Giving Birth

 

 

I dreamed that I have just given birth to a baby girl. I feel fine, not tired or sore as would be normal after labor and delivery, as if someone else did all the work.

I haven’t seen her yet, but the nurses assure me that she is beautiful and perfect, and they show me pictures. One is a photo of a beautiful young woman, with soft, blonde wavy hair framing her face like a halo, wearing light makeup that looks very natural and enhances her symmetrical features. The other is a pencil sketch, with a map or diagram across her forehead showing different facets of her personality and where they reside in her brain.

I’m surprised by the pictures, as she appears full grown rather than newborn, and I long to see her right away. My husband and son are in the room and I call out to them, “Let’s go see her – everybody wash your hands!”

But the nurses say they are still working on her, and she’s not ready for us to see her yet.

When I awoke from the dream, it was with a sense of longing to see this new creation that was part of me. I realized that the girl in the dream represented the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15) that I am in Christ, now that I am born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven.

The Bible speaks of the newly saved Christian as a babe in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1), first needing the spiritual nourishment of the sincere milk of the Word (Hebrews 5:13; 1 Peter 2:2), or its simple yet perfect truths of salvation through faith by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Just as we do not and cannot work for our salvation, for all our own righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), I experienced no labor in the dream, and hence no fatigue, for Jesus Christ Himself accomplished all the work (Isaiah 64:6) needed for my spiritual rebirth. He paid the price in full for my sin debt through His shed blood on the cross (Romans 3:25).

At the moment we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we are not only born again (John 3:3-8), but justified through His righteousness, which is credited to our account (Romans 4:25; Romans 5:16-18). When God the Father looks at us from that moment on, He no longer sees our sins, but only the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. All our sins are debited to His account, and His perfect standing and inheritance of eternal life in Heaven are credited to our account (Romans 8:17).

This is known as positional justification. Were we to die moments after being saved, we would immediately go to Heaven, like the thief who accepted Christ in his dying moments on the cross, even though there was no time for him to be baptized, attend church, read Scripture, or do any good works in the Name of Jesus (Luke 23:42-43).

A newborn is not expected to remain in the nursery for long, but to grow and mature into an adult, each with their own personality, attributes, and responsibilities. After we are born again, we are to mature in our Christian walk, being fed with more challenging portions of “meat” from God’s Word (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12) and becoming more like Christ each day (1 Corinthians 1:30).

This process of progressive sanctification was symbolized in my dream by the “newborn” pictures actually resembling a young adult, with a beautiful face and “brain map” indicating a complex personality, both of which God Himself fashioned since before the beginning of time (Psalm 139:14-16).

In the dream, I shared my desire to see this new creation with my family and wanted them to see her too, but I also wanted us all to wash our hands first, symbolizing the spiritual cleansing that takes place through the washing of the water of God’s Word (Ephesians 5:26).

Sadly, we were not yet allowed to see her, reflecting that the ultimate expression of God’s new creation in each believer will be our glorified body that He gives us at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:42-58). At that time, we will experience eternal glorification. We will know Him and one another perfectly, as we ourselves are now known by Him. We will live forever in our glorified body that will never age, sin, die, or experience illness, sorrow, or pain.

But in the meantime, full understanding of Jesus Christ, of Heaven and of what we will be like eternally eludes our grasp, for we still see as through a glass, darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12).

In Bible times when the apostle Paul penned these words, glass was not clear, flat and free of impurities as window glass is today, but was cloudy, wavy and distorted. You might be able to tell that someone was passing by your window, but you wouldn’t be able to recognize or describe them. Such is our present view of the glories of Heaven that await us, and of our eternal companions, the saints in light!

The dream reminded me of how I long for the Rapture, for Christ to come again, and for my aging body to be transformed into a glorified body, to live forever with Him and my loved ones in Him in the abundant joy and perfect peace of Heaven. But no man knows the day or hour when that will occur (Mark 13:32), and we can rest assured that God’s timing is always perfect.

