WE WELCOME YOU, PRINCE OF PEACE!

WE WELCOME YOU,

PRINCE OF PEACE!

As we continue to share the season of Advent, we lit our second candle, the Candle of Peace.  In this world we sometimes wonder “where is our peace?”  Problems come into our lives that will shake us to the very core of our being.  And sometimes it is just a phone away.  We think everything is going well.  We are looking forward to Christmas and the New Year, and then we hear news that a Radiologist has found something suspicious and we are scheduled for more tests. 

But no matter what the test results may be, we as followers of our Lord Jesus know where our peace lies.  We can run right into His arms with our problem and isn’t it wonderful to know that He is right there and is aware of the whole situation and whatever the future may hold.

As I was thinking about this blog and what song the Lord would have me share, I was looking at our wonderful Christmas carols, and thinking of a song that would speak of the peace that He brings to us in these difficult times.  Let me share with you the story of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”.

“Although he was a Unitarian minister, Edmund Sears believed in the deity of Christ.  He also believed in the angels’ message of “peace on earth.”

This hymn, written in Massachusetts in 1849, focuses on the angels’ song of “peace on earth.” Like many other hymns written in America during the mid-1800’s, it might be called a “horizontal hymn.” Such hymns called people to live well, to be at peace, and to honor God.  It seeks to encourage people who are bent “beneath life’s crushing load,” as the third stanza says, to stop and hear the message of Christmas sung by the angels.

Peace was a timely topic when Sears penned these words.  Tensions were rising in America, leading toward the Civil War.  But the peace promised by the angels is not only national; it is personal as well.” (Hymns by Petersen).

IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR

“It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold: “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men, from heav’ns all-gracious King!” The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled, and still their heav’nly music floats o’er all the weary world: above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hov’ring wing, and ever o’er its babel sounds the blessed angels sing.

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way  with painful steps and slow, look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing: o rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.

For lo, the days are hast’ning on, by prophets seen of old, when with the ever-circling years shall come the time foretold, when the new heav’n and earth shall own the Prince of Peace their King, and the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.  (Edmund Hamilton Sears)

The world during the time of Christ’s birth was a sad and weary world.  The people were bowed down with the weight of Roman rule.  There had been no prophetic word for 400 years, and they waited anxiously for their Messiah to come.  And He came that night, The Prince of Peace, born in a lowly stable.  The shepherds out in the fields of Bethlehem saw a wondrous event in the skies that night.  The angels bending low announcing that He was here at last, our Gracious King.  And the world of the shepherds stopped for a moment in time in the stillness of that night to hear the glorious song of the angels.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” Luke 2:14.

And today we live in a weary world with its turmoil and pain.  And our Precious Lord calls us to stop in the rushing world of Christmas, the noise of traffic, the crowded stores, the business of the season and listen with our hearts to the song of the angels as they proclaim peace to our hearts. But it takes our willingness to just put aside all the noise of the season and hear the music of the skies.  He calls us to come away with Him, just sit in His presence and let the world go by.  Can we do that?  The babe of Bethlehem speaks of peace and joy to come.

Are you bending under a heavy load right now?  Are your steps slow and painful?  Listen to the music of the angels, listen to the lovely carols, each and every verse  We walk a weary road sometimes and He calls us to rest and listen with our hearts and minds tuned on Him, the Savior of the world.  The One who came as that precious baby and remember that before Him was the shadow of a cross!

And yes, the days are hastening on quickly.  The prophecies are being fulfilled, and the signs of that wonderful day coming are upon us.  We look up, keeping our eyes on the heavens and someday those heavens will open and Jesus will come!  This time He will not come lowly and meek, as He came the first time, but this time He comes as the Conquering King of kings!  And we all look forward to that day when at last there will be continuing and forever “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” And we will join in joyful chorus around the Throne that joyful song of the angels!

Be Blest in Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon

COME, COME EMMANUEL!

COME, COME EMMANUEL!

