Tag: Pondering Eternity

“Come Holy Spirit, and Gift Unto Us a Prayer to Live With Eternity in Mind” Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

“Faith and love are apt to be spasmodic in the best of minds. Men and women live on the brink of mysteries and harmonies into which they never enter, and with their hand on the door latch, they die outside.” ~ Christian Apologist, G. K. Chesterton

When I read and re-read this quote from Chesterton today on my Facebook feed yesterday, as I closed out the activities for my 62nd Birthday, it reminded me of that passage in Ecclesiastes, a passage that said God “put eternity in our hearts.”

All the while I was in my Mother’s womb, God weaved “eternity into my heart.”

Somewhere, somehow, God, my Creator, weaved “eternity deep into my DNA.”

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 English Standard Version

The God-Given Task

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

“Faith and love are apt to be spasmodic in the best of minds. Men and women live on the brink of mysteries and harmonies into which they never enter, and with their hand on the door latch, they die outside.” ~ Christian Apologist, G. K. Chesterton

When I read and re-read this quote from Chesterton today on my Facebook feed yesterday, as I closed out the activities for my 62nd Birthday, it reminded me of that passage in Ecclesiastes, a passage that said God “put eternity in our hearts.”

All the while I was in my Mother’s womb, God weaved “eternity into my heart.”

Somewhere, somehow, God, my Creator, weaved “eternity deep into my DNA.”

Because God did this to me and for me, before I was even aware, of God, I can never shake the irrepressible feeling deep within my soul that there absolutely has to be something infinitely more waiting for me in eternity than in this life.

Collectively, in our response to this inner sense of eternity, we can and often do spend our lives either unaware of it, denying it, sidestepping it, fleeing from it, or attempting to resolve it without the assistance of the One who placed it there.

And this only leaves only leaves us in that empty space we call “wanting more.”

What we are called to do instead is turn to the One of whom it is said, “from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36)(ESV).

Romans 11:33-36 English Standard Version

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

We turn to the only One in whom we find our origin, our purpose, our destiny.

We can know the only One who holds for each of His Children, in His righteous right hand, the indescribable feeling for eternity that He placed in our hearts.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)(ESV).

Jesus said, unto his disciples a day before he died;

John 14:25-27 The Message

25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

This is the only path that will satisfy that nagging sense of greater things and the only path that leads us all to both reconciliation and an eternity with God.

The Gift of A Prayer to Live with Eternity in Mind

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 The Message

16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

Eternity is a simple word but a complex concept.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.”

  • We waited in line for something relatively inconsequential for an eternity.
  • We are waiting for the blessed announcement of a baby being born.
  • We are waiting for the announcement that someone has passed away.
  • We are waiting for the arrival of family on Christmas or Easter Day.
  • We are waiting for laboratory and radiology test results to be read.
  • We are waiting for the bank to approve our very first Mortgage.
  • We think spring will never come; winter has lasted for an eternity.
  • We have a vacation planned for only a few weeks away, but it feels like an eternity on the calendar.
  • We are waiting for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to Return – “as promised.”

The undeniable reality is that, as humans, we cannot truly fathom eternity.

We know that God has provided eternal life to those who trust in His Son Jesus, but our understanding of the weight of eternity is beyond our comprehension.

Recently, I have come across numerous sermon series, devotional articles, and books, social media posts encouraging believers to live with eternity in mind.

But what exactly does that mean? 

Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever (NLT).”

Life in a fallen world is tough; there’s no escaping the effects of sin in our lives.

But, we can shift our priorities, our mindsets our perspective, focusing on the things that matter to God (the eternal) and sacrificing ourselves, surrendering ourselves, letting go of those things that don’t matter (the things of this world).

Romans 12:1-2 The Message
Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

As one of my favorite preachers sermonized, “preaches easy, lives hard.”  

We are ever so easily, quickly distracted, discouraged, and disillusioned daily.

