Peace

John 14:25-31

Many things trouble us.

How about that Corona Virus?

Will I be able to pay the bills this month?

Will I have enough set aside by the time I reach retirement?

I wonder if this bump under my skin is something to worry about?

Will I pass the history exam tomorrow?

Will I get enough scholarships and financial aid to pay for college?

Will I be able to pay off my student loans?

Will I lose my job in this economy?

Will my basement flood in the rains this spring?

The worry list is endless and the list is as varied as we are as individuals. What I worry about may not worry you at all, and I may not have any clue as to what worries you. But, one thing we have in common, we live in a world full of trouble.

The Apostles were not strangers to trouble. Jesus spent His last night, the night that He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, with His closest disciples. We call this time the Last Supper, and at this time Jesus told His disciples some important stuff. Some of it was scary.

Peter was told He would deny Jesus three times.

Jesus told all of them:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." (John 13:21 ESV)

And...

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' (John 13:33 ESV)

After telling them a few upsetting things like this, Jesus said:

Let not your hearts be troubled. (John 14:1 ESV)

Boy, talk about troubled hearts!

I find the Greek word Jesus used for “troubled” fascinating. It is the word “ταρασσέσθω” (tarassestho). This word is defined as follows:  to put in motion (to agitate back-and-forth, shake to-and-fro).

I get quite a picture from that word agitate. I think of stirring the pot, or shaking things up. This was their hearts, all shaken and stirred up!

This is our hearts when we are “troubled” about many things.

Good news follows bad news. The bad news is that we tend to be troubled by many things. The good news is given by Jesus. While talking to His disciples about these things, He said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27 ESV)

Saying “calm down” or “don’t let your hearts be troubled” is easy. But, if these words are not accompanied by something to replace or calm the trouble, they are of no value. They do nothing for us. But, when Jesus says “Don’t let your hearts be troubled,” He gives us further instructions, like, “Trust in God, trust also in Me.” Here in John 14:27, He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Now, here is something useful, He gives peace. He gave it to the disciples and He gives it to us. He has not taken it away, because He does not give as the world gives.

First, let’s look at what “peace” is. The dictionary, or Google, defines peace as: “freedom from disturbance; tranquility.”

“Freedom from disturbance: tranquility” just sounds good. I get a picture like this in my head: 

Sitting in a meadow or beautiful, quiet place without any worries or pressures seems to be the very thing peace is talking about. Psalms 23 says:

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (Psalms 23:2 ESV)

This is meant to be a peaceful image. The last thing a shepherd wants is for his sheep to be agitated. They aren’t dangerous like stampeding cattle, but they will definitely hurt themselves.

Jesus talks about two things that are not peaceful. He says, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Troubled means agitated and this is the opposite of peace. Agitation refers to the worries and concerns of life. But, Jesus talks about one more thing that is the opposite of peace. John 14:27 says:

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27 ESV)

“Neither let them be afraid,” fear is the second thing that is the antithesis of peace.

According to 1 John 4:17-18, fear is related to judgment and punishment. 1 John 4:17-18 says:

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:17-18 ESV)

The frightening thing about judgment is the punishment that comes after. If the judge does not pass sentence then there is nothing to fear. In telling us that perfect love casts out fear, John explains to us the source of fear. Fear and dread come upon us because of the certainty of judgment. The Bible tells us, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) God has made us with a conscience and part of that conscience is an innate or inborn certainty that we will be judged. This inborn certainty is what Paul is referring to in Romans 2:15 when he says:

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:15 ESV)

Ultimately, fear is related to the ending of life. Fear of monsters, fear of the dark, fear of heights are all tied to the fear of death. The fear of death is not so much the fear of the unknown, but fear of the certainty of judgment, although many of the unbelieving would deny this.

The agitation of worry and the fear of judgment rule the lives of the unbelieving. But Jesus has given us His peace. We can live in the tranquility of the green pastures and still waters that He leads us in.

John 14 points out the way to enjoy this refreshing of our spirits.