Meanwhile, once we are born again, may we continue in our Christian walk to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ until that glorious day when we see Him face to face!

© 2022 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the arch

We Shall Be As He Is!

 

Photo by John Trainor 2013

Have you ever seen people fold dollar bills or bills of higher denomination so that the President’s portrait or the landmark building on the reverse side metamorphoses into a mushroom or some other image? It’s just a cheap parlor trick, but it does remind us of the truth that what we see may be a distortion of what truly is.

I recently had a dream like that. In the dream, I was viewing photographs of myself from college years and beyond. A software program displayed the images on my computer screen, at first chronologically and one by one, then in kaleidoscopic collages with the individual images rapidly changing in size, position, and juxtaposition.

The flirtatious glance of the young woman seated on the bronze tiger statue at Princeton gave way to the weary, sleep-deprived, and overworked frown of the medical intern. Then the intense, longing look of new love, and the radiant, joyful smile just before the preacher said “You may now kiss the bride.” The elated grin just after delivery, snuggling our precious infant son in my arms.

Images of my face then started to blend with those of my loved ones – my husband, our son, my parents, the Pastor who baptized us once we were saved, my maid of honor whom I led to the Lord -- and it seemed that each of these faces had left their mark on my own. Still more images -- of worry over daily struggles; celebration at holidays and birthdays; grief at funerals; anticipation as our son, now a handsome young man, strode masterfully across the stage to receive his college diploma with highest honors.

With the passing years, my face began to take on the inevitable changes due to the curse of sin, sorrow, and aging traced all the way back to the rebellion of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). “Laugh lines” that aren’t so funny, and “lines of expression,” even though I know my eyes and mouth would be much more expressive without them.

And then I saw the most amazing image of all! With deft artistry, the software rapidly sorted through all the images, selecting part of a smiling lip from one photo, a twinkle in the eye from another, a few pixels here and a few pixels there, until I saw a completely different representation of “my” countenance.

It was the beautiful face of an innocent young child, yet timeless and ageless thanks to an overlay of wisdom, completion, and maturity. It radiated love, peace and joy. It was a compilation of all my best features, feelings, and experiences, blended by the Master into a unique representation of who I would one day become in Him.

I awoke from the dream longing for the glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:40-49) He has promised each of His children – those who have been saved by faith in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). That body will never age, feel pain or sorrow, get sick or die.

When He returns for us at the Rapture, we will be instantly changed to be like Him, and we will meet Him and one another in the air, never again to leave His radiant presence (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Only then will we experience true and eternal joy (1 Peter 1:8), love (1 Corinthians 13:13), and peace (Philippians 4:7).

Each of us will be recognizable to one another, perhaps not through our appearance, but in some way through an amalgamation of our most positive and distinctive qualities and experiences, as in my dream. The resurrected Christ did not lose the nail prints in His hands and feet, nor His spear wound (John 20:27), for these were a permanent emblem of the sacrifice He so lovingly and completely made for us.

When Peter saw Moses and Elijah glorified with Christ at His transfiguration, he instantly knew who they were (Matthew 17:1-4), even though they had died more than hundreds of years before, and he would have no way of recognizing them except in the supernatural.

I believe that when we see our loved ones in Christ in Heaven, we will immediately recognize them even though they will no longer bear the scars of sickness and aging. Regardless of how young or old we are when we go home to Him, we will be youthful, vibrant, and radiant like the risen Christ.

I believe we will still show the distinctive features of our life story, experiences, and earthly relationships, yet transformed by our new purity of heart and absence of sin. We will be changed so much that God will give each of us a new name (Revelation 2:17). The end result may be a face that glows with innocence and His holiness, but that is ageless and timeless because it belongs to a soul transformed by God’s wisdom (Romans 12:2).

