My study this morning directed me to Luke 10:20. Jesus tells the 72 that they should be rejoicing in the fact that their names are written in heaven. Ultimately, God is telling us that no matter what happens in this world...good and bad...we can have joy knowing that OUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN!! That is sooooo amazing.
As the study goes on...it talks about heaven and helps us understand what a magnificent place it is....oh how I long for it and can't wait to be in the presence of my Savior! It also talks about the realities for those who don't have the hope we have and the JOY of knowing that their names are written in heaven. It talks about those who have chosen not to follow Christ and to receive His salvation.
My heart broke as I read these words from this study,
""The Greek word for destruction is apoleia (see 2 Pet. 3:3-7) which means: losing, loss, the state after death wherein exclusion from salvation is a realized fact." That definition sends chills up my spine. A moment will come, at the ushering in of eternity, when every lost man and woman will be confronted with the staggering loss of his or her salvation. Remember, Philippians 2:10 says that "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." The lost will suffer a horrible threefold realization: they will realize that He is LORD, that they are LOST and that it is too LATE. Another definition of the word apoleia is just one sobering word: waste. Their lives will have been a total waste. A life without Christ is a wasted life. All the energy, all the pain-for absolutely nothing." (page 77)
As I read these words today I just started sobbing....THIS reality is why I live in Nepal. It is why we live here with our two beautiful children. People around the world each and everyday are dying without a chance to know of a God who loves them and who longs for them to be with Him. They are living without hope, peace and JOY. They don't know of a God who loves them and who desires a relationship with them. I want so badly for the people here to know Jesus. To know what He has done for them. To receive true peace, hope and JOY.....before it is too late...God has given us today and we MUST use it to tell of His goodness. I want them to live their lives for Him and to have their lives matter for His glory!
For those of you who are reading this and who are Christians...those of you who know that your name is written in heaven...we have been given SUCH an incredible gift! We must share that with those around us so that they can have that joy. We must live our lives in such a way that others see the JOY in our lives...JOY from knowing that our Creator loves us and longs for us (no matter what our worldly circumstances are telling us).
If you are reading this and you are not a Christian...please know that the Creator of this world LOVES you more than you will ever fully understand and He desires a relationship with you. There is nothing that you have done that God is unwilling to forgive you for. Confess your sins to Him, believe that He is God and ask Him to take control of your life and then give your life fully over to Him. He will save you and in Christ you can find true healing, love and peace. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions. I would really love to talk to you more about how you can have a relationship with the God who loves you so much!
Beth Moore closes that section of the Bible study by saying, "Praise God with reverence that your name is written in heaven." Will you join me today in praising God for all He has done for us? For the amazing grace that He has bestowed upon us. Will you join me in asking Him to forgive us of all of the times and ways that we let ourselves get caught up in the ways of this world and take our eyes off of Him and all that He has promised us. God is so good and He loves us....oh how He loves us!!! Let's not keep these amazing truths to ourselves....let's share them with a world who so desperately needs to know!
"Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my JOY and my delight."
Psalm 43:3-4
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