Only one week remains before Christmas arrives at our doorstep. My prayer is that these Advent devotional thoughts are helping you to get ready for that happy event.
My husband’s birthday arrived again in November. That morning, I looked at his photo and assured him that I loved him and wished him a joy-full day, his second birthday in heaven. I miss Gene but am convinced that he is far happier there in heaven than he ever could be here on earth. Since his death last year, the veil that hangs between this world and the spiritual world seems thinner than ever. I feel the reality of the spiritual world is just a breath away.
Romans 9:22 tells us that God has every right to exercise his judgment and his power. He is, after all, God, and we have all failed miserably in achieving his holy standards. But in his mercy, he has prepared a place in heaven for each of us who have chosen to follow Christ. Romans 9:23 tells us, “He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.”
Thus far during this season, we have focused on what we need to do to get our hearts ready for Christmas. But today we see another of the blessings of being prepared. When Jesus left heaven for earth, he exchanged his divine glory for swaddling cloths. After he died and rose again, Jesus received back his glory. So too, we who are prepared in advance will shed our earthly clothes and don glorified bodies in heaven. That is something to look forward to! A prepared heart is full of hope.