First, in answer to the agitation of worries, Jesus says, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1) It seems overly simple, but all of our worry and all of our anxiety comes back to this issue of trust. When Jesus addressed the worries of life in His Sermon on the Mount, He tells us not to worry because our Heavenly Father knows what we need. Consider what Philippians 4:6-7 tells us:

...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

Do you see how the peace of God is linked to trusting God?

When Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” His solution was “trust in God and trust also in me.”

The second issue covered by Jesus that keeps us from enjoying peace is fear. 1 John 4:18 already told us that the answer to this is love, but let’s consider this a little more. 

I want to point out something intriguing in Jesus’ words to His disciples. He says:

And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. (John 14:29-31 ESV)

Notice that Jesus says that the ruler of this world has no claim on Him. The ruler of this world is also known as Satan, or the accuser. In Zechariah, he is seen accusing the high priest (Zechariah 3:1). Satan had nothing He could accuse Jesus of. Jesus was the sinless, spotless lamb of God. This was simply because as Jesus says in John 14, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”  Jesus does what the Father tells Him because He loves the Father. Because He does what the Father tells Him, He has nothing to fear.

Earlier in John 14 Jesus tells His disciples:

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.” (John 14:23-24 ESV)

In verse 15 of this same chapter, Jesus also says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

If we were perfect in love, we would have nothing to fear in the judgment. However, since none of us is perfect in love, how can we have nothing to fear in the judgment? How is it that Jesus has given us His peace?

1 John 1:7-9 answers this question.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9 ESV)

“The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Because Satan had nothing on Jesus, He has nothing on you and me if we have called upon Jesus to save us.

Two of the burdens the world puts on us are worry and fear. Jesus promised that if we come to Him, He will give us rest. 

Why do we continue to live in worry and fear?

Come to Jesus and experience times of refreshing!

He is the answer.

Trust Him because He cares for you and knows all your needs.

Trust Him because if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We have nothing to fear. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

This is the promise of God concerning peace:

...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

Sabbath

Genesis 2:1-3

Titus 3:3 says:

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3:3 ESV)

This verse describes the condition of humanity. Most of us do not like to be described as foolish, led astray and slaves. However, our society reflects the facts of our foolishness and slavery. Our world also reflects the malice, envy and hatred of which this verse speaks. 

Our world is rapidly changing. Technology is one evidence of rapid change. Cell phones, televisions and computers grow in capacity, speed and function with every new model. However, this growth in technology has not relieved us of our foolishness and has only increased our slavery to various passions and pleasures. We cannot solve our problems. Conditions seem to go from bad to worse.

But there is hope! Titus 3:4-5 says:

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:4-5 NKJV)

In His kindness, God saved us. He has saved us from our foolishness and slavery. Notice here in these verses that it says this salvation is accomplished by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. 

There is a theological definition of regeneration, but let’s just consider the common definition of regeneration:

the action or process of regenerating or being regenerated, in particular the formation of new animal or plant tissue. (Google)

And, let’s do the same for renewal. The common definition of renewal is:

the replacing or repair of something that is worn out, run-down, or broken. (Google)

If we have been saved, if we have been renewed, then why do we find ourselves still trapped by foolishness and slavery to passions. Why aren’t we living lives of renewal and peace. Jesus said:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

The world lays heavy burdens on us - more than we can carry. 

Concerns about money stress us out. Concerns about children, education, jobs and the future weigh us down. 

Luke gives us an account from the ministry of Jesus. In Luke 10, Luke tells us Jesus was traveling and large crowds were following him. When Jesus entered a certain village, a woman named Martha invited Him into her home. She worked hard at her preparations, but her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to Him. Finally, tired of doing all the work herself, Martha went to Jesus and said, “Master, tell my sister to help me with the work.”

Jesus replied:

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. (Luke 10:41 ESV)

Many of us are like Martha. We are anxious and troubled about many things.

