The kingdom of heaven
(Matthew 5: 3), the kingdom of the
Father (Matthew 13: 43), life
everlasting (Matthew 19: 16), the joy
of the Lord (Matthew 25: 21), great
reward (Matthew 5: 12), the kingdom
of God (Mark 9: 45), the kingdom of
Christ (Luke 22: 30), the house of
the Father (John 14: 2), city of God,
the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebr., xii), the holy place (Hebrews 9: 12; D. V. holies), paradise (2 Corinthians 12: 4), incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9: 25), crown of life (James 1: 12),
crown of justice (II Timothy iv, 8), crown of glory (1 Peter 5: 4), hereafter - the time yet to come, kingdom come, in the sweet
by-and-by, following this in time or order or place; in a future life or state.
In other words: life after death is
everlasting life... eternity.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 "God
has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the
human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from
beginning to end". The point Solomon is
making: Since we were made for eternity, the things of time cannot fully or permanently
satisfy.
James 4:4 Don’t you know that
friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who
chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Francis Chan said, "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to
unbelievers."
The interesting
thing is the Bible is not just a nice book to read in your spare time as some
might think. It's not an encyclopedia of religious information,
it is not a collection of moral parables, nor is it an assembly of stories
about the distant past. The Bible is God's written revelation of Himself and
man's relationship to Him through the Covenant bond He establishes with those
men and women He calls into a unique relationship. While covenant blessings and
curses in the Old Testament were temporal, covenant blessings and curses in the
New Covenant in Christ are eternal.
A pearl to string: Blessings do not depend on your
performance but rather on Jesus’ performance. And because
His obedience is perfect and His work is perfectly finished, the covenant
blessings for you are guaranteed! You can not be good enough, holy enough,
compassionate enough nor can you love enough to be in covenant blessing.
There is nothing left for you to do, but to believe. Don’t
try to work for your covenant blessings. Rest in the Son’s finished work and
receive them by faith!
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." (John 3:16)
We're all in His love,
Lyndi
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