The patter falls softly on the window pane

The soft gentle sound of falling rain

It lulls me into a peaceful place

Where I can rest from life’s weary race

 

I smell the air so fresh and clean

Washed by a gentle hand not seen

The gentle breeze blows softly upon my face

It seems I can feel the touch of His Amazing Grace

 

My eyes behold the earth so fresh and clean

Such beauty my eyes hath not seen

So send your rain Lord, gentle and pure

With You all things are washed anew of this I am sure

 

Written by Jeanette Kelley

Copyright by Jeanette Kelley

3/5/2018

Phone and hands (2)

Have you ever heard the saying “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little mouth what you say, be care little hands what you touch and be careful little feet where you go”? We often sing this song in our church service but do we really think about what it is saying? Sometimes I wonder if we realize how much the things we look at, listen to, touch, say and do is affecting us spiritually.

The Lord said He will not dwell in an unclean temple so when we take things into us that are not godly like bad pictures or videos, movies (porn, whether soft or hardcore), games that are violent, when we go to places that the Lord would not enter and do the things the Lord would not do we are making our temple unclean. Jesus wants us to live a good, pure and holy life, one that is patterned after His life. Satan came to Christ to tempt him the same as he does us but Jesus never gave into that temptation. He was in a fleshly body the same as each of us is so we know if He could do it we can do it also we just have to put on the same armour He did. First, we have to accept sin for what it is with no excuses as to why we are doing the things we do. If it is sin there is no excuse and Jesus knew this. He knew in order to live a pure life He had to be close to the Father. He prayed everyday without ceasing. He often went to a quiet place so He could be alone in prayer with the Father but I believe He also talked with the Father all the time in His mind and heart. He also listened to what the Father told him in His heart. We also have to listen to that still small voice that speaks to us and tells us we should not be looking at something or be doing what we are doing. Some people call it a conscious but I call it God speaking to my heart. When we hear that small voice we need to be obedient to it. 

Jesus also knew the scriptures and used them to defeat Satan each time he came to tempt him. His reply was always the Word says then He quoted scripture to him. We too can use that same weapon but we must first know the Word in order to use it. If I am walking through the woods and I am approached by a bear or some other wild animal that comes at me to attack me and I have a gun in my hand but have never taken the time to study and learn how to use it then it is of little use to me. I may hold the weapon but I have no knowledge of it. It is the same with God’s Word we must study it then we will know how and when to use it in our spiritual warfare against Satan.

We are faced daily with opportunities to see and touch things that will defile our temple (our mind, heart, and body). All we have to do is turn on our phone, computer or TV and we have ready access to all the ungodly things Satan wants us to look at or touch. We must remember we may see something but we don’t have to look at something that is our choice. Pass it on by, don’t open it, don’t take that second look. Each time we give in to Satan and open that picture or video, take that second look, or we go into that place God would not have us be we open ourselves a little more to Satan giving him a stronger foothold into our minds and lives until eventually he will take over and totally destroy us and everything around us, our homes, families, children, but mostly our souls..

The Lord will help us overcome any temptation Satan throws at us if we will only stay close to Him and trust Him enough to listen to what He says in our hearts instead of the lies Satan wants to tell us.

Please don’t let Satan steal your salvation, your joy and that home in heaven He has prepared for you. Jesus loves us. He gave His life for each of us because of that love. He wants us to live a pure life, one close to Him and the Father. One where we can be an overcomer just as He was then one day we can go to that home He has built for us in heaven. 

God Bless each of you! Jeanette

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “ Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

 2 Corinthians 6:16-17 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.”

I Peter 1: 13-16 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Ephesian 6: 10-13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (I recommend reading the whole chapter.)

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

Thy Word.png

How powerful is the Word of God in our lives? Do we study His Word daily? Do we mediate upon it and write it upon the table of our heart? As a child of God our greatest desire should be to live as close as possible to God and His purpose for our lives. In order to live as God wants we have to know God and what His will for us is. The only way we can do that is through the Living Word of God. God’s written Word, the Holy Bible, is the most powerful book there is. It has the ability to transform us each and every day. As we study God’s Word it transforms us, it opens our eyes to our faults and failures, and it shows us how to live the way God intended for us to live, in peace and harmony with Him. Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” How do we renew our mind? We renew it by instilling the Word of God into us through the study His Word. We can read lots of books but only the Word of God reads us and allows us to see ourselves through the eyes of God. Sometimes what we see isn’t what we thought we were and we begin to see ourselves for how we really are in God’s eyes.

