Heaven On Earth - The One Year Heaven on Earth Devotional

Read: Isaiah 53

The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5, NIV

IN WORD

We celebrate the gift of salvation. Most of us celebrate because of the eternal life we know we’ll have in heaven. Though we suffer pains and trials today, we know it won’t be this way forever—that in heaven there will be no more sorrow and no more tears. We look across the Jordan and into the Promised Land, wondering when we’ll cross over and leave this wilderness behind. We love the prospects of our future.

But our King’s ministry is much more than a ticket to future glory. It has present applications that, by faith, allow us to taste glory right now. Many of God’s promises are for “the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). His benefits are more than a distant hope (Psalm 103:2-5). The punishment that Jesus suffered on our behalf brought us peace—notice the fullness of life experienced by His followers in Acts—and we are healed by His wounds. The blessings of salvation began the day Jesus left a tomb behind. If we place all of our hopes in the future, we’re missing an enormous part of salvation.

IN DEED

Does your life revolve around a future hope or a present reality? The truth is that both should shape the decisions of each day. But when the life we live doesn’t measure up to the life we’re promised, we’re often content to shrug our shoulders and assume the promises of God are all for our life beyond the grave.

God disagrees. He gave His disciples the gift of faith, in order to bring heaven into the now. Jesus even commanded His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is being done in heaven. The truth of salvation is not just that we will go to heaven, but that heaven will come to us in the here and now—if we believe. Live in that truth, praying and acting as though the Kingdom is invading your life. The punishment that brought us peace and healed our wounds means that it truly is.

ADDITIONAL READING: Psalm 103:2-5

It is certain that all that will go to heaven hereafter begin their heaven now.

MATTHEW HENRY