Dear Church Family and Website Friends, 

The teacher smiled at her Sunday School group and inquired, ''All right, class all of you who want to go to Heaven raise your hands.''

Everybody in the class raised his/her hand, except one boy.

''Don't you want to go to Heaven?'' the teacher asked.

''I can't,'' the young boy replied. ''my mom wants me to come straight home after church.''

When the Christian life is mentioned or talked about, Heaven is often mentioned too.

In fact, to many people Heaven or going to Heaven is what the Christian faith is all about.  Certainly our eternal reward and destination is reason enough to trust in Jesus Christ.

 It's like the hymn writer so simply but beautifully put it, ''What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace, when He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land, what a day, a glorious day that will be.''

That WILL be a day! When we cross that heavenly shore, it will ALL be worth it! All our trials, struggles, pain, and heartaches will be no more and we will FOREVER be with the Lord!

Heaven!..... What a great reward! What a great incentive! What a great promise! What a great Hope!

However,….the hope of ETERNAL life is NOT all there is to the Christian life….. Eternal life is NOT the only promise/hope/blessing of trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior!

It is not just about ''pie in the sky, by and by!''

Jesus, as well as others in the New Testament assured us that there is another fabulous and worthwhile incentive, reward and reason to live each and every day committed to God in Jesus Christ!

The other reason is ABUNDANT LIFE!

Abundant life now, fullness of life in the here and now!

According to John's Gospel chapter ten verse ten Jesus said, ''The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE, and have it ABUNDANTLY!''

Abundant life now and throughout eternity is the purpose of Jesus' coming to earth, dying on the cross and resurrecting on the third day!

He came, YES, to pay our sin debt so we can be saved and made at peace with God the Father and one day go be with Him, but also so that each of us could trust in Him and experience a rich, meaningful and fulfilling life here on the earth as well!

Now, Jesus did not promise to make rich in terms of finances/material possessions, but He did come to make our lives rich. He came to add LIFE to our years!

It is through life in Christ that life here has meaning, joy and purpose!

May you live 2012 in the abundance of God's grace!

Pastor Lee