This dream also reminded me that God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28), texturing our countenance, our lives, and our eternal being by allowing trials as well as blessings to shape us, bringing us closer to and more like Him in faith. Like a Master Sculptor seeing Michelangelo’s David in a block of marble, God sees in each of us the potential for a unique, perfect, glorious being truly reflecting His image. He created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), and though sin has disfigured us here on earth, one day we shall be as He is! (1 John 3:2)

Slowly and deliberately He chisels our features with the suffering He allows in our life to conform us to His image (Philippians 3:10). Gently He softens the rough edges with the Godly friends, teachers, and pastors He directs to our path (Proverbs 27:17). Faithfully He lights the fire of the Holy Spirit shining through our eyes and glowing in our faces so that we can be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15), just as He is the One True Light (John 1:9; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46).

Until we receive our new, timeless countenance, may we let His light illuminate our faces and see others as He sees us, each with the potential to be like Him in glory!

© 2015 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Identity

 

Photo by Laurie Collett 2024

Until recently, most people had never heard of NPD, or National Public Database. But now, because of possibly the largest ever breach of individual US personal data, millions or even billions of Americans have their Social Security Number, email and physical address, phone number, and/or passwords exposed on the Dark Web, potentially for sale to the highest bidder.

Although the breach apparently happened in April, the news did not surface until August – plenty of time for bad actors to do considerable damage, unbeknownst to the victims. 

Imagine finding out – too late – that your identity has been stolen. The thief has opened accounts, taken out loans, and received health care in your name; mortgaged your house to the hilt; sold your property and pocketed the proceeds; fraudulently claimed and received an income tax refund; destroyed your credit; wiped out your savings; and left you with mounds of credit card debt. Your accounts are frozen, you can’t access funds from your paycheck, and you will be evicted from your home.

Ideally, you find out in time to reverse at least some of these losses and to protect yourself from further danger. Ironically, these remedial steps involve countless hours of disclosing the stolen data, and more, online, to identity and credit monitoring bureaus, government agencies, and law enforcement, leaving the victim to wonder whether they are improving their situation or exposing themselves to further harm.  

Although born-again believers (John 3:3-8) are far from immune to identity theft, we can have the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and joy in our salvation (Habakkuk 3:18). Our identity is secure in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Who died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), so that all who trust Him as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven have eternal life (John 3:16).

Our balance sheet may look dismal, but our self-image is unblemished, for we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). Society and false friends may look on us as no better than paupers, but we know that we are royalty, daughters and sons of the King, betrothed to Jesus Christ Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) and joint heirs with Him! (Romans 8:14-17). We are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God! (Ephesians 2:19)

Our clothes may be tattered, but we are clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness! (Isaiah 61:10). When God the Father looks at us, He no longer sees our sin, for Christ has paid our sin debt in full. Now God sees only the pristine holiness of His Son, now miraculously deposited to our heavenly account (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2).

Our earthly treasures may be decimated, but we have laid up treasures in Heaven that no thief can steal and no physical process can damage (Matthew 6:20). Work done for Jesus with the right motive and souls led to Him will be eternally rewarded with crowns (1 Corinthians 3:13-15), which we will cast at Jesus’ feet in gratitude for our salvation (Revelation 4:10).

We may lose our country club privileges, but we still have access to the most exclusive club of all! One day we will enter through the straight and narrow gate of Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14), beautiful beyond imagination (Isaiah 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9), where we will never die, age, or experience pain, sorrow or sin (Revelation 21:4). We will have infinite time to enjoy our loved ones and new friends in Him, and even Jesus Christ Himself, seen face-to-face and known as He now knows us! (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Despite the exclusive and top-tier rewards of Heaven, membership is all-inclusive, open to whosoever will call on the Name of Jesus Christ to be saved! (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). So if your identity is not yet secure in Him, trust Him as your Lord and Savior today! Your financial identity could become compromised, but once you become His follower, you will never lose your position or privileges in Him!

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! (Romans 8:35-39). In Him, our identity, soul and being are held tight in His hand, which is firmly gripped by the hand of God the Father (John 10:28-29) and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13).

