I could hear geese honking above the dense Oregon fog…Immediately, God said, "I'm going to teach you to hear My voice." Little did I know how much I needed Jesus.
Trust in the Lord (Who has infinite knowledge and wisdom and Who can see the whole picture) with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Isn’t it wonderful that we get to trust in the Lord and not have to rely on our own instincts which can be so misleading? Thank You, Jesus.
Happy Monday, everyone. Trust in the Lord – What a comfort.
God bless,
Mark
Hello Everyone,
This week, I received the following email from Lori. It was really a blessing so I asked Lori if I could share it with you.
Good Morning Mark,
I just wanted to share with you that my Dad was called home last Saturday morning. Although I carry the pain of not having him here on earth, I find rest and peace that he is celebrating and in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!! Praise God!! I was with him every day of the last week and by his bedside throughout the night of his passing. I must have fallen asleep and his passing was peaceful. I didn’t hear anything. My Dad is free!! Free without pain & suffering and loving his heavenly and new body!! 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for all the many years of friendship and your words that poured into me every morning!!
In His Grip,
Lori
Thank you, Lori, for sharing this with us. Please be praying for Lori. Thank you, everyone.
This life is all about loving each other and “looking up” to all that awaits us in Heaven.
God bless,
Mark
Hello Dear Christians,
Like he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, satan comes to us with his destroying thought, “hath God surely said?”
As long as I (Mark) didn’t believe and trust what God said in Romans 8:28, I couldn’t believe that God was really in control of my life working all things together for my good. As a result, I was miserable living with fear, anger and the torment of the enemy’s overwhelming, oppressive, defeating thoughts.
“If anyone could tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you think and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing.”
William Law, English clergyman, Eighteenth Century
“I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God.”
Helen Keller
“Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy. Men may deal with him as they will…he is without care; he knows that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
Martin Luther
“Cry for grace from God to be able to see God’s hand in every trial, and then for grace…to submit at once to it. Not only to submit, but to acquiesce, and to rejoice in it…I think there is generally an end to troubles when we get to that.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Yes, God has surely said He’s working all things together for our good. You can rely on it. Trust that God is working all things together for your good and be set free from the enemy’s oppression.
God bless you all,
Mark
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.
Taken from Numbers 6:22-27
God Bless,
Mark
1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (craftiness, sneaky, trick, or cunning).
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Happy Monday, everyone.
God bless,
Mark
I’m really thankful for Bible passages like the following…
23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them (Paul and Silas), they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Acts 16:23-34
I don’t know what kind of chain you may find yourself in right now (marriage/family issues, self-pity, financial needs, job difficulties, health matters, fear), but, like God did for Paul and Silas, I know that chains ended up showing me how mighty God is in His ability to set captives free. I can now see that things that seemed like chains in my life are now being used to help others see that our faithful God can build a testimony that can help others be set free. I know it sounds funny and backwards, but ultimately, apparent chains bring us His joy.
Jesus is such a trustworthy, loving Redeemer. It’s just amazing the things He does… ☺
Feeling beaten down and chained up like Paul and Silas? Praise the Lord. Maybe someone who’s also chained up will hear you and, as a result, come to Jesus.
Yep, He’s working all things together for the good of those who love Him. He’s doing right now in each of our lives…
God bless,
Mark
Jesus simply wants us to trust that He’s working all things together for our good. He’s working all things for our good in the way He knows is best and that will bring us the most joy…
Trusting and resting in Jesus’ love – And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, my Prince of Peace, forever. No place like home…☺
Rest In Your Love – Martin Nystrom
I will rest, I will rest in Your love, Jesus.
God bless,
Mark
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
Most of the time when I’m in a tough situation (like a sudden fear temptation), I don’t know how God’s going to deliver me, but, in my spirit, God tells me to concentrate on Him, to let His peace dwell in my heart, that He’ll work it for my good, to realize He’ll never leave me nor forsake me. God may remove the situation or He may give me the peace and joy to go through it. He changes my perspective or releases me from the circumstance.
