Monthly Archives: March 2016

Looking into your future

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Would you like to see what your future holds? Are you eager to know the answers to your prayers and the course your life will take? The fact that we have dreams and ambitions and make plans for the future indicates we’re very invested in our future. It’s why we work to accomplish goals, save money for a future need or desire, raise children, invest in friends, care for the earth, and help strangers in need. If our future and that of our loved ones on earth is so dear to us, how much more should we long for our life in heaven when all things are made new?

We live in this present age but are closer than we think to the next era of our life, heaven. As we’ve been unpacking what the bible actually has to say about heaven we’ve learned the answers to many of our questions about our future. When believers in Jesus die, our bodies go to the ground but our souls and spirits are immediately with God in heaven. Heaven is described as an amazing place where we will interact with those who’ve gone before us and with Jesus himself. Can you imagine? But at the same time, our loved ones remain on earth until they die or until they are “raptured”  to heaven by Jesus. Work for peace, but understand there will be great sorrow on earth as plagues, cataclysmic disasters, and wars abound. The good news is that God wins and we win with him. Christ himself will reign on earth for 1000 years and those who trusted him during the end times will enjoy his favor. At the end of this time Satan will be allowed once again to have influence for a short while on earth and some will choose to follow him. Can you believe it? God will pass judgment on everyone according to what he has chosen to believe and follow. And then, the city of Jerusalem, the new heaven, will descend upon the new earth. That is when God will “wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Hasn’t this been God’s plan from the very beginning? To redeem his people and restore them to perfect fellowship with him, and to restore his created earth to its original design? God’s plan is to make all things new in your life now and forever.  He offers complete and everlasting redemption for all who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, those “adopted” children who will gain the full inheritance of his blessings, the same ones he wants you to enjoy forever. And some of those blessings are for now. They’re “hidden” in plain sight for all who look for them. They’re found by being still before God, by listening for his voice which speaks through his Word, the bible. They’re found in making time for others and attending to their needs. They’re found by a heart that increasing learns to be thankful and content. And sometimes, the most profound blessings are hidden in the deepest sorrows of our lives, for it’s there we’re most open to seeing God’s sustaining grace at work in us. For this reason, we shouldn’t be too quick to pray away sorrow without first finding what God has for us in it. What blessings are hidden by your busy schedule today? I hope you find them.

If you trust fully in Jesus, your eternal future is one of redemption and restoration, all things made new and good. But don’t miss out on the redemptive power of Jesus to work miracles in your life right now. Today is the day to allow him to make you one who is not overcome by trouble but is instead an overcomer, through the power of his Spirit in you.

 

Live fully. Live well, my friends.

 

 

Where do you call home? Part 2

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Whether you love your life on earth or long for something better. And yet, maye you can’t imagine leaving it. It’s all you know. It’s how God designed us. We long to return to our perfect home in Eden. The good news is, that time is coming when the old earth will pass away and the “new earth” will come down from heaven. It will be in fact heaven on (a perfect) earth. We can’t know everything about heaven but God’s Word has a lot to tell us about it. And it seems scripture indicates the new earth will bear a strong resemblance to the one we love, except without the reign of evil and corruption over our lives.

 

We’re told it’s a city which implies to me a place of gathering and great celebrations of all kinds. There will be walls and gates of great splendor, but the gates will remain open. Heaven is described as a country which implies borders, rulers, at least one river and trees. Heaven’s inhabitants will have perfect bodies that don’t age or get sick. As Randy Alcorn says in his book, Heaven, “The problem is not that the bible does not tell us much about heaven. It’s that we don’t pay attention to what it tells us.” He adds, “We can only desire what we can imagine.” I wonder, have you been imagining heaven lately?

 

Some people conjecture that heaven is not a real place. But Jesus says:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:2-4

 

Though we measure our lives by years and decades, we’re really here only for a moment compared to our eternal lives that will never end. For believers this is a stopping point on the way to something so much better! It’s hard to grasp how we fit into such an eteranl scheme, but Alcorn suggests it may be helpful to view history in three stages:

“The Past” – when God first created this earth and everything in it, including man and woman. There was a perfect garden where everyone and everything lived in perfect harmony. No curse of sin, no shame or guilt. No death. God walked with his creation and they personally knew his goodness and power and love. There was no famine or scarcity of resources, only abundance wherever you looked. It was paradise on earth. And God revealed his plan for man to rule the earth and fellowship with him. The new heaven will be a lot like that.

