“Made to Last Forever”

John Ridley was a powerful preacher and he shouted, 'I wish I could shout Eternity through the streets of Sydney.' He repeated himself and kept shouting, 'Eternity, Eternity,' and his words were ringing through my brain as I left the church. Suddenly I began crying and I felt a powerful call from the Lord to write 'Eternity'. I had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and I bent down right there and wrote it. I've been writing it at least 50 times a day ever since, and that's 30 years ago. The funny thing is that before I wrote it I could hardly write my own name. I had no schooling and I couldn't have spelled 'Eternity' for a hundred quid. But it came out smoothly, in a beautiful copperplate script. I couldn't understand it, and I still can't. I've tried and tried, but 'Eternity' is the only word that comes out in copperplate. I think Eternity gets the message across, makes people stop and think.

This life is not all there is? Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production. You will spend far more rime on the other side of death—in eternity—than you will here. Earth is the staging area, the preschool, the tryout for your life in eternity. It is the practice workout before the actual game; the warm-up lap before the race begins.

You were made to last forever! Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT) “God has... planted eternity in the human heart.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 (TEV) “When this tent we live in—our body here on earth—is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.”

You were made to last forever! C. S. Lewis said, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way.” The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

You were made to last forever! Philippians 3:7 (NLT) Paul said, ‘I once thought all these things were so very important but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done?’

You were made to last forever! Rick Warren says, “The most damaging aspect of contemporary living is short- term thinking. To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart. There’s far more to life than just here and now! Today is the visible tip of the iceberg. Eternity is all the rest you don’t see underneath the surface.

What is it going to be like in eternity with God? 1 Corinthians 2:9 “No mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord?’ Matthew 25:34 “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

What is it going to be like in eternity with God? Psalm 33:11 (TEV) [God’s] plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally.” Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting!

What is it going to be like in eternity with God? Hebrews 9:14 “This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” 2 Corinthians 5:6 (LB) We should be “realising that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus!’

Thinking About My PURPOSE! Point to Ponder: There is more to life than just here and now. What changes do I need to make in my life as a result? Verse to Remember: “This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever” 1 John 2:17 (NLT)

Thinking About My PURPOSE! Question to Consider: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?