Red Carpet Ceremony - Anita van der Elst

Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:11 NLT

Music blared into the street from loudspeakers as we walked past the temporary barricades set up at one end of Main Street in our little town. Local vendors lined the sidewalks in colorful booths. A sign on one booth proclaimed, “Ice cream solves everything.” I assure you, it will take much personal experimentation to determine the truth of that statement. It was a red carpet ceremony. 

We discovered the main attraction was an official cornhole competition. A couple of dozen target boards occupied the street next to the curbs. Teams congregated on opposite sides of the street. They took turns tossing little bags filled with dried corn kernels across the street toward the holes in the target boards. Observers crowded the sidewalks, milling about, shouting encouragement and advice. Cheers went up as corn kernel bags found their mark. It was a grand occasion, and the winners were awarded.

But God is planning a much grander event for us as Peter notes (2 Peter 1:11). The gaiety and party atmosphere on a small town’s Main Street in its noisy chaos pales in comparison to the celebration awaiting us in the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Will it be a red carpet kind of scene? Will we jump and leap through that entrance, shouting and singing his praises? Or will it be a solemn procession? My heart wants it to be the leaping and jumping kind of event, especially since I’ll have that new body. Whatever the case, it will be better than any sports activity, concert, or awards ceremony here on earth.

Arrangements must be made ahead of time to enjoy this celebratory occasion. Trusting in Christ as our Savior is the key. Make sure you have made arrangements to be included in this grand red carpet ceremony.

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study. 

I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are a grandparent or just want to hear grandparent stories, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

An Inheritance from God - Martin Wiles

How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Ephesians 1:3 NLT

Inheritances aren’t always what we envision.

My aunt had inherited most of the belongings from my maternal grandmother’s house when she died. When my aunt died, Mom hoped to get some of the family heirlooms back. But it didn’t happen as she wished. My aunt had three children. What she had was rightfully theirs. If they chose to share, we would appreciate it.

Several pieces of furniture that had belonged to my grandmother were especially dear to Mom. Mom voiced her love for them, but my aunt held on. All Mom received was a China cabinet she had purchased before she and Dad married—one she asked my aunt to keep while she and Dad were overseas—a picture my aunt had painted of the old homeplace, and two end tables and a coffee table that matched my grandmother’s living room suit that Mom had inherited earlier.

I come from a middle-class family and have no monetary or other inheritance in the waiting. But I do have another type of inheritance that surpasses anything I could get from a deceased family member.

Paul praised God for his spiritual inheritance—one available to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. This inheritance is eternal. When I placed my faith in Jesus Christ and asked him to forgive my sins, he immediately began preparing a heavenly home for me. Nothing can change that.

Earthly inheritances, we can spend. Even if we invest them, we must leave them behind at some point for someone else to enjoy. But our eternal inheritance is secure. God won’t change his mind and take it from us—even when we misbehave.

Our inheritance is also a present reality. We don’t have to wait until we die or Jesus returns to get it. Presently, God adopts us into his family. While some adopted children aren’t treated equally with biological children, God treats all his children the same. He grants forgiveness for every sin and never takes this back. Nor does he show favoritism. Instead, he loves all his children equally and gives us the same things he gives to his Son.

Abundant living—existing with peace and joy—also accompanies our inheritance. Because of what Jesus has done for us presently and promises to do for us in the future, we can enjoy life for the very first time.

Make sure you enjoy God’s present inheritance.

Father, thank you for the eternal inheritance I have in Jesus Christ. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

When Death Stares - Martin Wiles

The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death itself stared me in the face. 2 Samuel 22:6 NLT

She lay quietly on her bed … pale … yellow … a picture of death.

Though uncommon in their historical time, my parents came from families with only two children. Mom once received word that doctors had detected cancer in several of her sister’s major organs. The prognosis wasn’t good. Six months at best. Her daughter called to say we should come if we wanted to see her.

A number of family members gathered on a cool Friday morning to make the three-hour drive. She greeted us with a smile, especially when she saw two of my grandchildren she had only heard about. One, too young to know what was happening, sat on her stomach and cooed. The other, perceiving something was amiss since she was lying in a hospital bed, shyly gave her a kiss and said he loved her.

After a short visit, most of us said our goodbyes. While Mom hung around a little longer, my brother and I took a stroll. Since my aunt lived next door to what was once my grandparents’ farmhouse, we had a chance to gander over the property. As I took the short stroll, I was struck by a thousand resurrected childhood memories—hunting, playing in the hog pens, picking weeds from cotton fields, and sitting on my grandmother’s front porch.

