Get your New Name John 14:2-3

 John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

 Lately I have been thinking about Heaven. I have had at least 3 friends or know of at least 3 people who died this week alone. Its overwhelming. My family is dealing with the upcoming loss of a loved one. As we watch him fight the good fight, we are left with pain, sadness, joy that he is fighting, but heartbreaking sorrow as we watch a body of flesh submit to disease. Everyone should fall asleep and die. It should be that easy. 

So this heartache has made me think about heaven. 
What waits on the other side?
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord, so I know that Heaven awaits me. 
For the bible tells us, Believe in Him, Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, who died for your sins and rose from the dead on the 3rd day to save us. He is the Son of Joseph and Mary and was given by His Father to save the world from sin. One day, He will claim what is His and all that follow and believe will sit in heaven with Him. It says so in that verse above, I will come again and take you to myself...oh what a beautiful sight that is!!!

God created all things, maybe heaven is like the beauty that God designed, only with His son there with him, waiting, bringing his followers to Him and building up His kingdom in Heaven. I would like to think that the door is something like the one in this picture. 
Each door different, like the room behind it. If Jesus creates a room for each one of us upon our passing, what must our door look like? Mine would be pink, I think, as it is one of my favorite colors. It would be very pretty decorated and make me want to open it to see what is on the other side. 
What awaits on the other side? My mind has gone there a lot these last few weeks................... 

the bible says, 
Rev 2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it."

We get to hear what the spirit says to the churches!! And the one who conquers (death ) He gives manna, which I have always wondered about. Food from God Himself! It is fulfilling enough to be my only food! God would make manna, a food that is all we need. In our perfect new bodies in Christ, why would we need anything else but the perfect food of God! 
And the white stone!! With a NEW NAME that only Jesus himself and I know!!! 
Oh what Joy that Jesus Himself gives me a white stone with a new name for me and Him to know! 
Can you picture it!? What might my new name be?? I've never been 100% thrilled with my earthly name, so maybe my new name, given by Jesus himself, well, I will for sure like that name!!

 I walk through this door, this beautiful door and on the other side.....
oh the other side............. Its beautiful and white, (Lite by Jesus himself)
  1 John 1:5 says  "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 
So heaven is NOT dark, God Himself lights heaven!! Never darkness, never!!
So we enter this Light....So beautiful that on this side of Heaven, we can't even imagine what this light is like. 

 I have a feeling we are busy in heaven, at least when we arrive! There are loved ones who have gone before us, the light, the room, but there, in the Light, like no other light we have ever seen in this world, there is LIGHT and the Light, is Jesus. And we step forward......do we Bow? Kneel? Sing Praises? Or stand in Awe at the Light? 

Whatever we do, we do it in the presence of God Almighty, His Son, Jesus Christ. 
And when we do, He is standing there, with a white stone.
And on the stone is a name, our New Heavenly name that only Him and I know! 

I would like to imagine that He pulls me to Him and puts His arm around me and says, "My child, I am so glad you are here, I've been waiting, and made your room. Before we go, I have a present for you. A name, A new name under your new Life in Me." 
And he presents me my White Stone! 
As He puts the stone in my hand, I see the scar, the one left by me
I go to touch it and He puts His hand over mine and says, "Because you believed, You are Mine" 

 I look at my stone, its as light as a feather and as bright as His Light! 
It feels like nothing I have ever felt in my earthly life. 
I turn it in my hand, and there, is my New Name In Christ! 
The very thing I have been waiting for in my earthly body is now happening! 
I have entered into the Presence of God Himself. 
This vision I have had, this love of Christ is now in front of me and giving me yet another gift........
My New Name! 

The table is set, the manna is prepared, the room is waiting.....Go, be in the presence of God Almighty Himself! When He calls us, when the time is His and His alone, we need to go. Claim our seat with our Father who has called us His.....When we see the Light..............Go...............Be in His Presence....................Get your New Name!




 

