A Change of Venue

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, A Change of Venue, was written by Ann Cetus. My friend Joanne passed away from a stroke just as the coronavirus began to spread in 2020. At first, her family published that her memorial service would be at her church, but then it was determined it was best to hold it at a funeral home to control the size of the group attending. The new notice online read, Joanne Warner's changed venue. Yes, her venue had changed. She'd gone from a venue of earth to the venue of heaven. God changed her life years before, and she lovingly served him for nearly 50 years. Even while she lay near death in the hospital, she asked about others she loved who were struggling. Now, she's present with him.

She has changed venues. The apostle Paul had the desire to be with Christ in another venue, but he also felt it would be better for the people he served for him to remain on earth. He wrote to the Philippians, it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. When we grieve for someone like Joanne, we may cry out to God something similar. They're needed here by me and many others they loved and served, but God knows the best timing for their change of venue and our own. In the Spirit's strength, we now make it our goal to please God until we see him face to face, which will be far better.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 1 through 10. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Let's pray. Lord, we come to you with humble hearts and we surrender ourselves to you once again. Allow your Spirit of love to flow in us and through us, shaping our lives to reflect your presence. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.