Hope

Romans 3:23 "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Titus 3:5-7 "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

This is the Gospel. We are all sinners. We need God, but we cannot even get close to Him because of our filthy sin. But He is loving and merciful, and He sent His own perfect, sinless son to die and pay the price for our sin so that we could become pure and clean. So, if we accept this amazing and costly gift that He's given to us, we can become God's own children and heirs of Heaven. We cannot enter Heaven because we are good people. We do not earn citizenship in Heaven by doing good things. We can only approach the gates of Heaven if we have faith in Jesus and the power of His gift to us.

Can you imagine what it will be like to enter heaven? Do you wonder what it will be like to see God in all of His glory? Have you ever considered how you will react at that time?

My friend Midge recently died and went to heaven. Midge loved the Lord and loved singing praises to Him. She would talk about Him to anyone who asked, because she wanted other people to know Him and to experience His love. I don't know what she is doing now that she is in God's presence, but I am sure it involves singing and dancing. Midge no longer has crippling arthritis. She no longer suffers from kidney failure. Dialysis is no longer a part of her life. She isn't sick, she's not in pain, and she has no sadness in God's presence. Praise God!!

I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When Your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

{Chorus}:
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine