Category: Heaven, eternity and glory

  • Lost and Found

    Jesus came to seek and save the lost

    Kyle Corbin standing at doorway carrying Mutima the Bernese Mountain Dog who had been lost but was found safely
    Mutima, the lost Bernese Mountain Dog has been found!

    Last night, the Corbin household celebrated the safe return of Mutima, the Bernese Mountain Dog.

    We were pet-sitting for our son and his family last weekend. On Friday night, we put the pets to bed, but when we awoke on Saturday, Mutima was missing. Our hearts sank as frantic searching revealed no clues.

    The search eventually expanded. His absence was posted on social media, and one neighborhood social media site said it was the most commented-on post in years.

    Hundreds of posters were put up. Neighborhoods were canvassed door to door, and more people than I can count donated hours searching for her. Every dog walker and jogger in the area was keeping their eyes open. People searched the parks and woods with thermal imaging gear and drones. Hundreds of people were praying.

    Several times, she was spotted alive and well, then disappeared again. The outpouring of support from friends, family, and even random strangers was heartwarming.

    Last night, she was spotted holed up in a little den in the woods on the side of a nearby mountain and safely returned home. She had been found at last. We are glad to see the end of a long-feeling ordeal.

    It got me thinking of the faithfulness of God.

    Jesus said,

    “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

    Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:1-7

    God scours the highways and byways, the fields, forests and hedgerows, mountain tops, and valleys in search of the lost. His eye sees places no human eye could ever see, and He calls the lost faithfully.

    No search in the world can ever compare to God’s desire to bring us to salvation.

    When one of us comes to Him, all heaven rejoices.

    I am so glad that Mutima was returned safe and sound, but I will eternally rejoice and be grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness.

    Praise His unwaveringly faithful name.

    Kevin

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  • Hold Fast – You are safe against the flood

    Jesus outstretched hand

    This morning, my inboxes had videos of the continuing recovery efforts post-hurricane in the Carolinas and the recent minor flooding in our local area.

    The flood waters reminded me of the presence of evil in the world today. It seems to be rising and threatening to flood over. A quick look at the world around us shows an increasing denial of the truth of Scripture with an increase in every kind of sin. It seems to wash over and threaten to carry everyone away.

    On the other hand, I was also reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit comes, He pushes other things aside and does so with far more power than evil can withstand. 

    We often think of life as a battle between those two forces… the power of evil versus the power of God. Certainly, life has those elements, but we tend to think of them as a battle of equals. Nothing could be further than the truth.

    Evil, sin, the devil, and the grave are already defeated.  Nothing, no power in all of creation, equals the power of God. Even when evil runs high and with great power, when it threatens to overwhelm everything in its path, its power is minuscule compared to God.

    God’s power holds His people safe in His hands.

    For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39 

    Death and the grave are defeated.

    When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 ESV

    Satan is defeated

    For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Romans 16:19-20 ESV

    The final home of all believers is a place where nothing and no one evil can come in.

    And saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:22-27 ESV

    When you watch the news, the media seems to show evil triumphing hold fast. Hold fast when you get bad news about a friend or a loved one. When the world seems to be against you, hold fast.

    No matter how high the river of evil threatens to rise, how far up the banks it creeps, or what the forecast seems to predict, we can hold fast in the arms of Jesus. Nothing can separate us from Him, and God Himself has guaranteed victory.

    When I think of that, I remember a rhyme I heard years ago. I don’t know where it is from,

    Safe in His hands

    Secure in His love

    When life gets hard

    Just look above.

    Until next time, even if you are neck deep in the rising waters, remember that God has proclaimed victory, and the river of the Spirit trumps the river of evil every time. 

    Rejoice in God no matter what the world throws at you.

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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