It is impossibly challenging to “keep on persevering, keep on pushing forward in our faith, and remain steadfast and immovable always abounding in God’s work.”

The world’s message is “live your best life now,” but God’s word preaches us so utterly and radically different, stating “your forever life is yet to come.”

If we back up a verse to 2 Corinthians 4:17, Apostle Paul again reminds us,

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”  

What we are experiencing today will one day come to an end.

Even if the season of steadfast and immovable sorrow drags on forever or your difficult circumstances continue to stay the same day after day, God will still make everyone and everything new one day – and in this new world, His eternal kingdom, there will be no more tears and pain – Just LIFE (Revelation 21:1-4).

I am not sure what anyone of you readers are going through today but PLEASE be ENCOURAGED, be EMPOWERED and take heart; God sees and cares for you.

Psalm 121 The Message

121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
    your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
    Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God’s your Guardian,
    right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
    sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
    he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
    he guards you now, he guards you always.

On this side of Heaven, you may continue to experience the consequences of sin, but please be INSPIRED, be an INSPIRATION, God’s great mercy provided a way for all His Children to have eternal peace through salvation in Christ Jesus.

Be the ENCOURAGER, Pray, Cling, to the eternal hope we have in our salvation, and let the presence of the Holy Spirit fill you as you live with eternity in mind.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being a God who cares about our burdens. We know that you are God who sees and hears the cries and prayers of your children. Help us to live with eternity in mind. Blessed Intercessor Holy Spirit of God, We pray fervently you will Be with us as we strive to focus more on the eternal, shifting our perspective from temporary things that distract us from living a life for Your glory alone. Forgive us when we sin against you, and be with us as we pursue holiness.

We love you, Lord; we are undeserving of your grace and mercy but thankful that you freely grant us both. We ask that you strengthen and help us as we share the Gospel in a broken world. Guide our conversations, and direct our paths to those who need to experience the eternal hope of salvation through Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ Name.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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How Can We Have an Eternal Mindset Here on Earth? 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Lately, I have been thinking a whole lot about delayed gratification.

As in, doing now, in the immediate what will hopefully, if correctly planned for will pay off later, versus what only feels good or is easy in the exact moment.

It’s a great concept, right?

Living with an eye on the future, and planning and making choices that will result in a positive outcome a few months or even years down the road (while also avoiding a negative outcome).

But, that kind of advanced planning is not always so very simple to do.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 English Standard Version

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[a] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Lately, I have been thinking a whole lot about delayed gratification.

As in, doing now, in the immediate what will hopefully, if correctly planned for will pay off later, versus what only feels good or is easy in the exact moment.

It’s a great concept, right?

Living with an eye on the future, and planning and making choices that will result in a positive outcome a few months or even years down the road (while also avoiding a negative outcome).

But, that kind of advanced planning is not always so very simple to do.

For example,

I’ve been trying for quite a while to control my stubborn blood sugar.

I know that the key is to keep my eye on the prize, and remember that what I do today will affect how I feel (how well me and my body will function) tomorrow.

It’s not easy, but that’s what I need to remember!

Because otherwise, what’s to keep me from just binging on chocolate lava cakes all day on my birthday, with zero regard to the outcome on my bodily systems?

Likewise, we should have the same thought process with regards to eternity (that is, life after death).

We focus so very much on the here and now—this short life on earth—and yet eternity is so much longer!

But because it always seems to be so far off, it’s easier put it on the back burner…as in, “I’ll worry about that later. Today, I have too much to do!”

Except, that time and place called eternity – It’s not that far off though, is it?

Not one of us knows exactly how long we will live, or when Jesus will return, or anything that the future holds.

How Do I Set My Mind On Things Above?

But, you might ask, what does it actually mean to actually have an eternal perspective?

And how do we do that?

I think it boils down to the HOPE of heaven.

In this life, even the seemingly wonderful things (like money or fame), will eventually lead to a grave full of freezing cold emptiness.

