For We Must All Appear Before the Bema of Messiah
5: 9-10

For we must all appear before the bema of Messiah DIG: Will you make pleasing ADONAI the goal of your life? Believers are never judged. How do these verses confirm that truth? What is the bema? Who is it that appears before the bema of Messiah? On what basis are the crowns rewarded? When does this take place? Who is the Judge?

REFLECT: The bema of Messiah will be a place of eternal reward for faithful believers. What kind of reward(s) should you expect? Every believer receives at least one crown. Which crown(s) could you possibly receive? What purpose do these crowns serve? What are you doing with the gifts God has already given you? What will He say to you at the bema?

Believers will receive crowns for works done in the Body of Messiah after salvation.

With remarkable clarity Paul gives us a basic chronology of what happens the moment we die. Here’s how it works. First, while we are at home in our earthly bodies (our temporary tents), we are absent from the Lord (5:6). Sure, we can talk to Him in prayer, but we cannot see Him, we cannot visit Him, we cannot cry on His shoulder or sit at His feet and learn from Him. But, secondly, the moment we fold our tents, when the moment of death comes, when we lay our bodies down and are absent from our bodies, we will immediately be transported into the presence of Yeshua. Then Paul said: We are confident, then, and would much prefer to leave our home (in our earthly bodies) and come to our home in heaven to be with the Lord (5:8).¹³⁷

Therefore, whether at home on earth or away from home in heaven (to see link click Bb – Going Home), regardless of our location, we try our utmost to please Him (5:9). ADONAI is looking for people like Noah in the twenty-first century – people willing to live for the pleasure of God, not the pleasure of this world. For the eyes of ADONAI move here and there throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those who are wholehearted toward Him (Second Chronicles 16:9). From heaven ADONAI observes people to see if anyone has understanding, to see if anyone seeks after Him (Psalm 14:2). Are you one of them? Your wisest moments will be those when you say “Yes!” to God.¹³⁸

For all believers must all appear before the bema of Messiah, that each one may receive what is due them for the things done while in the Body, whether good or bad (5:10). This is a place of reward in heaven after the Rapture of the Church. In the synagogue, the bema is the raised platform where the Word of God is read and the service is conducted. It is a place of honor and blessing. There is no fear at the bema. For believers, this should not be confused with the judgment of unbelievers (see the commentary on Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment). There is no fear at the bema. John spoke of the bema when he wrote: In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (First John 4:17-18).

The basis of blessing at the bema will be the believer’s works done in the Body of Messiah after salvation. This is illustrated in the parable of the Bags of Gold. Some were faithful and were rewarded, and some were not and lost their reward (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Jx – The Parable of the Bags of Gold) The believer’s sins will not be judged, because they have already been forgiven at the cross, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1). It will not be a question of the believer’s sins, but a matter of reward to determine degree of authority in the Millennial Kingdom.

What will we do with our crowns when we receive them? John tells us that believers will lay their crowns before the throne in heaven and proclaim: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being (Rev 4:10b-11).

Paul gives us a more detailed passage dealing with the bema. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah. Paul again explains that the basis for judgment is the works of the believer. The foundation is Yeshua Messiah. In addition, their works will not be based on quantity, but quality instead. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. The question will not be how much gold, silver and costly stones or wood, hay or straw, but was it gold, silver and costly stones or was it wood, hay and straw? Thus, some believers will find their works burned up, while others will merely find them refined. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. Forgiveness does not exclude accountability. It’s just burning away the dross to purify the real stuff that is to be rewarded. Finally, the rewards are given. Those who have built with gold, silver and costly stones will find their works still remaining, but purified after the fire has been applied. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward (First Corinthians 3:10-14).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your wonderful love! Praise You that not only do You totally forgive the sins of those who love and fear You (Psalms 103:11-12), You also reward Your children. You are so wise to see each person’s heart attitude. People evaluate a deed by how much it accomplishes, but you God look into the heart. Thank You for looking into the heart of each person so that when you give a reward, Your reward is totally fair because it is based not on outward appearance but on their heart attitude. For man looks at the outward appearance, but ADONAI looks into the heart (First Samuel 16:7c). You are wonderful and it is a joy to serve You in good times and in hard times. We bend the knee to you and seek to bless you with all our thoughts and actions. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of resurrection. Amen

