Hold out for heaven

30th November -0001 | Comments: None

1 Peter 1:3-7 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I long for heaven. There the good that I’ll experience is not temporary or fleeting or fading or tainted by trials. Here on earth, any good is temporary. Car wrecks taint life. Things are taken away from us. We don’t always experience things we would prefer. My emotional investment and the focus of my faith can’t be the things of this life, but my hope has to be in that imperishable inheritance that’s kept in heaven for me. So many dreams and things and relationships throw me off and distract my longing for heaven. I need to hold out for what’s best; I need to hold out for heaven.

Ian had a lazy day today. He wasn’t very alert and was tired most of the day. We were told at the Children’s Institute that his recovery process would include days like this along with the active days. He slept a lot, and that’s good. He’s recovering.

Thank you for praying.

Steve

anonymous

November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite singers and he has an album about heaven called “Far Country”. On the album there is a song “Far Country” and here are the lyrics. It is a great album.

Far Country
(Hebrews 11:8-10, 11:13-16, Genesis 3:24, Romans 8:18-27)

Father Abraham
Do you remember when
You were called to a land
And didnt know the way

Cause we are wandering
In a foreign land
We are children of the
Promise of the faith

And I long to find it
Can you feel it, too?
That the sun thats shining
Is a shadow of the truth

This is a far country, a far country
Not my home

In the dark of the night
I can feel the shadows all around me
Cold shadows in the corners of my heart

But the heart of the fight
Is not in the flesh but in the spirit
And the spirits got me shaking in the dark

And I long to go there
I can feel the truth
I can hear the promise
Of the angels of the moon

I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
And the horn blast of war
In the sin-fraught cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-wrought graveyards where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain in the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the holy God
Of Father Abraham

I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home, to my home

Your post made me think of this song.
Praying for you all,
Jennifer

Tim

June 14, 2007 at 11:22 am

Excellent, Steve! Thanks for encouraging me in the faith. I continue to pray for Ian and you. – Tim, Wellspring Church, San Leandro, CA

June 14, 2007 at 2:32 pm

For Steve, Mary, Ian, Larissa, Ben, Caleb, Devon, and Lydia,
“Then Jesus said,”Come to Me, all of you who are weray and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
Praying for all of you….

June 14, 2007 at 4:10 pm

I am clinging to this verse today: “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” It can lift my heart at “home” and entering Livi’s room, my heart takes a hit. So I recount God’s word, take heart and then eventually read Ian’s blog and again am encouraged. Thank you. I will never stop praying for you and Ian, lovingly, gla

June 14, 2007 at 4:21 pm

“…Genuineness of your faith more precious than gold…”

Amen!

Still praying!

Mary Ann K.