Saturday Song: Frumpy, "Life Without Pain"

One thing is for sure, living can be painful. Many people suffer from chronic pain. Others have emotional pain plaguing them. And it's safe to say that all of us would love to live in a world without pain.

Listen to this German rock band's song here:

 A day will come when we truly will live in a world without pain and loss. Isaiah 25:8 (BBE) prophesies, "He has put an end to death for ever; and the Lord God will take away all weeping; and he will put an end to the shame of his people in all the earth: for the Lord has said it."

Likewise, John echoes this prophecy in Revelation 21:4 (BBE). "And he will put an end to all their weeping; and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain; for the first things have come to an end."

Furthermore, what we suffer now, be it from Adam's fall or our stand for Christ, will seem inconsequential in that new universe. Romans 8:18 (BBE) encourages, "I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future."

Better still, we'll see our Lord as he is, reigning in glory, when that wonderful day comes to pass. We read in 1 John 3:2 (BBE) how we will bask in his glory and be fit to be in his presence. "My loved ones, now we are children of God, and at present it is not clear what we are to be. We are certain that at his revelation we will be like him; for we will see him as he is."

All people need to do is to surrender the running of their lives to Christ in order to be in his new world. May whoever reads this be in that number of believers called and chosen by the Lord to be at his side.

On Monday, I hope to post about The hope of Christmas. With all the distraction of the secular world, we need to keep the newborn King in mind.

Saturday Song: The Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr. Radio"

To most people, a radio is just a box which plays music or gives news reports. They have only a vague idea of how it receives signals and converts them into sound waves which our ears can hear.

But for me, my radio was my lifeline to the outside world. In my Deliverance from Jericho memoir, I wrote about how having my own radio made me feel a little less depressed at that institution.

One November afternoon in 1969, I happened to pick up a radio station from Edmonton, Alberta. Since my home town of Fort Saskatchewan was only twenty miles north of that city, I felt like I made contact with home by receiving that station.

The Electric Light Orchestra recorded a song about the comforting presence of a radio on their first album. I readily identified with it because of my experience at the blind school.

Hear this song here.

We Christians are also exiles, even though we've never set foot in heaven. But we do have a home waiting for us there when we die. John 14:2-3 (KJV) reminds us with the words of Jesus, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

The Word of God is our lifeline to heaven, as is prayer. Just as I felt a connection to my home through receiving that station, so we have an assurance of better things to come. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 (KJV), "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

A day will come when this world will be replaced with a better one. Revelation 21:4 (KJV) tells us this wonderful news. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Just as I left Jericho Hill School and never returned to it, so we won't have to live in captivity anymore. We'll be united with Jesus and all the faithful who followed him.

So, what do you think of what I've written and this song? Please let me know in the box below.

On Monday, I'll post about another Bible verse which people misquote and misapply.

Why Must We Suffer Persecution?

 It might be an obvious question to ask but the answer isn't often understood. To put it simply, we become targets when we oppose Satan and his forces.

As I've noted before, Hebrews chapter eleven shows that the followers of God suffered for their steadfast faith in him. Since Satan can't beat the Lord, he attacks his servants. God lets some persecution come our way to strengthen us. When we die, or when Christ returns, we have graduated from Earth's school of hard knocks and need no more training.

The Apostle Paul knew not only how to suffer for Christ but why. He reminded the churches often about the surpassing glory awaiting those who endured to the end. In Colossians 1:24 (KJV)he wrote of himself, "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill  up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his  body's sake, which is the church:"

So all of us who suffer mockings or even violence can comfort ourselves that we will reap a much better reward in heaven when Christ returns. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 (KJV) "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present  time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be  revealed in us."

Though it upsets and grieves me that millions of Christians are suffering and dying around the world, I console myself with the truth that we are bound for far greater things than this world can provide.

In my next book, I hope to show how much more wonderful heaven will be to us who will be there. Watch this space for updates and further Bible teaching.