The Word of God cuts through all the layers of emotions we bury ourselves in, the anger, hurts, and worldly desires of our flesh. Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (it is powerful and revealing, it cuts both ways revealing who we are), piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (to the very essence of who we are).” It reveals our thoughts, our intention, our failures, it cuts away all the layers we bury our emotions in and reveals what state our heart is really in. As we read and study (mediate on) God’s Word we begin to see ourselves through the Word.

As followers of Christ we are to do our very best to live a life as close to Christ like as possible. Within ourselves we cannot accomplish this. We need His Word poured into us on a regular basis to accomplish this. I recently heard someone say, “If we put the Word of God into us when we do not need it then God will bring His Word out of us when we do need it.” How true a statement this is!

God loves us and He teaches us His will for our lives through the scriptures. When we study those scriptures we learn how to live our lives in the peace and in the joy of the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man (all people) of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” We cannot get it right within ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God on a regular basis to even begin to live our lives as we should. We cannot love other, forgive others, or have the kind of compassion we need for other without that Word living in us. Even Jesus, who is the Living Word, knew where His strength came from. When faced with the devil after 40 days and night of fasting in the wilderness He knew the weapon to use to defeat Satan each time Satan tried to tempt Him and that weapon was the Word of God. Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”(Matt 4:4) For each temptation Satan put before him Christ used the Word to defeat that temptation. How gloriously powerful is that same Word as we use it to defeat Satan when he comes to tempt us. Satan has no defense against God’s Word, just as he has no defense against Christ and what He did for us on the cross. John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is that Word. He is that light that shines to reveal the truth to all mankind. Psalms 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” It shines a light on all things and reveals all truth and Godly direction for each of us. He is the Living Word that dwells within our hearts, minds and spirits. Without a daily relationship with Christ and His Word we cannot live a full life for Christ, yet through the Holy Spirit and God’s written Word we can live a true and faithful life for Christ. Luke 11:28, “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

I am so thankful for God’s Word and His love for us. I would hate to even begin to imagine how I would be, how I would think and act if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit and His Word teaching and guiding me. I ask you as I also ask myself, “Do I fall short of studying God’s Word as often as I should and doing what God would have me to do?” For me my answer would have to be yes I do far too many times. Can I (we) change it? Yes, absolutely, as long as there is breath within our body we have the opportunity to change. So let us start today a new chapter in our lives. Let us begin each new day with the cleansing and purifying Word of God. Let us give to God the time He deserves. Let us seek His Holy Spirit and invite Him to dwell within our hearts, minds and spirits, our lives. Let us pray for Him to reveal His truth to our hearts through His Holy Written Word and the Holy Spirit; may He wash and cleans us as His church with His Word. Ephesians 5: 26-27, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it (His people) should be holy and without blemish.” God’s Word is powerful! I pray you use it today and everyday of your life to defeat all that Satan would throw at you and to find the peace and direction for your life that only God can give you.

God Bless each of you! ~Jeanette

Photo Shape Editor: https://www.tuxpi.com/photo-effects/shape-tool

To truly love God is to love others. How can we say we love God and not love other people, for God is love and He loves all people no matter their skin color, nationality, religion, what they have done or not done. God may not be pleased with us but He still loves us. Christ died for the sinner, the lost, those not so lovable. He died for all of us because we all have failed: sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Rom 3: 23) As a child of God we also must love all people. If we cannot love all people then we do not fully know God. 1 John 4:8  “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Our flesh wars with our spirit. Our flesh says get even. When we are hurt by someone or angry at them our flesh wants to get even but God does not look to get even with us when we fail him and he does not want us to look to get even with others. Romans 12:17 “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” God’s goal is to reach us with His Grace and mercy. He is there waiting to forgive us.

God also wants to show His love to others through us. Our goal as an ambassador for Christ is to reach other people with a kind, loving, and forgiving heart.1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins.”

When Christ lives in us we become one in spirit with Him. We no longer live by our flesh but by the unity of the spirit of Christ dwelling in us. Ephesians 4:3-7 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. It is a gift freely given to us and He wants us to pass that gift on to others.

