City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22:20 (ESV)

²⁹ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Acts 17:29-32

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:11-13

Reflection

Eternity is far more serious than I’ll be in this devotional today.  It involves heaven and hell, life choices, and ultimately where we end up forever.  We get to find out if all the atheists are right and that there is nothing on the other side of death, or that God is right, that He created everything. And we don’t get to just make up the rules as we go along.  While I encourage you to take eternity seriously, I’d also like for you to consider your life in light of eternity, and the destiny that God intends for you.  I think this is a much easier concept to take in.  Instead of living in fear of hell, we can live in fear of heaven.

Yes, that’s right, we must learn to have a Godly fear of missing out on what He has for us.  This is the kind of fear that will help you let go of the things that hold you to this life.  It sheds lust and greed like Barry Sanders shed linebackers.  You see, in life people tend to do the things that are important to them.  Even in cases that might provide an easier path, somehow if people don’t want to do it, it does not get done.  If you let your kids play video games before they do their homework, there’s a good chance that the homework does not get done.

Most of the sin in our lives is not the kind of sin that would land us in jail.  It is the smaller things in life that distract us from serving the Lord more purely, more deeply, and unreservedly.  As C. S. Lewis explained in “The Screwtape Letters,” it is the putting off of the things we ought to do.  “Better put it off until after lunch.  Come at it with a fresh mind.”  But after lunch the thought has been driven from your mind.  The enemy is happy to simply delay us from following God’s call.  If we knew how strong a hold these distractions had on us, we would fight more fervently.  But as long as we don’t think it is a big deal, the happier we are to just let it slide.  And in the process eternity slips away.  The rewards, the jewels, the treasures the Lord wishes to shower upon us fall away.

As you come to know the Lord, you also come to see that the things of this world become dim.  By catching a vision of God’s kingdom, you begin to see value in it and the worth of worldly things fall away.  You can learn to live a life for eternity that is unshakable.

Application

Spend time with the Lord, worshiping and singing songs to Him.  Listen to His word.  Learn to value what He values.  When you get to heaven it will be overwhelming, majestic and much more than I can describe.  But it will also be somewhat familiar; a place you have never been before that feels like the home you have always wanted.  And remember, heaven is not a thing you achieve, rather it is a place, a fellowship, a be-ing that you attend.  So, spend time attending the presence of the Lord.

Prayer

¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.

Psalm 86:11-13