It is the first week of December, and the weather is very cold.  But the season is upon us, warming our hearts with song “Joy to the World, the Lord has come.”  Everywhere the lights are bright and shoppers are crowding the stores looking for their special treasures.  And we see the beautiful colors of Christmas in our lovely decorations and trees.  And we sing those lovely Christmas carols which speak of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We look at our nativity sets and see Mary and Joseph and sweet baby Jesus surrounded by shepherds and wisemen and angels looking on.  And in our church we are celebrating the Advent season.  We light our candles each Sunday and ponder the meaning of each of five candles.  The last candle we will light will be the large white candle on Christmas Eve.

The first candle we lit was the “Candle of Hope and Prophecy.”  As we celebrate Advent we are remembering His first Advent, His first coming and the amazing prophecies that foretold of the Messiah and His coming.  The people in those days were looking for the deliverer, the One who would free them from the Romans and sit upon the Throne of David once again.  But Jesus came not to be an earthly king, but to bring the Kingdom of God to reign our hearts, a spiritual kingdom.  But the people did not see that and rejected Him and He went to the cross to die, to shed His precious blood for you, for me. 

And He came to bring hope to a lost world and to each of us.  In this world many have lost their hope, but there is hope in Jesus, my friends.  The cry of ours hearts and the cry of the hearts of those in His day was “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL!

“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o’er the grave.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here; and drive away the shades of night, and pierce the clouds and bring us light! Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path of misery.  Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. (Latin hymn from 12^th century)

In this wonderful old hymn we see the promise of His coming, and we see Emmanuel, God with us.  He would come and when He came He would bring salvation.  In the first verse we see captives in exile longing for Emmanuel to come.  And there are times when we feel that we are captives to our sin, and to pain and sorrow.  But Emmanuel will come and bring deliverance from our sin and that which enslaves us.

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.  The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of Knowledge and the fear of the Lord” Isaiah 11:1-2.

We see this wonderful prophecy of our Wonderful Lord as He would come.  He would be a “Righteous Branch” which would grow out of Jesse, David’s father.  He would come with wisdom, understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  This was the Messiah they were waiting and watching for, our Precious Jesus, the Messiah!

“Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” Luke 1:78-79.

In God’s tender mercy, He was sending the Dayspring, the Messiah to visit us.  Those who sit in darkness, He came to bring light and life and to conquer death forever.  And He promises to guide us into a life of peace.  Oh, what a promise!  If you are feeling darkness closing in on your today, the Dayspring has come to light your path, to bring peace and joy and eternal life with Him forever.  Oh, what a precious promise!

As we celebrate Advent, we also are looking forward to His second advent.  And we look for our heavenly home.  And because of His death and resurrection, He has opened the way to eternal life.  And when He comes there will be no more sorrow, pain or tears.  And our hearts look toward the heavens and long for His coming at last!  O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

In the Name of Jesus’

Pastor Sharon

THE BLACK FRIDAY OF ALL BLACK FRIDAYS

THE BLACK FRIDAY

OF ALL BLACK FRIDAYS

Oh, the day after a lovely Thanksgiving Day comes “Black Friday.”  I don’t know who or where we started calling this day “Black Friday.”  There were people in line very early this morning, some even “camped” out in the various parking lots hoping to get a bargain at their favorite store.

But I am thinking of another “Black Friday” so long ago.  And there were no long lines at shopping malls or waiting in parking lots.  In fact, on this day, 2000 years or so ago, there were crowds of people, but not out for a sales bargain.  This indeed was a dark day, a day of earthquakes and darkness when the sun refused to shine.

It was a day of suffering, intense suffering.  And as the earth trembled and the sky grew dark, there upon the hill were three crosses.  And on the middle cross was the Savior, Jesus Christ.  And there He was suffering for my sin, for your sin.  And of all Fridays to come down through the years, this was the blackest Friday in history. 

And there were crowds at the foot of the cross, crowds of men and women calling out curses at the One who was taking their sin on Himself.  And also at the foot of that cross were those who loved Him, and now felt helpless as they watched Him suffer and die there.  They thought He had come to overthrow the Romans and would set on the throne of David and bring peace to the world, and they just could not understand why He would die and suffer such a cruel death.  And they felt they had lost all their hope in Jesus, the Messiah.

But it was “At the Cross” on that first “Black Friday” that we can kneel today as the price has been paid in full by the shedding of His precious blood. 

