflecting on those words of Jesus:  ‘…at the renewal of all things’  as recorded in Matthew 19.  Won’t that be amazing when Jesus straightens out all those messes made by all of us from the very beginning of time, from Adam and Eve onward.   Yes, ‘…the renewal of ALL things’!  Can hardly wait, especially after reading the morning news or watching depressing television.  Times have been tough for people throughout history.  Satan relishes death, decay and destruction.  He gets his ‘jollies’ from the worst things thrown our way.   But here in the Bible, God’s Word, our eternal refuge in any storm,  I notice three wonderful blessings promised to those of us who are believers, who have repented of their sins and welcomed Jesus into their hearts by faith alone.  Is that you?  If not, pray to Jesus right now accepting Him into your life repenting of all sins that He will gladly forgive and then forget.  Wow!  Who in their right mind would want to miss out on all that?  Now read those verses from Matthew 19 once again.  Three verses containing three marvelous blessings.  The first is that we’ll have the responsibilities of meaningful work.  The first of the three R’s!  Jesus talks about our judging the world, the righting of wrongs, turning right-side-up what was topsy-turvy messed-up at best.  We’ll be part of that with the responsibilities of meaningful work.  What could be better than having work we love to do.  Something meaningful and interesting.  Something that pays well and worth giving a big chunk of our life for.   What a blessing– to get up each day looking forward to that day’s work.  Something that the one who hates his work can never understand.  And Jesus promises to His followers that we’ll have meaningful,  productive, interesting and rewarding work in His kingdom. Responsibility is the first ‘R’!  Then comes rewards.  Yes, He promises that any sacrifice made for Him will be nothing compared to what He has in store for us.  Rewards await us. The second ‘R’!   He promises.  And Jesus is the ultimate promise-keeper!  It will be out of this world!  His inheritance for us is fascinating life that has absolutely no end at all.  I remember a friend of mine, who should have known better, telling me that if she was only going to float around in heaven, flapping her wings,  playing a harp sitting up on some cloud, that she’d rather pass on all that.  What?  Where does it say that in the Bible?  We’ll have wings?  Playing harps?  Being bored for all eternity?  Nowhere.  I told her so, but she still seemed unconvinced.   She’s in heaven now.  She loved  Jesus.  And I know that she’s enjoying all kinds of the best creative work she couldn’t even imagine.  Think of the best time you’ve ever had, the best work you’ve ever done, and ramp that up to eternity… and beyond!   Multiple rewards have been placed on order for you….and me!  Thank you, Lord!  But there’s more.  The third ‘R’–rearrangement surprises– are ‘a-comin’!   Jesus says that ‘many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”  Surprising rearrangements await.  Don’t worry about your position in heaven, or getting all the recognition you deserved in this life.  Let it go!   Just to be there, in heaven, with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and angels and all those who have gone before us and those who will join us later…just to be with all of them with no end in sight, no good-byes, no painful separations, none ever again.  Now, that will heaven for me.  Are you with me?

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have for us in Jesus Christ.  You love to give…to us.  And we are so grateful.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.