While my husband and I were at our beach house, our dinner conversation turned to venting our frustrations and anxiety over the growing perils of the world we live in – not only cybercrime, but war, terrorism, political upheaval, pandemics, natural disasters, and Christian persecution, among others. Praise God that these are predicted in His Word, signaling His imminent return (Matthew 24), and that they are but temporal and fleeting concerns compared with the peace and joy we will experience in our eternal home! (Romans 8:18).

Indeed, God calmed our fears by showing us a beautiful sunset, pictured above, a reminder of His faithfulness in governing the universe and His amazing creativity and artistry. Such vivid colors and dramatic shapes would not be possible without the clouds in the evening sky, just as the trials and dark moments in our life contrast with and thereby enhance our appreciation of His many blessings.

And to top off His visual love letter, He presented us with a half-circle rainbow, as seen below, a symbol of His faithfulness and protection! (Genesis 9:11-17). God is good, all the time, and we can be secure in our identity in Him!  

Photo by Richard Collett 2024

© 2024 Laurie Collett

Salvation’s Eternal Blessings

 

                                                                                                        

Image generated by AI (Image Creator)

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday and every day, may we praise God for the eternal blessings linked to His Son's death, burial and resurrection. Believers receive an abundance of God’s gifts the moment we are saved, and those rewards continue and grow throughout our Christian walk. But the best is yet to come –  eternal blessings we will enjoy in His presence forever more!

Because of God’s mercy (Psalm 136, Titus 3:5 Hebrews 4:16), we are spared from the punishment sinners deserve and will suffer throughout eternity (Luke 16:19-31), apart from the righteousness of Jesus Christ..All our sins, past, present and future, are forgiven (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). We will not have to account for our sins at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), for Christ was the perfect sacrifice Who has already paid our sin debt in full. We are not doomed to eternity in hell (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43; Luke 12:5; Matthew 23:27-32; Acts 2:25-32; 1 Peter 1:3; Jude 1:21).

Because of God’s grace, we have eternal life. Whether we die physically, or if we are still living when Jesus returns and we are Raptured (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), we will ultimately live forever in a glorified body (1 Peter 1:3,4,23; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26)  that will never sin, age, get sick, or feel pain or sorrow (1 Corinthians 15:41-49; Revelation 21:4).

We will live forever with Christ in Heaven, in a special mansion that Jesus is preparing specifically for each believer (John 14:2-3). We can’t begin to imagine the delights of the New Jerusalem, with gates of pearl, walls of precious stones, and streets paved in gold. The river of life and the tree of life provide complete healing. But by far the most exquisite delight of Heaven will be experiencing the love, the glory, and the physical presence of Christ Himself, His brilliance alone illuminating the city (Revelation 20:10-23; 22:1-5).

We will be forever reunited with our loved ones in Christ. Heaven means never having to say goodbye. We will have all eternity to spend with our family and friends who trusted Christ as their Savior. All the saints of all time – Abraham. Mary, Paul, Peter, John, just to name a few – will be there for us to share in their experiences and learn from them (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Can you imagine what it will be like to see those saints whom we helped know the Lord – whether we led them through the sinner’s prayer and watched them trust Christ, or even if we didn’t know while on earth that our witness had any effect?  People saved through missionaries we helped support financially or in prayer, or people who read a tract we left on a restaurant table, may all run up to us and thank us! Even better, we’ll realize the impact others had in leading us to Christ or encouraging us our Christian walk, and we’ll get to thank them in person!  

 

We will know Christ as He is. No longer will we look at Him through a glass darkly; we will see Him face to face and comprehend His majesty, glory and wisdom (1 Corinthians 13: 9-12). Mysteries will be revealed and truths known. We will no longer have to accept only by faith that He works all things together for our good, for He will show us how He orchestrated every detail and apparent mishap in our lives not only for our good, but for His glory (Romans 8:28).

We will receive eternal rewards at the judgment seat for believers. We will not have to give an account of our sins, for they are already forgiven and paid for by His shed blood. But He will review everything we did with our life since we were saved, as well as opportunities He gave us but that we did not use to tell others about Jesus, to encourage and teach other believers, and to glorify God. For every good thing we did with the right motive, we will be rewarded (1 Corinthians 3: 11-14).

