June 09 – A City In A Better Country

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”- Hebrews 11:16 (ESV)

Our verse today records a promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and many others in the Scriptures. He promised that He was “not ashamed to be called their God.” Wouldn’t we want very much for God to say the same to us; “I am not ashamed to be called your God?” This possibility is surrounded by one reason before and one reason after. Take the one after, first: “…for he has prepared for them a city.” This first reason is that God has worked for us by doing something for us. He made us a city — the heavenly city “whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). It is not the other way around. Now, consider the reason he gives in the front. It goes like this: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” The word “Therefore” signals that a reason has just been given for why God is not ashamed to be called our God. The reason is we desire a better country — a better country than the earthly one we live in. We desire a heavenly one where God is.

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November 25 – Before the Beginning Began

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." Ephesians 1:3-4 (ESV)

Three times in this letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul uses the term “heavenly places.” The heavenly places are not often on our mind and yet as this letter tells us, this is where our real treasures are in Christ. We have received not one spiritual blessing but all spiritual blessings. God our Father has blessed us with riches promised and untold, particularly spiritual ones. The knowledge of God, the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, eternal life are spiritual riches and blessings which no human reason or method has revealed to us, but only by the revelation of the Holy Spirit these promises are made known. Paul says that it was determined by God choice, by His eternal decree made before the foundation of the world. God chose us so that our sinful life might be wiped away by the sacrifice of his Son Jesus. All because of His love for us, He chose us, and not because of any goodness we produce through our actions, thoughts or words, we will and do stand before Him blameless and holy. It has been planned this way by God and there is no other way but by believing in Jesus. 

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June 21 – Our Father Who Is In Heaven

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” -  Matthew  5:48 (ESV)
You therefore are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Luke 11:13 (NASB)

Father’s Day* is observed annually on the third Sunday in June in the United States and by citizens of the USA around the world. As we honor our earthly fathers and fatherhood on this day, we can remember that we have a heavenly Father who is the source of our eternal life and blessings we enjoy, because in faith we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our first verse clearly states that the heavenly Father freely gives the Holy Spirit to all who believe. This is true since the beginning of the Christian Church on the Day of Pentecost.  We who believe by faith, have received the Holy Spirit from the Father at the behest of Jesus the Son of God.  We are told by Jesus in Luke that we are to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect.  We know such perfection is impossible on our own. It can be done for us only by our heavenly Father and we receive it through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We remember our fathers today and honor them as we can.  Remember our heavenly Father today and also give to him the honor and glory He deserves.   

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*When and Why Father’s Day

January 30 – Dual Citizenship

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…”  -  Ephesians 1:3  (ESV)

For those who in faith have believed God’s word and become members of His family, we hold a dual citizenship.  It is not in the same way people born in one country of parents from another might have citizenship in both. Christians are citizens of earth where they were born, but they are also citizens of Heaven where they were reborn and adopted into God’s family. If that is our position, we do well to guard against becoming so hooked on the charms of this present world that we fail to look forward to heaven.  The apostle Paul cautions us to set our minds on heavenly things and not earthly things.†  Jesus taught us to store up our treasures in heaven because those treasures will last and are secure forever.‡ God extends to us all the rights and privileges of our heavenly citizenship. Let’s be encouraged by that assurance to live for His glory and rely on His heavenly provisions. Guard against impure ambitions or trivial pursuits which distract us from our heavenly priorities. 

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† Colossians 3:1-2,   ‡ Matthew 6:20


Today's entry is drawn in part from Drawing Near devotional by John MacArthur 1/5/2020 Copyright © 1993.

June 10 – There Now By Promise

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:6  (NIV)

This promise in today's verse is about our position in Christ after we have believed and received the gift of salvation which He provided for all people.  Before we believe in Jesus, we are spiritually dead in our sins,  When we choose to believe God gives us a new life.  We become one with Christ and He comes to live in us.  Our verse then reminds us what this new life really means.  After Jesus died for our sins He rose from the grave and then soon after that He ascended back to heaven.  He is with His Father as part of the heavenly realms.  We are part of that because we are in Christ.  So where Christ is, so are we spiritually.  We are physically here on this earth as long as we are alive in our earthly bodies but our spiritual position is with Christ even in heaven.  We have front row seats reserved as part of our inheritance and in Christ we are there now by promise because of Him. 

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May 6 – Changes in Form and Image

“And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.” 1 Corinthians 15:49 (NIV)

It is good for us to be aware of the change that takes place in our lives when we accept Jesus as our Savior.  This verse is a reminder to us as human beings that we are in the image of and resemble the first human who were created by God.  As descendants of Adam and Eve our bodies on this earth look like theirs in form and image.  But God has made a change for us when Jesus died, was buried and rose again.  It is His plan for all people to believe by faith in Jesus and receive the gift of salvation and reconciliation.  When we do, we are promised that we will someday have the image of the heavenly man in stead of the earthly man.  The heavenly man is Jesus and we will have a body that is in the form and image of Christ's resurrected body.  Already we have this as a promise and guaranteed reservation.  The earthly weak and temporary bodies we now carry will be gone and we will have a body perfect in every way.  It's ours forever and when we get to heaven it will be revealed.   

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May 12 – Cannot Compare

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:6-7 (NIV)

Today we have selected another passage which tells us how our God has wonderful plans for us and they include what He is doing with us, His children, these days. God has brought us into His family, making for us a place with Jesus in heaven, and He wants this to demonstrate something very important. And now that we are a part of His family He can be very kind in His treatment of us. When He treats in a kind and loving way, He demonstrates how rich His grace is because we don't deserve such treatment at all. It is all by His grace and mercy that He does this for us. Has God been kind to you, His child? If so, that is part of His plan to show how rich His grace is. It's as our verse says that he might show what is incomparable – the unlimited extent of grace through kindness, lovingkindness. 

August 21

“Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”  Hebrews 11:16 (NIV)

I am impressed by the statement that God is not ashamed to be called their God. This is a significant statement that is good for us today, too. If you have accepted God’s offer of eternal life, then you are His today. But it is also true that He is yours. You can know that you have a God in heaven. And you can call Him yours and He will agree. What is it that makes this true? It is because you are living for eternity – with eternity’s values in view. So, if you are looking for a heavenly city, then you are included in the words of this verse. 

May 4

“And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”  1 Corinthians 15:49 (NIV)

Our God is preparing a wonderful future for those who become a part of His family by believing in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Himself will be a part of that future. While we are living here on earth we have bodies similar to the body of Adam. And we are like him in ways, too, because he is our ancestor and we have inherited much from him. But a day is coming when we will be like Jesus, the man who came from heaven to be our Savior. Even now He has given us a new nature and He enables us to live a new life. How glorious it will be when the process is completed and we shall bear His likeness!