AT THE CROSS

“Alas, and did my Saviour bleed and did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away.  It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day!

Was it for crimes that I have done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut His glories in, when Christ the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe; here, Lord, I give myself away, ‘tis all that I can do.” (Isaac Watts)

People are running everywhere looking for that special price on a bargain they are looking for.  But I want you to know that another price has already been paid.  And it was paid, not for physical “things” that would soon decay and fade away.  But a price was paid for your eternal soul and for mine. And that price was by the shedding of His precious blood to wash away our sin.  He was God's perfect lamb that day!

“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” II Peter 2:19.

We owed a debt of sin and it was paid in full on the cross on that “Black Friday.”  How can we comprehend the debt of love that our Saviour took to that cross?  As the song says so plainly, we give ourselves totally to Him as Lord of our lives and look forward to spending eternity with Him.

Yes, that day was dark, but three days later, the “Son” shone again!  The earth again shook, but on this day, our Saviour came out of the tomb shining brightly.  He conquered death and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven for you, my friend.  He has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts by faith.  His precious Holy Spirit brings comfort and peace into our hearts as we walk with Jesus.  We may have dark days, but I am so glad that the “Son” still shines in our lives!

So on this “Black Friday” we remember the “Black Friday” so many years ago on Calvary, and we meet Him at the cross where our sins are forgiven, and we can praise Him for His great salvation.  Just stop in all your running around today and give Him praise with a grateful heart for all He has done and we can look forward to seeing Him face to face at last!

MEET THE STRANGER OF GALILEE

MEET THE STRANGER OF GALILEE

As our daughter is on tour with her church group in Israel, along with our granddaughter, we have been sharing many memories of our trip to Israel when she was a child.  I will never forget the peace of walking where He walked and sharing communion in the garden where He was buried and then in three days walked out of that tomb.  And then visiting the place on Mount of Olives where He ascended back into heaven, and oh how we long for His return, when He steps out of heaven onto the Mount of Olives once again!

My husband asked me “what was the highlight of our trip to Israel for you?”  I shared that I actually had two highlights and that one of them was communion at the Garden Tomb and the other was what I am going to share with you now.

One beautiful morning our tour group met on the shore of Galilee.  Our tour was with our fellow church members from our church and it was a large tour so we usually met together in smaller groups with a Pastor for each group.  On this particular day we all gathered together there at the Sea of Galilee.  We would listen to a Pastor teach from a boat pushed out from the shore just as Jesus taught.  (Matthew 13:1-2).  And later we would take the trip across the lake in a boat.

As we were standing there listening to the Word taught and pondering on the scene before us and remembering what it was like when Jesus was there, there was a sudden quiet and suddenly a tenor voice from the crowd began to sing and the words of this song echoed out over the lake.  I still am moved from that memory and the tears still come.

THE STRANGER OF GALILEE

“In fancy I stood by the shore one day, of the beautiful murm’ring sea.  I saw the great crowds as they thronged the way of the Stranger of Galilee; I saw how the man who was blind from birth, in a moment was made to see; the lame was made whole by the matchless skill of the Stranger of Galilee.

Refrain:  And I felt I could love Him forever, so gracious and tender was He! I claimed Him that day as my Savior, this Stranger of Galilee.

His look of compassion, His words of love, they shall never forgotten be; when sin sick and helpless He saw me there, this Stranger of Galilee; He showed me His hand and His riven side, and He whispered, “It was for thee!” My burden fell off at the pierced feet of the Stranger from Galilee.

I heard Him speak peace to the angry waves, of that turbulent, raging sea; and lo! At His word are the waters stilled, this Stranger of Galilee; a peaceful, a quiet, and holy calm, now and ever abides with me; He holdeth my life in His mighty hands, this Stranger of Galilee.

Come ye who are driven, and tempest tossed, and His gracious salvation see; He’ll quiet life’s storms with His “Peace, be still!” This Stranger of Galilee.  He bids me to go and the story tell-what He ever to you will be, if only you let with you abide, this Stranger of Galilee.”