Satan will try to make us believe that we won’t triumph. That’s what he does. Don’t believe his lies!
Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ and who maketh manifest through us the savor of His knowledge in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
2 Corinthians 2:14 AMP
Yep, that’s our God. One way or another, He always causes us to triumph. That’s what He does. You can believe it. ☺
God bless,
Mark
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 AMP
Today’s a new day and the beginning of a new week in Jesus. Isn’t it wonderful that His mercies are new every morning. He keeps moving us forward in His love. Forgetting what lies behind, He encourages us to keep looking forward to all He has in store for us…That makes me happy. ☺
Happy Monday, everyone!
God bless,
Mark
Jesus Is All The World To Me
By Will L. Thompson
Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
My Friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and
He gives them o’er and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain,
He sends the harvest’s golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
Oh, how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me?
Following Him I know I’m right,
He watches o’er me day and night;
Following Him by day and night,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better Friend;
I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when
Life’s fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a Friend,
Beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus and all of Heaven await us, precious people. Take time to think about Heaven. Eternal life, eternal joy! ☺
God bless,
Mark
There’s such a great need for God’s peace today, to let His peace reign in our hearts…
It seems like I’ve felt like I’ve had to defend myself for most of my life. It caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. Several years ago, Jesus told me to stop defending myself, that He would take care of me, and that I could rest in what He was allowing in my life as He lead me further into His will. Wow, I can’t tell you how much peace His words brought me.
My wife and I were discussing something the other morning and I could tell she was losing her peace. When I saw that we couldn’t resolve her matter, Jesus showed me that what we really needed was His peace that passes understanding, and that we needed to let Him work things out.
When one of us recognizes that we’re losing our peace, we remind each other of it and let Jesus bring us back to His peace, His rest, His joy.
Over the years, God’s been teaching me a lot about peace. Having chronic health issues, panic disorder and anxiety disease really emphasized my need for His peace.
Through our friend , Linda K., God showed me how to test the spirit behind any topic. If something’s causing me to lose my peace, God reminds me to stop thinking about that matter, to take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ. He reminds me that He’s in control, to return to His peace, to get back under the shadow of the Most High by letting go of the topic or concern, to cast my care on Him.
And he (Jesus) will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6b
Test the spirits, precious people. If something’s got you upset, ask Jesus to help you get back to His peace. Stay in the shadow of the Most High. Cast all your care on Him and watch The Prince of Peace calm you down and take care of you.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD (The house of the Prince of Peace) for ever.
Psalm 23
God bless,
Mark
The thing I (Mark) had a hard time learning was to stop focusing on the problem – I was raised to focus on what was happening, the problem, first. The temptation is to focus on the problem, thing or situation that’s trying to get me to fear, to take my eyes off God, to not trust God. I needed to learn to focus on God, first. This is the first part of victory in the Lord.
Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn (Edits mine)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Oh no, not a flat tire! Oh no…”
Wait, back up. “God has said He’ll work all things together for my good so, somehow, He’s going to work this flat tire for my good. Thank You, Lord, for Your promises.”
God bless,
Mark
Any more, when I begin to get “careful” about something that comes up during my day, God reminds me of the scripture in Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing, Mark.” What a blessing the Bible is to my life.
Learning To Live In God’s Home
I was brought up in a home where I was taught to worry…about money, our reputation, what others thought about us, etc.
It’s a real mystery. There was a time when I couldn’t trust God, when I didn’t truly know Him. I didn’t have any “trust God” in me. I thought I trusted God, but I didn’t really. I didn’t know He was taking care of me. I was really scared, pretty much full of hopelessness and unbelief. It was a really tough existence of living in a spiritual “no man’s land” calling ourselves Christians but full of confusion and fear.
Then, my wife and I began memorizing pertinent scriptures. If it was true, like so many people said it was, we wanted the Bible to become a reality in our lives and were told that this was one tangible way to get it into our hearts, minds and spirits to put an end to worry, unbelief, fear, and hopelessness.
