Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our Reading titled, A Change of Venue, was written by Anne 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.

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