God is all about LOVE … so if we want to discipline ourselves to focus on having an eternal perspective, we have to focus on the God who is Love (1 John 4:7-11).

What is an eternal mindset?

And is this something we can, or should, have while living here on this earth?

This devotional effort will explore these two questions, as well as how we can develop an eternal mindset.

What Is an Eternal Mindset?

Merriam-Webster defines mindset as “a mental attitude or inclination.”

It is what we think about something or what our attitude is regarding it.

I have a particular financial and political mindset, an environmental mindset, a brother and sister mindset, a husband and a step parent/grandparent mindset, and many more – and all of those mindsets are all reflected in how I live my life.

Eternal is a word used in a few different ways in the Scripture.

Most commonly, it is part of the expression “eternal life.”

We often think of this as life without end, and it does involve that.

But Jesus defines eternal life as a relationship.

It is knowing God the Father and Jesus his Son (John 17:3).

But here in 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul uses the word in a very different sense.

He tells us, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Eternal has the connotation of unending existence.

But it is infinitely more than that.

Here Paul is referring to the unseen realm.

What is unseen is eternal, while what we can see with our earthly eyes is only temporary.

This verse is key to understanding what an eternal mindset is.

The whole verse says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

An eternal mindset is a mind focused on the unseen realm, on things above rather than on the outward and subject to rust temporary things of this life.

It is a mindset that understands the physical world is not all there is.

There is a greater reality that is unknowable to our human senses.

This greater reality, particularly the kingdom of God, is revealed to us in the Scripture and seen through the eyes of faith.

Hebrews 11:1-3 English Standard Version

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

An eternal mindset keeps the kingdom of God front and center in all one does.

Is This Something That We Should Have?

So, is having an eternal mindset something that is expected of all believers?

The passage quoted above from 2 Corinthians 4:18 answers this question in the affirmative.

Apostle Paul expressed that his eyes were fixed on the unseen, the eternal.

Paul used inclusive terminology in this verse: “we fix our eyes.”

The implication is that this should be true for all believers, not just a select few.

This is reinforced by passages like Colossians 3:1-2, where we are told to set our hearts and minds on things above.

Put On the New Self

3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

In Hebrews 3:1-2, we are told to fix our thoughts on Jesus.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers,[a] you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s[b] house.

And Hebrews 12:1-2, where we are instructed to fix our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,  who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This is not something we are to do only on Sunday mornings, but we should all learn to discipline ourselves to focus our lives on Jesus and things above the rest of the days, weeks months, regardless of where we are and what we are doing.

In 1 Corinthians 7:29-31,

29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Paul tells us that the time is short, and this world is passing away.

So, even as we live in this world, we should not be engrossed in it.

Live in the now.

But keep your hope fixed on what lies ahead, on the eternal.

Don’t let your activities here distract you from the eternal.

What Does an Eternal Mindset Look Like?

We often call the eleventh chapter of Hebrews the Hall of Faith.

This chapter recalls many people from the Old Testament who, by faith, did something extraordinary with their lives which called the author to write it

But this is more than just a roll call of people who lived by faith.

Hebrews 11:9-10 says of Abraham, “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Hebrews 11:13-16 develops this idea further, showing that these people acted in faith because they looked forward to something beyond this life.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 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.

They each had a mindset that was disciplined and focused upon the life that awaited them beyond the grave, an eternal mindset.

Peter also identifies us as foreigners in this world (1 Peter 1:17; 2:11) and urges us to live that way.

We should never forget our citizenship is as members of the kingdom of God.

While we live in this world, we are to be distinct from it.

Living, not solely to satisfy our temporary desires, but living in a much more disciplined way that will please our heavenly Father.

But this does not mean that we ignore the world we live in, being so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good.

We still need to work to support ourselves and our families.

We need to care for what God has blessed us with.

We need to relate to the people around us.

And we should be looking to make this world a better place.

