Dear Friends,
We salute you as fellow Christians who share with us the hopeful prospect of an eternal glorious home prepared for each of us by our loving God!
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
Our hope is set firm in the knowledge that the promise of such an everlasting salvation has been established by the grace of the Father through faith in the accomplished work of Jesus Christ on the cross some 2000 years ago once and for all who believe. When we enter into this new life in Christ, we are not left to mature in isolation: God continues to work into us the desire and ability to obey Him in good works!
“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10) For it is God Who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
After we accept Christ and embark on the journey to obey Him, we are not left to struggle alone in the morass of circumstances and muddled relationships around us. NO! The enduring faith in the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross, the persistent desire to please God as He works to change our attitudes and deeds in the here and now, and the unfailing hope that God is actually preparing a place for His children in eternity – these all are growing in us as we walk in the gift of the fellowship of the precious Holy Spirit in our hearts! Christ Jesus did not leave us without a Helper!
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. (John 14:6) “In [Christ] you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians 1:13)
Therefore, thus loved, thus aided, thus sealed, we look confidently forward to an everlasting future, a future without tears, death, sorrow, crying or pain!
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:3-4)
Certainly each of us are encouraged as we look at the precious truths in these scriptures. It is so easy in a world of trouble and struggle and pain to lose sight of the promises wrapped up in this gift of our salvation. And if you are involved in nursing home ministry, your friends there often strain to hold on to the lifeline of faith in God’s Word. How important it is that we remind our brothers and sisters in long-term care settings (including shut-ins at home) that the glorious gospel still rings just as sure for them today as when they first heard it. They need to hear about it, sing about it, pray about it, talk about it just like you do. Please know that these truths are on our mind as Dar and I pursue the goals of this ministry. And know that we deeply appreciate your partnership in our work as you support us with your prayer and your material supply.
Sincerely,
Jerry and Dar Johnson