It is one of the most definitive actions that occurs each year at this time...the turning of the page of the calendar as we say "Goodbye" to last year and welcome in all the joys, trials, speed bumps and triumphs that surely await us in this NEW YEAR....for us, this is 2026!
I am currently teaching my Sunday School class at McConnell Memorial Baptist Church in Hiawassee, a series, I have entitled, Preparing for Eternity....What's Your Plan? I mean, after all, isn't the start of a brand new year front loaded with what many call, NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS....those well-thought out plans we make to improve ourselves, our station in life, our retirement portfolio or some other meaningful endeavor that bears our attention.
Yes, we call them, RESOLUTIONS, but aren't they really well-intentioned plans that we believe will drastically improve some area of our life ? And if truth be told, our Heavenly Father is on point with this mentality. In fact, He gives us forewarning that He has a plan for our lives as given to us by the prophet, Jeremiah, who shared this with God's elect in Jeremiah 29:11....For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)
So if God has a PLAN(and He's the Creator and Ruler of the Universe), what should that say to you and me about making plans...not for just these days on this dusty orb, but for the hope that lies before us....HEAVEN! SO THE QUESTION I PUT TO MY SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS,
What are your Plans for Eternity?
Now for many that may seem like a silly question, right? But let's stop and think about who our God is and how He reigns in this world and the next? First, we know from Scripture, our Heavenly Father is a God who ordained man to work. In Genesis 2:19-20, we read, 19 "Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals." So, naming the animals was Adam's first job as he began to work for His Creator...and that same mindset that God has work for us to do for our good and His Glory has not changed. It will follow us to Heaven, as God gives each of us work to do in His heavenly kingdom. So my question to you is, what do you want to do for God when you get to Heaven and what plans have you made to be prepared for that work?
Now, we all know that making plans to do ANYTHING for God has a caveat....simply put, ARE THE PLANS I HAVE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD'S WILL? And once again, God's Word speaks directly to that question in James 4:13-15 as follows.... " Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that." (NIV)
So, our plans for Heaven totally rest in the WILL OF GOD; however, it is my personal belief that God will want to use us in His kingdom by using the talents, interests and joys of our life well-lived on earth, so that we might bring to fruition His will in His Kingdom of Heaven.
Therefore, why not plan for work in Heaven by doing what God has gifted you to do as you sojourn here on this dusty orb, we call our temporary home? Plan to use that beautiful voice to sing praises to the King here on earth so that you might join the angelic chorus in Heaven. Or use that willingness to share the Good News of Christ here and now, so that you might be a messenger of God's love in His glorious kingdom as you worship Him with words of joy, love and praise.
Now, I don't know what talents or gifts of service God has bestowed on you; but this one thing I do know...GOD'S GIFTS OF SERVICE, NOW, WILL BE GREATLY WELCOMED AS WE SEEK TO SERVE HIM IN OUR HEAVENLY HOME....AND IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MAKE A PLAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS GREAT AND AWESOME WILL...SO,
What's your plan for Heaven? And if you need some help in "fleshing" out a plan that prepares you for service in His Heavenly kingdom, be sure to come back to get the rest of what God has given you to help in getting ready for later.... by living for HIM in the here and now!!!!
Plans in motion....following God's Heavenly directions,
WPQ
Poem for the day....
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