Ascended!
Joseph Parker (1830-1902) was a beloved English preacher. When his wife died, he didn't have the customary wording inscribed on her gravestone. Instead of the word died followed by the date of her death, he chose the word ascended.
Our Life In Heaven
The following words were inscribed on a gravestone: "Don't weep for me now, don't weep for me ever; for I'm going to do nothing forever and ever." Some people think heaven will be a boring place. Others, after years of exhausting work, look forward to doing nothing in heaven—the ultimate retirement!
It's true that in heaven we will rest from earthly labors (Revelation 14:13), but it's not a place of inactivity. When John saw a vision of the New Jerusalem with the throne of God and the Lamb, and populated with God's redeemed people, he stated plainly, "His servants shall serve Him" (22:3).
Life Beyond The Grave
My beloved husband Bill died of cancer at the age of 48. One tearful morning I read John 11, the story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I was reassured by two truths I found in Jesus' words to His disciples on their way to Lazarus' grave.
Yes Or No?
If God were to give professing believers a quiz on Christianity, many would score well. They would be able to answer "Yes, it's true" to questions such as: Did Christ die for your sins? Did He rise from the dead? Is He coming back to earth?
Home At Last
An elderly missionary couple who had served God for 50 years in a remote African village returned to the United States for a well-earned retirement. When they arrived, however, no one was there to greet them because of some confusion at the mission office. They had no one to help them with their suitcases and trunks, and no one to move them into their home. The old gentleman complained to his wife, "We've come home after all these years and there's no one who cares."
