Welcome back to Life Lifters! We've been talking about some of the chaos and difficulties in our world and I just want to give us a little perspective today. So, I live in the town of Greece, so I am a citizen of the town of Greece. Greece is in the county of Monroe, so you could say that I am a citizen of Monroe County. We could take that further and say Monroe County is one of many counties in New York State and, therefore, I am a citizen of New York State. Even further, New York is one of 50 states in the United States so, therefore, I am a citizen of the United States. But if I stopped there by saying I'm a citizen of the United States, I would really be selling myself short because there is an even grander vision than that; I could say that I am a citizen of Heaven. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can say the same thing! So, the encouragement I want to give you today is that we are not merely of this world, but we are in this world. The bigger picture is that our ultimate citizenship is in Heaven. The things that we do here on Earth should be the things that prepare us to be in our final home, which is in Heaven.

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20, "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies, so that they will be like his glorious body." You see, we are citizens of Heaven because we are Christians. As followers of Jesus, we've been adopted into the family of God, therefore, we are heirs and our citizenship is not merely here in Greece, or Monroe County, or New York or the United States; our citizenship is in Heaven.

Jesus encouraged us with His words in John 14: "Do not let your heart be troubled." Let's stop there. All the stuff that's going on in our world, "do not let your heart be troubled." This is not our final place. Yes, we must live here. Yes, we're here today. Let's make the most and the best of today, but Jesus is telling us "do not let your heart be troubled", and here's why. He goes on to say, "trust in God, trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you, I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me. That you also may be where I am." Think about that. Jesus left Earth, He died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead 3 days later, was on earth for a little while, and then he went back to the Father in Heaven to prepare a place for you!

I take great comfort in that. Jesus has been with the Father for about 2000 years. Can you imagine what kind of place He is preparing for you? The Bible gives us a glimpse into Heaven, but it is going to be so much more than words can describe. So when we think about what's going on in our world, I want you to remember you are not just merely a citizen here of this world. You are a citizen of Heaven.

There comes a time when God is going to come for you and bring you to Heaven where there's no more tears, no more crying, no more pain or sorrows or death. But it's a place that has been described as paradise, a place where we will be with the Lord forever, for eternity. I hope you find great comfort in that today. See you tomorrow.