Years ago it was a heart-warming experience for me to take my wife and sons to visit my childhood home. With some hesitation I knocked on the door. The owners, who purchased the home shortly after my parents went to be with the Lord, remembered me and invited us in.

We began our tour in the living room, then went into the dining room and eventually the kitchen. We walked upstairs and paused in my childhood bedroom before visiting the attic. Then we went to the basement. Though there had been some changes, many things remained the same. Walking through my “original home” brought back many memories that flooded my heart. There were tears of joy mixed with tears of sadness as I though of my family.

As we returned to the car, I began to think of the many different “homes” I’d lived in since my parents died. The final number was rather staggering but not unusual for most people. In 2011 a census study revealed that the average American will live in 11.7 different “homes.”

Psalm 90 begins with the word “Lord” referring to our God as a sovereign God who is our eternal shelter - our dwelling place. Moses used the same words in Deuteronomy when he wrote, “the eternal God is your dwelling place.” He told the Israelites that God was then and would always be their “home” - their refuge no matter where they were - whether in the wilderness or in the promised land. Home is not a place but a Person.

This same Lord is the eternal God who will become the eternal shelter and refuge for all who accept His Son.

Prayer: We pray, Sovereign Lord, that those who need Your salvation will come to You for their eternal refuge. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

We are all familiar with the Beatitudes of Jesus in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. But Psalm 84 contains three beatitudes.

The first talks about our relationship with God - about being with Him and worshiping Him and praising Him. "Blessed," said the psalmist, "are those who dwell in Your House; they are ever praising You." Indeed, we are truly blest that His invitation to us is "Come, now is the day of salvation" - an invitation to be with Him today and every day throughout eternity. To dwell in His presence forever.

The second beatitude we find is "Blessed are those whose strength in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." Throughout this life we are not on our own to struggle with the difficulties of life. His strength is always available to us when we are weak, weary and worn out. He knew pilgrimage would be long and difficult, so He made Himself available to us whenever we call on Him.

And, perhaps the last beatitude actually sums us the other two: "O Lord Almighty, blessed in the man who trusts in You."

A young college student was dying from cancer at home. He had been heavily sedated for days. Every now and then his Mother would sit by his bedside and ask, "Dennis, are you here?" He would answer her, "Yes, Mom, I'm still here." On the day of his death, however, he responded to her question, "No, Mother I'm going home."

Above his bed in an empty room are the words: "I hear you, Christian, happy, unafraid, For you hear a song from the other side of death."

Prayer: Thank You Father, for being our dwelling place. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 84:12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

“The one inescapable fact of life is death. Yet, man usually refuses to face it,” wrote a psychologist recently. Then he quoted La Rochefoucauld, who said, “One cannot focus on either the sun or death for any length of time.”

But the Psalmist looked at death differently: “Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death!”

Our God, through His Son Jesus Christ, not only saves and delivers us from sin and its consequences in this life but also after death. Salvation, for example, does not assure us of a life of prosperity and worldly success, a life free from sickness and suffering, a life that has no stress or conflict, a life that is all sunshine and no showers. But we do have the assurance of God’s forgiveness and the freedom from the law and its curse, from judgment and fear and guilt and certainly death.

And we do have the assurance of Christ’s presence in our lives that promises us that “He will never leave us nor forsake us,” be with us when we are sick and suffer, will give us His peace “that passes all understanding” when we are stressed and threatened by the challenges of life.

But ultimately and finally “from the Lord comes (our) escape from death.” Escape literally means exit. As Christians we can, with David, be assured that while there are many entrances to death - or many ways that we might die - our exit from death has been provided by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

This exit, however, is also our entrance into heaven.

Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for saving us and giving us peace and hope and the assurance of eternal life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

If the two options we have in life are faith or fear, then we can come to enjoy and take comfort in the hope we have in a living God as our light, salvation and hope. If we do not have a hope that comes from the Lord, we are condemned to a life of anguish as we move toward our final hours on earth.

Bertrand Russell said, “The older I get the more nervous I become.” In contrast to his fear is the faith we see in Pope John XXIII. Two weeks before his death he said, “My bags are packed. I’m ready to go!”

David had an unusual boldness as he faced life and death. “Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.” Even though he is confronted by an army or fighting to win a war or survive with his very life, he says that “I am confident.” Confident of what? His well-trained troops? His superior skills as a leader?

Indeed not. His confidence was in his Lord who was his light, salvation and strength. The word David uses for confidence in this verse means to feel secure or to be unconcerned. His confidence, the security he enjoyed, when facing the uncertainties of life and the certainty of death was in the Lord Himself.

David’s passion was to live in the Lord’s house and to behold His beauty. Living in the Lord’s house means much more than being an occasional visitor. It implies being a resident now and in eternity. To behold His beauty means to enjoy God’s goodness and blessings.

Prayer: How blest we are, Father, to know that faith in You gives us hope for this life and the one to come. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 27:3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.

