All devotions are written by our Founding Pastor Bill Elliff. More blogs and books from Bill at billelliff.com.

1 Corinthians 5-6 | Ten Hope-Filled Truths About Our Future

We are faced in this life with suffering. Our physical bodies are the laboratory for this suffering because they are designed to leave this world. Each cell in our bodies is coded with a certain number of times that cell will divide and then it stops dividing and dies. God has literally numbered our days on this earth.
 
But this should not alarm us but encourage us if we know God through faith in Jesus Christ. For this DNA timeline is a ticket to leave the suffering of this world to something far better. Paul describes this in his second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 5.
 
1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
 
Notice the promises on which we stand … 10 truths and promises that give us great hope and joy regardless of what is happening in this life.
  1. We have a heavenly dwelling place prepared for us. It is a literal place in a literal new, redeemed body!
  2. This new “house” is made by God Himself and is perfect in every dimension.
  3. This dwelling is not temporary, but eternal. There will be no more decay or destruction. It will always and forever be new!
  4. We groan here because we long for something different. That groaning is evidence that we innately know that we were created for an existence that is far better.
  5. When we enter this new place, we will feel full and clothed and complete.
  6. All that is temporary and mortal will be “swallowed up by life!”
  7. God has prepared us for this glorious purpose. Our progression to our new life is intentional by God.
  8. God has given us the Holy Spirit in us as a down payment and pledge of our future inheritance. (If HE is the down payment, imagine what the full inheritance will be!)
  9. We can walk with courage because we know this world is not our home and we will soon leave this and be in a glorious place with Him.
  10. Our ambition then, whether we are here or there, is to always be pleasing to Him.
Hallelujah for salvation and sufficiency in this life and the promise that the best is yet to come!
 
Father, thank You for designing us for a great purpose. Thank You that this world is not our home and there is something perfect ahead, restoring everything to its original perfection. Thank You for preparing this for us, for building a personalized future with each of Your children in mind. Remind me that, no matter what happens here, eternity with You is ahead!

Copyright © 2020 Bill Elliff. All Rights Reserved.