But if they have built with wood, hay and straw, they will be burned up. Therefore, he will suffer loss, in the sense of lost rewards and authority in the Millennium, nothing more. Lest anyone think that he lost his salvation, Paul says in no uncertain terms that he himself will be saved. His works do not determine salvation. Since we can do no works to earn our salvation, we can do no works to lose our salvation. His eternal relationship with the Lord is guaranteed because God has anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (1:21-22). Salvation equals faith . . . plus nothing. But he will spend a thousand years in the Messianic Kingdom as one escaping through the flames with nothing to show for his spiritual life (First Corinthians 3:15).

This passage says nothing about the nature of the reward; however, other passages do. They speak of these rewards as being crowns. The Greek language has two words meaning crown. The first word is diadem, which is a king’s crown. It is the crown of sovereignty and of a person who is royal by his nature and by his position – a king. This is the kind of crown that Yeshua wears. The second Greek word is stephanos, which is a crown given to an overcomer, a victor, one who has won a race. These are the kinds of crowns available to believers because they overcame in the spiritual warfare with Satan and are now crowned at the bema of Messiah. There are five such crowns mentioned in the Bible.¹³⁹

The first is called the incorruptible crown: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever (First Corinthians 9:24-25). This crown is given to believers who faithfully run the race, believers who crucify their selfish desires in the flesh and point people to Messiah. God calls some people to do things that will require some sacrifice in the way they live and conduct their lives. This verse also implies that these people will receive this crown for the sacrifices they were willing to make for ADONAI in order to successfully complete the call or mission God called them to do. They were faithful to that call.

The second crown is called the crown of rejoicing: For what is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Yeshua Messiah at His Second Coming? For you are our glory and joy (First Thessalonians 2:19-20). Paul asked rhetorically, what would be the greatest blessing he could possibly receive at the bema of Messiah. The Thessalonians were! They were everything that was worth anything to Messiah. They were His hope, crown, glory and joy. In essence, Paul said, “When life is over and we stand in the presence of our Lord Yeshua at His Second Coming, you Thessalonians will be His source of glory and joy, you mean that much to Him.” This is the soul winner’s crown. It is not hard to understand God’s eagerness to reward those who bring the lost to Him. Some have the gift of evangelism, but we are all to evangelize. We need to understand that a relationship with Yeshua is exactly what unbelievers are searching for, whether they realize it or not, and reaching out to them causes God to rejoice.

The third crown is the crown of righteousness: Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing (Second Timothy 4:7-8). Rabbi Sha’ul had stored up spiritual currency in heaven, and so can we. Yeshua Himself said: Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal it (Matthew 6:20). Yeshua tells us that there isn’t anything that you have suffered in this life that will not be rewarded at least a hundred times as much (Mark 10:29-30). This crown of righteousness describes itself. It is the crown of eternal righteousness – the very righteousness of the Redeemer granted in full perfection to the glorified believer. When we receive our glorified bodies, we will receive this crown. All believers will be rewarded.

The fourth crown is called the crown of life: In James, it is a crown for those people who remain faithful to the gospel even under persecution: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). And in the book of Revelation, it is given to those who suffer martyrdom for their faith. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death (Revelation 2:10-11).

The fifth and final crown mentioned in the Bible is the crown of glory: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Messiah’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed. There are glorious days coming when those who serve Yeshua with the right heart and in the right way will be rewarded. Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And then Peter makes an application: When the Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (First Peter 5:2-4). This is a crown for faithfully feeding the flock of ADONAI. It is available to those pastors, messianic rabbis, elders and other teachers who feed the sheep with the milk and meat of the Word of God.