Based on this judgment, some believers will receive crowns, which we will give back to Him because of our awe and love for Him (Revelation 4: 4,10). These rewards and crowns will determine positions of responsibility in His Kingdom when He returns to earth to rule in perfect justice and peace for 1000 years (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 20:6).

Throughout all eternity, we will pursue meaningful and enjoyable projects and fields of study to challenge and delight us, and we will have the joy of worshipping Him with all our talents and all our being (Revelation 5:8-14). What could be better than the unending joy of being in Heaven, in His presence, with all that He has lovingly designed especially for us?

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

Beauty to Ashes; Beauty for Ashes

 

Beauty to Ashes; Beauty for Ashes

Photo by Naveen Nkadalaveni 2019

As we saw last week, inner beauty is a gift from God, bestowed on those who receive the holiness of His Son by trusting Him as their Lord and Savior. Only then will we see beauty as God sees it, and be beautiful in His sight!

When God’s chosen people and nation turn away from Him by forsaking His holiness to worship idols, whether other gods or earthly pursuits like power, lust, fame and fortune, God will remove their beauty. Their physical beauty will be consumed to ashes under the fire of His judgment (Isaiah 64:11; Lamentations 1:6, 2:1,15; Ezekiel 7:20; 16:12-15, 25; 28:6-7).

God created Lucifer, the angel of light, to be the most beautiful and wise angel (Ezekiel 28:12-19), appointed to lead the angelic host in worshipping God. Through the sin of pride, wanting to set himself above God (Isaiah 14:12-15), Lucifer fell from heaven to earth, where he is now Satan, prince of the power of the air, also referred to allegorically as the king of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28: 6, 7, 12, 17) and the Assyrian (Ezekiel 31:8-11). 

Ezekiel 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.… 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

The hatred of Satan for God and man now make him as ugly and evil as he once was beautiful and holy, yet he and his demons can still appear physically and spiritually beautiful to deceive us if we are not careful (1 Peter 5:8), transforming themselves into ministers of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).

However God defines human physical beauty, it is clear that just as He created and bestowed it, He can take it away. Earthly beauty passes quickly while we are still in our physical body, consumed like a fading flower (Isaiah 28:1,4), or a moth drawn to the flame (Psalm 39:11), for aging is part of the judgment we face under the curse of sin (Genesis 3:16-24). Such beauty is therefore vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised Proverbs 31:30).

Yet in the United States alone, billions of dollars each year are spent on cosmetics, plastic surgery, and other rejuvenating “beauty” treatments, not to mention on high fashion and jewelry. In 2015 the beauty industry generated $56 billion in this country, of which 24% was for hair care, 24% for skin care, and 15% for cosmetics. These soon reach the point of diminishing returns, as the ravages of aging continue while we are in our earthly body.

Whether or not our earthly companions consider us to be beautiful is of little importance compared with what God thinks of us. How can we be beautiful in God’s eyes? The apostle Peter warned women that our best adornment is not our hair style, jewelry, or clothing, but the “ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Peter 3: 4, 1-5).

When a nationwide beauty pageant was held to find a new bride for King Ahasuerus, Esther won his heart and the crown without any special beauty treatments or adornments, for her love of God and of His people must have given her a unique inner beauty that appealed not only to the King, but to all who knew her (Esther 2:1-17).  

We cannot achieve such beauty ourselves, for it is a gift from God. When Job questioned God’s treatment of him, God asked if Job could condemn God to make himself righteous, or if Job could give himself power, majesty, glory, or beauty (Job 40:6).

The answer, of course, is that Job could not, for all such attributes are from God Himself (James 1:17). Now that we are under the curse of sin, there is nothing in our own heart or good works that God considers righteous or beautiful (Romans 3:23). But once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the onlyWay (John 14:6) to Heaven, His perfect, beautiful holiness is credited to our account, for He robes us in His righteousness (Job 29:14; Isaiah 61:10).