 

“The Present” age starts with man’s decision to trade God’s truth for a lie, a problem that persists in our own lives today. We know the truth God speaks to us and how his ways are so much better than ours, but we believe the lie that we could do better. What was once perfect and incorruptible now became subject to disorder and decay. While life was easy in Eden, life became hard and work became toilsome. We experience shame and guilt and everyone and every living thing dies at some point. Sickness and disease and famine and wars replace peace and enjoyment. Mankind was cut off from the close fellowship once experienced with God. Once satisfied, now we are never fully satisfied.  We enjoy the forgiveness of sin if we accept that gift from Jesus but we continue to wrestle with temptation all our days.

 

“The Future” is as glorious as The Past for those who love God. Mankind is restored along with the heavenly bodies we are given. Everything is new, refreshed, restored, redeemed! We get to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, reunite with loved ones who’ve gone before us, meet the saints of old, and fellowship directly with Jesus! There will be no more crying, sorrow, or pain, no more death either. No sin. No temptation. No fears, worry, or trouble. We will experience the fullness of God’s greatness as we are restored to perfection. The earth itself and all creation will be restored to fullest beauty and harmony. Evil will be cast away and God’s plan will be accomplished.

 

Heaven! Can you imagine it?

 

 

Where do you call home?

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Home sweet home. There’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is.

 

So where do you call home? Is it where you now live?  Is it the place where you were born or grew up? Maybe you have a vacation property you think of as your home away from home. If home is where your heart is, maybe you’ve left left your heart somewhere else. What do you think of when you think of “going home?”

 

Probably, the answer depends on where you are in life and what consumes your thoughts and ambitions. If you have young kids or are in the middle of a house remodeling project, home is likely that place where you live. Those moving across town or across the world, likely think of home as where they are now and where they are going next.

 

Truth be told, we probably all consider this earth our home.  It’s where we have always lived, breathed, worked, and played. We’ve never been away from it. But while we don’t know the time, we all know we will certainly come to a point when we die and earth will no longer be home. Followers of Jesus easily talk of “going home” when they refer to heaven. Scripture reminds us consistently that heaven is our real home and that we should look forward to our heavenly home:

We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 1 Chronicles 29:15

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:11

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-20

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

 

So if heaven is our true home and we are really just foreigners and strangers in this land called earth, why do we cling to this world so dearly, often at the expense of longing for or even thinking about our permanent heavenly home? We know heaven will be ever so much better than this place we now live. Why do we not eagerly await “going home?”

 

I think of the dad who told me of a conversation with his teenage son before his wedding day. “Do you look forward to going to heaven?” the dad asked. The son replied, “Yeah, but not before I get married and enjoy that wending night thing.” If we’re honest with ourselves, we probably have similar feelings.  We long for heaven when the time comes, but in the meantime we long for so much of earth. It’s where our treasure is. And because we were created human with physical senses it is also where so many of our desires are.  And don’t we long so dearly to remain with those God has taught us to love? We find ourselves caught in a conundrum, longing for earth, yet tiring of its troubles and woes, wanting to remain here and also sometimes yearning deeply to go home. One foot on earth and one foot in heaven, we remain with conflicted desires.

 

Randy Alcorn writes, “Our ancestors came from Eden. We are headed for a new earth (heaven on earth). We’re homesick for Eden. We’re homesick for Eden. We long for paradise – a perfect world without the corruption of sin, where God walks with us and talks with us in the cool of the day. Because we’re human beings, we desire something tangible and physical, something that will not fade away. And that is exactly what God promises us – a home that will not be destroyed, a kingdom that will not fade, a city with unshakable foundations, an incorruptible inheritance.”

 

Perhaps something that will help us in this dilemma is to realize that heaven will be in some ways a lot like earth, only without the suffering and sorrows. We’ll talk about that in the next post. But for now, I invite you to ponder this: “In what ways DO I long for my heavenly home and how might that impact my life here on earth?

 

 

 

intro to heaven

The one blog post I hope everyone reads

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“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”  Psalm 1:1-3

 

Truth be known, I have walked in step with the wicked. I have stood in the path of sinners and sat in the company of scoffers. (What is it that makes us think that belittling and mocking others makes us better people?!)  I’ve been in these places, and likely so have you. Maybe our selfish pride continues to lead us to frequent those dark places. But there’s good news:

 

We don’t have to stay where we are.

 

Every single day we are given the opportunity to choose a new path for our lives. Less making fun of people we don’t like, more understanding and compassion. Less apathy and more concern that insists on acting itself out in some small way. Less frugalness and more generosity. Less worry and more faithful prayer. Less criticism and more encouraging words and actions. Less attacks and more embraces. Less jaded outlook and more hope. Less seeing ourselves as hopeless and more seeing ourselves as hope-filled through the grace of God. Less sorrow and more joy, even in the midst of sorrow. Less wasted time in meaningless activity and more time spent intentionally – on purpose and on mission – in keeping with our most dear life dreams. Less dreaming of a good life and more living it fully every single day. Less of nearly everything and more love.