One day I was aware of something new in my spirit. I thought it was a small amount of “trust.” It wasn’t there and then it was, and it began to grow. How does that happen? How does the Holy Spirit put “trust” in our hearts? Pretty amazing miracle…
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23
God’s drawing us close to Him, to the safe, comfortable, secure, joyful, loving dwelling place of the Most High. He’s taking us home to live in His house, forever…beginning today.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
James 1:4 KJV
And let endurance (patience) have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.
James 1:4 AMP
When I was in elementary school, we had to learn to count to 100, the parts of speech, the alphabet and multiplication tables. We used flash cards over and over until we memorized this important knowledge that we’d use for the rest of our lives.
Ever notice how God likes to repeat spiritual lessons? He does so to draw us closer and closer to Him. God’s work in our lives is so thorough. He desires to grow us up in Him, in His ways, in His understanding, trust, peace, love and joy. He wants us to live with Him. So, to bring this about, He takes us through the same lessons over and over again. That’s what it takes for us to live this life free in Him.
Why does God ask us to let patience have her perfect work so that we can be perfect and entire lacking nothing? Well, first we have to understand what takes place as we let patience have her perfect work? The works of the flesh, in our lives, are replaced with the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians chapter 5 in the Bible). In other words, the fruit of the Spirit is developed in us and takes over our lives the longer we choose to walk and live with Jesus, the longer we let patience have her perfect work in us.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6
When we become aware of His trust being developed in us, Christianity really becomes fun. You begin to sense that God’s really backing you up. This is when we begin to know we can always rely on God to see us through…And He just keeps growing our knowing. This is when we begin to enter His rest; that secure, loving dwelling place, where we can live trusting Him always…and that’s wonderful, that’s home.
Let patience have her perfect work in your life.
Memorize the Word. No matter where He leads you, stay with Jesus. Keep learning about Him. Let Him teach you over and over again so you can be “thoroughly” full of “trusting Him.” He’s bringing us home to live with Him in His house…☺
God bless,
Mark
he (God) will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee
Deuteronomy 31:8b
I (Jesus) will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5c
he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee
1 Chronicles 28:20c
Isn’t it wonderful? God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will never leave us nor forsake us. They’re with us at home, on the road, at work, everywhere we are and go. That makes for a Happy Monday! ☺
God bless,
Mark
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command.
Psalm 33:9
You spoke the words and all the worlds came into order
You waved Your hands and planets filled the empty skies
You placed the woman and the man inside the garden
And though they fell they found compassion in Your eyes
Oh Lord I stand amazed at the wonder of Your deeds
And yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees
Lord I praise You, because of Who You are
Not for all the mighty things that You have done
Lord, I worship you, because of Who You are
You’re all the reason that I need to voice my praise
Because of Who You are…
Lyric by Billy Lee Smiley and Robert B. Farrell
Take time to contemplate Heaven. It’s so uplifting… ☺
God bless,
Mark
Are you impatient? Do you speak a lot of negative words? Does a lot of your conversation center around worry, doubt and fear? If so, you can rejoice because Jesus loves to take our weaknesses and transform them by His glorious light, from glory to glory. ☺
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
James 1:4
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
“Mark, how’s this going to turn out for my good?” Honestly, I don’t know. BUT, I know God says it will. You just need to see it through and let patience have her perfect work.
One of the key’s to maintaining faith is to not say anything negative – See James chapter 3. It’s so true. Simple, right? Impossible? Not according to God’s Word. All we need to do is ask Jesus to help us put a guard over our mouth – The Holy Spirit will be faithful to help you do this.
It’s amazing how much what we say impacts our thought-life. Keep praising and thanking God. It makes all the difference, believe me.
Can you begin to see how much fun the Christian life can be?
