FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd
sionaries who traveled to southern Mexico to work among the Chol Indians. Among other ministries, they labored 25 years to translate the New Testament into the local language.Today, more than 12,000 make up the Chol Christian Community— which, by the way, is financially self-supporting. What’s most amazing is that when the missionaries arrived, the locals didn’t even know how to sing. Upon their conversion, however, the Christians in the tribe became known as “the singers.” “They love to sing now,” said author George Sweeting, “because they have something to sing about.” 152 If you know Jesus as Savior, you too, have something to sing about. Looking out over the congregation, I notice lots of people not singing. I realize some don’t know the songs, while oth- ers think they can’t sing. Among them are those who prefer a different style of worship. Praise God these won’t be issues in heaven. Instead of feeling self-conscious and looking around at others, we’ll focus on the One worthy of our honor and wor- ship, making a joyful noise unto Him. In addition to its praise, heaven is a place of unprec- edented beauty. A little girl and her father were out for a walk in the country after dark.There were no streetlights, auto headlights, bright signs, etc.—nothing but a deep, blue, velvet sky studded with an array of shining stars. Gazing upward, the daughter said, “Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beauti- ful, what do you think the right side will be like?” Jesus assured the repentant thief on the cross beside Him, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). “This Persian word meaning ‘garden’ is used in the Old Testament of a number of gardens. Specifically important is its use for the Garden of Eden.” 163 Obviously, Christ was pointing to the beautiful surroundings they would soon enjoy. In his view of
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