I knew I’d probably set foot on this property only one more time. Suddenly, it wasn’t my aunt’s impending doom staring me in the face anymore. My mortality gazed into my eyes—intensely.

David penned these words after God had rescued him from his enemies—particularly his father-in-law and archenemy Saul. On numerous occasions—as he fought and ran for his life--death stared him in the face. But each time, God delivered him.

My aunt wasn’t delivered from death--only its sting. Neither will I when the time comes. Unless I’m alive when the Lord returns, I, like everyone else, will walk through and be overcome by death’s haunting shadow. It is appointed for everyone to die and, after that, to face judgment. Yet I can do like David: cry out to the Lord in my distress.

Death is a reality. We may prolong it by making healthy living choices, but eventually, it will make its appearance. When it might stare us in the face is not as important as being ready when it does. Faith in Christ is the only preparation. We made sure our aunt had taken care of this. She had. Sometimes, we focus so much on others that we forget our family.

Good news awaits. When we’ve made the faith connection, death ushers us into a beautiful eternity prepared by our heavenly Father. Be confident of your eternal dwelling when death looks into your eyes.

Father, thank You that in Jesus Christ, death loses its sting. 

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I invite you to try my newest book, Hurt, Hope, and Healing, in eBook or paperback. These 52 devotions will take you from hurt to hope to healing. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Don’t Fear the Reaper - Martin Wiles

How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! Job 14:1 NLT

They all died . . . one by one, but they didn’t fear the reaper. 

The first funeral I have vivid memories of was my mother’s dad. I had just turned fifteen, received my driver’s license, and wanted to drive in his funeral procession. Numerous strokes preceded his death, each one taking more from him but giving more to my grandmother—who became his primary caregiver. He lost his ability to walk alone, talk clearly, and eat alone—all those things he had once enjoyed. 

Several years later, I watched as both of my great-grandmothers died, one’s death in close proximity to the other. One of my great-grandmothers I wasn’t as close to. I don’t remember how she died. But the other, I saw regularly. She fell, broke her wrist, contracted pneumonia, and died shortly thereafter. 

Then came the death of my mom’s mom. She had developed Alzheimer’s ten years before her death. By the time she died, she only knew a handful of people—I wasn’t among them. 

The deaths that upended my world at the time were my dad’s parents. They had been like parents to me . . . had almost raised me. Although one outlived the other by a few years, I watched them both languish in a nursing home for a short period and then just die. We didn’t know anything particularly wrong with them besides old age. I got a chance to say goodbye before they took their final breaths. 

But the death that rocked my world—and caused me to consider my own demise—was my father’s. My wife, mother, and I watched him undergo heart surgery and then contract Mercer. After almost thirty days in the hospital, we let him go. The doctors offered us no hope. 

Most theologians consider Job the oldest book in the Bible. Even then, Job knew life was short and often filled with trouble. Although he didn’t have the fuller knowledge of the afterlife that God revealed as time progressed, he did believe death wasn’t the end. Trouble filled his life—courtesy of Satan’s attacks—but Job still placed his trust in God. 

Death knows no boundaries and holds to no age categories. It comes to the young, the old, and every age in between. It takes the poor, the rich, and the average. Money can’t stop it, nor can all the exercise in the world prevent it. Sometimes, we know it’s coming, but often, death sneaks up on us unaware. 

With the separation death brings, comes grief. Grief over the loss . . . the absence . . . the emptiness. But Job had a hope we can hold even more dearly. Something exists on the other side. Death is not the end. God has an eternity for those who follow Him—an eternity that will far surpass anything we hold dear on earth. 

Don’t fear the Grim Reaper. Christ has conquered death, and through Him, you can too.

How can you overcome the fear of death?

Father, I thank You for preparing something for me on the other side of this life. 

Tweetable: Do you fear the Grim Reaper? 

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Longing for Home - Martin Wiles

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

Longing for home can make the heart grow fonder; it can also cause it to grow callous.

Deployed soldiers know this well. Tours of duty seem forever. Years pass without them seeing their loved ones. Letters, texts, emails, and phone calls are the best they can hope for. Though technological advances have changed the scenario, they still don’t bring the loved one home.

