"Won and Done!"

 "Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and mourners go about the streets:" (Ecclesiastes 12:5 KJV)

  "In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hand, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice." (Hebrews 9:22-26 NLT)

 In case you were looking for me to illustrate the obvious things that show the point of that message, I thought about it most of the evening and night but decided it really didn't need to be explained any further; the obvious things were the resurrection from the dead! If you have any doubt that there is going to be a resurrection taking place for you, then where is your hope? What is it that you are longing for? What is the purpose of your faith in Christ? 

 This isn't really about having safety and comfort in this life; if it were, then why would Jesus say that we will have tribulation! It is not about being comforted and pampered in this life; it is about having peace and joy, regardless of what this world might do; we are believing that we have a better life waiting, once we are done here, in this world.  

 Everything we go through on this earth are temporary issues, no matter how long they go on, or how hard they might seem to go through, they are all just temporary and do not take away from the glory we will experience in Heaven! If anything, they add to the glory we will experience when we arrive, because we will have a welcoming committee, even Jesus, saying "Well done!" 

 If you truly don't understand how that works, it is all about having hope in every situation! Everything we need is already waiting for us, nothing here on earth comes close, compared with the life we are all longing for, in Heaven. There is where the abundant life comes in; yes, even here on earth! It becomes abundant because of the hope we have within us, because we believe that He is for us...

""For I know the plans I have for you," say the LORD. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope."' (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)