It was his first pastorate after completing seminary. He loved his members and served them faithfully. Upon learning that one of the members of his church was in the hospital he hurried to visit her.

As he walked to her room, he asked a nurse if she resting comfortably. “No,” she responded, “we believe that she only has a few hours to live.”

The news disturbed him and he was visibly shaken. When he entered her room, the saintly lady recognized his fear. She looked at him compassionately and said, “Son, there’s nothing to be scared about. I’m just going to cross over Jordan, and my Father owns both sides of the river. Either side is O.K. with me!”

John wrote, “He will remove all of their sorrows and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its sorrows are gone! And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making all things new!’”

Presently, we live on the side of the river that is dominated by pain, suffering and sorrow. It is all we have experienced. God does indeed own it and we are fortunate that He is with us to comfort and sustain us on “this side of the river.”

But we can rejoice in the hope of a new creation: a new heaven and a new earth. Once again He will make all things perfect and complete - including us, His children. With joy we can look forward to that day!

Prayer: Lord, with our limited minds we cannot imagine what heaven will be like. So, we ask You to increase our faith and trust in You and our hope for tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Revelation 21:3-5 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

A successful executive of a large company had been in the hospital for days. He had waited, wondered and worried about what the diagnosis of his condition would be. After the tests were completed, the doctor came into his room and told him the results.

Tearfully and in shock, his wife asked, “Is there any hope, doctor?”

“It depends on where your hope is,” said the doctor. “If it is in me, I’m afraid not. But if it is in God, you have all the hope you need.”

Jesus gave Christians a prescription for hope. “Don’t be troubled,” He said. “You trust God, now trust me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you.”

Fear has a unique way of bringing life into focus. And there are only a few verses of Scripture that describe eternal life. But these few words are filled with promise and hope. The promise is that Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us. And the hope we have is He promised that He would come again to get us so we may be with Him in Heaven.

We can look forward to eternal life with Him because He has promised it to all who believe in Him as Savior and Lord. Although we may not know all we want to know about eternal life and what heaven is like, we need not fear. Right now He is preparing our home!

Prayer: What joy we have, Father, that You - at this very moment - are preparing a home for us in heaven. We have great peace knowing that we will be with You forever. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: John 14:1-2 In My Father’s house are many mansions;if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

While driving over a beautiful mountain pass in North Carolina, I said to my brother, "I have never seen such beauty. The snow capped peaks, the cascading waterfalls, the jagged rocks and brilliant blue sky are more beautiful than any I have ever seen! I never expected to see such beauty anywhere."

"Oh," he said, "wait 'til you see the other side."

All of us are anxious to "see the other side." Some because our loved ones have gone on before us and we are lonely because of our loss. Others long to be free from endless suffering and relentless pain. Many are anxious and worried with the endless problems that are never solved and seem to be tearing the world into fragments. Most, however, because we want to see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Paul encourages us to "Rejoice in our confident hope. To be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." In one verse he gives three commands to the Christian. We are to rejoice, remain patient and pray, knowing and believing that one day, "old things will pass away, and all things will be new" when we get to the "other side."

Prayer: Lord, help us not to lose sight of the "other side" when the cares and concerns of life overwhelm us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture: Romans 12:12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Big Al loved his vintage car more than anything in the world. When he died, a chauffeur led the funeral procession to the cemetery in his vehicle.

Even though the burial service was brief, someone had time to steal his car while the mourners bowed their heads in prayer. Realizing what had happened, a friend said, “I guess you can’t be too careful even at your own funeral. You never know what might happen after you die.”

But we can know without a doubt what will happen after we die. We know that God loves us and that we are very dear to Him. We also know that a car can take us many places, but not to heaven. Only our faith in the Lord can do that. When He calls us home to heaven, if our faith is in Him, He will bring us into His presence and we will enjoy eternity with Him forever.

Prayer: Lord, we know that You have a place prepared in heaven for those who love and trust You as their Savior. Help us to accept Your love and grace and to realize that when we die, we may have life everlasting with You, because You loved us and gave Yourself for us. Amen.

Scripture for Today: Luke 18:20-22

Ellis Wood picked me up at the Metter Airport to fly me to a meeting. As we flew farther out of sight, Mrs. Guido said, “There he goes!”

Where? Out of existence? No, out of sight.

When we buzzed the airport in the other city, friends said, “Here he comes.”

That’s dying to a Christian.

All through our lifetime we have guardian angels. The last thing they do for us is to carry us home to heaven. As we leave this earth, friends say, “There he goes.”

As our Lord welcomes us home to heaven, He says, “Here he comes.”

How wonderful it will be to exchange earth for heaven. Will you?

Prayer: I come to Thee, Father. Save me from sin and its consequences. Deliver me from the judgment and its doom. I thank Thee that Thou art with me, and that one day I will be with Thee in heaven: through Christ. Amen.

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