Numbers 33, Isaiah 25, Psalm 138

Read Numbers 33, Isaiah 25, and Psalm 138.

This devotional is about Isaiah 25.

What will heaven be like? This is a question that most Christians have probably considered and plenty of non-Christians, too. When Hollywood believed in an afterlife, they created a picture of heaven that many people may still have: people become angels, float on clouds, and play the harp.

What an incredibly boring way to spend eternity!

God’s Word doesn’t reveal us a whole lot to us about what we call “heaven,” but there are a few things we can discern about it.

First, we don’t really spend eternity in heaven. The spirits of departed believers live in heaven with God now, but eternity will be spent on earth–first on this earth in what we call the Millennial kingdom, then on the new earth which God will create. So we really should be talking about “eternity” or “the eternal state” instead of talking about “heaven.”

Secondly, the eternal state happens in a city, the New Jerusalem, and this passage, Isaiah 25, gives us some detail about life there. Isaiah 25 is a song of praise to God (vv. 1-5), giving glory to God for what he has done for his people. Beginning with verse 6, however, Isaiah returned to describing the future, a topic he had begun discussing in chapter 24. How did he describe the future here in chapter 25?

First, he described a feast in verse 6. When God’s kingdom begins fully, it will start with a great celebration. Verse 6 described it as “a feast of rich food” which indicates an occasion of great pleasure and enjoyment for God’s people. And, the next phrase in verse 6 tells us that God’s people will be “all peoples” indicating that all kinds of people, not just Jewish people, will be welcomed guests at this feast.

Second, the eternal state is a place where death no longer exists and cannot trouble anyone. Verse 7 described death as a shroud, a sheet that covers everyone. But God “will destroy” that shroud and “will swallow up death forever” (v. 8a).

Third, eternity will be.a state in which there is no longer any unhappiness. Verse 8b says, “The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.” The sadness and disappointments of this life will not be present nor will they affect us when we are with the Lord. This seems particularly tied to the sadness that sin creates; verse 8b says, “he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.” The things we do and have done that we are so ashamed of will be completely forgotten. Atoned for by the blood of Christ, they will no longer trouble us anymore.

Of course we bemoan the senseless tragedies, terrible injustices, and brevity of life that marks this world. The truths in this chapter, however, can encourage our hearts and give meaning and purpose to our lives. Our short time on this earth is not the end; it isn’t really even the beginning when we compare however many years we get in this life to an eternity with Jesus. So let your heart hope in God’s plans and let them focus your mind to help you serve him.

Four Areas of Leadership (Lombardi)

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Michael Lombardi is a former NFL executive. He’s worked for many teams in the league and has written several books on the NFL, often focusing on leadership.

How successful was Lombardi as an executive? That’s hard to say; however, he has worked for some iconic, successful NFL coaches: Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick. Incidentally, he is not related to the great Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi–at least, that’s what Wikipedia says.

Regardless of how successful, or not, Lombardi has been, he is always opinionated. That makes him interesting to listen to and consistently thought provoking.

In a segment about the problems of Urban Meyer in Jacksonville on the Rich Eisen show, Lombardi outlined four areas of leadership that coaches need to do well in order to succeed. They are:

  1. Management of Attention: This means you have a plan.
  2. Management of Meaning: This means you can explain the plan.
  3. Management of Self: This means you govern yourself as the leader. Govern yourself toward the plan? That’s not stated or clear in Lombardi’s interview, but it would make sense in context as well as being an important truth in general.
  4. Management of Trust: Do the people who are supposed to be following you trust you? You can be a jerk as a coach but if you are a consistent jerk, they’ll listen to you. Consistency is the most important quality a coach has to have. 

Here’s the entire segment on YouTube: