“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

When God created the heavens and the earth, it was very good. God said so, Himself. Then He planted a Garden in which Adam and Eve had the best of everything. However, when Satan dropped by, he convinced them that they were lacking; that God had withheld something from them. Moreover, Satan convinced Eve (who then convinced Adam) that claiming that which they thought God had withheld would benefit them. So, they exchanged God’s truth for the lie of the enemy; and as a result, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden to be on their own on a now-corrupted Earth. We call this The Fall, and it is not the season of the year. Instead, it is a death sentence. Instead of the Tree of Life, they now faced death. “…for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). Now, Adam and Eve’s life was cursed. The very ground they walked on was cursed. God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you, through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17).

Yes, in the first Adam we must face the consequences of our sinful nature, but in Christ we have the promise of abundant life in Heaven and the New Earth once we have fulfilled our lives here on earth and Jesus fulfills his Second Coming. This abundant life will be even better than the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve lived.

Peter wrote, “In keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). He was probably reflecting on Isaiah’svision from God of our Future Heaven: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:17-19, 21, 25).

Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, tells us that “There are things we love about our planet. The things we love are not merely the best this life has to offer—they are previews of the greater life to come.” Can you even imagine a world where “…nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city” (Revelation 21:27). In other words, Satan will not be dropping by as he did in the Garden of Eden because he will be banished to the lake of fire and eternal torment.

God has put this longing for a “better country” in our hearts. And he is gracious to provide The Way, through his Son Jesus, for us to enter that better country, where we can “have life and have it to the full.” This is our promise to claim.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3).

In Christ,

Judy

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:18).

This passage is part of a special message from Jesus to his disciples. It is called the Olivet Discourse, and it was given shortly before Jesus was taken away to be tried and crucified. These words represent some of his last words to his disciples. What makes it especially special is that toward the end of this discourse, Jesus also prayed for you and me:

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23).

During our Tuesday Bible Study we are walking through the Bible, and we are now in Acts studying the growth of the church. There are many metaphors for the church: body, household, building, temple, army, bride, etc. Paul speaks of the church as family in 2 Corinthians 6:18: “and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Paul is apparently referring to 2 Samuel 7:14 which is itself a reference to the “house” or dynasty that God will build for David rather than the literal “house” David wants to build for God.

In all these metaphors, we see unity. Even as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one as the Trinity (see the references to “we” in the above verses), we are invited to be one with Him as family, as a unified structure, built and maintained in love. It is abundantly clear that God sees us living out our faith in relationship, just as he is in relationship as The Trinity. God ordained the family as the primary earthly relationship, and commanded us to show compassion for the fatherless and the widow because they were otherwise without family. And then when God sent His Son as our Redeemer, he put in place the church where we as believers in His Son would become the family of God.

This means that we are never alone. As an “older” person, this is especially significant. My parents have both passed, as have my grandparents and many of my aunts and uncles. I have even been referred to as the “matriarch” of my family. (Please! I am not ready for that!!) And even though I am blessed with family, it is emotional to see so many of my friends aging and passing on, even as I have hope of seeing them one day in Heaven. I have friends who have virtually no family left.

But brothers and sisters in Christ, you will never be alone. Jesus has promised that we will never be orphans. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” (John 1:12).

He promises to come to us. And As sons and daughters of God, we are brothers and sisters with all believers. There is the family you are born with, and the family you are reborn into, adopted into. You have no choice in the former, but you do have a choice with the latter, with your brothers and sisters In Christ. You have a choice to love each other, and to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).

And knowing this, our love for each other is our greatest testimony. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35).

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land” (Psalm 68:5-6).

In Christ,

Judy

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him because he remains with you and is in you.” (John 14:16-17)

I have been blessed to have some very influential people in my life—my parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers. I was able to personally interact with them, work alongside them, learn from them. They have all passed on, and I miss them. When something happens, I want to pick up the phone to tell them or ask them something, only to realize all over again that they are gone. I bet you have had someone in your life like that.