But while we do those things, we should always keep sight of whose we are and the future God has prepared for us.

Living a life of faith, trusting God to care for us and bring us safely to that heavenly city without foundations that Abraham was looking forward to.

Our time here is short.

And as we live here, we should hold loosely to the things of this world.

Using them, but not placing great value on them (1 Corinthians 7:31).

Our security should not be in our possessions or any earthly institution.

Instead, it should be in the Lord who is preparing us for our eternal home.

We should also not become overwhelmingly discouraged when life gets hard, or the world seems to be steadily descending into the abysses of chaos and evil.

Instead, trust God with your life (Philippians 4:6-7) and seek to live a holy life (1 Peter 1:15-16) of love (1 John 4:10-11).

How Can We Develop an Eternal Mindset?

The Scripture teaches us that an eternal mindset is appropriate for all believers.

But what does it take to develop a mindset that looks into the future rather than being wrapped up in the subject to rust temporary things of this life?

Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-14 can help us with this.

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He expressed that he had not yet reached his goal of Christlikeness, but he was straining and striving toward that.

He was not living in the past.

Instead, he was “straining toward what was ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

There are three aspects to what Paul has to say here.

First, he had a goal.

His goal was to become like Christ.

If we want to develop an eternal mindset, it needs to be our primary goal.

It will not happen by accident.

Nor can your goal be just a wish.

It needs to be something that we will actively pursue.

Second, we need to let go of anything that would interfere with reaching that goal.

For Paul, that was thoroughly giving up, surrendering the past, his heritage, training, accomplishments, and plans for what he originally wanted to become.

We each may have different things we need to leave in our past, things that hold us back – but whatever it may be, we need to make the sacrifice, leave it behind.

And finally, Paul was striving toward his goal.

He knew what he wanted to become.

And he was working at it with all that he was.

I will not develop an eternal mindset just by wishing for it.

Nor by investing a only a few hours a week.

It is a commitment of your whole life in pursuit of the goal.

That includes a commitment to spending time reading the Bible and making its teaching a part of your life.

Time should also be spent in prayer and communion with our heavenly Father, in fellowship with other believers, actively involved in the life of a local church.

These disciplines should take highest priority over many of the activities we might otherwise be engaged in.

Rabbi Jesus illustrates this for us with his parable of the pearl of great price in 

Matthew 13:45-46.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Here a merchant sold everything he had to purchase a pearl of great value.

He gave up all he had to have this pearl.

And that is what we need to do.

Give up everything we have to obtain the life that God has called us to.

The development of an eternal mindset is something that we can only do with the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 1:17-19 might be considered a prayer for an eternal mindset:

having spiritual eyes open to the hope we have in Christ, recognizing God’s inheritance in the saints, and knowing his power at work for us who believe.

Benefits of Keeping an Eternal Mindset

For me, it was a strong desire to be assured a place in heaven, that first led me to repentance and a relationship with Jesus. (Okay, fear of judgement and not wanting to go to hell might be more accurate).

In the years since, I have tasted and seen that God is good (Psalm 34:8),

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

and I’ve lived the blessings of developing an eternal perspective on life.

But still, it’s not always easy to keep up that eternal mindset in the face of distractions and shiny things of this world!

However, it’s so worth it.

Let’s explore just a few benefits of fixing our eyes on the “prize” of heaven…

1) Eternity Reminds Us To Seek God’s Kingdom FIRST.

First and foremost, an eternal mindset will help us to keep the #1 thing the #1 thing.

And that #1 thing is God’s kingdom—specifically, Jesus’ charge to us, to share the good news.

While we look forward to eternity, we know there are still many people who don’t know Jesus, and thus do not have that same hope.

We need to keep a kingdom mindset, and to share the hope we have in Jesus.

1 Peter 3:14-16English Standard Version

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16  having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

2) Eternity Helps Us Weather The Storms Of Life!

