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by Rebekah Beene

We did a little shopping last weekend.  One of the stops was at a big giant discount warehouse.  We hadn’t been there in quite some time, but we knew there were a couple of things we could only get there. So we went in and traveled aisle to aisle, in and out, over and through.  The shopping experience itself was good but very tiring (long, long aisles, it felt like miles and miles).

Unfortunately checking out was not the good experience.  I had to ask a customer service rep about renewing our shopping card and she answered me without ever looking up.  Then we checked out and the young man who checked us kept mumbling under his breath.  Neither of the humans we interacted with ever looked us in the eye. Without the faces, which were hidden by masks and without the eye contact, there was definitely something missing.

Oh beloved, are you as tired of the mask situation as I am?  I’m not going to enter into debate of the virtues of wearing masks. But God is speaking this morning. One day we will be relieved of wearing masks. And one day there will be a great unmasking.  And in the spirit you can walk in total discernment even when the masks are on. Isn’t that amazing?

God wants you to know that not everyone is happy nor do they find their joy and peace in Christ.  This is a season where much is hidden behind a person’s mask. But you don’t have to hide yourself behind anything.  Wear the mask when you must, but know that you are set apart to show God’s glory. He will shine from behind whatever you think may hold you back.  Even now, this morning, God is going to give you creative plans to show forth His Truth and be a radiant light for others.  Your life is not ebbing away with loss and discomfort. Your life is Christ and in Him you have all the Spirit of the Lord in your own human body! Spiritual lives are growing while human life seems so indifferent, so masked, so lonely.

God loves you and He’s for you.  Don’t let the situations of the day cause you to stifle your spiritual life. Run to the Lord, take off the mask and tell Him everything. Ask Him for a fresh revelation of His Presence in your life.  Ask Him to renew your prayer life, for that is where you find your true power. And live, precious believer, free of all restraints of man, in the Light of His Glory and Grace.

Colossians 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

Ephesians 3:16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality]

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

About the Author:

In a Christian Women’s meeting in 1983, Rebekah was given a prophetic message that she would write books. Several years ago she began writing stories about special holiday memories and travels, sharing God’s love and care through each story. God has gifted Rebekah with the ability to look at the natural and see the supernatural. Both Rebekah and her husband Danny have a heart to share the Gospel and the riches of life in Christ to everyone they meet. They have served in the local church and in ministry to motorcyclists. Danny is an ordained minister and they both have been Bible study teachers for many years. Rebekah also speaks at women’s retreats and conferences. Her tag line says it all “God loves you and He’s for you”.

My website is http://rebekahbeene.wordpress.com

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by Precarious Yates

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, – 1 Peter 1:3-4

There has been so much death lately—so much sickness and death. It hard to see that and not drown in hopelessness. 

Hope is a benchmark of the living. As long as there is life, there is hope for another breath. It’s proverbial, and to some quite foolish how strongly humans hope. 

And for those of us who love Jesus, there is a Living Hope. It’s not that we’re beacons for an idea or a cause, but we are beacons of hope for everlasting communion with the King of the universe, who calls Himself Love. God Himself lights that torch, that bonfire of hope within our heart. 

That communion and community with others are our great reward in heaven. Peace unending, joy uninterrupted: these are our rewards in heaven too. Love without burnout, patience without a clock check: these are almost impossible to imagine, but they’ll be ours, so let’s go right ahead and unleash our imaginations!

Let’s meditate on heaven a moment. 

There are streets of gold, huge gates made from a single pearl (have you ever imagined how big that oyster might be?), a tree of life so big that it spans across rivers of living water, and a throne from which flows this river of living water. The tree has leaves that are for healing the nations. Can you think of a single nation that doesn’t need those leaves right now? And then there’s the fruit: there are 12 different kinds of fruit from one tree. How different is one fruit from another? 

These are the kinds of questions I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit lately. And some that He’s been asking me. 

There are aspects of death that are scary: will it hurt? What will happen to my loved ones? Who will be the first to greet me?

But the more we meditate on heaven, and the more we fix our hope on the Living Hope, the less we fear death. For Jesus came to conquer that fear and give us hope for everlasting life!

Although death is a natural part of this life, there is something about it that is unnatural. Death wasn’t what God intended. He intended life—everlasting life—in beautiful communion with Him and others. 

Grieving is natural. And while there is sickness and death to this magnitude on a global scale as has been happening in this pandemic, grieving is a proper response. But let us not grieve as those who have no hope, but rather:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23

Heaven awaits, and He who promised is faithful! Let’s fix our gaze there!

God bless you!

Precarious Yates

About the Author:

Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.

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