Sadly, for some, the longing for home can sour if they receive a “Dear John” correspondence. Their loved one couldn’t stand the loneliness any longer. Or another came along and wooed them away, giving them the immediate attention they weren’t getting from the one separated from them.

A perusal of world history reveals the truth of the writer’s conclusion. God has placed a longing for eternity in our hearts. Rarely, if ever, could we locate a people group who didn’t worship something. The recognition of a higher power is prevalent. God has planted this longing in our souls so we will look beyond ourselves to him.

While I enjoy this earth, I long for something better: a new heaven and a new earth. A place where I can see and fellowship with the Savior who died for me. A place where I can meet all the saints who’ve gone before me and see my family members. No more being limited through Bible study, prayer, and listening to the Spirit. A place where all the manifestations of evil will be removed. A place where purity will reign as it did when God first created the earth.

I’ve lived in places where I didn’t feel at home. Neither should we on earth. We don’t feel at home here because we don’t belong here—at least not as it is in its current form. 

If we feel at home here—if we stop longing for what’s ahead—we’ll fall into the same trap many spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends did. We’ll look for present things to satisfy us. And they can’t. Only when we’re home will we be completely content.

Are you longing for home or living as if this is your home?

Prayer: Father, help us not to get too attached to the things of this world. 

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Walk-on Wednesday - Death’s Lessening Effect - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Revelation 21:4 NLT

His death helped me understand death’s lessening effect.

John Donne said, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” And his did.

He and I became good friends when I pastored a church in the same town as he did. Although we belonged to different denominations, the differences didn’t interfere with our friendship. We worked together in community events and multi-church gatherings.

After two years, I moved away. Shortly afterward, I received a disturbing call from my friend. He had passed out bending over and was transported to the hospital for tests. The results were life-transforming. He had an inoperable brain tumor. He agreed to take treatments, but the doctors weren’t hopeful.

On a trip to the area to visit a relative, my wife and I stopped by the nursing home where he had been placed. He looked old and different. We had a good talk, and I prayed for him. I imagined it would be the last time I’d see him . . . and it was. His death, however, diminished me.

Thankfully, God has prepared a place for his children where death isn’t. Neither will there be sorrow, pain, grief, or any other unpleasant things we disdain. But until then, we must live, knowing our families and friends will die—us included.

Humanity has various genealogical lines, but we share a common ancestry. If we trace our roots back far enough, we discover the first couple—Adam and Eve. All humanity runs through our bloodline whether we consider them relatives or not. Paul said the entire law of God could be summed up in one directive: love others. Jesus said it was the second greatest commandment. Recognizing everyone is important to God should make them equally important to me.

We are all God’s creations and worthy of showing respect to—respect that should increase even more toward those who are in the same spiritual family. The death of others diminishes us, but love builds us up.

How can you love others the way God loves you.

Prayer: Father, may the lives of others be as important to us as they are to you. 

Tweetable: How do others' deaths affect you? 

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Meandering Monday - Better Things Ahead - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Hebrews 11:40 NLT

A good friend kept telling me, “There are better things ahead,” but I couldn’t see them.

Losing a job and a career when you’re over fifty is tough. Few employers want employees over fifty unless they are of retirement age or are just looking for a few part-time hours to supplement their Social Security. I didn’t need a supplement. I needed a full-time job that would pay the bills. Rejection after rejection came. Overqualified. Under qualified. Although they wouldn’t say it, prospective employers didn’t want to spend their time training me when I’d be retiring in a few years or perhaps moving back into my preferred profession. I kept the faith, and eventually, things got better. I found a job doing what I loved. God knew all along things were going to improve; I simply had to trust he did.

The catalog list of what has happened to believers throughout history is extensive: sawn in two, fed to the lions, beheaded, imprisoned, beaten, ridiculed, burned at the stake, stoned, slain with swords. But they endured then and keep enduring now because they believe something better is ahead.

When the walls of life crumble, faith is required. Perhaps we’ll never find ourselves subjected to some of the early methods of persecuting Christians, but the challenges remain. Trials will come. How we view them will determine our response and possibly the outcome. Faith in God will help us keep our focus that he’s in control of the trial, its length, and its purpose. God’s gift of faith and strength gives us an inner fortitude we can’t find anywhere else but that only comes one day at a time. We can’t see the better thing that’s ahead, but we can be confident it’s there. God’s agenda is different. He makes his own hours and formulates his own calendars without asking for our help.