So how do we know God lives in us? When His Holy Spirit is living in us it tells us how to act. Even though our flesh wants to hate the Holy Spirit prompts us to love despite what our flesh wants. It is by our obedience to the leading of His Holy Spirit that we know God is living in us. I John 4:12-13 “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected (proven) in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” Ephesians 4: 2-3 “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

We are to love others, treat them with kindness; be forgiving. We are not to return evil for evil but we are to bless those who curse us. In so doing we bring a blessing upon ourselves and help bring others to Christ. When we do these things then we know Christ lives in us. I Peter 3:8-11 “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew (turn from) evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue (follow after) it.

God Bless! Jeanette

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

A fresh start,
new beginnings too
not just for today . . .
but, all year through.

If you let Jesus,
be your resolution
He will bring to you
a glorious restoration.

Putting behind the past,
pressing into the goal
believing in God with . . .
your whole heart and soul.

Letting Him change you,
from the inside out . . .
pushing back your fears
giving Him your doubt.

A fresh new start,
is waiting for you . . .
oh, the mighty things
Jesus wants to do!
~~~~~~~~
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart,
O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

KJV
Poem Copyright 2015
By Deborah Ann Belka

Pappaw's Barn Snow

Pappaw’s Barn

Pappaw’s barn now stands so still
Filled with fond memories oh so real
I can see him now as yesterday
Filling that old barn with bales of hay

Memories of a man so dear
His gentle voice I still can hear
Telling me of days gone by
Of how he worked the land to survive

Cows mooing softly on the hill
While he calls them to their evening meal
As he walks with me slowly down the lane
We can see Mammaw peeking through the window pane

These two taught me of a simpler life
One filled with the Lord not earthly strife
How I miss those precious days gone by
Memories made in Pappaw’s barn always bring a gentle sigh

Copyright By Jeanette Kelley

 

What Christmas Means to Me

Growing up in a simple home on a country farm, my family and I had little to brag about as far as material things go. Our life was filled with hard work yet we always found joy in the love of family and the peace we found in our relationship with the Lord.

Our home was a five room white clapboard house that originally started from two large rooms my grandfather had build when he and my grandmother had married and started their family many years earlier. Over the years the house had been added on to, first a dining room and small kitchen to the back of the house then later a larger kitchen and wash room. We had no inside water or bathroom but we didn’t know the difference because it was all we had ever known. It was a simple life yet one filled with love and laughter.

Our Christmases were a time when all the family gathered together to celebrate the birth of the Savior and the closeness of our family. Mama would cook for days preparing all the special foods we enjoyed like country ham, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, all of which had come from our garden and the hog we had butchered earlier in the fall. Then there was those wonderful homemade chocolate pies and mama’s banana pudding made from scratch. No boxes for mama and only she knew the recipe, which was written in her mind. Those wonderful inviting smells of her home cooked meal filled the house as she worked her magic in the kitchen. The smell of country ham cooking along with the sweet smell of pies baking meant we would soon enjoy our special treats.

About a week before Christmas dad would take mama and us kids, mostly me and occasionally the grand kids since I was so much younger than my older brother and sister, out into edge of the fields somewhere on our farm and there we would find the perfect tree. Dad would cut it down and we would haul it back to the house in the old truck or on the wagon behind the tractor. When we got it home mama and I would string the lights and place all the ornaments, many of which were homemade, onto the tree. If I close my eyes today and sniff it seems I can still smell the fresh smell of cedar that filled our home on Christmas. To this day I never smell that scent without being carried back into my childhood to those special memories of Christmases as a child.

When it came to gifts we didn’t have much but it wasn’t about fine gifts but about the gift of family and friends and the love we shared with each other. When mama and daddy could afford it I might get a new baby doll or Barbie doll but lots of Christmases we were glad to just get our stocking filled with fresh fruit and some candy. Our greatest gifts were each other and the days spent with each other whether it was working or spending special time as family singing all those wonderful old gospel hymns around our Christmas tree.

Sometimes I wish I could take my grandchildren back to those simple times I lived where things weren’t so commercialized, a place where it wasn’t about the gift but the person who cared enough to sacrifice to give us the gift, to a slower time when things weren’t so rushed and family took the time to spend those special times with each other without hurrying to be somewhere else.

