When does eternity begin?

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

When does eternity begin?  The obvious answer, at least to me, is when we die - when we leave this shadow world behind and "really" begin to live in heaven.  But I was listening to a message yesterday that pointed to something in 1 Timothy 6:12: 

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  

"Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called".  That is not future tense, it is present tense.  Some translations say "Seize the eternal life".  How do we do that?  Well, we have to recognize that it is the reality - that when we confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord, we began living in eternity, that we will NEVER die.  Then we "take hold" of it by putting God at the center of our lives.  That is not the same as making God "a priority" where we can check Him off our to-do list by morning prayers and devotionals.  It means making Him the center of every decision, every conversation, and every personal interaction.  Sounds great, but it is not the way I am currently living my life.  I keep thinking about the comment on Charles Spurgeon from yesterday's message: he was said never to have prayed more than five minutes at a time, but he never went more than five minutes without praying.  That, I believe, is how to take hold of eternity in this life - by constantly living in the awareness and the presence of God.

I pray that you will seize the eternal life to which you were called, and please pray that I will do the same.

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours,

Bruce

Great God, 

in public and private, 

in sanctuary and home, 

may my life be steeped in prayer, 

filled with the spirit of grace and supplication, 

each prayer perfumed with the incense of atoning blood. 

Help me, defend me, 

until from praying ground I pass 

to the realm of unceasing praise. 

Urged by my need, 

invited by Thy promises, 

called by Thy Spirit, 

I enter Thy presence, 

worshipping Thee with godly fear, 

awed by Thy majesty, 

greatness, 

glory, 

but encouraged by Thy love.

(http://www.eternallifeministries.org/prayers.htm)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.