Devotions by the Sea: Paradise Found

Hello and welcome to Evidence for Faith, it's your host, Michael Lane, and I'm here again

with my daughter, Michaela, and we are in the series that we're doing called Devotions

by the Seasure. Old, we have a great one for you today. Michaela wrote this one, this is,

so she'll be reading it to you and this one, as we were just sitting just before we turned

on the mic and talking about this. It has to do with like being on a vacation, which we just took

to the Bahamas. Oh my gosh. Yeah, he said, hopefully he doesn't cry.

Sorry. This is a podcast. Yeah, good thing it's not a video, because those who know me,

you know, I absolutely love the Bahamas and that's where we used to live and met my wife there.

And yeah, my idea of Paradise is being, I just got asked this the other day, someone asked me a

question, where, if you could go anywhere and call, you know, like any Paradise place, where would

you go specifically? I said specifically, I go to the eastern end of Rose Island. There's no

tours around there. It's just, you know, there's no resorts or houses. It's just a beautiful beach,

and I'd be on the north side, just an absolutely gorgeous beach. If I want to go looking for coral,

all you got to do is just walk to the other side of the island. That was it. Yep. That's my spot.

So what do you call this one, Michaela? Paradise found. Oh, that's a really good name for this.

So I want to turn it over to you and let you get started with this. All right. Thank you.

Yeah, speaking of the Bahamas, I actually wrote this devotional just a few days after our last trip

to the Bahamas. I got some good inspiration while we were down there. Yeah. So all right. So speaking

of Bahamas and vacations and yet like I said, I wrote this at the end of a vacation. The worst part

of vacations is the end. Yep. Like my dad said, his happy place is the ocean and the Bahamas.

My happy place is the ocean as well. Bahamas, Florida Keys, anywhere tropical. That's my happy

place. So when I have to leave, it's sad. I'm usually fighting back tears. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah.

And I'm always eagerly counting down the days until I get to make another adventure, which

right now, Lord willing, it's just a few weeks from now when we go on our marine biology trip to

the Keys. Yes. Can't wait for that. Oh, but yes, I can't wait to feel the warm sun to lie in the

beach and listen to the waves. Are you crying yet? Have you no mercy? Go for a dive on a cold reef.

Oh, but when it's time to leave, I am always filled with such sadness and thoughts of I don't

want to leave. But unfortunately in this world, all good things must come to an end.

Beach or tropical vacations feel like paradise. In fact, we often refer to it as just that

paradise. If you go into a souvenir shop on your next tropical vacation, I guarantee you

that you will find some sort of gift like a magnet or a shirt or a frame that will say the word

paradise. In fact, in the Bahamas, they actually even have a whole island that is called Paradise

Island. That's right. But however, you said that it wasn't always called that, right? It wasn't

always called Paradise Island. That's a modern thing because they've got a lot of big hotels and

it's a place that many of the rich go. But originally that island didn't have hardly anybody living on

it. It was called Hog Island. Yes, Hog like in pigs. Hog Island. I can't imagine why they

wanted to change the name for that to Paradise Island to try to get people to come.

Oh, yeah, we're going to go stay at the Atlantis. Where is that? I'm Hog Island.

Hog Island. Yeah, that just sounds right. Yeah, the Atlantis town Paradise Island. That sounds

much better. So yeah, when it's time to pick up your suitcases, I'm drive to the airport for

the flight home. It often feels as though you were leaving Paradise. And I know for me personally,

I feel an ache in my chest and a longing to want to just stay there forever in this land of

Paradise. And also you hate flying. I hate flying too. So that's another reason. Just leave me there.

Just leave me there. I'm fine. I think the desire and longing to remain in Paradise is biblical.

We are designed to live in Paradise. And I'm not just talking about the Garden of Eden, though I do

think that was a tropical Paradise. Oh, definitely. It was. I mean, they were walking around with no

clothes. Obviously, it wasn't like Anchorage, Alaska or something. Yeah, Freeman was God said.

But no, I'm talking about our eternal home with God. Jesus himself said to the repentant thief on

the cross that on that very day, he would be with him in Paradise. Heaven is Paradise. Being in

the presence of God is Paradise. And scripture tells us that if we are born again and have accepted

Jesus as Lord, then our citizenship is in heaven. We were created to be in communion with God.

We were designed for eternal Paradise. But sin has corrupted us and separated us from it.

However, sin has not erased our longing for Paradise. Hebrews 13, 14 and the LLT version says,

for this world is not our permanent home. We are looking forward to a home yet to come.

If we have repented of our sins and been born again, we have a new citizenship, heaven.

And when Jesus returns and we have the final judgment, we are told in scriptures that he will make

a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 21 describes what this will look like in verses 3 and 4.

I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, look, God's home is now among his people. He will live

with them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from

their eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone

forever. I don't know about you, but to me that sure sounds like Paradise. To be with God all the time

for all eternity with no more pain or sorrow, that is Paradise. And that is what we are made for

and that's what we long for. Longing for Paradise is biblical. Wanting to remain in it is what our

soul's long for. I believe that tropical vacations, finding the peace and serenity at the beach,

give us a slight glimpse as to what heaven will be like someday when we get there. I also wonder

what this new earth will look like. I find so much beauty in the world and even though it's fallen

and corrupted, there's still so much beauty that God has created that we can enjoy. That is one

reason why I love the ocean so much. It is so beautiful both above the ways and below. I often find

myself thinking that if I find so much beauty in this temporary earth that is wasting away,

how much more beauty will be revealed in the new earth that is to come. Oh yes. I am sure it's going

to be unbelievable. The colors I just imagine are going to be so vibrant and I just I can't even

really imagine how fantastic it's going to be but I can be certain that it will be. It will be

so much greater than anything we have here on earth. So when I am saying farewell to my tropical

paradise when I'm leaving the vacation, besides the sadness, I'm also filled with hope. Hope

that someday we will never have to leave paradise. Someday we will be in the presence of the Lord

for all eternity, reveling in the glories of his new creation free from pain, sorrow, death and sadness,

forever singing praises to our Lord, living for eternity and paradise. That sounds like paradise.

I wonder if there's a big beach. Yeah, right. Lord Jesus went back to says go and prepare a

place for you. Lord, I really like a beach front. Yes. So yeah, I don't know we'll get it. Anyway,

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