4^th verse Chorus: Oh, my friend, won’t you love Him forever? So gracious and tender is He!  Accept Him today as your Savior, this Stranger of Galilee.  (Leila N. Morris-1893)

And today, this Stranger of Galilee is no longer a “Stranger.”  He comes into our lives full of compassion and love.  And because of His sacrifice at the cross, we behold His nail pierced hands and feet and the wound in His side by faith. And He whispers to all who come to Him that He did it for us, for the whole world. 

We remember in His Word how in His great compassion healed the sick, the blind and the lame, and this same Jesus is still healing and working miracles today.  And we can come to Him anytime and our burdens will fall off as He brings peace to our hearts.

“And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea.  And there was a great calm” Matthew 8:23-27.

As the disciples feared for their lives, the Lord was asleep in perfect peace.  He held their lives in His Mighty hands.  After all, He controlled the sea and all the waves roaring, He was the Creator, the wind and the waves obeyed His voice as He spoke “Peace, be still.”

And you, my friend, are waves of trouble rocking your ship?  He comes speaking to the trials of life, calming the storms, bringing a great calm.  Do you know this “Stranger of Galilee?”  He is calling out to you to just “Come.”  And when you “Come” and kneel at His feet, He will always be there, walking the path of life with you, and He will no longer be a “Stranger” to you.  He will become your best friend, your Savior, your King and your Lord and never leave your side.  Won’t you ask Him today?  See His outstretched arms waiting for you, just come! Come meet the Stranger of Galilee.”

In the Name of Jesus,

Pastor Sharon

THERE'S NOT A FRIEND LIKE JESUS!

THERE’S NOT A FRIEND

LIKE JESUS!

It is a dark and gray day here.  I haven’t seen the sun all day.  I know the sun is shining somewhere, and I know it is shining behind those dark clouds. We all have days in our lives where everything is dark and gray, no sun seems to be shining in our lives.  I know many people feel like the world has forgotten them, and they live in a dark place.  I meet people in the nursing home ministry who are so alone.  Family seems to have forgotten them.  And I know people who have people all around them and they still feel alone.  They feel the emptiness in their lives and problems seem to surround them.

But I know a Friend who will never forsake me, will never leave me lonely, and is always there for me, always on call when I need Him.  And I can share everything with Him, all my hearts desires and He will always keep a confidence.  My Friend showers me with love and blessings and promises to be my Friend throughout eternity.  Would you like to know a friend like that?  Are you lonely today?  Are you facing great trials in your life right now?  Let me introduce you to my best Friend, the Lord Jesus Christ!

NO NOT ONE!

“There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no, not one! No, not one! None else could heal all our soul’s diseases, no, not one! No, not one!

Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done; there’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no, not one! No not one!

No friend like Him is so high and holy, no not one! No, not one! And yet no friend is so meek and lowly, no, not one! No not one!

There’s not an hour that He is not near us, no not one! No, not one! No night so dark but His love can cheer us, no, not one! No, not one!

Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him?  No, not one! No, not one! Or sinner find that He would not take him?  No, not one! No, not one!

Was e’er a gift like the Saviour given! No, not one! No, not one! Will He refuse us a home in heaven? No, not one! No, not one!  (Johnson Oatman, Jr.)

No, there is no one like Jesus.  We will be celebrating Christmas soon, and the baby Jesus will be in our minds as we see Him there in the manger, shepherds and wise men worshiping this gentle baby.  But that baby, the Lord of Glory came down, God in flesh, to walk among us, to feel our pain, and then be crucified on that cruel cross for you, for me.  He came to take our sins on the cross, to shed His blood for our sin and to heal all our soul’s diseases, those sins that plague our lives, He brings forgiveness.  Oh, what a Friend is Jesus!

But Jesus came out of the tomb triumphant on the third day, conquering death and bringing eternal life to all who will believe in Him.  Oh, I pray that during this coming Christmas season that you will come to know Him as your best friend.  He comes into our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, and has promised to never “leave us or forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5).

Earthly friends can sometime forsake us, but this Friend is always there.  “But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 18:24b.  Even earthly family may forsake us, but never our Wonderful Jesus!

How can our minds comprehend how high and holy is our God! 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.  He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, who makes the clouds His chariot, who walks on the wings of the wind, who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire” Psalm 104 1-4.