There may be other crowns available, but these are the only ones referred to in the Bible. At least these five are available to those whose works remain, which are built of gold, silver and precious stones. These crowns are for the purpose of determining the degree of authority in the Messianic Kingdom and not for the Eternal State. In eternity, all believers will be equal, but not so in the Millennial Kingdom where believers will have different positions of authority (Luke 19:11-27).¹⁴⁰

Going Home
5: 1-8

Going home DIG: What does Paul mean by comparing an earthly body to a tent? What is he saying about the state of our life on this earth? How can you balance longing for heaven with the need to accomplish God’s purposes for you here on earth? What are some of the ways you seek to maintain an eternal perspective? How are you walking by faith and not by sight?

REFLECT: What is your attitude toward death? Not that you want to die, but does it feel like you would be going home, or are you, in some way, still clinging to this world? Are you looking forward to a trade-in on your used body for a new, eternal one? How so? What legacy has been passed on to you from your family regarding how their death is approached?

The day of our death will be better than the day of our birth.

As he wrote this letter, Paul was facing death on a daily basis. Hostility swirled around him, animosity was constant, and so was the reality and threat of opposition and deadly persecution. Both unbelieving Jews and Gentiles sought to take his life, viewing him as a danger to their religion (Acts 13:50 and 18:13), their economic prosperity (Acts 19:23-27), and even to their political stability (Acts 17:6). The apostle’s sense of imminent death comes through repeatedly in Second Corinthians (1:8-10 and 4:7-12). How did he face the reality that he, like a soldier in the front lines, constantly lived on the brink of death?

Some might have expected Paul to tone down his fearless preaching of the Good News, since it was his preaching that enraged his enemies and thus jeopardized his life. But the more hostility and persecution he faced, the bolder Paul became. He never wavered from proclaiming the truth. Because he faced death confidently, that triumphant outlook caused him to write: For me, life is the Messiah, and death is gain . . . I am caught in a dilemma: my desire is to go off and be with Messiah for that is far better (Philippians 1:21 and 23).

Knowing that, believers should not fear death. Death merely releases us from the relatively dilapidated tent, our earthly body (5:2), in which we now live and ushers us into a room in the house of the eternal Father in the heavenly city. That does not mean that we should be foolishly reckless or careless with our lives because our bodies belong to God (6:19-20). We should long for heaven like a prisoner longs for freedom, like a thirsty person longs for a drink, like a sick person longs for health, like a hungry person longs for food, like a poor person longs for a payday, and like a soldier longs for peace. Hope and courage in facing death is the last opportunity for us to exhibit our faith in ADONAI, to prove our hope of heaven is genuine and to further develop our confidence in the promises of God. From this passage four motives for facing death confidently emerge.¹²⁷

The next body is the best (5:1): For we know. How do we know? Because we trust the Word of God. No believer has to consult a fortune-teller, a Ouija board, a spiritist, or a deck of cards to find out what the future holds or what lies ahead on the other side of death.¹²⁸ This initial for points to the explanation this verse will provide for the implications of previous verses (to see link click Ba – Renewed Day by Day), which are closely connected. To know something, in the sense expressed here, means more than having information, or having a theoretical understanding of some concept. Rather, Paul knows about the resurrected body because he knew the resurrected Messiah.¹²⁹ Paul’s confident assertion for we know indicates that believer’s glorified bodies are not a remote possibility or a vague wish because the Ruach Ha’Kodesh has been given as a down payment, guaranteeing our future.

Paul longed for his glorified body not primarily because it would be free of physical weakness and defects, but because it would be free of sin. The tent of the body is sin’s home, causing Paul to lament: I am bound to the old sin nature, sold to sin as a slave (Romans 7:14); sin is housed inside me (Romans 7:17b and 20b); and What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death (Romans 7:24)? The apostle longed to serve, worship, and praise ADONAI in absolute purity, freed from the restrictions of his fallen, sinful flesh. That is the best feature of the reality of the resurrection.¹³⁰

Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:1-3), and here he used a tent as a picture of our present earthly bodies. For we know that when the tent which houses us here on earth is torn down. The earthly tent is synonymous with our body (4:10), our mortal flesh (4:11), and our outer man (4:16), as well as the clay jar (4:17). Tent life is a ready metaphor for our brief sojourn in this world, and depicts the instability, and thus vulnerability, of our mortal existence. And the verb torn down is particularly appropriate for the image of striking a tent, or the reference to physical death.¹³¹