As I watch the world today I can’t help but feel they have lost the true meaning of Christmas, for isn’t Christmas about giving, the giving of love and a helping hand and especially about the greatest gift we ever received, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came to bring us the gift of Grace and Salvation? What more could we really ask for than to have family to love and share our lives with and to feel the love and peace our heavenly Father showers down on us.

So what does Christmas mean to me. It means loving and sharing special times with family and friends but mostly it means taking this special time to remember the sacrifice my Lord and Savior made for me, for all of us. It means remembering how much He loves me every day of the year and it means me giving him my gift in return, which is accepting Him as my Savior and the Lord of my life then living my life for him each and every day throughout the year.

My dear friends I pray each of you has a truly blessed Christmas with family and friends gathered around you and I pray you receive the blessing of the love of Christ into your lives each and every day of the coming New Year.

~Jeanette

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Jesus Comforting

Let Us Not Be a Prisoner to Our Past

“Never be a prisoner to your past, it is just a lesson not a life sentence.”

I recently read this sentence and it seemed to speak volumes to me. So often we become prisoners to our past mistakes or hurts and we never really become what God created us to be because we will not accept and forgive our past failures or the past failures of those who have hurt us.

Recently when I was in prayer for a situation my husband and I are going through the Lord impressed upon my heart that we all are a product of our past either for the good or for the bad depending on whether or not we have dealt with the things in our past that has hurt or offended us. Whether we want to admit it or not we all have done or had things done to us that have hurt us and still affect us today. We build walls around our heart and our emotions, walls that we put there because we feel we need to protect ourselves from being hurt again. We live in fear, fear of being hurt again. Yet fear is not from the Lord. It actually is from Satan who uses it to control us and keep us from becoming who we were made to be according God’s plan for our lives.

As I prayed many people came to my mind. Myself first, then those family members and friends who I have seen go through destructive behavior because they felt they could not deal with the pain from past hurts. I saw the drug addict who wants to bury their pain beneath the drugs they feel helps them deal with all the pain buried deep within their soul. I saw the insecure, sometimes angry, hateful person who buries their pain beneath a facade of aggression. I saw the depressed who feel they have nothing to live for, who give up on life to the point they want to take their own life. I saw the broken hearts and broken relationships of so many hurting who don’t know how to get past the hurt and pain that grips their hearts and minds.

As I continued to pray the Lord began to impress more and more upon my heart that I needed to be praying not just for the bondage of pain we are in to be broken but for the person affected by the bondage of hurt and pain to come to a place where they can face their past with the hurt and pain they have endured. So often we just put a band aid on our pain and never really deal it. God spoke to my heart that the healing cannot take place until our past is faced and dealt with through the help of our Lord.

I can honestly say I, as so many others, walk through that same pain and hurt. I build walls to guard my heart. One of the hardest things in life is opening up to a person who has wounded your heart, soul, and spirit. Sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to open up to them, maybe they are not around anymore or maybe it is just not safe to be near them. So many times it is the fear being hurt that holds us back from opening up our hearts again. Either way we have to be willing to open up and expose our pain for our healing to take place.

So how do we face all the hurt and pain that has brought us to where we are now? I don’t have an easy simple answer but one thing I do know whatever we face we will never face it alone. The Lord has promised to be with us if we will just invite Him into whatever we are facing. He is our healer and I believe the first thing we need to do is be willing to give our hurt to the Lord. Easier said than done I know and I realize it is a process, one we have to work through little by little. Sometimes we need to take baby steps, one day at a time. One faith step after another until without realizing it we have walked through that dark tunnel of pain and hurt until one day we step out on the other side into the glorious light of peace and forgiveness, forgiveness for ourselves first and forgiveness for those who have caused us so much pain and hurt.

Am I there yet? I can honestly say no. I am a work in progress. Yet I have found that if I stay grounded in the Lord through prayer and the study of His word which washes me and allows me to see myself and others more clearly each step gets a little easier. It is by the grace of God that I am here today. Through Him I can find peace. I don’t walk this road alone and neither do any of you. We and others are not perfect but we have a perfect Savior, one who was willing to sacrifice everything, including His life for all of us. His love is a love like no other. He loves us no matter what we do or say therefore we can always trust Him. His love is a love we can depend upon no matter what we are facing in our lives. He will never leave or forsake us. He will bring us healing if we will trust Him and follow His lead. We have to believe this deep within our hearts, minds and spirits. We have to cling to it in the darkness of hurts and pain.