I can imagine how the disciples were in disbelief that Jesus was going away, as he told them repeatedly. They had come to rely on Jesus for companionship and wisdom. He was so kind and compelling. In fact, most of us who have studied the New Testament have some envy for the disciples of Jesus because they had an opportunity to walk and talk with Jesus and have that in-person relationship.

Jesus responded by telling them that when he went away, he would send someone better in his place. Not someone more powerful or more effective or more kind, but someone more available. Where Jesus, in his humanity, could only be in one place at a time, the Holy Spirit is equally available to all believers, no matter how many are calling his Name at the same time, no matter the time of day. Where Jesus, according to plan, died and ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit would remain with them at all times, in all places.

Not only that, he promised that the Holy Spirit would also empower them to do things that they would have never dreamed possible. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And indeed, they achieved incredible results through the Holy Spirit and the church grew by thousands, despite threats of persecution.

“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” (Acts 5:12-16)

The New Testament books of Acts and throughout all the Epistles tell of the growth of the church throughout the known world at the time, all by ordinary Christ-followers empowered by the Holy Spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not time-bound—we have that same promise.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

My husband and I have two sons, and they each married precious girls. While their weddings were quite different from each other, they were equally special, with lots of planning and preparation. Each of my daughters-in-law prepared for their weddings as the most special day in their lives. They were chosen. They were blessed. And we celebrated. Their weddings caused me to reflect on my own wedding, and their weddings also caused me to reflect on another even more special day: the day that we as the church, as the bride, will be presented to our groom, Jesus, at the wedding supper of the Lamb. “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7b).

Funny thing: I had diligently prepared for my own wedding, taking care of every detail so that it would be perfect. As I met my dad at the back of the church, as he was preparing to escort me down the aisle, it struck home with me that I was not only celebrating my wedding, but I was also GETTING MARRIED! This is the man I would be spending the rest of my life with (Note: it is all good). We had a brief honeymoon, then settled down into our new home.

In 2023, Ascension Day is celebrated on May 18, forty days from the day Jesus was crucified. “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God…. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:3,9). In the days leading up to his death, Jesus had spoken with his disciples about his upcoming death, resurrection, and ascension. That is when he told him that he would come back for them, as the opening passage describes.

As a parallel, we have also been diligently preparing for our wedding to the Lamb of God. And the Lamb of God has been diligently preparing for our arrival at our final home with Him. “…I go and prepare a place for you…”  There are so many levels of promise in these two verses.

1. The father’s house is large, large enough for everyone. There is no limit to the number of people it can hold. There is no waiting list, and we will not have to share a room no matter how many people show up.
2. Jesus is going ahead of us to prepare it. I can just imagine: Jesus has furnished it. He is ensuring that the beds have fresh linens, the tables are set with the good dishes, the toilet paper has been replaced with a full roll, and the towels are all clean and available. The refrigerator is stocked. Everything is ready.
3. Jesus is coming back to get us. We do not have to worry about the means of transportation or the directions (that is a biggy for me).
4. Jesus will bring us, his bride, back home with Him. Our destination, our heavenly home, is assured.

What a welcome we will receive!

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 22:3-4; 22-27)

How blessed are we to have this wonderful heavenly home to look forward to.

In Christ,

Judy

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”(Matthew 28:20b).

We are dwelling on the promises of God this year, and this is one that I personally hold fast. It is this knowledge that encourages me. What is the context? Jesus is talking to his disciples. He has been with them since his resurrection, teaching them. Luke 24 reads “…he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (v 45). He told them “I am going to send you what my Father has promised” (v 49).

In the book of Matthew Jesus gave his disciples what we know as the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), then made the promise to be with them always “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b), and “was taken up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). These passages also indicate that when Jesus was taken up into heaven, he “sat at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).

When Jesus was sending out the disciples for their initial attempts at evangelizing, he told them: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12).

So now we have this promise, but what is the evidence that he has been fulfilling it?