One of the results of sin in our world is life sapping stress and anxiety. Jesus said:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

Without the rest that Jesus is talking about, we all labor and are heavy laden. Laden means heavily loaded or weighed down. Jesus is promising to deliver us from the crushing burdens of our lives. Part of our salvation, part of our renewal is delivery from these crushing burdens. As children of God, we have rest, restoration and refreshing available to us. Hebrews tells us:

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, (Hebrews 4:9 ESV)

I am doing a study on rest and renewal, and I invite you to join me on this journey. I am calling it “Refresh.” When I see words like regeneration and renewal, which are part of our salvation, I think of times of refreshing. Just as Peter preached:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. (Acts 3:19-20 NIV)

This is what we need - times of refreshing!

According to Google, to refresh means to “give new strength or energy to; reinvigorate.” Don’t you want new strength and energy?

The results of our repentance are our sins being wiped out and times of refreshing from the Lord.

When you are weary, when you are tired and worn out, the first thing you need is rest. The best example of this is sleep. Our bodies require sleep. Missing just one night of sleep has physical effects equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent, which is above the legal limit for driving.

Rest is so important that God put it in His law that we are to rest one day out of seven. When God gave Israel the laws by which they were to function, He put taking one day off in seven on the same level as lying or murdering. Rest is that important. Rest is so important that God included it in the national laws of Israel.

Refreshing starts with rest.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, (Hebrews 4:9 ESV)

The Bible begins by teaching us about rest. Genesis 2:1-3 says:

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1-3 ESV)

Do you think that God got tired?

I hardly think so!

God did this as an example for us to set up the pattern. God could have created any type of universe He wanted, and He created this one, and rest is an essential part of it.

The people in the New Testament known as Pharisees are examples of the perfect practice of religion. They had rules to help them keep from breaking the rules. For example, to put up boundaries around the Sabbath, they added extra rules. Such as, they said a Jew could travel 2,000 cubits from one's house on the Sabbath without breaking the Law. This limit was set by the rabbis because of a statement found in Joshua 3:4 that the people were to follow the ark at this distance during their march in the wilderness. When these Pharisees confronted Jesus about doing something that they considered to be against their Sabbath rules, Jesus said:

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27 ESV)

In this confrontation with religious rule keepers, Jesus teaches an important concept about the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established by God for our benefit. If one examines the Ten Commandments, he/she will find that all of them are for our benefit and protection.

God knew that sin and greed would drive men to ignore the need for rest and refreshing so He built it in to His law. 

I am not saying that if you lack a day of rest in your life you are sinning. What I am saying is that if this world was not broken by sin, everyone would enjoy one day in seven as a day of refreshing. 

For your health, the health of your family and the productiveness of your life, to be all that you were meant to be, you must learn to put into practice the principle of Sabbath in your life. 

The rest part of it is simple. We all need to have one day in seven that is a change of pace day. This is not a burden of service you must do for the Lord. It is something you must do for your own sake. Make time to rest. I called this a change of pace day, because a Sabbath rest is not doing nothing, it is rather taking a break from the toil that consumes our life the other 6 days of the week. 

Another key concept of Sabbath is acknowledging the Lord.

There are those who view attending church as a service they do for the Lord. The idea is that going to church is a good deed and counts for some kind of brownie points with God. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Church is designed to be a time of refreshing. We are renewed when we worship the Lord, fellowship with each other and cast our burdens on the Lord. Refreshing! Isn’t it? 

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. A Sabbath rest is taking a break from the toil that consumes our lives, and it is also acknowledging that the world and my life is not going to fall apart if I take a day off. This includes acknowledging that God cares for me. 1 Peter 5:7 says:

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)

This is what acknowledging God does for us. It gives us rest from our heavy burdens. Jesus taught saying:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:25-33 NLT)

This sermon fits the idea behind Sabbath. We can rest in the gracious hands of a loving Father. Consider this question from Jesus: “Why do you have so little faith?” 