After death dismantles believers’ earthly tent, we have a permanent building from God (5:1a). The assertion “we have” brings up the question, “When do we have it and what do we have?” Do we receive an interim tent at death and have to wait for the coming of Messiah and the first resurrection before we receive our resurrection bodies? I think not. It is more likely that Paul understands the believer to receive the resurrection body immediately at death. It would be a small consolation to know that this heavenly dwelling is only another partial fulfillment of what is to come and that we must wait in limbo until the Second Coming. Kind of a “heavenly purgatory.” Such an interpretation seems to contradict Paul’s statements in Philippians 1:23-24. With the prospect of death looming over him, he confesses that his personal preference is for death (something far better) because he will be with Messiah. We can surmise that it is also better because it will bring an end to his earthly conflict (Philippians 1:29), sorrow piled on sorrow (Philippians 2:27) and affliction (Philippians 4:12). But he concludes that his personal desires will be overruled by Ha’Shem because of the necessity of him returning to the Philippians to strengthen their faith (Philippians 1:24-26). Therefore, “the present tense” we have means that there is no homeless interlude between the destruction of our temporary earthly tent and receiving our eternal heavenly Tent.¹³² Paul had only two conditions in view since 4:16, the temporary and the eternal.

A building not made by human hands, to house us in heaven (5:1b). Perhaps the most definitive use of the phrase not made with human hands is Hebrews 9:11, “When the Messiah appeared as the High Priest of the good things that are happening already, then, through the greater and more perfect Tent which is not not made by human hands.” The description implies “not made by human effort or ability,” and speaks of something only God can do. Paul gave a more extensive teaching on the resurrection of the dead in his previous letter (see the commentary on First Corinthians Dq – The Resurrection of the Dead).

The next life is perfect (5:2-4): But in the meantime, in this tent, our earthly body, we groan longingly with desire to have around us the home from heaven that will be ours (5:2). Those who love the Lord yearn for the next life when this perishable body must be clothed with imperishability and what is mortal puts on immortality (First Corinthians 15:54a). Paul was weary of the frustrations, disappointments, limitations, weaknesses, and sins of this present life and longed for the sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8:19). When we put on this new eternal body, we will not be found naked. To be naked, then, is to be only a soul without a resurrected body. Yes, while we are in this earthly, temporary body, we groan with the sense of being oppressed. It is the crushing burden of sin that we experience in our physical bodies that make us yearn for our spiritual bodies. Repeating his disdain for soul nakedness, Paul emphasized again that it is not so much that we want to take something off, but rather to put something on over it; so that what must die may be swallowed up by the fulness and perfections of eternal life (5:3-4).¹³³

The next existence fulfills God’s purpose (5:5): Moreover, what is yet the future was prepared by God in the past and unfolds according to His plan and will. In eternity past, ADONAI sovereignly chose believers for salvation (see the commentary on Romans Ae – My Position on T.U.L.I.P. or Calvinism); in time, He redeemed us and in the future He will give us resurrection bodies. The phrase for this very purpose (5:5a) emphatically states that we obtain our glorified bodies in fulfillment of God’s sovereign plan from all eternity past. Paul wrote similar words to the believers in Rome (see Romans Cl – Our Bodies and Redemption).

But how can we be sure that we shall one day have new bodies like the glorified body of our Lord? We can be sure because the Ruach lives inside of us. Further reinforcing the apostle’s confidence in facing death was the knowledge that YHVH has given us His Spirit as a pledge (5:5b). Paul mentioned the sealing of the Spirit earlier in his letter (see An – God’s Seal of Approval). Thus, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh dwelling the believer’s body is the “down payment” that guarantees the future inheritance, including a glorified body (Ephesians 1:13-14). In modern Greek, the word translated guarantees means “engagement ring.” The True Universal Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14), is engaged to Yeshua Messiah and is waiting for the Bridegroom to come and take her to the wedding (see the commentary on Revelation Fg – Blessed Are Those Invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb).¹³⁴

The next dwelling is with the Lord (5:6-8): Therefore, we are always confident when facing death, we know that so long as we are at home in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord (5:6), The people of God can be found in one of two places: either in heaven or on earth (Ephesians 3:15). None of them is in the grave, in hell, or in any “intermediate purgatory” between earth and heaven. Believers on earth are at home in the body, while believers who have died are absent from the body. Believers on earth are absent from the Lord, while believers in heaven are present with the Lord.

