Happily Ever After

By: Destry Jackson

           

Revelation 21:2 –“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband.”     

So often, we hear the words “and they lived happily ever after” at the end of almost every fairy tale we could ever read.  Almost every young girl dreams of the day when she will find her Prince Charming, who will sweep her off her feet and carry her to his castle in the clouds.  Eventually, reality sets in, and she realizes that, in this life, there is no happily ever after.

I was once one of those little girls dreaming of Prince Charming.  I dreamed of finding the one perfect guy, getting married, raising children, and living happily ever after.  Then, I realized to myself that there is no perfection here on Earth.  Even the happiest marriages are not ‘happily ever after’.   Both sets of my grandparents were married for 62 years.  Even their marriages were not perfect, and they worked really hard and prayed really hard to keep it all together over those years.  Even if a love can withstand the test of time here on Earth, it eventually comes to an end on Earth through death.  There is no ever after here on Earth, and in truth, that is a blessing.  Can you imagine living throughout eternity here on Earth, with the crime, corruption, pride, and sin all around?  I sure wouldn’t want to.

I, for one, am looking forward to Heaven, where there truly will be Happily Ever After.  There resides the true Prince Charming, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  He already gave his life on the cross for us to forgive us of all our sin.  He rose from the dead to show that we could have eternal life if we just believe and accept Him as our savior.  What Prince Charming in any fairy tale could do that?  No love here on Earth could ever compare to the love of our savior.  Jesus is truly the one and only Prince Charming.  One day, He is coming to take us home to Heaven with Him, and there we will spend eternity.   Frankly, I’d much rather spend eternity in Heaven than on Earth.

All people should think deeply on this subject to themselves and make up their own minds.  As for me, I choose an eternal Happily Ever After.  How about you?

Have a great month and God bless!!

The Meaning of Freedom: July Inspiration

By: Destry Jackson

“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence.

“Jesus replied,  “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.””-John 8: 34-36

What is Freedom?  Is it the ability to do whatever you want when you want to?  Or is it being able to choose what path you will follow rather than being forced to follow a specific path that someone else chooses for you?  Is it being free from tyranny?  Or is it being free to follow the laws without the government interfering and entering your home without warrant?  My opinion is that true freedom is being free from sin and death for all eternity.  True freedom comes from God.  As the character of Moses says in the movie The Ten Commandments, “There is no freedom without the law.”  It’s true that in all societies, laws are vital to freedom.  People have to have laws in order for the societies to function properly.  For, if all people follow only the laws that they want to, society will soon fall apart. God even sets apart certain laws for his people to follow, and he fulfilled his laws through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus said that the two greatest commandments were to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others as yourself.  Just imagine what a different world this would be if people would truly follow these two rules!!  The original laws of the U.S.A. were based a lot upon these laws.  The laws of God are the foundation for our Constitution and for our society as a whole.  What a sad thing that we have drifted so far from God’s truth and intent for our lives as people and as a country.   Jesus has set us free from sin and death through his resurrection, but we are still fighting to be free from tyranny in this country.  As we celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend, I urge you all to remember the truths and freedoms that our country was founded on.

Happy Fourth of July and God bless!!!

Father’s Day Inspiration

By: Destry Jackson

 

 

Genesis 5: 21-29 (NIV)

“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.  And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.  Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.  When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.  And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.  When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son.  He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.””

 

We know the Bible doesn’t talk much about the personal family lives of many biblical figures, but we know that there were some who were excellent parents to excellent children and some who were close to God whose children went the wrong way.  In the celebration of Father’s Day, we should take a closer look at some of the fathers of the bible.  One such man is Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah.  Enoch walked with God all the days of his life, and his days were many, as he lived for 365 years.  He actually lived the shortest of the early patriarchs. God called him up to Heaven many years early, as his son Methuselah lived the longest of any man on record at 969 years.  Many theologians believe that Enoch was probably taken away in a chariot of fire like Elijah.  Genesis Chapter Five shows us that Enoch left his family a great tradition of following God, passing down through the generations to Noah, who ‘found grace in the eyes of the Lord’.  Thanks to the legacy of Enoch and his family, mankind found grace and mercy in God’s eyes and was allowed to continue after the flood destroyed all living things on land, other than Noah, his family, and all the animals in theArk. 

            Most of the other examples of fathers in the Bible are men who walked close to God, but their children turned out wrong somehow.  Samuel is known as one of the greatest prophets in scripture, and he always did as God told him to, but his sons Joel and Abijah were dishonest and greedy.  When his sons were turning away from God’s laws, the people asked Samuel to appoint a king over them, so that they could have a king like all the other nations had.  God knew that the people had rejected Him as their king, so God allowed them a king, but had Samuel warn them of what a king would do to their land and all their possessions.  Later on, there is the story of King David and his family.  David was a man after God’s own heart, yet most of his children went the wrong direction.  There was his son Absalom who killed another of David’s sons and then tried to take over the kingdom.  David wept when he heard of Absalom’s betrayal and later death by the hand of Joab, David’s army general.  Another of David’s sons, Adonijah, tried to take over the throne as well, but his scheme also entailed trying to have Bathsheba and Solomon put to death.  David did not want his favorite wife and son put to death, and he had already planned to have Solomon put on the throne after him.  David almost lost Bathsheba and Solomon due to the fact that he hadn’t planned far enough ahead to secure their positions at the head of the country.    A lesson to be learned from these parental stories in the Bible is that all people should strive to be parents in the manner of Enoch, rather than forgetting to plan ahead for their families or not discipline their children properly.  Families need plenty of love and discipline to head the proper direction.  May all the fathers in our church and in Christianity be the kind to leave behind magnificent legacies of walking with God.  Happy Father’s Day and God bless!!!