So I encourage you today with this, trust the Lord and lean on Him. I also encourage you to pray for each other and for all those who are hurting. Let us pray for the healing of past hurts and pain to take place, then the bondage of fear and despair we find ourselves in will be broken in our own lives and in the lives of all those we love.

Jeanette

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Revelation 21:5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

The Voice Of God

The Voice Of God When we hear the voice of God Speaking to our hearts, Do we obey and follow Him Or are we slow to start? For when the Lord speaks to us, We need to heed the call And do the things He wants us to, Giving to Him our all I know… Continue reading The Voice Of God

Heart of a Child

I wanted to share this article written by Pastor Jack Wellman. Hope it inspires you as much as it did me. For me I don’t worry over my age in heaven because I know I will be with the Lord and He promised me a new body made whole and perfect. God Bless to all.~Jeanette

Eternal Life

When someone asks what my age will be in heaven, my only answer is that I know life will never end because Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:25-26). The first and most important question for them is if they have trusted in Christ. Has God brought you to repentance, and have you placed your trust in Him? The question of what age we will be in heaven is irrelevant for those who haven’t been born again. They will never know the answer to that question, and that’s the most important question of all! How you answer that determines your eternal destiny. So I would ask them if they believe in Jesus Christ and if they have trusted in Him. All other questions are insignificant compared to this one. But if you’ve been born again, then you might have wondered how old you will be in heaven. What does the Bible say about this, if anything?

The Optimum Age

Most agree that the age of 30-33 is the optimum time when we reach our mental and physical peak. At age 30 Jesus entered into His earthly ministry. Men could not even enter the Levitical priesthood until they were the age of 30. But does this mean this is the age we’ll be when we enter into glory? And what about babies who die before they’re old enough to understand what repentance and faith are (Mark 1:15)? How old will a baby who dies here on earth be in the kingdom? Besides, how can a young child know enough to be saved if they can’t even talk or read. All I know for certain is the Bible is silent on this subject. We just cannot say for certain, but many believe we’ll revert to the age of 30-33 after we die and enter the kingdom of heaven, or if Jesus returns before we die. It would seem logical because that’s the average age of a human’s greatest mental and physical potential; however, older people are still growing and can increase their spiritual or biblical knowledge. The truth is, it takes a lifetime of sanctification to grow in holiness. So old age doesn’t mean a person’s less spiritual; in fact, they may be more so as they age.

Be Like Him

Every Christian should have the desire to be more like Christ day after day. Interestingly, the Bible teaches that we will be like Him in ways, certainly not in His resplendent glory, but we will have glorified bodies. The Apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). John clearly says that we’ll be like Jesus after we’ve entered the kingdom of heaven. But what age would we be, and what age would Jesus be? Of course, in Jesus’ humanity He only lived until about 33 years of age; so we would expect that Jesus, in His physical appearance, will be like that of a 33-year-old male. But, of course, He is God too; so we can only draw our conclusion so far before we’re walking on air, having no scriptural support for what our age will be. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). So as the Apostle John wrote, and the Apostle Paul agrees, we will be like Him (Jesus) but not in all of His magnificent glory. We will be like Him in many other ways, like having a body that can’t die or have disease anymore. We’ll never run the risk of death again; and, the best part of all, we’ll be saved to sin no more! St. Thomas Aquinas wrote many years ago that “all will rise in the condition of perfect age, which is of thirty-two or thirty-three years. This is because all who were not yet arrived at this age, did not possess this perfect age, and the old had already lost it. Hence, youths and children will be given what they lack, and what the aged once had will be restored to them.” But he did not, nor could he provide specific Bible verses to prove his point. Right now we can only guess. Since the Bible is silent on this subject, then I must be too.

Conclusion

Again, we return to the most important question of your life: Have you ever repented and placed your faith in Christ? Remember, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). So “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Either it’s life or it’s God’s wrath–both are eternal. Your future depends on whether you’ve believed in the Son of God or not. No other question even comes close in importance. What do you say? Have you believed? If so, you have eternal life. And what that age will be, who cares because we will be in the presence of the Lord for time without end (Revelation 21:3, 22:4). That’s satisfying enough for me, so I don’t have to worry about what age I will be in heaven. I’ll just be glad to be there.

May God richly bless you,

Pastor Jack Wellman

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