Two stories from the New Testament about ordinary men give witness to the power of the Holy Spirit and his continued presence; both are after Jesus had ascended to heaven. Deacons were men who had been appointed by the apostles to care for the people in the church, especially the widows, so that the apostles could spend their time in the ministry of prayer and preaching. These men were known to be guided by the Holy Spirit, in the same way that all of us are as believers in Christ.

Evidence: When Stephen, a deacon of the early church, gave his famous speech to the Sanhedrin in his own defense after being seized for doing great wonders and miracles among the people, he said “Look…I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56). I love this passage. As we read from the passage in Mark at the end of the second paragraph above, Jesus was seated at the right hand of God; but when Stephen was testifying to the Sanhedrin, Jesus stood up! He was with Stephen in his defense.

Evidence: Another deacon, Philip, was also guided by the Holy Spirit, and the result was the launch of the gospel to Africa!

^“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So, he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.

The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So, he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’

The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)

Evidence: Many, many times, I myself have been in conversations where I did not know what to say. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me the words, and He always did; He always came through. I am sure he will come through for you. Just ask and be receptive.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).

 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14).

In Christ,

Judy

“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37).

We have been learning about the promises in the Bible. These promises are also known as covenants. The covenants we live under as believers are also known as grace, because they are not conditional on anything we do, only on the work of our LORD Jesus Christ. However, God’s covenants with Adam and Moses, as described in this year’s January 18 and February 8 Chaplain’s Corners, were works-based. They required perfect obedience to God and to the Law, which were impossible for man. Failure to be perfectly obedient resulted in the curse of death. While this sounds harsh, this points us to the perfect justice and mercy of God, who through by his grace, made a better way for us to be in relationship with Him.

Praise God for the covenants of grace, which pointed to a Savior who would save us from the curse of death. Jesus himself, as he was on the way to Jerusalem to be crucified, declared, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). This was his life mission. We first heard him declare it as a young man when he told his parents “And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” (Luke 2:49).

As the Savior, Jesus is calling to us. The Apostle Paul heard the call: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

But salvation is not automatic. Jesus makes it possible; he has done the work. But we must receive this marvelous gift. Jesus can deliver us from the curse of eternal death and welcome us into the joy of eternal life with him, but we must open the door. Just say yes.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Rev. 3:20).

In Christ,

Judy

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

This is a hard promise to lean on for me. I bet it is for you. I want to throw myself into everything, hold myself responsible for everything, control everything, and generally wear myself out. I am not as bad as I used to be, but still have some work to do. It is hard for me to relax for very long. I imagine you can identify. You may say it is impossible with your work schedule along with the demands of family, church, and home. But Jesus tells us to come to him and he will give us rest. This is just another one of God’s many promises to us.

This is a message more about worry than work. We are going to have work to do. We must work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). We must work for the night is coming (John 9:4). We are told to go, tell, baptize, and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul said, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35).

But, we are not to be anxious. We work, but God provides (Philippians 4:19). We labor in the Lord’s work, but it is he who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7). We work out our salvation in fear and trembling, but our justification before God is already accomplished (Ephesians 1:7). As Jesus tells us from the cross: “It is finished.”

• There is nothing we can add to our lives that God has not already ordained.
• There is nothing we can provide for our children that God has not already set aside.
• There is nothing we can offer to the Lord that has not already been established.
• There is nothing we can do to accomplish our salvation or standing before the Lord that He has not already committed. He has already promised to finish what he started. In fact, “he has done it” (Psalm 22:31).

So, we can do our work with a glad and thankful heart, with grace, and always with patience and kindness knowing that the love of God abounds in our hearts. Or we can do our work in a tizzy, anxiously, complaining, fearful, always wishing for something better. It is a choice.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding I the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

The fourth commandment is “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.” God knew that we would need a day of rest. It is interesting that this commandment is not continued in the New Testament. Instead, Jesus is becomes our Sabbath rest when we believe Him. “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest….” (Hebrews 4:1-3a).

To finish out Jesus’ promise to us in Matthew 11: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

In Christ,

Judy