A new home.

Today, we received an e-mail from a French Immobilier (Estate Agent; Realtor), letting us know that the offer that we had submitted for a house, here in France, had been accepted.  Because of the manner in which the French conveyancing system works, it will take about three months to complete the transaction, but at least the searching is over.

Although we have had a number of disappointments, property-wise, over recent months - both in selling and seeking! - this house actually exceeds our expectations and, for that, we are truly grateful to God.

A new home!  I suspect that it is almost always an exciting prospect.  Although we have been advised that nothing in France is really "sealed, signed, and settled" until one has the keys in one's hands, we are confident that, having brought us this far, the Lord will not let us down!  Having said that, we have asked many praying friends to continue to uphold us in prayer, that there will not be any obstacles on the path.  If you are not on our mailing-list, please take this as an invitation to join with them!

Of course, this will just be a temporary home.  "What?", I can almost hear some exclaim.  "You've just has an offer accepted, and you are thinking of moving again, already?!"   Well, no.  That is not exactly what I am thinking.  My mind is going, rather, in the direction of the well-known song, made famous by the late Jim Reeves, the first, and last, verses of which are:

"This world is not my home I'm just a-passin' through;
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

Oh Lord, You know I have no friend like you.
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore."

You see, for the disciple of Jesus, there is the promise of the Master: "In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also."  (John 14:2-3).

That's a promise that is available to all who come to Him in repentance and faith, accepting the salvation that He gained for us, at such great cost, when He hung from that "old rugged cross" at Calvary.  It's a promise that I, and billions of others down through the millennia, have claimed for ourselves.  It's a promise that can only be claimed for oneself.  It's a promise of eternity (timelessness, not 'endless time'!) in His nearer presence.

I wonder, how settled are you in your earthly dwelling - be it a palace, or a hovel?   May I encourage you to consider that the time will come, without any doubt, when you will be obliged to leave that home?    Whether you leave with a furniture van, or in a hearse, is the only variable!  If I may be of any assistance in pointing you, at a personal level, to the One Who, alone, has opened the way to heaven, then please feel free to e-mail me using the address at the top of the page.  Alternatively, there are a couple of useful links further down the page (right-hand side) that may be helpful.

This world is not my home - is it yours?!