And yet, He is lowly and bears all our griefs and sorrows.  He has been there ahead of us, He feels our pain, and He is there is our darkest of nights.  He is there with His great compassion and love when we feel like we cannot go on, the way is so dark.  He lights the path ahead of us, bringing His peace in the midst of the storm.  There is no Friend like Jesus.

And if you do not know this Wonderful Friend, you can call on Him right now.  He never turns away those who call on Him, asking Him to forgive their sins.  And when we are finished walking the path He has chosen for us, this Wonderful Friend will guide us to our eternal home in heaven. 

Oh, what a day that will be!  It will be a day of great joy to finally meet this Friend face to face, and to live with Him forever.  We will meet the Friend who died for us, forgave our sins, this Wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I can hardly wait, can you? There is no Friend like Jesus, no not one!

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon

PRAISE THE LORD! HE ABIDES!

PRAISE THE LORD! HE ABIDES!

The world outside my window is arrayed in glorious fall colors.  The weather is now chilly and frost in the air.  And people are celebrating Halloween.  To me, Halloween is a dark day, colors of black and orange and there is talk of spooky and haunting things.  The world seems to be so “dark” on this day.  When I was a child Halloween was so different.  It was a fun day and we were not aware of the “darkness” of Halloween.

But I want to turn my attention to my Wonderful Lord Jesus today.  I desire to praise Him, who made heaven and earth.  I want to bow down to my Savior, the One who died on Calvary for me, the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is Him I want to honor today.  He is the One who brings light to our darkness.  He is the One who brings peace and joy to our lives.  He is the one who constantly abides with me, and who will never leave me.  He is the One who is to be exalted on this day and every day!  So if you are out and about with your children tonight, just remember Jesus and that He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and His kingdom is forever, O Praise the Lord!

CONSTANTLY ABIDING

“There’s a peace in my heart that the world never gave, a peace it can not take away; tho’ the trials of life may surround like a cloud, I’ve a peace that has come there to stay!

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine; constantly abiding, rapture divine; He never leaves me lonely, whispers O so kind: “I will never leave thee,” Jesus is mine.

All the world seemed to sing of a Savior and King, when peace sweetly came to my heart; troubles all fled away and my night turned to day, blessed Jesus, how glorious Thou art!

This treasure I have in a temple of clay, while here on His footstool I roam; but He’s coming to take me some glorious day, over there to my heavenly home!  (Anne S. Murphy).

In the midst of our days, sometimes we have trials that do surround like a cloud.  Even today I heard of several people who have great trials, and it seems that their lives are so complicated.  But it is Jesus who brings peace to even the darkest of trials.  My heart just breaks when I hear of the burdens that other people are carrying.  My trials seem so small sometimes.  Only Jesus is the answer to this world’s struggles.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.

As Jesus spoke to His disciples on this night, the night that he would be arrested, tried and crucified, He proclaims peace.  He tells His disciples to be cheerful, as He overcomes the world.  And He could only do that by going to the cross, the place of suffering and death.  But He would be victorious and rise from that tomb on the third day!  And when Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, brings us peace, it is there to stay, no matter what trial may come into our lives.  Oh, I know that is hard sometimes, we take our eyes off of Jesus, but when we turn back to Him, He reminds us of His peace and we can walk in that peace.

I remember so well the night I asked Jesus into my heart as a child.  My night did turn to day, and everything looked different and brighter.  I was raised in a Christian home and my whole world was church, but I still was a sinner needing Jesus. And my trials were easier to bear all because of Jesus in my life.  I learned to pray and read my Bible.  I witnessed to my friends at school.  And in those days, I could carry my little New Testament to school.

And someday Jesus is coming back to take me home.  And I believe He is coming very soon. And He is waiting for men and women, boys and girls to come to Him.  His nail pierced hands are reaching out for men and women, boys and girls to come to Him and receive salvation and eternal life.  And then comes that wonderful peace that only He can bring.  We don’t know what tomorrow may hold, “now is the day of salvation, (II Corinthians 6:2).  There are only two choices, heaven or hell.  Which will you choose?

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words” I Thessalonians 4:16-18.