Just as the nine months you spent in your mother’s womb were not an end in themselves but a preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next. If you have a relationship with YHVH through Yeshua, you don’t need to fear death. It is the door to eternity. It will be the last hour of your time here on earth, but it won’t be the last of you. Rather than being the end of your life, it will be the birthday into eternal life. In that sense, the day of our death will be better than the day of our birth, because the first time we were born into sin. But when we die, we will awaken into the glorious presence of Messiah.¹³⁵ The Bible says: This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our eternal home in heaven (Hebrews 13:14).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you that our Hope of heaven is a for-sure hope. Heaven is certain for those who love and worship Yeshua as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). That is such a comfort. We know that we are going home to be with You. In this world of uncertainty, Your love is joyously certain. It is a solid hope, a rock of refuge. The truth of heaven is so strong that nothing that happens in this world can touch Your Almighty power to take Your children to their heavenly home to live with You forever! Messiah’s words are always true, for He is Truth (John 14:6). He said that He was preparing a home for those who love Him! I am going to prepare a place for you . . . I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be  (John 14:2c, 3b-c). Thank You for your great love. We love You and rejoice in serving You, even when it is hard, for our eyes are on You and our eternal home with You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The parenthetical statement: For we live by trust, not by what we see, explains how believers can have fellowship with and serve an invisible God in this life. Such trust is not a wishful fantasy or a vague superstition, but a strong confidence, grounded in the truth of Scripture (5:7). Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).

Paul concludes the passage with the triumphant declaration : We are confident, then, and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and come to our home with the Lord (5:8). He was always positive toward the future despite the constantly looming reality of death. To prefer to leave our home in the body and come to our home with the Lord is to understand the brief, temporary time we spend on earth only as alien’s and stranger’s experience, while heaven is our true and permanent home.

The reality of death faces every believer who dies before the Lord raptures His Church (see the commentary on Revelation By – The Rapture of the Church). Those who look forward to receiving their glorified bodies, to the perfections of heaven, to the fulfillment of God’s purpose for them, and to living forever in His presence, will be able to say triumphantly with Paul, “Death, where is your victory? Death where is your sting” (First Corinthians 15:55)?¹³⁶

Renewed Day by Day
4: 16-18

Renewed day by day DIG: What was Paul’s secret in getting through the hard times of life and ministry? Why did ADONAI allow Paul to go through them? What does it mean to “concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen?” How does the inner person get renewed daily? How does that daily renewal fuel and motivate the believer?

REFLECT: How do these verses challenge the idea of what makes a person “successful?” Why do some believers live with a deep-seated anxiety about eternity? What are your feelings about the end of your life and the next world to come? How does the glory reserved for us in the future serve as motivation in the now to be faithful and courageous in suffering?

For what is seen is temporary, but things not seen are eternal.

Life for believers in this fallen world is a mixture of joy and sorrow, of blessing and suffering, of triumph and tragedy. For all people, fulfilling relationships, pleasant times, and exhilarating experiences are tempered by the reality that people are born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). Even believers are not exempt from normal human trouble. Yeshua warned: In this world you will have trials (John 16:33). And Paul reminded Timothy, “All who want to live a godly life united with Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted” (Second Timothy 3:12). Disappointment, discontent, pain, grief, loss, disasters of various kinds, unexpected turns, and persecution will mark life’s course. Those who are able to cope successfully with life’s difficulties are those who learn how to endure. This passage reveals the means for facing life like Paul did, of having all kinds of troubles. But we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed (4:8-9).

