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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
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Louis Rushmore, Editor
Location, location, location. “The point is that location is so vital to real estate, it takes up the top three spots on the list of things you must consider” (Charron). “In a nutshell, location, location, location means identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. The saying is repeated three times for emphasis, and it is the number one rule in real estate, though it is often the most overlooked. You can buy the right home in the wrong location” (Weintraub). A dictionary definition for “location” reads, “1a : a position or site occupied or available for occupancy or marked by some distinguishing feature… b(1) : a tract of land designated for a purpose” (“Location”).
Irrespective of where we live on the Earth – possessor of expensive real estate or owner of none – there are only two locations fitted for the eternal habitation of souls. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that He is preparing a “place” – a location – in “His Father’s house” for His followers. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3 NKJV). That eternal abode has been in preparation “from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The other eternal homeplace is “the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” – Hell (Matthew 25:41).
Both eternal locations or places are prepared accordingly for the respective future residents. The number one rule for each precious soul to consider regarding his or her investment in eternal real estate, certainly, is location. Both Heaven and Hell are available for occupancy and possess their distinguishing features, and God designated each for a purpose. At the Second Coming of our Lord, He will appear “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Hell is a bad neighborhood, to say the very least about it. There will reside all manner of ungodly and wicked souls. “…The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). Even sins that are no longer viewed as criminal acts, as well as sins that have attained a status of social acceptability, will spend forever in a painful existence among the worst sinners who ever lived.
Heaven, however, will present unimaginable joy and happiness without end to faithful children of God. There is hope as long as one lives and Jesus Christ delays His return. Christians at Corinth had been sinners of the most horrible sort, but they changed. The apostle Paul concluded his last of sins with acknowledgement of the transition that had occurred in the lives of the Corinthian Christians. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). They had been washed from the sins by the blood of our Lord (Revelation 1:5). They had been sanctified – set aside for use by God (2 Timothy 2:21). They had been justified whereas before they were condemned (Romans 5:9-11).
Location, location, location. In what neighborhood would you find your eternal home if you were to die within the hour? In what eternal habitation have you been investing?
Works Cited
Charron, Patti. “What Does the Phrase ‘Location, Location, Location’ Mean?” Quora. 4 Apr 2023. <https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-phrase-Location-Location-Location-mean>.
“Location.” Merriam-Webster. 7 Apr 2023. < https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/location>.
Weintraub, Elizabeth. “What Location, Location, Location Means in Real Estate.” Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club. 28 Jan 2017. 7 Apr 2023. <https://www.tampabgcc.com/files/What%20Location.pdf>.
He Also Made the Stars
Rodney Nulph
On a night so clear it seemed as though you could reach out and catch a handful of moonbeams, a little girl studied the stars and said, “Daddy, if Heaven is so pretty on the wrong side, think of what it must look like on the right side!” I can’t wait; can you? Just imagine the beauty and joy of Heaven. Yet, while we are watching and waiting for heaven (Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:12), God is so kind to allow us to have so much beauty here. Late the other night, I was able to see the wrong side of Heaven’s beauty in the innumerable host of heaven (Jeremiah 33:22). I could not help but to be captivated by God’s amazing creation, and I thought about what Moses wrote. “God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also” (Genesis 1:16 NKJV). Have you ever wondered why? Why did God make the stars? I am certain my finite mind will not know all the reasons, but I can think of a few.
God made the stars because it was logical. God is a God of logic and reason! His amazing creation should cause us to know that God exists. Anyone who honors the law of rationality (to justify conclusions with adequate evidence) is truly “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Any rational, clear-thinking person, seeing the stars, must truthfully see and recognize that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). It is estimated that there are 25 sextillion stars, and yet no two stars are alike in density, gravitational pull or volume. Each star has its own “glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). If a man lived 70 years and each night counted 1,000 different stars, he would never be able to count them all! God, Who created the stars, knew that and reminded Jeremiah of this amazing evidence (Jeremiah 33:22). The orderliness of creation shows perfect and amazing design! Go ahead; honestly look around, and you too will come away knowing that there is an Infinite Designer who is logical and loving.
God made the stars because it was practical. Moses’ inspired pen revealed, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament [“expanse” ESV] of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so” (Genesis 1:14-15). Did you catch that? The stars, among the other lights in the heavens, set the seasons, days and years for life upon earth. These same lights also very practically illuminate the earth. Just the other night as I viewed heaven’s host, I could see well enough to walk around without any artificial light. Also, by way of practicality, in the northern hemisphere, latitude lines are determined by the angle of Polaris (the North Star). Early mariners relied heavily upon heaven’s hosts to navigate the ocean. Both longitude and latitude lines are determined by the stars. Talk about practicality!
God made the stars because it was spiritual. When David looked at the heavens, he could not help but wonder why such a perfect and awesome God would care for sinful mankind (Psalm 8). The heavens cause us to look within our very souls and praise the One Who is in control (Psalm 8:1; 9). Ironically and no doubt providentially, when the Magi of old considered the spiritual and wanted to see Jesus, they were led by a star (Matthew 2). Jesus is called the Star of Jacob that would heal the world’s spiritual ills (Numbers 24:15-19). As Jesus closed the Revelation, He called Himself “the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16). Early astronomers referred to Venus as the morning star because of its unique brightness; it is the brightest entity in the sky next to the sun in appearance in the heavens. Stars light the physical, just like Jesus lights the spiritual (John 8:12). He is the Star of salvation, and all that is spiritual!
The wrong side of Heaven makes me long for the right side. “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (Isaiah 40:25-26). Take a moment, and look up to see, “The heavens declare the glory of God”! Mankind, truly, is “without excuse.”