The tunnels of life can be dark, but there’s always an opening at the end with a brighter light than existed at the entrance. Are you trusting God’s promises of better things ahead?

Prayer: Father, give us faith to trust Your agenda even when we can’t see it. 

Tweetable: Are you looking ahead to better things? 

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Meandering Monday - Longing for a Better Place - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. Hebrews 11:16 NLT

The color of his skin destined him for a life of misery.

Mistrusted, hated, scorned, ribbed. Regardless of where John traveled, the response was the same. Life took a devastating turn when he was falsely accused of kidnapping and killing two young white girls. Instead of suspecting the newly hired white man, the father and his employer immediately accused him.

The local sheriff quickly arrested him and hurried him through a mock trial. Evidence was skimpy, but the verdict had been decided before the trial began: death by electrocution. Yet John was a godly man. Even though he knew he was innocent, he accepted his lot with a pleasant smile.

When the day came for him to walk the “mile” to the electric chair, he went willingly, showing nothing but love and appreciation toward the guards who had no choice but to carry out their duties. John knew his race was against him and that there was no hope, but he could smile. What he longed for—and would soon experience—was a better place.

Chapter 11 is known as “Faith’s Hall of Fame”—and for good reason. The writer catalogs numerous people from the Bible’s pages who willingly endured hardships because they had faith a better place existed. Sickness, doubt, persecution, death, fear, rejection. All faced through the lenses of faith. 

Although we enjoy many things about this present world—technological marvels, family, grandchildren, jobs, material possessions, friends—we still long for a better place. Life’s pleasures are tainted by the destructive forces of sin, which always place a bitter taste in our mouths and dampen our full enjoyment.

John didn’t fear death because he longed for a better place. I try desperately to parrot his faith. I enjoy what God gives me, but I long for the better place God has prepared.

As you await a better day, keep trudging along with a smile on your face as you accomplish what God gives you to do.

Prayer: Father, we praise You for creating an eternal home for Your children. 

Tweetable: Do you have faith there's a better place? 

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Meandering Monday - Using the Sixth Sense - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Hebrews 11:3 NLT

I knew the furry animal standing before me was a dog.

With my eyes, I saw his characteristics. I heard a sound that someone had told me was a bark. Dogs bark, so this must be a dog. I touched him. He was real and not a figment of my imagination. I decided to smell him just to make sure. Sure enough, he smelled like a dog. A little raunchiness mixed in with the doggie deodorant my wife had sprayed on him. The only thing left to do was taste him. Since my other four senses convinced me, there was no need to lick him to find out.

But how can I explain the feeling that I shouldn’t take the route the GPS suggested? Or get on my scheduled flight? Or help the lady whose car was broken down by the roadside? My five senses appraised the situation, but my sixth sense drove me in another direction.

Where the beginning of the universe is concerned, my five senses serve no purpose. I can see it presently, but what I see is the finished product. Only with the sixth sense can I believe that a Supreme Designer created it out of nothing.

Faith in God is my sixth sense. Some think it’s irrational, and from a logical standpoint, it might be, but it’s the sense with which I choose to follow God and believe all he’s told me. Forgiveness can’t be experienced with my five senses, but I believe I have it. Nor can they prove the Spirit’s presence guiding me, but I believe that as well. I can’t use them to conclude I have an eternal home in heaven, but I’m banking on it.

In fact, our entire Christian journey is traveled by using our sixth sense. That overwhelming feeling that the journey is real, not just a crutch we’re using to help us handle life. We must walk by faith—the sixth sense—not by sight, hearing, touching, smelling, or tasting.

Are you using your sixth sense?

Prayer: Father, enhance our sixth sense so we’ll see every opportunity You send us and believe everything You’ve told us. 

Tweetable: Are you using your sixth sense? 

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Walk-on Wednesday - The Homecoming - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 NLT

The celebration was the highlight of the church year.

In the lower regions of South Carolina, church homecomings are immaculate celebrations that take a great deal of preparation. Normally held in the fall of the year, they are attended by current members, previous members, family members, previous pastors, and anyone wanting a free meal.

Barbeque is often the meal of choice, and churches prepare pounds of meat and hash. They also plan months in advance by mailing letters to former members and pastors and placing announcements in local newspapers and on local radio stations. Men stay up all night cooking.