The end of chapter 3 of Hebrews talks about the children of Israel who left Egypt with Moses. That whole generation did not enter into the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 and 4:1 say:

So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. (Hebrews 3:19-4:1 NLT)

The children of Israel failed to enter the rest God promised because of unbelief, and it is unbelief that will keep us from the rest God has for us.

The Sabbath is not a burden to be carried. The Sabbath is a blessing to be entered into. Take a new view of the Sabbath and immerse yourself in the joy of being refreshed!

Restoration

Amos 9:11

On September 20, 2001, just 9 days after the attacks of 9/11, President Bush gave his “State of the Union” address to the nation. In that speech, he promised that America would rebuild.

After every catastrophe or calamity, our thoughts immediately turn to recovery, rebuilding and restoration. However, there are times when the disaster is too big, the calamity too overwhelming for us to see any way forward. 

The number 911 has no special meaning in the Bible, but in America, it means emergency, and since September 11, 2001, it refers back to the day when terrorists attacked America in unimagined attacks that ended the lives of thousands of Americans. 

I chose four 9:11 verses to cover the theme of emergency 9-1-1 because of the significance 9-1-1 has in our lives. Our children are taught to call 9-1-1 in an emergency, and all of us associate 9-1-1 with emergencies.

As we come to the end of our series, I want to talk with you about the recovery process that must accompany the 9-1-1’s of our lives. I am going to start with Amos 9:11 where it says, “From the ruins I will rebuild it.”

To the best of our knowledge, Amos lived in Judah but ministered to Judah’s sister nation, Israel. Amos was not a trained prophet. He was a shepherd and he also tended fig trees. He was not well-off because although he owned sheep, he tended them himself as opposed to hiring someone to do it for him. His name means “burden” and we assume this also represents the burden that the Lord had put on his heart for his people. His contemporaries included Joel, Hosea and Isaiah. Amos warned Israel of coming judgment. All of these prophets brought warnings of judgment, but the people would not listen. Amos 9:10 quotes the people as saying,

Nothing bad will happen to us. (Amos 9:10 NLT)

The people of the nation of Israel were living in a prosperous nation and enjoyed many luxuries. However, by the time of Amos, they had spent almost two hundred years violating the first and greatest commandment.

I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. (Exodus 20:2-3 NLT)

Under the leadership of their first king, Jeroboam, they had set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan. Now, approximately 180 years later, because of their apostasy, the nation had become morally bankrupt. However, Jeroboam II was the most prosperous of the kings of Israel.

Some of the things God says He is judging them for are found in the verses that follow:

How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them. For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time. (Amos 5:10-13 NLT)

Besides the sins listed in these verses, we could point out that marriage was not honored and children were sacrificed to idols. 

As a result of their rebellion, God promised judgment. God never stopped warning His people about the consequences of their sins against Him and against each other. 

One would think that we would learn from what happened to ancient Israel. However, since Jesus ascended to heaven, the Church has been warning the world that He is coming again. 

We are living in the most prosperous days ever on the planet. Technology has allowed us to produce an excess of food, and yet people are starving. Consider the state of the world and consider if we are any different from the ancient Israelites that Amos was addressing. With pornography, human trafficking, and an endless list of gross immorality, we are worse. We are competing with Sodom and Gomorrah. There are still godly people left in the world and God is patient desiring all to come to repentance. But a time is coming when God removes His people, then judgment will come.

In Amos chapter 9, Amos records this vision.

Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape! “Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down. Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them. Even if their enemies drive them into exile, I will command the sword to kill them there. I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them.” (Amos 9:1-4 NLT)

These terrible judgments came. The most frightening thing about these judgments is that last sentence. “I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them,” God warned them sending prophet after prophet for hundreds of years. But a time came when there was no help. The calamity was complete.  The northern kingdom of Israel was wiped off the face of the earth. 

One would think that the southern kingdom of Judah would have seen and understood. In fact, the prophets told them to consider what happened to the northern kingdom, but they hardened their hearts. A time came when the waiting was over, and Judah was overrun by Babylon. 

