Jumpstart

Days of Grace

Martin Luther King Jr. was not the first to move masses with the soaring rhetoric of his dream. Jesus Christ spoke incessantly about a coming kingdom. Despite the drawbacks of time and place, the words of Jesus have resonated through the ages. More books have been written about this man, who never wrote one himself, than any other person in history. 

God has always had a dream for mankind, a vision that came crashing down when Adam and Eve fell. Yet, that dream is not dead. It lives in three distinct dispensations. 

Short-Term

God would have all men saved, and wants none to perish. The immediate dream for each person is salvation. If you are not certain of your eternal destiny, today is the day that changes by accepting forgiveness through from Jesus.. 

Mid-Term

Once you are born again, God begins a relentless improvement program on you. For the rest of your time on earth, He is constantly repositioning you between what you are and the best you can be.  This is not prosperity psychobabble, because becoming the best you can be might mean suffering, refinement, and real pain. Nonetheless, God has a picture of what you can be in His wallet, and He is gently determined to move you in that direction, even if you go kicking and screaming. Relax and read Romans 8. 

Long-Term

Consider your first moment in heaven! We all look forward to vacations, trips, and getaways. We pore over websites and magazines, imagining what the experiences will be like. We even sacrifice to make them possible. For some exotic vacations, we count the days and call them, the trip of a lifetime.  Put that in light of eternity…in paradise! It makes Tahiti a ghetto. 

For the child of God, saying, “The best is yet to come,” is the understatement of all time. 

Nuggets of Gold

Paradise

A religious or metaphysical term for a place in which existence is positive, harmonious, and eternal; an ideal or idyllic place or state.

Echoes of Truth

"Sin and death and suffering and war and poverty are not natural—they are the devastating results of our rebellion against God. We long for a return to Paradise—a perfect world, without the corruption of sin, where God walks with us and talks with us in the cool of the day." 

-Randy Alcorn  

This One Thing 

In 2015, you have 12 months to make a mark that will last. What will your legacy be when it comes to contributing to the kingdom this year? Think about it now, then live it out. Just as wise financial planners strategize their stocks, believers can plan their spiritual investments.