 

We can bloom where we are planted but we can also plant ourselves where we can bloom. We can choose to be like that tree planted by streams of water, bearing fruit and with leaves that do not wither and always prospering even in times of drought. We do this by acting out our beliefs. You believe the bible to be true? Act on it! Consistently and persistently and relentlessly confront fear with assurance, worry and doubt with faith, anxiety with peace, bitterness with forgiveness, apathy with action, judgment with compassion, temper with grace, regret with remembered joy, my way with God’s way, and disdain with love.  If you believe it’s better to take the high road in conflict, take it. Believe and act on that belief. Demonstrate what you believe by the way you live each moment.

 

“The ONLY thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6

 

Do you believe it? Be intentional; put it on your agenda. Make it your purpose to share love in your thoughts and actions today.

 

If life isn’t measured by the number of breaths we take but truly by the number of moments that take our breath away, what can you do today, each day, to create those special moments? They are your life legacy. As I think back on nearly fifty years with my best friend, 43+ years my bride, I think of shared adventures, silly moments, shared tears, encouraging hugs, steadfast devotion and encouragement in difficult times. I think of forgiveness and gentleness, attentiveness, and shared joys shared in a passion for life – both present and everlasting. I think of children we’ve brought into this world and loved and children across the world we’ve come to love. I think of nurtured friendships that have survived the distance of thousands of miles and passing years. I  think of quiet walks through meadows, working the gardens in our life, and quietly soaking in the beauty of nature, God’s creation and the expression of his joy.  

 

How about you? What will you do today to create the legacy of your life? May it be guided by your faith, expressing itself in love.

 

“Now may the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

 

 

 

What is life like in heaven? – Part 2

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Heaven is more than we can imagine, but God reveals more about heaven than we might think. And many of these drive to the heart of some of our deepest questions about our life now and life after life, in heaven. We’re looking at 21 things we can surmise about heaven as shared by Randy Alcorn in his book, Heaven. Today, we’ll look at the final seven observations from Revelation 6:11.

“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. (Revelation 6:9-11)

 

15. “Then each of them. . . We retain our individuality in heaven; we don’t become part of some cosmic dust, as some would imagine.

16. Robes suggest physical forms, not spirits. (Why would spirits need a robe, unless the reference is merely symbolic?)

17. God answers questions! We read in the previous verse that they asked, “How long?” In verse 11, “they were told to wait a little longer.” This indicates we won’t know everything all at once in heaven, but our knowledge and understanding will progressively unfold.

18. Even in heaven, they have to “wait a little longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” Alcorn infers from this that “unlike the eternal heaven, where there will be no more sin, or curse or suffering on the New Earth (Revelation 21:4), the present heaven coexists with and watches over an Earth under these woes. We will be aware of the suffering on earth.

19. “How much longer” suggests there will be a sense of time in the present heaven. Whether “long” and “longer” imply time as we measure it now, we don’t know, but there is a sense of passing time.

20. There is a sense of the family of God in heaven and earth. “Their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters” indicate a strong familial bond and common purpose.  There is no indication of denominational differences, only a common focus on the Heavenly Father.

21. God is Sovereign. He knows ALL, what will happen, when it will happen, and how it will unfold. He is aware of your pain and suffering right now and he knows the answers to your prayers. What a difference it makes praying to a good and Sovereign God who knows you and cares for you and works all things for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28). Your woes do not escape his attention. Your pain is not wasted. This is not some “wishing upon a star” or “having a happy thought.” Only a Sovereign God can provide the assurance we seek.

 

Just as these three verses in Revelation tell us what to expect in heaven, there is a consistency of scripture that reinforces itself. We’ll be called to give an account of our actions on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 12:36). Eternal rewards “hinge” on our faithfulness (1 Corinthians 3:14). God keeps a record of all we do on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11-13). Should knowing everything we say and do was being recorded change the way we interact with others?!  Additionally, it appears that people in the present heaven see what happens on earth. We are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). “There will be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).

 

This is might lead us to ask, “Do people in heaven pray for us on earth?” We know that Christ intercedes for us (Romans 8:34) and that the martyrs pray (Revelation 6:10). We must conclude, that no matter how we feel, we are not alone! It remains a mystery, how people in heaven will be aware both of the suffering on earth and the joy of God’s presence. We can only presume that joy predominates this in a similar way that while we care for others, we are not totally undone regarding their suffering. We find ourselves sad for suffering, but joyful for the outcome! In the eternal heaven, when the old order of things has passed away, there will be no more death, crying or pain. None!

 

Like the atheist man who once told me, “You Christians have one thing we atheists don’t – hope! We are not to “grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) We have the hope of reunion with loved ones who’ve gone before us; a time when “we will be with our Lord forever.”

 

“Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18″