New Life Fellowship

Your Heavenly Home

Before He was arrested and taken to be crucified, Jesus told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Read Revelation 7:13-17. Revelation tells us that God collects our tears, but He will also one day wipe them away. What does this mean? It means that every trial has a time limit. It means that when we arrive at our heavenly home, there will be a lot of nos. There will be no separation, no sin, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. There will be no cancer, no broken homes, no broken hearts, no hospitals, no funeral homes, and no grieving of any kind.

Read Revelation 21 and 22 and make a list of what you see. The climactic series of events in Revelation all leads to the unveiling of the place that Jesus has been preparing for us. Scripture says that the first heaven and earth will pass away as God makes way for the new heaven and the new earth -- the domain of God, the eternal dwelling place of His people. Its capital city, the new Jerusalem, will descend out of heaven like “a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2). You won’t be a disembodied spirit floating on the clouds, strumming a harp. John’s vision describes in breathtaking detail the physical, literal place where believers in Christ will live forever. It will be 1,400 miles high, wide, and long. There will be no sun because the glory of God will give the city light. It will be the true church of all believers. And it will be breathtaking.

But the most important thing to know about our heavenly home is that there will be nothing to separate us from Jesus. We will see His face, and His name will be written on our foreheads. Our every longing will be satisfied in Him.

How does this beautiful vision of our future impact us today? The hope of heaven is one of the greatest expectations of our faith, enabling us to soar above the trials, pain, and temptations of this earthly life. When life gets you down, think of everlasting life in the face-to-face presence of the Lord Jesus. Think of the continuous refreshment that comes from the river of life. Don’t you long for this hope, this peace? It’s only found in Jesus. He stands at the door and knocks; will you open it?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the promise of an eternity with You. I surrender all my struggles to You today and rest in that promise. I will follow You and praise You as I wait for Your return. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children” (Revelation 21:6-7).

Heaven Is for Real -- and Hell Is, Too

The Bible teaches that every soul was formed in the womb to live for eternity. Every soul is immortal, but not every immortal soul will live forever in heaven. In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis lays out the logic of hell. I will paraphrase Lewis’ words to give you the gist of his thinking.

Lewis says, in effect, “I would give anything to be able to truthfully say, ‘Everyone will be saved.’ But my reason replies, ‘Should God save people against their will?’ The doctrine of hell says that God is so loving and merciful that He actually became a man and submitted Himself to death by torture to save us from eternal ruin -- yet, when we refuse to accept the gift of salvation, God permits us to choose hell of our own free will, and He won’t lift a finger to stop us from destroying ourselves.”

In his original quotation, Lewis concludes: “Here is the real problem: so much mercy, yet still there is hell.” Lewis is absolutely right. The real question is not whether the doctrine of hell is detestable. Of course it’s detestable. The notion of hell chills us to the marrow. Yet we still must answer the question, “Is it true?”

The Bible is clear: the wages of sin is death -- eternal death (Romans 6:23). So what is eternal death? It is separation from God in hell forever and ever. That’s bad news -- but there is good news, the greatest news in the history of the human race. While every one of us deserves hell, God in His mercy offers us eternal life as a free gift.

It may be elementary to you, but there are many false teachers who are denying these simple Truths -- and many believers are falling for it. So I want to make sure you know that not only is heaven for real, but hell is for real as well. God is holy and just. And God is love. If you reject His love, demonstrated on the cross, then you will be judged by God’s holiness -- and you will receive God’s judgment.

Jesus tells us in Revelation that those who reject His offer of salvation will suffer “the second death.” But this warning of hell is coupled with an invitation to heaven and everlasting life: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children” (Revelation 21:6–7).

Prayer: God, thank You for Your incredible sacrifice. I am in awe of Your grace and justice. Thank You for saving me from hell and to heaven. I pray that You would grant me compassion and courage to share Your gift of salvation with those around me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will sn**ch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

Slow to Anger

Through thousands of years of human history, human sin, and human rebellion, God has been patient. He has withheld His judgment and wrath, in spite of being blasphemed and rejected by the wicked human race. For now, God patiently entreats people to repent and to receive His Son, Jesus.

When I consider God’s patience toward the human race, I think of the people I am witnessing to now who are not responding. I think of the people I have pleaded with over the years. Many of them have locked the doors of their hearts. They always have their reasons. “Someday, maybe, I’ll surrender to Christ -- but I’m not ready now.” “I live a good life. I don’t need a Savior.” “If I become a Christian, my friends will reject me.” “I want to control my own life. I don’t want God to tell me what to do.” So many excuses -- but when these people pass into eternity, what good will their excuses do for them?

When the day of wrath comes, there will be no escape, no second chances. Today, the window of salvation is still open -- but for how long? The apostle Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). It is not God’s will that you perish for all eternity, but God’s will is not the only factor in this equation. Your will is also a factor. It is God’s loving and gracious will that you receive the gift of eternal life -- that’s why He sent His Son to die for you. But God will not overrule your free will.

God Himself does not gloat over the fate of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Yet He will not overrule our free will. If we choose judgment, then judgment it shall be. No one has to suffer eternal separation from God. The victory over sin and death has already been won. Jesus has paid the price of our redemption -- and He will triumph over Satan.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your precious gift of grace. Thank You for Your long-suffering compassion. Help me to daily submit my will to Yours. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“And [the Lord] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished’” (Exodus 34:6-7).

The Counterfeiter

In Revelation 11, God has John measure the temple and place boundaries around the temple. I believe this is not talking about walking around a physical temple with a tape measure, but about God placing protective measures around the people of God, who are His temple. Here God is assuring all of His children that Satan and his demons cannot touch us because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.

Even our enemies who persecute us cannot touch us; they may destroy our bodies, but they can never touch our souls. They may destroy the outer temple, our bodies, but they can never destroy the inner sanctum, our souls. We are safe in God’s sanctuary. We are safe in His protective boundaries.

However, we must be vigilant against the enemy still. One of Satan’s cruelest strategies is to masquerade as the Holy Spirit and accuse us in our thoughts. Because he is a counterfeiter, we must learn to distinguish between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of Satan. If you want to live in victory, you must be able to make the distinction.

The Holy Spirit urges you to repent and turn to God; Satan beats you down and tries to keep you away from God, saying, “Well, you’ve sinned. You might as well stay in sin.” When you hear the voice of Satan, change the channel. Begin to praise God for His salvation. Begin to praise God for His redemption and grace. Go to God in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to send Satan scurrying, and He will.

Prayer: Father, thank You for protecting me and sealing me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to discern Your voice and to turn to You and repent. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20).