So I bring comfort to you who love Jesus, the promise of His coming.  And I look forward to that day when He comes to take us home, what a day of rejoicing that will be.  And if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, I pray that you will make that decision, and be there with the believers as they meet their Lord in the air.  I pray that if you should meet the Lord in death, you will be ready to be welcomed home by our Blessed Lord.  And Praise the Lord that He constantly abides and that His love is everlasting.

In the Name of Jesus,

Pastor Sharon

NO MORE TEARS!

NO MORE TEARS!

This is a most wonderful time of the year.  The autumn leaves are turning gold, red, and yellow on the trees as I look out my window.  The air is crisp now, but when the sun comes out it becomes a warm fall day.  I marvel at God’s creation and how He could create such marvelous colors all around as the seasons change.  We can enjoy the colors for a while and then winter will be here and all those lovely trees will be barren and then we will begin to look for spring time and new life again.

As I have entered the “autumn” years of my life, I remember the youthful days when I thought life would go on forever, and it never entered my mind that someday my senior years would come.  And I wonder where the years have gone!  It seems like only yesterday that our children were little and we were so young,  and even further back when I remember being a little girl and running and playing with the other children around.

My daughter and I were talking this past week about heaven.  It seems that when we were young we never thought much about it.  After all, we were young and heaven for us was many years down the road.  Now, in my senior years, heaven seems to be a part of my thinking.  As so many dear ones in my family, including our dear mother just a short time ago, have gone on to their eternal reward, heaven is very real.  As a Pastor, I have sat by bedsides of the dying and performed their memorial services, and again, sensing heaven.

Just this past week I visited with a precious lady in the nursing home and we shared the Word and heaven and I reminded her of her mansion which Jesus has gone to prepare for her.  I remember another dear lady who was nearing 103 and she would ask about heaven and how close it was for her.  We shared the Word together and since she had no legs due to amputation, she had the promise that someday she would walk on golden streets with brand new legs!  She had had a beautiful dream in which she saw a lovely golden fountain, and she wondered what that meant for her.  I took her to the 22^nd book of Revelation, which describes the beautiful  river flowing down from the throne of God. Oh, such precious hope we have from our Lord.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” Revelation 21:4.

NO TEARS IN HEAVEN

No tears in heaven, no sorrows given,

All will be glory in that land;

There’ll be no sadness, all will be gladness,

When we shall join that happy band.

No tears in heaven, no tears up there,

Sorrow and pain will all have flown;

No tears no tears, no tears up there,

No tears in heaven will be known.

Glory is waiting, waiting up yonder,

Where we shall spend an endless day;

There with our Saviour, we’ll be forever,

Where no more sorrow can dismay.

Some morning yonder, we’ll cease to ponder

O’er things this life has bro’t to view;

All will be clearer, loved ones be dearer,

In Heav’n where all will be made new.

Robert S. Arnold

Yes, we can look forward to that land of endless joy as we keep our eyes on Jesus as we walk this journey home.  As we continue to walk, we will have storms and rocks in our path, but we continue to look upward and remember that we are just pilgrims passing through. 

My husband and I just celebrated 52 years of marriage.  When we were married we never considered the years ahead and never wondered what it would be like for us 50 years in the future.  We lived our lives as if we would live forever, it seems.  In looking at family pictures now, I realize that in some of those pictures my grandparents were younger than I am now and I thought they were so old! 

And on that wonderful day when we see our Savior face to face,  all the trials of life will seem so dim, when we stand in the light of His presence at last.  We will fall at His feet in grateful praise to finally have arrived in our heavenly home.  And there we will be forever and ever in His presence.

This past weekend we traveled to family which we had not seen for a year, and it is so hard to part and wonder when we shall meet again or what the year will hold for each one of us.  But we love the Lord, and know that someday there won’t be any more “goodbyes.”  We will be all together forever.  Can you imagine with me what that will be like?  We will be with mom again and dad and grandparents and on and on with loved ones and friends forever.

I do pray that you know Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and you are looking upward towards that grand day when you reach your heavenly home.  If you have not accepted Him or have strayed away, please call on Him today.  He is waiting for you and you too will live eternally in our wonderful home and there will be no more tears!  Praise the Lord!

In Jesus’ Wonderful Name,

Pastor Sharon