In the midst of trials, the thought of spending eternity with God (where there will be no more tears, pain, or death—Revelation 21:4), makes our struggles seem much smaller.

This life may sometimes seem long and full of pain, but it’s just a blip on the radar on comparison to eternity.

It really does help to set your mind on Jesus!

After all, it was Jesus who said this: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

3) Eternity Causes Us To Focus On Things That Really Matter.

Loving God, and loving our neighbors… Celebrating God and celebrating our neighbors – it’s what we did in LOVE that we will all carry with us into eternity (and, that will prayerfully stay with our loved ones who are still on earth too).

In the context of eternity and building up treasures of love, does that argument really matter?

Is it really important to gain promotions, if it takes us away from our family?

I could go on, but I believe you get the idea.

4) Eternity Causes Us To Invest In Heavenly Things!

Like a 5-year-old kid who you’re already saving for college for, and a 12-year-old already thinking about scholarships and GPA’s, it’s good to consider life as prep school for heaven.

How are we investing our time and our talents today?

Just imagine, when you get to heaven, you meet all the people you led to Jesus, all the folks who were hungry and you gave them a meal and something to drink or if you are a teacher all the students you taught, or the people you encouraged.

The people and purposes you choose to invest in MATTER.

Every day we should strive to discipline ourselves to remember, that the things of this world are like cheap baubles: they look amazing at first, but after a while, the glitter will gradually flake off, rhinestones fall out, they’ll lose their luster.

In contrast, eternal things are like real diamonds and gold. 

By keeping an eternal mindset, we can store up for ourselves our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21), and along the long concourse of our lives, prevent ourselves from being continually deceived by the false lure of earthly things.

Being heavenly-minded makes a person more mindful and fruitful for Christ and provides a place of peace for self and others amid the chaos of the world.

Those who are disciplined and focused on eternity are significantly far more impactful for Christ than those who get caught up in the things of the world.

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God, it is too easy to get caught up in the baubles of mundane of natural living. Sometimes we only see what is around the next corner. We need the Holy Spirit to lift our perspective so we can see things from heaven’s perspective. Thy Holy Spirit reminds us of the long view. Ultimately, we in faith believe that Jesus will one day return in triumph and the victory will be totally ours. Let this prayer reminds us of this immutable truth and let us ask thy Holy Spirit to calibrate and recalibrate our perspective. If this prayer ministers to you, then please share it with all your friends.

Intercessory Holy Spirit, I pray you will set my mind on heavenly things and help me to see more from a heavenly perspective than an earthly one. This should be natural for a person that is living in God by living in Christ. You are teaching me to rule and reign with my Savior and King Jesus. One day I will appear with Him in the sky. Prepare me for that day now. Develop the mindset of heaven in me in Jesus name,

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Ecclesiastes 3:11 Our Vision For Eternity: Advent Week Three: “And the Word became Flesh and He LIVED Among Us!”

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13The Message

9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God has no bounds ….

God will fit in no one’s box even if the size of that box is the size of the universe.

Yet, in restrictive confines our own humanity, we serve a God of boundaries.

In God’s limitless capacity, endless creativity, indescribable glory and infinite wisdom, His boundless existence, God still chose to create boundaries for us.

God still had vision for what was good, right, pleasing, and perfect.

And as children made in his image, we are to live, think, and create as he does.

In a world marked by unbounded busyness from seemingly boundless infinite opportunities, it’s important now more than ever for us to create boundaries.

And still, in God’s infinite wisdom, He knew we would never be satisfied with such a limited, narrowed and restrictive space being forced and pushed upon us.

Our ever wiser God, full of grace and truth and a vision of and for reality, knew we would never be satisfied with our unlimited limits and unlimited boundaries.

This is a lesson we learned from the Tower of Babel – we want to reach the sky!

We are insatiable creatures.

We are insatiably curious, we have this insatiable desire, in that we want to know, to see, to experience, go far beyond the limits of the known Universe.

