Devotionals

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Heaven’s Shoreline

Posted August 3, 2007 - When I think of summer I think about the ocean, the warm sunshine and being on a boat because I have some friends that belong to a boat club and they go out quite frequently and invite me to go with them along with some people we know.

We have been to Elizabeth City, Eastern Shore and sometimes closer to home right out in the bay. We recently saw the Tall ships when they came for the 400 year anniversary and that was a historical moment in time. There is just something about the smell of the salt water and the gentle mist from the ocean that is so wonderful. It is not only peaceful but very therapeutic. I have seen the dolphins and the osprey nesting, I have walked along a sandy beach like a little island and collected the various sea shells and some days it has been an all day trip and I treasure every moment.

I suppose I call those kinds of days “mini vacations.” These one day trips are very relaxing and fun. I find that I never mind leaving home and venturing out somewhere but like most people I still long to get back home. When the sun begins to set and the boat turns back I am already looking for the shore in the horizon.

When taking a long trip for a few days or a week than I start to long for my familiar surroundings, and my family. Someday Heaven’s Shoreline awaits me and I long for that day when I reach my final destination when this life’s journey is over. I do enjoy my time now here on earth because of family and friends but my real home is heaven and this place is just a temporary stop over.

In the story of the Wizard of Qz (which as a child I thought was like heaven) Dorothy took a journey but her desire was to get back to those she loved. She clicked her ruby red shoes together and repeatedly said: “There’s no place like Home.”

At the end of the story she realizes it was all just a dream and that she had been hit on the head in the tornado and upon waking up she sees that she is finally back home. Once she looks up at all the familiar faces who were characters in her dream, the Tin man, the Lion and the Scarecrow she then had her desires totally fulfilled because she was home at last!

Our life on earth will one day vanish in the blink of an eye but while we live here we are going places and preparing for vacations. It is wise too make plans for trips but are we getting ready to make our final journey home? There is nothing of material value that we need to pack of course but are we getting our spiritual house in order? Have we daily confessed any sin in our lives? Have we kept our relationship close with the Lord? Oh and have we invited others to go to their eternal home someday, like my friend who invites me on their boat trips?

We are the “children of God” (Matthew 5:9), and like a small child on a trip who asks their parents: "Are we there yet?" The answer they receive is usually reassuring saying: "Soon. Not much longer." Our Father in Heaven also encourages us with His Promise, “I come quickly”

I am truly going to enjoy the rest of the summer and take those boat rides and go away perhaps for long weekends but when I reach the shore or turn the bend and see my home I will think about the day when Jesus stands at Heaven’s shoreline with open arms and says “Welcome Home, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord!

Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Rev 3:11 (New King James Version)

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