The Go Bag - Lynne Phipps

Help me welcome my good friend, Lynne Phipps, as a new writer for Love Lines from God. 

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:10 NIV

When a friend of mine was evacuated from his home and then town because of a wildfire, I asked him if he had taken all his important legal papers, identification, and medical files with him. He told me he had not. He had simply left quickly. My friend did not have what has come to be known as “a go bag.”

One keeps a go bag ready in case of an emergency evacuation notice, something that is happening frequently due to the shift in weather patterns our world is experiencing. Fires, floods, landslides, hurricanes, tornados, and the like can come on us with little or sometimes no warning. Having a go bag ready and waiting can make a huge difference when dealing with long-term evacuations or the possible loss of our home and property.

Similarly, the Scriptures remind us that the day of the Lord’s return will also come upon us when we least expect it. When that day comes, we will not have time to prepare to meet our heavenly Father. The time will have passed to ready our spiritual go bag. We will be evacuated to an eternity spent with or without God.

John writes, “And this is the testimony (statement or proof): God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11,12 NIV).

Jesus, the Son of God, offers us our spiritual go bag for free. It is known as salvation. Knowing him as our personal Lord and Saviour and trusting him for the forgiveness of our sins, which makes us holy and acceptable to God, assures us that our name is written in God’s Book of Life. Not knowing Christ, however, condemns us to judgment and eternal death in the lake of fire known as Hades. 

Each one of us is going to be evacuated from this earth, whether by death or through the return of Jesus. This is a fact, a given. The question is whether we are ready. 

Is the Spirit of Jesus residing within your heart through accepting the gift of salvation? Make sure your go bag is ready.

Lord God, may my eyes be opened to see the need of the peoples of the world for salvation so that I can help them prepare their spiritual go bag. In Christ’s name, amen.

Tweetable: Do you have your go bag ready? 

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More.

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God’s Renewal - Martin Wiles

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5 NLT

Wildfires had nearly ravaged this popular tourist attraction.

My wife and I made our way to a conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Due to the heavy traffic and construction on the interstate, we decided to take the scenic route through Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Several months before, wildfires set by pranksters had threatened to destroy this popular tourist destination, along with parts of nearby Pigeon Forge. We were eager to see the damage. To our surprise, we saw very little.

As we neared Gatlinburg, the bottoms of burned trees were the only giveaway that fires had marched through the forests. Lush, green grass grew two feet high. Though trees were burned at their bottoms, the tops burst forth with new life. Things almost seemed greener and more alive than normal.

Driving through Gatlinburg, we saw only a few burned buildings. Most that had suffered damage had already been repaired. “Gatlinburg Strong” was plastered on marquis, shirts, cups, and other souvenir items. The will of the people had renewed what the wildfire attempted to destroy.

God told John He had the same power, and, in the end, would renew all things. The tainted earth, like scorched Gatlinburg, would be renewed.

Evil attempts to destroy the beauty God originally created. While it may appear it has the upper hand, God is still in control. Exactly why He allows it to continue when He could easily extinguish it is a question He hasn’t chosen to answer. But the end of the story reminds us who’s in control.

God’s in the renewal business. When Satan attempts to thwart God’s purposes for my life through temptations and trials, God reminds me there’s no temptation so great that He can’t show me a way through. When the trials are so intense that it appears they will destroy my soul, God sends relief in one form or another. He causes green to grow where blackness once spread.

All God asks of me is to let Him control my life and my situations. When I do, He will renew what Satan seems to have destroyed. He will redeem disappointing and discouraging situations and then use me to help others experience the same redemption. And He’ll do the same for you.

Let God bring renewal where the fires of this world have brought destruction.

Tweetable: Are you letting God renew what seems to have been destroyed?

Prayer: Father, we trust You to renew what Satan and others appear to have destroyed. 

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