And the miraculous part of it is this, even after Babel …. IT IS A GIFT OF GOD!

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Amplified Bible

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11 He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live; 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

To be a true person of vision is to live this life in light of eternity.

Without a real revelation of eternity, this life will be marked by hopelessness and a sense of aimless wandering.

Without a real revelation of eternity, our limited vision for a life of unlimited abundance and blessings would stop directly with eyes in front of our hands.

God wants us to know Him!

God wants us to be in relationship with him!

God wants us to be in an everlasting connection with Him.

“remove THY hands from in front of THY faces, seek MY face, seek MY hands!”

Only when our destination comes into view can we rightly see the diverse array, the myriad and myriad of various circumstances littered, strewn along the long and winding and widening concourses of this temporary life God limits us to.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13Easy-to-Read Version

11 God gave us the ability to think about his world,[a] but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.

12 I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God.

To look to eternity requires us to trust.

Our minds are finite.

In the only world we have ever known, life is marked by a beginning and end, by birth and death.

But in and throughout the length and breadth of Scripture we discover that God is the Maker of life, the Great and infinite Physician and the Conqueror of death.

We discover in the coming of Jesus, as is revealed in the four Gospels, we are promised eternal life in unhindered, unveiled, communion with our Creator.

To live with our limited vision for eternity is limitless trust things are not as they will be and to surrender the entirety of this life with hope for the next.

When we live seeking satisfaction from the things of the world, we live as if heaven did not exist and God did not usher in his kingdom through Jesus.

Our limited vision for the things of this world would grow abundantly, blessedly grow more and more dim, to only have final value in the Giver of all good gifts.

So our possessions, relationships, and work only have value here because they are a series of diverse shadows of what is to come when all things are made new.

God planted the seed of eternity within us knowing, only through Him, it will germinate and raise itself above the ground revealing the vast beauty therein.

Having such a vision of vast beauty here on earth our vision for eternity should prayerfully lead us to create beautiful boundaries around everything in this life.

It should lead us to such an abundantly beautiful lifestyle of surrender that our hearts might never become tied to that which is fleeting, can never fully satisfy.

Leads us to a lifestyle of fully enjoying all the beautiful the things God has given and gifted to us, including our vision of Immanuel, all the while knowing all the things of this life are merely fleeting shadows in comparison to what is to come.

Do you feel tied to the things of your life today?

Feel as if your unlimited vision of eternity is forever tied to your possessions, relationships, work owns you rather you enjoying them to the glory of God?

From your vision of eternity, are you only seeking to find total satisfaction in the “rusty” things of the world, or are you finding peace in the hope of heaven?

Take time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus.

Allow God to cut away any ties you have to that which is chaining your heart to this world.

Find abundant joy and peace in the unlimited freedom that comes from God’s promised gifts of abundance and blessings living in light of a limitless eternity.

May you find freedom and joy these days as you receive the gift of vision and set up beautifully hopeful, prayerful boundaries under the leadership of Holy Spirit.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Take quality time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on what the Bible says about eternity. Allow Scripture to fill you with vision for what’s to come.

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.” Psalm 102:25-27

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3

“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3

2. Are you living in light of eternity? Do you feel your heart tied down to any things of the world?

31 “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.” Matthew 6:31-34

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

3. Hopefully, Prayerfully set boundaries around having vision for eternity. 

Lay down anything holding you back from living in freedom from this world at the feet of Jesus.

Take time to enjoy God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that the foundation of your vision for life would be full communion with him.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek[a] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”[b]
9     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation! Psalm 27:7-9

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you! Psalm 84

In Galatians 5:16 Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” 

When you take time to enjoy God every day and seek to live in communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God will faithfully guide you away from your vision of the “rust worthy” things of the world and full into His fullness of joy in Him.

May you find comfort and hope in connection with the living God today as you seek to live with God’s boundless, boundary less, unlimited vision for eternity.

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