Needing Gods Peace

1 Corinthians 14:33  For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

I have never been more confused in my life as I have been in the last 2 1/2 weeks of my life.
Its wonderful confusion. Does that make sense?
Confusion that brings wonder, joy, laughter, but it does not bring peace, not yet it has not. 
Peace is a settlement.  A place in your heart that you feel ...peace.
Peace is defined as: freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.
I have not had that over the last 2 1/2 weeks.
Far from it actually.
Confusion is defined:  the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.
YES! Confusion is what I have been.
Unclear.
Bewildered.
But in a wonderful way.
God says, be not confused be at peace.
But when we are in this state of confusion, it is hard to see God's peace.
So how to we get to that peace.....?
Its a question for me as it is for you too.
Prayer is one way I think.
It is our only way to communicate with God directly, prayer.
So, how do we pray for peace in a state of confusion?
For me, I don't ask for clarity of the situation.
I think I have come to a place in my life where I am not going to understand enough for clarity, so I'm not going to ask. God doesn't always provide that anyway, so, sometimes, like at this time in my life, I'm not going to ask.
No, I need to just pray for peace.
I'm going to pray for my state of mind not to be bewildered. 
I'm going to ask the One who designed my mind to just make things clear enough for me to have peace about the situation.
Instead of walking around in a state of confusion, help me walk around in a state of peace Lord!
Let me take the Wonder you have provided in this confusion and let it be wonderful Peace!
When the moment is confusing, replace it immediately with YOUR Peace Lord.
Because I can't create my own peace.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 tells us the Lord Himself gives us peace.
John 16:33 says we will have peace IN the Lord.
We can't have peace outside of God.
So in my confusion I will pray,
Lord, make my confusion YOUR Peace.
I don't need to understand the "why's" of all this, just that You are in control and I should just be peaceful about the entire situation.
Give me Peace that only Your Holy Spirit can provide.
Give it to me at the times when my heart is breaking and I do not see the purpose.
Give me Peace when their is no peace in the situation.
Give me Your peace when I'm confused with questions and wonderment.
Give my Your Peace Jesus, when nothing else makes sense. 

God's perfect timing

God's timing is Perfect. 

I find it very difficult to wait on the Lord, although the bible says 

Psalm 25:4-5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. 

My days have been very long as of late. 

I pray for His timing, His peace and most of all His understanding. 

I have learned I am not one of patience. (Well, I already knew this, but I'm really being tested!)

I see something and I want it done. 

I hear something that is not 'right' in my mind and I am driven to say something. 

I have learned that I am advocate. 

I NEED to speak out for others. 

But there are times in this life that we must wait on God's timing. 

His timing is Perfect and we just need to be quiet sometimes. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

God in His infinite wisdom has a season for everything and these seasons are for His matters under heaven. We don't understand them this side of heaven. We can't. Its to much for our human minds to understand the ways of the Lord.
So we wait. 

We wait for our appointed time when we are called to His side and He shows us the bigger picture He has for us, our loved ones, everyone. When we are made complete in Him, we will understand why we had to wait. Why His timing is Perfect timing. Only then will it make sense. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Never in my life, in the last week have I had to put these verses to action. 

As I wait on the Lord I know in His time He will make everything Perfect, beautiful. 

In time, we will know and walk next to the still waters and be renewed.  

In time, Jesus comes and gathers His people and makes us his. 

In the meantime, we wait, for His perfect timing.  

 Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,

 who loved me and gave himself for me.

If I believe in my faith, in my God, then it is not I who lives my life, but Christ in me.
Therefore, at times, I should wait on the Lord.
Wait for His timing, His word to move.
7 years ago, the Lord brought me to a place of quiet waters.
It was a move I, we, would have never made unless we did it on the Lords timing.
And it was His perfect timing.
I believe with every breath I take that the Lord leads us and gives us direction, if we allow.
The hard part is sitting and waiting on the Lord.
It is very easy to act on emotion.
But when we act on emotions, is that what God wants?
Is that His plan or ours?
If I were to act on emotion, I would be there already.
I would have ran ahead with no thought, no time to stop and pray.  
But is it where God wants me?
Is He there in the midst of my emotion at that moment?
Maybe He has a bigger plan.
A plan to heal.
A plan to restore.
Maybe not physically, but within relations. 
Sometimes, our place is to sit quietly and pray.
To ask the Holy Spirit to let us  know when the time to get up and run is near.
Sometimes our presence might hinder what God Almighty has in motion.
Our time might come later, when the storm has calmed.
As I wait for the moment, I wait in the Presence of the Lord.
I trust He will guide me.
I trust He will let me know the time has come to go.
And when that time is His, not mine, I will be there.
And my rightful place, in the Lord, will work according to His plan, not mine.
There is a bigger picture at play than what I feel at the moment.
There are others that need to feel their calm waters in the Lord,
and know what it is like to sit in His Almighty Presence.
My place is to pray for them, and their still waters. 

May the God of the universe
The One who created each and every one of us
Be present this day
In the midst of the pain, the struggle, the wait
May He calm the waters so that we see Him on the waves
May we open our eyes to The One who has written the plan long before we knew how to read
May his ever Gracious and Loving arms move us along and tell us when to sit
When to stand
When to run
When to pray
When to wait
And when our wait is done
When it is time to go
Let us go with Him at our side
Leading, Lighting the path for us

We don't understand the 'whys' this side of Heaven
It is not ours to understand
One day
He makes it all clear and the puzzle He started long ago, comes together
And if we take our rightful place and wait on Him to show us our place
Then all is right with the world

Sit, Be Calm, in His Mighty Presence today
Wait on His Timing and not your own
And when He calls, go
And know that when we wait on Him
All is right