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Only then can God see us as beautiful, for when He looks at us, He sees the perfect beauty of His Son. Then the beauty of the Lord our God is upon us (Psalm 90:17), for He finds pleasure in beautifying the meek with His salvation (Psalm 149:4). We have no power or beauty of our own, but once we are saved, the Holy Spirit lives within us (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30, giving us access to His perfect power, beauty and wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Lord of hosts is a crown of glory and of beauty for those who trust Him (Isaiah 28:5).

Through His plan of salvation, God exchanges our ashes, representing our sin, sorrow and death, for His beauty (Isaiah 61:1-3), meaning the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:22), the joy of our Lord (Habakkuk 3:18), and eternal life (John 3:16).

Isaiah 61: 1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

When we are saved, God transforms us from His enemies (Romans 5:8-10) and children of the devil (John 8:44) to God’s friends, His children, joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:14-17), His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), fellow workers with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9), and the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-9).

In these new roles we radiate His beauty to others as we spread His Word, for beautiful are the feet of those who spread His Gospel, or Good News! (Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15). God allows us to be His ministers, reconciling other sinners to Himself by telling them about His Son (2 Corinthians 5:18). 

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

How are we saved? By God’s grace, through our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), which elevates us to heavenly places in Him (Ephesians 1:3). When Moses in faith drew near to God on Mount Sinai, his face shone with God’s glory and was visible to all the people (Exodus 34:29-35).

Once Sarah finally trusted God completely to bring her the child He had promised (Genesis 18:10-15), she too must have reflected God’s beauty despite her old age, for King Abimelech wanted her to be in his harem, until God warned him in a dream to restore her to her husband Abraham (Genesis 20:1-14).

Through faith in Jesus Christ, we can all shine with inner beauty that is pleasing not only to God, but to others. In Psalm 110:3, King David described the people of God as having “the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”

If we lack that inner beauty, we may fool others who admire our exterior appearance, but we can’t fool God, for He knows our heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus criticized the religious leaders of His day for being hypocrites who rejected Him. They appeared holy and beautiful outwardly, while being full of corruption and decay within, like a beautifully decorated burial vault containing rotting bones and flesh. Interestingly, this verse (Matthew 23:27) is the only instance of the word “beauty” or “beautiful” in the four Gospels.

Even though we can’t always see the beauty of God’s design for our lives, He sees it all, from beginning to end, and He has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We see the tapestry of our life from the reverse side, where the knots and threads crossing over each other seem to make a tangled mess, but from His viewpoint, the placement of each strand is woven into an intricate, harmonious masterpiece.

When He takes us to Heaven, we will see not only the beauty of our own life tapestry viewed from the right side, but His perfect beauty mirrored in everyone and everything around us, defying description and human imagination (Isaiah 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9). The holy city, containing mansions for each of us (John 14:2), will have foundations and walls of precious jewels, gates of pearl, and streets of gold, and it will be lit by the brilliance of Jesus Christ Himself, the fairest of all (Revelation 21:10-23).

Even our vile, corruptible, aging body will be transformed instantly into a glorious body like that of Christ Himself, never to age, die, sin, sorrow or experience pain or sickness (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-57; Revelation 21:4).

May we allow God to exchange our ashes for His beauty! May we realize that beauty is in the eye of God, see beauty as He sees it, and be beautiful in His sight!

© 2019 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Rapture : Triplets of Eternity

 

Raure to Heaven: Triplets of Eternity

A new beginning awaiting all believers is the Rapture, when instantaneously the trumpet shall sound, the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and living believers shall be changed into glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52). The sound heralding this miraculous transformation is described as the shout of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The Rapture will occur at the same instant all around the world, creating pandemonium on earth for those left behind as many pilots, drivers, surgeons and other believers suddenly disappear in the midst of what they are doing. Some will vanish at night while sleeping, others at sunrise or sunset while preparing breakfast or supper, and still others in the middle of the day, while working in the fields (Luke 17:34-36).

