Ramesh C. Reddy
Editor in Chief
Hi everyone :)
May you know that the Lord Jesus offers you citizenship in Heaven as you become an alien here on earth! Amen!
Quiet Times (Psalm 131 and Philippians 3:20-21)
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
I asked myself what does citizenship mean?
What came to my mind is being a citizen of the United States. As a citizen of the United States, we are guaranteed a lot of things that non-citizens are not guaranteed. Usually, if American citizens are held captive or trapped in any country, the U.S does all it can to free them. Being a citizen is not a 1 way streak. The citizen pledges to be loyal to the country he decides to be a citizen of. A person can automatically become a citizen of a country if he is born there or go through the process of attaining citizenship.
Now I thought to myself what does citizenship in heaven mean?
What came to my mind is that I cannot automatically become a citizen of Heaven regardless of where I am born. Rather I need to attain citizenship. Attaining citizenship is a process where I renounce my allegiance to earthly things and flesh way of living and announce my loyalty to Jesus Christ. I acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Lord and Personal Savior by confessing and repenting of my sins and turning to Him completely. At that moment, I become a citizen of Heaven.
As a citizen of Heaven I can enjoy all the blessings the Lord Jesus has in store for me. When the enemy attacks and tries to terrorize me, I can be confident my Lord and Savior will rescue me as I seek His help.
Since my citizenship is in heaven, it means I am an alien here on earth and just passing through. I should not give my allegiance to any earthly things. It is so awesome to know that our citizenship can be in heaven.
No matter what is happening on earth, I see Paul reminding the Philippians not to let earthly desires control them but to remember Jesus Christ will come and rescue them. This is evidenced by “And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…”
This is exciting to know because it lets me know that Heaven is real and Christ resides there. One day, He will come down to earth and rescue us. This is evidenced by “who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like his glorious body.”
This lets me know that Jesus Christ has the power that enables him to bring everything under his control. So no matter what is happening around me I need to remember that Jesus is in control and not give up. For one day, He will come and rescue us transforming our lowly bodies so they will be like his glorious body! Amen!
I ask you now dear friend, where is your citizenship?
Dear friend, it is so exciting to know that our citizenship can be in Heaven. But, it is not something we attain automatically. We cannot physically be born into it like we can be born in a country and automatically be a citizen of that country. On the contrary, every human being has to attain it. The Good News is it is attainable. Jesus Christ offers us His free gift of Salvation. Receiving Salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ will make us citizens of Heaven. As we become a citizen of Heaven, we will belong to Him. We choose to give our loyalty to the One who resides in Heaven. This means we must not be loyal to earthly things as Paul mentioned in the previous verses. That devotional time I has is called T.E.A.R.S.
There are so many benefits of being a citizen of Heaven and every benefit is outlined and described in the Citizenship Manual of Heaven called the Bible. It also lets us know how to live as citizens of Heaven rather than citizens of earth. As we live as aliens here, we can be sure that Jesus Christ will come one day and take us home to be with Him where we ought to be! He will take our lowly bodies and transform them into Heavenly bodies.
Friend, no matter what you are going through, Jesus loves you and wants you to be part of Heaven. He died and came back to save you. No matter what you have done or where you have been, you can attain citizenship as you surrender your life to the Savior. Never think that you cannot because all of us on our own cannot but while we were yet sinners Jesus died for us. You can come to Jesus as you are and allow Him to transform your life. Oh yes, He will my friend. His love will reach you where you are. When we mess up and turn to Him, He will take care of us.
Christ Is Truly In Zion Encouraging Newness, Saving Hearts In People! (C.I.T.I.Z.E.N.S.H.I.P)/”Where is your citizenship?”
Won’t you come and receive your citizenship in Heaven?
Make this your prayer:
Jesus, you offer us citizenship in Heaven. Thank you so much for that Lord. Lord, I want to be a citizen of Heaven but many times I feel like I am trapped here on earth yielding to fleshly things. I know that is not right and need your help to turn my loyalty over to you. Please Jesus help me for you alone can truly transform my life. Thank you Jesus for your help! I confess my sins to you and repent of them. Now I turn to you and acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior. I believe that you died and rose again for me to give me Eternal Life as I turn to you. Come Lord Jesus and make your presence known in my life. Help me to live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for making me a citizen of Heaven and I have the citizenship manual of Heaven to read always called the Bible. Thank you for your Word! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me! I turn my life over to thee. Whatever your will please give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
P.S. Check out the ZanyCrossword puzzle I created for you all.
It is interactive which means you can solve it online.
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