Good Morning,
Today my friend and sister in the Lord went home to be with
Him. She was a great
prayer warrior and a lover of God's Word. Shirley was a worshiper as well.
I know that after the great homecoming that she received when she got
to heaven, she was overjoyed to worship our Great King and God the Father. While we
know that we are not to sorrow as those who have no hope, we will
still miss her. God prepared my heart by getting me to fix my eyes on
studying about heaven for two months prior to her going in the
hospital. I know that God has been telling us to come up higher, and the
most important part of coming up higher is actually being a doer of the Word. It is
high time that we as believer's do the Word and not only hear it. Our
lives should be lived as if at any moment we might go home. If so, we
would always treat people with kindness and love building our foundation
of faith. We would be
pleasing to the Lord, by keeping or doing His Word. Walking in love
with the most difficult person would be a little easier. We must always
keep uppermost in our hearts this admonition: "And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and
the Father by Him." (Col. 3:17) "Knowing [with all certainty] that it
is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the
inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are
actually serving is the Lord Christ (the Messiah). (Col.3:24)
We all must
learn to "set
our minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on things that are on
the earth." (Col. 3:2) This is something that will help us as believer's stay
on course with our walk of faith. The words keep
and set means the same thing here. The words mean to place in a sitting position or attitude; to stay in
place with care or deliberate purpose; to fix in a proper position or
condition; to establish to the highest level. So if we live our lives set on things above, heaven, and
the Kingdom of God,
then we will always live and walk above everything that goes on around
us and in us that is earthly. Conscious of the fact that one day "we must all appear and be revealed as we are before
the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay]
according to what he has done in his body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been busy with, and given
himself and his attention to accomplishing]." (II Corin. 5:10) Striving to do everything that is righteous would be
our highest level. As we know that Shirley's body did so will ours, unless
we are caught up and caught away, like Enoch. "For we know that if the tent which is our earthly home
is destroyed (dissolved), we have
from God a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. Here indeed, in this [present abode, body], we sigh and groan
inwardly, because we yearn to be clothed over [we yearn to put on our
celestial body like a garment, to be fitted out] with our heavenly
dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while
we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply
(weighed down, depressed, oppressed) not that we want to put off the
body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further
clothed, so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by
life [after the resurrection]. Now He Who has fashioned us [preparing
and making us fit] for this very thing is God, Who also has given us the
Holy Spirit as a
guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise]." (II Corin. 5:1-5) God has given us a Helper in preparing us for our
heavenly abode, the
precious Holy Spirit. We can keep our minds set on those things above
and we have aid and assistance to see to it that we do. Now, let's get
about doing it and we will end up representing our kingdom and being
heavenly ambassadors to earth, just like our sister Shirley did!
"Worshipping Her King Forever"
Love,
Pastor D.
Daughters of Z 