But according to God’s promise and plan, under Cyrus of Persia, the nation of Judah was rebuilt and continued as a nation until they rejected the Messiah. As a consequence of their rebellion, Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. and the nation was completely destroyed by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 135 A.D. There was no help, and for almost 1900 years, the region was called Palestine and the nation of Israel did not exist.

In our day, we have seen the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise through Amos:

In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory. (Amos 9:11 NLT)

Before 1948, even Bible-believing men of faith did not think this would be literally fulfilled. Such a rebuilding of the nation was beyond anything that people could imagine or even hope for. And yet, here we are. On May 14, Israel will celebrate its 72nd year as a modern nation.

We, as humanity, may see things as being beyond hope, even beyond imagining. However, what is impossible with people is possible with God. (Luke 18:27)

In the history of Israel and God’s dealing with them, we see that God gives plenty of warning and He appeals to the rebellious and the wayward. However, the warning and appeals finally reach their conclusion when judgment comes. Up until the day of their destruction, God continued to call for the nation of Israel to repent and be saved.

However, because of their own waywardness, their own unwillingness to heed repeated warnings, disaster struck, and they were destroyed beyond human remedy.

According to 2 Samuel 14:14, God devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him. He gives each person many opportunities to repent and come to Him, but if the choice is not made before this life ends, there are no more chances.

Some people have been devastated by life. They have made poor choices. They did not listen to warnings, and now their lives are in shambles. Some people think their lives are over. They have made mistakes and wasted their time and now there is nothing left.  However, as we see in this example from the people of Israel, God can restore even those which are beyond human help.

 Amos 9:11 says, “From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.”

If your life is in ruins, please let this verse be an encouragement to you. Even if your life is in shambles, God can rebuild it. Not only can He rebuild it, but He can also restore even more than was lost. 

In the days of Amos, the prophet Joel tells of a plague of locusts that destroyed the vegetation in Israel. The Lord called on Israel to repent and with that call to repentance made the following promise:

The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. (Joel 2:25 NLT)

God promises to restore what was lost, even though it was God’s judgment that had taken it away.

Job was a very rich man, and God allowed it all to be taken away. For as long as God saw fit, Job lived in abject poverty. On top of the poverty, Job was also very sick, covered from head to toe with painful boils. When God restored Job, Job had twice as much as before his suffering.

In Job’s case, Job was not suffering for sins he had committed or because of a refusal to repent, but I use his example because his problems were beyond human remedy.

If you are suffering today, it may be of your own making and because of your own choices, but God is able to restore you. Not all suffering is of our own making, but the same message applies, God is able to restore us. Some suffer for following Christ or for their obedience to God. To these Jesus said:

I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come. (Luke 18:29-30 NLT)

Most, if not all of us, will face suffering in our lives. Suffering is in the world because of sin, but the good news is that Jesus came to restore us to a right relationship with God. Jesus said:

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. (Luke 19:10 NLT)

If you are lost, Jesus is seeking you. Repent of your sins and believe the good news about Jesus while there is time. At some point, this life will end and there will be no more chances.

The world is in ruins because of sin, and God will restore even that. We wait for a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. We are waiting for Jesus to return and restore all things. Acts 3:21 tells us:

For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:21 NLT)

In her book, When is It Right to Die? Joni Eareckson Tada tells of a young woman who had a neurological disorder that was taking her life. It finally came to the point that the decision had to be made whether or not to put her on a ventilator to help her breathe.

Joni tells how she shared 2 Peter 3:8 with this young lady. The thought that Joni shared has captured my imagination. 2 Peter 3:8 says:

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. (2 Peter 3:8 NLT)

We focus on the fact that to the Lord a thousand years is a short time, but we tend to forget about the fact that a day is no shorter to the Lord than a thousand years. Just think of what God can accomplish in a thousand years, and realize that He only needs a day to do the same. It makes no difference to Him.

If you only have a day left to live, God can do all He needs to do in that time. Wherever you are in life, whether you think you have only a short time to live or a long time to live, commit those days to the Lord. He can do way beyond anything that we could even ask or imagine.