Because of the astounding realities of all that was his in Messiah and the B’rit Chadashah, Paul could not lose heart. No amount of trouble could make him neglect his calling, privileges, or duty. Based on the reality of ADONAI’s glory revealed in Yeshua Messiah and God’s mighty care in his life, Paul gives us three heavenly reasons for earthly endurance.¹²²

Value spiritual strength over physical strength: Therefore, pointing back to what just preceded it (to see link click Az – Priceless Treasure in Clay Jars), we do not lose heart. Paul repeats this same statement that he made in 4:1, but here he does so in view of the resurrection and the glory it will bring. Let the present afflictions be what they will, not only do they appear as nothing when compared with that glory, they are even instrumental in working our glory out for us during our brief stay on this earth.¹²³

Though outwardly we are heading for decay. Paul’s body was decaying not only because of the normal aging process, but also because of the extremely grueling life he led. The apostle was old before his time, worn out in the cause of Messiah. Nor was it merely hunger, sleeplessness, or illness that took its toll on Paul; it was the battering his body took at the hands of his enemies. He wrote to the Galatians, “I have scars on my body to prove that I belong to Yeshua” (Galatians 6:17b). His body bore the scars of beatings (Acts 16:22 and 21:30-32), whippings (2 Cor 11:24), even a stoning (Acts 14:19), as well as imprisonments (Acts 16:24).

But in direct correlation to Paul’s decaying outer man was the growth and maturing of his inner man. The expression inner man is synonymous with the heart for Paul, and implies the center of a person, the source of the will, emotion, thought and affection. Was Paul tempted to give up in the face of the brutal nature of his ministry? He answered, “Heaven forbid, even though we are wasting away, the real us, who we are on the inside, is being renewed day by day (4:16 NIV). Isaiah said it this way: Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard that the everlasting God, ADONAI, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow tired or weary? His understanding cannot be fathomed. He invigorates the exhausted, he gives strength to the powerless. Young men may grow tired and weary, even the fittest may stumble and fall; but those who hope in ADONAI will renew their strength, they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings; when they are running they won’t grow weary, when they are walking they won’t get tired (Isaiah 40:28-31). Our decaying bodies will eventually perish, but one day all believers will receive a new imperishable, eternal body (see Bb – Going Home). That recognition motivates us to value spiritual strength over physical strength.

Value the future over the present: It’s vital that you stay focused on God’s plan, not your pain or problem. That is how Yeshua endured the pain of the cross, and we are urged to follow His example: Keep your eyes on Yeshua, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be his afterwards (Hebrews 12:2a LB). Corrie ten Boom, who suffered in a Nazi death camp, explained the power of focus, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed; if you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Messiah, you’ll be at rest.” Your focus will determine your feelings. The secret of endurance is to remember that your pain is only in the present, but your future reward will be eternal. Moshe endured the problems of a life of problems because he was looking ahead to his reward (Hebrews 11:26). Paul endured hardship the same way. He said: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory whose weight is beyond description (4:17). So don’t give in to short-term thinking. Stay focused on the end result: If we are to share in His glory, we must also share His sufferings. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later (Romans 8:17-18 NLT).¹²⁴

Value the eternal over the temporal: Compared to other centuries, life has never been easier for much of the Western world. We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered to. With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available to us today, it’s easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. We are preparing for something even better.

The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Yeshua, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world (John 15:18-19). It also explains why some of God’s promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story. In order to keep us from becoming too attracted to earth, ADONAI allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life – longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20a), this earth is not our final home.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your deep and eternal love that desires to have me live with You forever in Your eternal home in heaven. Thank You that You are Almighty and nothing can stop me from spending eternity with You. Your power is so strong that nothing can keep me from your perfect love that you give me in Messiah Yeshua.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Thank You! Bless You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for the water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn’t allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth because you were made for heaven. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what YHVH has planned for you. Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values , not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions. The Bible says: Therefore, we concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen. For what is seen is temporary, but things not seen are eternal (4:18). It is a fatal mistake to assume that the Lord’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it (First John 2:15-17). The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance. Never focus on temporary crowns, only seek after eternal ones (see Bc – For We Must All Appear Before the Bema of Messiah).¹²⁵ Paul was riveted by the reality of eternity. The promise of heaven gave him real hope when life’s circumstances turned unpleasant. By cultivating a mindset that continually recalls these easy-to-forget realities, we become the people ADONAI made us to be and our lives take on new power and purpose.¹²⁶