On the day of, worshipers pack the churches. Some churches host singing groups to top off the day. After services, congregants gather for the feast, enjoying the company of those they haven’t seen since the previous year’s celebration.

As wonderful as homecomings here are, they’ll never match the ultimate homecoming that will occur when Christ returns. Some will be alive to witness it, while those who have died in Christ will return with him. Christ came the first time to pay humanity’s sin debt, but his second coming will put an end to all sin and corruption and usher his followers into a perfect eternity.

Homecomings took months of preparation, and we always knew the date. Jesus says no one except the Father knows the date of the final homecoming. Readying ourselves for the end time homecoming requires only one thing: trusting Christ as Savior. We serve him and others because of that decision, but the decision—not the actions—is what prepares us.

When we’ve taken care of the above, it won’t matter when Christ comes—or if we’re even alive. We can wipe the sweat of our labor from our brows and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of your Lord.”

In what ways are you preparing for the Homecoming?

Prayer: Father, we look forward to the eternal homecoming with You and all believers. 

Tweetable: Are you prepared for the final Homecoming?

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Meandering Monday - Eternal Health Care - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. Titus 1:2 NLT

We needed it, but couldn’t get it.

My wife and I were among the thousands who had no health insurance. After five years of working at a place that offered it, I had left for a position that didn’t offer it. Due to health concerns, my wife had also resigned her position where she had also had health insurance.

Finding a physician who would see uninsured patients and affording him or her if we could find them—as well as the medicine we needed—challenged us. We postponed needed surgeries and other preventative procedures and welcomed generic medication. After a long four years and new government regulations, we finally received long-term health care at a reasonable cost. Not having to worry about paying full price for surgeries, doctor visits, and medicine refreshed us.

Paul also speaks about a health care plan—one that’s free, doesn’t terminate with a change of jobs, doesn’t have a co-pay, and doesn’t disqualify based on pre-existing conditions. The name of the plan is Eternal Life, and it’s free to all who sign up.

God doesn’t lie about his plan or place disqualifying clauses in small print at the bottom of pages no one reads. He is open and upfront. The cost of the plan has already been paid by God himself. The only requirement is that we sign on through faith, obedience, and a promise to love him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. When we build our lives on faith in Jesus Christ, eternal life is ours for the asking. We can trust the premium’s promise because it’s underwritten by a God who doesn’t lie.

What long-term health care plan have you signed up for?

Prayer: Father, we thank You for the assurance of eternal life with You.

Tweetable: Do you have eternal health care? 

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A Glad Reunion - Martin Wiles

And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. Luke 13:29 NLT

I made the trip—all in the name of a cedar chest.

I thought I had inherited all the family treasures that any family member had left—until my dad’s sister called. She wanted to know if I wanted my great-grandmother’s piano and night table, as well as my grandmother’s cedar chest. Of course, I did. Although my wife and I are downsizing as I near retirement years, we are hanging on to family heirlooms.

I called a friend who has a truck and asked if he and his wife would drive us two hours away to get my treasures. I had my doubts we’d be able to get the piano—doubts that proved true. Old pianos either take a forklift or six good men to lift. We had neither. But I did get the cedar chest, the table, and a laundry hamper full of old pictures.

But the greatest joy of the trip wasn’t the treasures. That came in getting to see my aunt, my uncle, and my cousin. Nine years had passed since I’d even talked with my aunt and uncle, and I hadn’t seen my cousin in as many years. Since we had always been close growing up, this was the treasure—and the joy—of the trip. 

Jesus taught about a narrow door, Himself, through whom all people must enter if they want to experience another joyful reunion at the end of time. A reunion where all who have believed in Him from the beginning of time will live together forever while enjoying the presence of God and the angels.

Seeing the One face to face who died for us will be joy enough, but other things will make this heavenly reunion pleasant also. The things that separate us on earth will disappear. One hundred miles separate me from my cousin, and ninety miles from my aunt and uncle. The same amount of space separates me from the place I love to go more than anywhere else: the mountains. But prejudice, selfishness, greed, social class, and other things can also separate.

Our eternal home will also know no sorrow, tears, pain, or sin of any variety. This, too, will make it joyous. We will surely have a feast of food, but the greater feast will be worshiping and praising the One who gave His life that we might have forgiveness.

Have you made plans to attend the greatest reunion ever?

Prayer: Father, thank You for providing the greatest reunion ever.

Tweetable: Are you anticipating the greatest reunion of all? 

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