TAKE HEART

By Rick Mathes

John 16:33 (NASB77) ³³  “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

While you are asleep tonight, Satan will be doing push-ups! His every moment of diabolical passion is to steal your joy and assurance of salvation no matter what it takes or no matter what he has to do. He is a master of lying by omission; that is putting enough truth into a lie to make it believable and then persuade you to act on it. Or put another way, to leave out some truth to give you a distorted understanding that suits his purposes to destroy your relationship with Jesus.

What is a person who loves the Lord to do? Look up! The glass is half full and it overflows from above and a stooping God that blesses us with His graces. Any other direction of your view will only give you a variety of reflections all of which will defeat the evil one as long s you keep your focus on Jesus and His elect.

Look downward and you will be encouraged that the dead in Christ will rise first into the heavens to be met by our Lord and ushered into their everlasting eternity of joy and the ecstasy of seeing Him as He really is.

Take a glance around you but be sure to look closer to what is not so obvious. It has been my experience that the silent warriors have first claim to be invited to the front altar of that Holy Mansion in heaven. They are the ones you would never expect to be there in fact you never even noticed them go about the Father’s business. They quietly obeyed Him in prayer, financial support and service so quietly, no one even noticed.

Then take a look within you and take a real look at jhow far you have come from what you have been. The light in you is displacing the darkness very noticeably and in a public way. Others puzzle around what has happened to the old you. The Son is rising on your spitural horizon so looking ahead is so much more pleasant than you ever thought possible.

You have a very real and living hop of eternity in the heavenlies with all the eternal friends you made in this brief earth experience. Oh, how much we love Him. Take heart!