Yet all this occurs at the same moment in time, authenticating the Spirit-breathed nature of Scripture, as this was written nearly 1500 years before Columbus showed that the earth is a globe!

Those believers still living at the Rapture will be caught up (Raptured) in the clouds with those believers who died before, will meet the Lord in the air, and will forever be with the Lord in their glorified state (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Once the Rapture occurs, believers will take part in three events: the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and the Second Coming of Christ.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers will be rewarded for the work God does through us in our earthly life, for we are coworkers with God: we are God's husbandry, meaning that He raises and trains us; and we are God's building (1 Corinthians 3:8-9),. But because God is a Gentleman, He does not force His will on any of us, and we must yield to His direction through the Holy Spirit before His perfect will can be done in our lives.

The perfect Foundation of each believer’s life is Christ Himself, but how we build our lives on that foundation is up to us (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). Work done for our own glory, to satisfy our own lusts, or even done for the church but with the wrong motives will burn up like wood, hay, and stubble, consumed by the fiery judgment. But good works done to God’s glory, to further His Kingdom, and motivated by love for Him will be purified in the refiner’s fire and remain as a reward, like gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

Overcome by gratitude for His love, holiness and sacrifice for us, we will cast these crowns at the feet of Jesus. He alone is worthy to be crowned and to receive glory, honor and power (Revelation 4 9-11).

Announcing the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be a powerful pronouncement as the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, Those present are commanded to be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Christ the Lamb, Who will marry His bride, the Church, in the presence of the blessed guests (Revelation 19 6-9). This last group includes the angels; the Old Testament saints who are in Heaven because of their faith in God; and the Tribulation saints, who were saved after the Rapture and martyred for refusing to take the mark of the beast.

      

The Tribulation saints will no longer hunger, thirst, or suffer from the scorching sun, for the Lamb will feed them and lead them to living fountains of waters, and God will wipe away all their tears (Revelation 7 16-17)..   

After the Marriage Supper, believers will have the awesome privilege of accompanying Christ as His armies when He returns in His Second Coming for the battle of Armageddon. We are described as riding white horses, clothed in fine linen, and white and clean (Revelation 19:14).

In Heaven we will have new bodies, a new address, and a new name (Revelation 2:17). Our glorified, eternal, perfect bodies will be like that of the resurrected Christ (Philippians 3:21), and we will never die, age, or become ill. Instead of pain, sorrow, and tears, we will experience vitality, joy, and a new song. (Isaiah 35:10; Revelation 5:9; 21:4).

Our new home will be in our own mansion, (John 14:2), in the New Jerusalem, in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1-2). The length, breadth and height of the New Jerusalem will be equal, each 12,000 furlongs, most likely a pyramidal shape. There will be three gates each on the east, north, south and west walls of the city, or twelve gates in total, each made of a single pearl. Each wall will be guarded by three angels and will bear the names of three of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Similarly, there will be twelve foundations of precious stones, inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:12-21)., and the tree of life planted by the river of water of life will bear twelve kinds of fruit (Revelation 22:1-2).

Praise God that when we finally behold Him in glory, we will have unimaginable joy, for Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

It is my earnest prayer that everyone reading this post will go to Heaven, and that all of us will join in that mighty chorus of Holy, Holy, Holy (Revelation 4:8), worshipping the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit throughout eternity.

May anyone who does not yet know Christ confess that they are a sinner in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23), turn from their sins, and call on His Name to be saved!  (Psalm 116:13,17; Acts 2:21) Anyone who does this, placing their faith (Acts 16:31) in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) as the only way to the Father (John 14:6), can be sure of abundant, eternal life in Heaven! (John 3:16; 10:10)

No man knows the day or the hour, but current events and the signs of the End Times (Matthew 24) suggest that the days remaining are precious few. May we look up, eagerly awaiting the new beginning of the Rapture to usher us into eternity! It could be this year, this month, or even this very day! May we be ready by knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior, keeping His commandments, and serving Him! 

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives