Sometimes I Wonder - Music Post

"Sometimes I Wonder" is a song I heard for the first time in July 2012 right after a young man's life was snatched unexpectedly from this world. As I pondered the words of the song that night, tears filled my eyes as I thought of the joy that surrounded this young man and all the believers that have gone before us and I wondered. I wondered of what heaven must be and what glory must be surrounding them.

As one reads through Scripture, one catches a glimpse of what is waiting for us, but if you are anything like me, it is more than you can fathom. 

• No night there
• Streets of pure gold
• The lion laying down with the Lamb
• No tears, pain, or sorrow there

Though only a few of the glories that we, as believers, will experience on that great day. When a loved one passes I often spend time wondering just how heaven must be for them. 

Sometimes I wonder!

I challenge you to place your eyes on the Lord as you think about the glories of heaven. When my eyes are fixed on the glories of heaven and what awaits me, so often the troubles of this world don't seem so big. Not one of us knows when our time is up and when we pass into eternity, will our loved ones wonder about the glory that welcomed us? Or with bitter tears in their eyes, will they weep because we weren't ready to meet our Saviour?

Heaven awaits you! The joys there are beyond what we can even imagine. 

3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

4And 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.

5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 

7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Revelation 21:3-7

Are you ready? He is coming soon! It may be tonight, or it may be tomorrow. Answer His call today.

Sometimes I wonder about the glories of Heaven. Do you wonder?

Blessings to you!

Guest Post :: Are you ready for Eternity?

On January 30, 2014, at about 2:00 AM, nine members of one household crossed the threshold from this life into eternity. That night one of their baseboard heaters started a tragic house fire which was to change their entire lives. The dad, Chad Watson, and his eleven year old daughter, Kylie Watson, survived. But their lives will never be the same. Their whole family is gone…never again to be seen in this life. How does one go on when something this tragic happens to them?

Their funeral was on February 8th which I and a few of my family members attended. On that stage were nine caskets each containing a body of that family who had gone before us into eternity. Outside sat the nine hearses waiting to carry each of those caskets to the grave. And there was the grave…one large grave to hold all their bodies.

My heart was breaking…these were my friends. They were ones I talked with, played games with, laughed with. And now, what now? I would never see them again in this life. They were gone…I must go on without them. And their family must go on without them.

Losing a loved one is a very hard thing. We are overcome with sorrow and also with many questions; why did God take them from us? Why did I have to lose them? But though it is a hard thing we can learn some many lessons from it.

"Death is not a period in life but a comma"¹. Death is not the ending…it is just a change of location. The question is…which location will you go to after your death.

Were they ready for eternity? Am I ready for eternity? Are you ready for eternity? Each of us has only one life in which to prepare for death and eternity. This life is so short; just a handspan in light of eternity. Yet, this life is of infinite value for each one us. We are given this life to prepare for eternity. We are given this life to glorify God. And yet how many of us just waste this life; spending it only for our own pleasures?

"Is what you are living for worth dying for?"² Are you using this life to prepare for eternity? Or are you wasting it on this world? When you come to death where will you go, heaven or hell? These cares and trivial things of the world will pass away one day; never to return. But the things of God are going to last forever. Are you living for God in this life? Don’t waste this life on yourself. Don’t waste your life…you only have one! “We have all the time after the sunset to rejoice in our victories but we have only until the sunset to win them.”³

Examine yourself…are you ready? You can’t wait until the time has come where you must leave this life. Search yourself today! Are you yet an unbeliever? "Today is the day of salvation!" Seek for Christ…don’t give up till you have found Him. Are you a believer? Is your life evidenced by fruit? Are you living for Christ?

We are living in a dying world. So many people are passing into eternity without even hearing about God. Are you proclaiming the gospel to people? Is it known about you that you are “not after comfort but after souls”? If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” (Charles Spurgeon). Are you doing all you can to help rescue these dying people or are you just letting them plunge headlong on their way to hell?

Christ Jesus…the Son of God…came and gave Himself up for us to save us from God’s wrath. “Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).” Christ sacrificed Himself for us…He made the greatest sacrifice ever possible. Through His sacrifice we can now have peace with God. How can we do any less? We must give ourselves fully for Him. Sacrifice yourself to Him…don’t hold back anything. “Love so amazing so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.”⁴

This life is just a handspan in light of eternity. Are you wasting your life or are you pressing on towards the goal? Are you ready for eternity? "Is what you are living for worth dying for?"

¹ Thomas Watson.

² John Piper.

³ Richard Baxter.

⁴ When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 Carissa is the middle child of seven. She goes to Christ Fellowship of KC where her dad is one of the pastors. She enjoys reading, studying theology, competing in the National Bible Bee and studying history. She was saved at the age of 12 and seeks to serve the Lord with her whole life. 

life isn't always

Last night as the 1st official day of January I did some writing (surprise, surprise). Well that's only 'cause I had to, as I've entered another one of those writing things.

So anyway after writing a really depressing scene I went on the JanNoWriMo site to look and see if any of the members on there might want to friend me (now that sounds really bad, but having other writers as friends makes a world of a difference).

So I found this girl called Autumn then I looked on her writing blog just to get more of an idea of who she was. Then I got a shock. She's been dead for five years. Suicide. But to my horror my eyes kept reading. Here is just one of her pieces.

One of the things that really hurt me is that none of the posts have comments, like it was her pouring out her heart screaming for help. And oh how I wanted to help, but I came 5 years too late. I couldn't stop thinking about it, I couldn't get to sleep knowing that there are other people out there like that. People who think that suicide is relief. People who don't believe in happiness. And that is so so so sad so terrible. And I am only just realizing how blessed I am--I haven't lost someone that I really love; two great grandmothers don't really count as I barely knew them.

And as you can see in the poem she was very talented, but she never got to use her gift beyond her 16 years. She never knew the peace and hope that Daddy/God brings. That fact that she wasn't saved tears me to pieces and it is my dearest hope that she met God somehow and that she is finally in true real love but I know that cannot be.

What this taught me is that the beautiful looking world outside the window is really shaded--really, really shaded, deep with shadows and only tiny glimmers of light. We who know there is love desperately need to show the people, the hearts, the lives that are dying that are being destoried. It is not okay that a child should have to stay every night in a house where the keepers despise her.

"Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'm not scared 'cause you're holding my breath. I only fear that I don't have enough time left to tell the world that there is no time left..."
--Group 1 Crew, Forgive Me

To all the Ivvy's out there, may you find the God of Love, the One and Only, Who cares greatly about you.

-Tiffany-

first posted on Unfathomed Depths.