Belated Mother’s Day Inspiration

Proverbs 31: 28 (NIV)

                “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

 

                                Mothers who raise their families well are worth more than their weight in gold.    I know I am quite blessed to have the mother I have.  She has truly spent her life helping her family and friends to do their best in everything they do.  Mom spent four months looking after her dad while he was really sick with cancer.  He passed away at the end of February, and it has been a hard time for the family.  Mom and Dad have done their best to hold the whole family together when hard times come for all of us.  This winter, we said farewell to both of my grandfathers and several family friends.  They were all strong Christians who are now united with our Lord Jesus for all eternity. 

                        When my siblings and I were little, Mom stayed at home to look after us and give us a stable, happy childhood.  When we were all in school, Mom started working at the school district to earn more money and to be closer to us if we needed help.  It was always good to know that if anything went wrong or one of us kids got sick, Mom wasn’t too far away.   Mom also made a terrific special education teacher for the school district.  Her students always looked up to her as a teacher.

                        Two and a half years ago, my Mom looked after her mother after grandma had two strokes.  Grandma died in November of 2008.  Mom did a wonderful job of looking after her parents.  My mom is also a grandma now, as my sister and her husband had their first baby boy last July.   Mom absolutely loves being a grandma, and my nephew adores his grandma, or “Nana” as he sometimes calls her.   Mom taught my sister very well about being a mother, and my sister is a terrific mom to her little boy. 

                        For Mother’s Day this year, the family got together and had a fun weekend at home giving Mom a lot of hugs.  She doesn’t ask for presents on Mother’s Day, but just wants hugs.  I’m very thankful for my mother.  A good mother deserves great honor.  My mom and other mothers like her deserve lots of honor and respect.  I hope everyone told their mothers a great big “Thank you!”  and gave them lots of hugs this Mother’s Day.  God bless!!

The Need for Revival

God has been telling me lately that there is a great need for revival in the church.  As you all know, the world we live in gets crazier every year.  To this world, what is right is wrong, and what is wrong is right.  Most people in this world seem to think that sex outside of marriage is alright, that gossip is perfectly harmless, and that lies and stealing are normal and decent.  Some of this worldly philosophy seems to be seeping into the church as well.  Many churches are having troubles of scandals involving priests, pastors, deacons, and regular members.  Churches today seem not to focus on God and His word, but focus more on getting more members or helping the community, which is not bad, but can detract from focusing on God if that is the church’s main focus.  I have not noticed much of this happening at Revolution or at the churches my dad preaches at, but I have noticed it at several other churches I have attended.  If churches get so caught up in worldly things, they will not be able to focus on God or His word.

What is the answer to this problem?  REVIVAL!!  We need to start from the inside out.  We need to work on ourselves first.  As Jesus says to the people, check the plank in your own eye first before you try to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  We need to focus on putting God first in our lives and reading His word.  With greater study of God’s word and prayer for guidance and that the meaning in the words would become clear to us, we can help to put God first again, not our own ambitions.  We as people will never be whole until we put God first.   God is love, but He is also just and wise.  Many churches choose to focus on the love part, rather than remind their parish that God is just.  When God comes again to the earth, it will be to judge the world and to punish the evil ones for their sins.   Many Christians today keep saying that since God is love, there is no way he could possibly find it in him to send anyone to Hell.  If people do not know Jesus, they will be sent to Hell at the end of their lives.

My dad gave a sermon a couple of months ago about the White Throne judgment that is mentioned at the end of Revelation.  At the White Throne judgment, Jesus will divide all the people from every age to two sides, to the right and the left.  The ones on the right are those who know Jesus as their savior, and the ones on the left are those who do not know Jesus as their savior.  At the White Throne judgment, people on the right will probably know a few on the left.  The ones on the left might point at those they know on the right and say, “Why didn’t you tell me?”  That sermon really hit me hard, as I wouldn’t want anyone I know to be sentenced to Hell and turn and ask me why I didn’t warn them.  It is our duty as Christians to see that as many people as possible can be warned about their fate if they do not know Jesus.  So, we should do our best to make sure that all the people we know are told about Jesus and his sacrifice for us so that we do not have to see our friends on the wrong side at the final judgment.  It is time that we focus on God’s word more than on ourselves or our needs.  When we serve God wholly, the world will see by our actions and by our lives that Jesus is the Lord of all.  I hope this gives us all some food for thought.  God bless!!