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Hello and welcome to Evidence for Faith, it's your host, Michael Lane, and I'm here again
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with my daughter, Michaela, and we are in the series that we're doing called Devotions
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by the Seasure. Old, we have a great one for you today. Michaela wrote this one, this is,
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so she'll be reading it to you and this one, as we were just sitting just before we turned
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on the mic and talking about this. It has to do with like being on a vacation, which we just took
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to the Bahamas. Oh my gosh. Yeah, he said, hopefully he doesn't cry.
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Sorry. This is a podcast. Yeah, good thing it's not a video, because those who know me,
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you know, I absolutely love the Bahamas and that's where we used to live and met my wife there.
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And yeah, my idea of Paradise is being, I just got asked this the other day, someone asked me a
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question, where, if you could go anywhere and call, you know, like any Paradise place, where would
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you go specifically? I said specifically, I go to the eastern end of Rose Island. There's no
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tours around there. It's just, you know, there's no resorts or houses. It's just a beautiful beach,
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and I'd be on the north side, just an absolutely gorgeous beach. If I want to go looking for coral,
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all you got to do is just walk to the other side of the island. That was it. Yep. That's my spot.
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So what do you call this one, Michaela? Paradise found. Oh, that's a really good name for this.
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So I want to turn it over to you and let you get started with this. All right. Thank you.
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Yeah, speaking of the Bahamas, I actually wrote this devotional just a few days after our last trip
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to the Bahamas. I got some good inspiration while we were down there. Yeah. So all right. So speaking
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of Bahamas and vacations and yet like I said, I wrote this at the end of a vacation. The worst part
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of vacations is the end. Yep. Like my dad said, his happy place is the ocean and the Bahamas.
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My happy place is the ocean as well. Bahamas, Florida Keys, anywhere tropical. That's my happy
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place. So when I have to leave, it's sad. I'm usually fighting back tears. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah.
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And I'm always eagerly counting down the days until I get to make another adventure, which
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right now, Lord willing, it's just a few weeks from now when we go on our marine biology trip to
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the Keys. Yes. Can't wait for that. Oh, but yes, I can't wait to feel the warm sun to lie in the
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beach and listen to the waves. Are you crying yet? Have you no mercy? Go for a dive on a cold reef.
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Oh, but when it's time to leave, I am always filled with such sadness and thoughts of I don't
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want to leave. But unfortunately in this world, all good things must come to an end.
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Beach or tropical vacations feel like paradise. In fact, we often refer to it as just that
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paradise. If you go into a souvenir shop on your next tropical vacation, I guarantee you
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that you will find some sort of gift like a magnet or a shirt or a frame that will say the word
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paradise. In fact, in the Bahamas, they actually even have a whole island that is called Paradise
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Island. That's right. But however, you said that it wasn't always called that, right? It wasn't
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always called Paradise Island. That's a modern thing because they've got a lot of big hotels and
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it's a place that many of the rich go. But originally that island didn't have hardly anybody living on
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it. It was called Hog Island. Yes, Hog like in pigs. Hog Island. I can't imagine why they
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wanted to change the name for that to Paradise Island to try to get people to come.
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Oh, yeah, we're going to go stay at the Atlantis. Where is that? I'm Hog Island.
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Hog Island. Yeah, that just sounds right. Yeah, the Atlantis town Paradise Island. That sounds
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much better. So yeah, when it's time to pick up your suitcases, I'm drive to the airport for
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the flight home. It often feels as though you were leaving Paradise. And I know for me personally,
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I feel an ache in my chest and a longing to want to just stay there forever in this land of
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Paradise. And also you hate flying. I hate flying too. So that's another reason. Just leave me there.
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Just leave me there. I'm fine. I think the desire and longing to remain in Paradise is biblical.
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We are designed to live in Paradise. And I'm not just talking about the Garden of Eden, though I do
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think that was a tropical Paradise. Oh, definitely. It was. I mean, they were walking around with no
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clothes. Obviously, it wasn't like Anchorage, Alaska or something. Yeah, Freeman was God said.
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But no, I'm talking about our eternal home with God. Jesus himself said to the repentant thief on
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the cross that on that very day, he would be with him in Paradise. Heaven is Paradise. Being in
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the presence of God is Paradise. And scripture tells us that if we are born again and have accepted
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Jesus as Lord, then our citizenship is in heaven. We were created to be in communion with God.
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We were designed for eternal Paradise. But sin has corrupted us and separated us from it.
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However, sin has not erased our longing for Paradise. Hebrews 13, 14 and the LLT version says,
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for this world is not our permanent home. We are looking forward to a home yet to come.
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If we have repented of our sins and been born again, we have a new citizenship, heaven.
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And when Jesus returns and we have the final judgment, we are told in scriptures that he will make
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a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 21 describes what this will look like in verses 3 and 4.
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I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, look, God's home is now among his people. He will live
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with them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from
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their eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone
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forever. I don't know about you, but to me that sure sounds like Paradise. To be with God all the time
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for all eternity with no more pain or sorrow, that is Paradise. And that is what we are made for
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and that's what we long for. Longing for Paradise is biblical. Wanting to remain in it is what our
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soul's long for. I believe that tropical vacations, finding the peace and serenity at the beach,
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give us a slight glimpse as to what heaven will be like someday when we get there. I also wonder
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what this new earth will look like. I find so much beauty in the world and even though it's fallen
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and corrupted, there's still so much beauty that God has created that we can enjoy. That is one
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reason why I love the ocean so much. It is so beautiful both above the ways and below. I often find
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myself thinking that if I find so much beauty in this temporary earth that is wasting away,
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how much more beauty will be revealed in the new earth that is to come. Oh yes. I am sure it's going
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to be unbelievable. The colors I just imagine are going to be so vibrant and I just I can't even
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really imagine how fantastic it's going to be but I can be certain that it will be. It will be
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so much greater than anything we have here on earth. So when I am saying farewell to my tropical
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paradise when I'm leaving the vacation, besides the sadness, I'm also filled with hope. Hope
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that someday we will never have to leave paradise. Someday we will be in the presence of the Lord
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for all eternity, reveling in the glories of his new creation free from pain, sorrow, death and sadness,
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forever singing praises to our Lord, living for eternity and paradise. That sounds like paradise.
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I wonder if there's a big beach. Yeah, right. Lord Jesus went back to says go and prepare a
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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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