God bless,
Mark
I had a pretty severe migraine headache about eight days ago and it’s still making me dull in the head and pretty weak. Since the initial migraine attack, I’ve had some challenges come up. Even though I often have a harder time maintaining my faith after a migraine, the Lord just kept reminding me to praise and trust Him. Sure enough, even though my body and mind were both in disagreement, I kept praising and trusting God, and He just kept delivering me all week long. I’m telling you this to build you up in your faith, and that even though you may feel weak, obeying God by praising and thanking Him in all things can bring great blessings and deliverance. It builds self-control and helps me to not complain which is always a blessing. ☺
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Many times, seemingly stressful or harmful circumstances are simply a prelude to God’s mighty deliverance. He’s about to bring us a blessing but we can’t see it yet so we’re tempted to worry. He asks us to have faith that He’ll see us through.
I was going to write about something else this morning, but right when I sat down to begin, I felt lead to write this instead.
The greatest thing spouses and parents can do for each other and for their kids is to believe and act on the Word, the Bible, no matter what’s going on on any given day.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it’s so true. It’s what happened to me over the years. If I believe God’s Word and let it impact my actions, my wife is much happier and has an easier time trusting God.
For instance, if I believe and act as those I believe Romans 8:28, my entire family benefits from it. I do, too, because believing Romans 8:28 stops fear and brings hope. It encourages us.
And, that’s just one scripture, and yet it makes such a huge, positive, peace-inducing impact on us and our families.
God wants to bless the entire family by having us believing and acting out our beliefs by trusting that He’ll back up His Word.
Believing God brought great blessing to the lives of the people in the Bible. This is our time to live out God’s truths and to watch Him bless our believing as well.
Be a blessing to your spouse and children by believing and acting out God’s truths.
God bless,
Mark
It’s so good to simply take a few slow, deep breaths. It can help to still me…
Let (we have a choice) not your heart be troubled (I protect my heart by looking up): ye believe in God, believe also in me (Jesus).
John 14:1
If I don’t do what Jesus asks me to do, I’ll be tempted to doubt and question Him, to take on care and fear. If I don’t “look up,” I may experience a hardening of my heart towards God.
God doesn’t ask me to understand everything that happens on earth. He asks me to trust Him, to look up.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Luke 21:28
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding (our understanding is limited and finite while God’s understanding is infinite seeing the whole picture).
Proverbs 3:5
Why “Look up?” Jesus knew doing so would help us maintain a posture of trusting Him regardless of circumstances. In other words, “looking up” enables us to “be still,” to not give in to earthly emotions, and fear so that we don’t become full of concern about everything that’s happening around us. Looking up gives us God’s proper perspective. Jesus (not day-to-day circumstances) truly is our Prince Of Peace.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings (bad news): heart is fixed (his heart is looking up to Jesus), trusting in the LORD (the reward for being obedient to “look up,” to keep focused on Jesus, and His will and care for us).
Let’s be still knowing God is in control and that our redemption is very near.
Today, be still. Look up. ☺
God bless,
Mark
Happy Monday! ☺
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds (surpasses) anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
God bless,
Mark
The following is the October 6th entry in Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s “Sapphires” daily devotional.
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The End Party
In life, there are two parties, and two joys. That of the world and that of Heaven. The world celebrates beginnings – youth at the beginning of life, the wedding at the beginning of the marriage. They find joy in strength, beauty, and sensual pleasure. As time goes on, the party fades and continuously moves away from joy.
Then there’s Heaven’s party, and the joy of the Lord. Heaven’s party is summed up in the Biblical “Feasts of Tabernacles” called “Sukkot.” It was the greatest party of ancient Israel, and it didn’t come in the beginning of the year but at the end in the autumn.
God’s biggest celebration comes at the end. The more you go on, the more joyful it gets.
You have to choose one or the other – the party of this world, or the party of Heaven, the joy of the flesh, or the joy of the Lord.
One is already fading away. The other’s just beginning. So forsake the flesh and its temptations. It’s a party that’s on the way out.
Live in the Spirit and the party of God, and your joy will never end.
Join in the Feast of Thanksgiving today, and the spiritual joy found in God’s party. Today, make it your aim to rejoice in the Lord always!
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
1 John 2:17
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5
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Life’s all about Heaven. Take time this weekend to think about Heaven and all that it holds in store for the child of God.
God bless,
Mark