When someone dies, and you are there with them – whether a dear family member or friend or someone else- at the moment of death that person’s life leaves the body. It just goes somewhere else, and the body that is left is just an inanimate piece of material as is the chair you have been sitting in. That person is no longer there.
Now, that person if they are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will at some point in the near future, at the coming of the Lord to collect his believers, receive a glorious new body to live in. And if the person is not a believer, that person will after the white throne judgement be sent off to eternity in the lake of fire, hell.
As the popular saying goes, “them’s the facts.” Like them or not, those are true facts of this creation of God in which we live. Life on earth exists under the commandments and rules and laws – spiritual and physical – of God. Beyond that, the lives of people while on earth are of course under constant attack from the evil side, and those who do not truly know the Lord and all that is theirs through that relationship are easily led astray. As John says in 1 John, the world is under the control of the evil one. It will be so until Jesus wins the battle at the end of the Tribulation and sets up Kingdom government in Jerusalem, with that evil one having been thrown into a deep pit.
The only exception to the dominance of the evil one in the current world is the fact that believers in the Lord Jesus already have the Kingdom of God within them. They are living in a totally different way than others all around. And they have the power of that Kingdom, and all God’s promises, to use and apply while existing in this truly lost world.
Believers of course anxiously await the return of the Lord to collect them and take them with him. They look forward to the new glorious bodies. And they wonder what their lives will be like in the future. That of course we will soon know. This long period, this temporary pause in God’s calendar since Jesus left earth during which believers have been added to the Kingdom, will soon be over. And God’s timing and plan will resume. Seven years of Tribulation for those left behind, for the world. Then a thousand year period under the government of the Kingdom of God based in Jerusalem, which believers will participate in. And then finally the truly new Jerusalem described in chapter 21 in Revelation.
Everyone, keep your eyes on Jesus. Stay focused on all of God’s word. Read again the promises, the truths, the commands, and more. Read the gospel accounts over and over. God’s word works. We can do the same things Jesus did, even greater. We can heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel, and on and on. But we must be persistent. We must live in the right relationship with Jesus, we must operate in faith and in truth, we must rely on the truth and power of the Word, we must apply that Word to our lives and situations. We can’t waiver. If we slip up, if we stray away from the truths, we must ask for forgiveness which we will of course receive. And we must be patient.
God really does know what is going on in your life. Every day ask the Lord Jesus to orchestrate your life, to bring glory to himself and the Father through you. Ask the Holy Spirit to arrange divine encounters, conversations he would have you have with others, with nonbelievers. Stand on the promises of health, and provision, and more. Remind the Lord in prayer of things he has said to you and of promises in the Bible for believers. He of course knows all this, but it is always good for you to talk about it in prayer. Listen. For guidance. Don’t miss the Holy Spirit’s leading. If you get a check in your spirit about something you are thinking of doing, don’t do it. Stop and reconsider and pray. Seek guidance.
All these many things on earth in our lives are all secondary to Jesus and our relationship with him. The only thing that really matters is Jesus and your relationship with him.
I have greatly enjoyed the ministry God has led Cathy and me in. I have wondered and marveled at things that have happened, that we have seen…healings, miracles, the fulfillment of God’s call and promises to us, and so much more. And I like you eagerly await the Lord’s imminent return. But in the meantime we just can’t stop what we are doing. Not you and not us. It all continues, right up to the Lord’s return. And then we will see what comes next for us, won’t we. I can’t wait.
Always remember, the only thing that really matters is Jesus and your relationship with him.
April 2024
Copyright © 2024 by John Newlin
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KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS!
JOHN NEWLIN MINISTRIES
P O BOX 1038
CARY, NC 27518
https://johnnewlinministries.org
email: john@johnnewlinministries.org
Twitter.com/johnnewlinmin
Blog: johnnewlin.blogspot.com
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