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If you have ever been excited for an event, a trip, or spending time with a person or people, you imagine what it will be like. We can have great excitement and anticipation for what is waiting for us in heaven. Imagining what heaven might be like can grow our relationship with God as we seek to better known His love and His Word in the Bible. Pastor Randy Alcorn provides a description of what heaven might be like based on his study of Bible verses about heaven. “People smiling and joyful, not angry, depressed, and empty. If you’re not in a particularly beautiful place, close your eyes and envision the most beautiful place you’ve ever been—complete with palm trees, raging rivers, jagged mountains, waterfalls, or snowdrifts. Think of friends or family members who loved Jesus and are with him now. Picture them with you, walking together in this place. All of you have powerful bodies, stronger than those of Olympic decathletes. You are laughing, playing, talking, and reminiscing. You reach up to a tree to pick an apple or orange. You take a bite. It’s so sweet that it’s startling. You’ve never tasted anything so good. Now you see someone coming toward you. It’s Jesus, with a big smile on his face. You fall to your knees in worship. He pulls you up and embraces you. At last, you’re with the person you were made for, in the place you were made to be. Everywhere you go, there will be new people and places to enjoy, new things to discover. What’s that you smell? A feast. A party’s ahead, and you’re invited. There’s exploration and work to be done—you can’t wait to get started.” The greatest story of your life will just be beginning when your time on earth is complete. In response to God’s great love we can strive to follow God’s will and to show His wonderful love to others. The world’s greatest future is promised to all who believe in God as their Savior! The ending of the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Last Battle, provides a great outlook on what awaits us in heaven. Following this are the words of 1 Peter 1:3-9, which are excellent to read and meditate on often to keep a heavenly perspective in our thoughts and words. “And for us this is the end of all the stories and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all the adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page. Now at last they were beginning Chapter 1 of the great story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9. We can keep heaven in mind as we go about our day to faithfully serve God and to give glory to Him so that more people can share in the wonderful inheritance in heaven. This is an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Let God’s great love and your great future guide your life! Heaven is real! God’s promises are true! The greatest future awaits!
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God has prepared amazing things for those that love Him that we cannot begin to imagine. The greatest future awaits us in heaven. There will be endless days of rejoicing! The beauty of heaven and dwelling in God’s presence will be simply amazing! A song written by Mrs. A.S. Bridgewater in 1920 captures the anticipation of the beauty of heaven. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be! We read of a place that’s called Heaven, It’s made for the pure and the free; These truths in God’s Word He hath given, How beautiful Heaven must be. How beautiful Heaven must be, Sweet home of the happy and free; Fair haven of rest for the weary, How beautiful Heaven must be. In Heaven no drooping nor pining, No wishing for elsewhere to be; God’s light is forever there shining, How beautiful Heaven must be. Don Piper, author of the book 90 minute in heaven, details in the book the view of heaven he experienced and how it impacted his life. Don Piper was in a car accident and declared dead at the scene. After ninety minutes of a glimpse into heaven he came back to his body on earth and survived the car accident. Piper describes the view of God’s light in heaven he experienced. “Heaven’s light and texture defy earthly eyes or explanation. Warm, radiant light engulfed me. As I looked around, I could hardly grasp the vivid, dazzling colors. Every hue and tone surpassed anything I had ever seen.” It is hard to explain how wonderful heaven will be. Based on our earthly experiences there is nothing that will compare. Song writer Albert Brumley captures this wonderfully in his poem, “I couldn’t begin to tell you.” If I had all the words of our language to use at a moment’s command If I had all the beautiful pictures of nature, the sea, and the land If I spoke in a voice never ending, speaking only of loveliness I couldn’t begin to tell you how beautiful Heaven is. If I mixed all the glorious sunsets with the fathomless mysteries of Mars If I mixed all the beauty of spring time with the gleam of the moon and the stars If I added the love of all mothers and the thrill of a baby’s kiss I couldn’t, no I couldn’t, begin to tell you how beautiful Heaven is. References:
Stohlmann, M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA:KDP. Christians know that death is not final. We will see all Christians again in heaven. In our time on earth we can leave a legacy that lives on in the lives of others about the importance of faith in God. Because of God’s love and power we can all make a difference in the lives of others. God can use us to show His love to others.
Dr. Phineas Gurley was pastor of the church which Abraham Lincoln attended while President. He preached the funeral sermon for the president in the White House East Room. Gurley described how many people admired Lincoln for his integrity, kindness, patience, forgiving nature, and self-sacrificing leadership. Lincoln had concern for the poor, weak, suffering, and oppressed based on his faith in God that let him know that all humans are important to God. President Lincoln’s faith in God as his Lord and Savior is what Pastor Gurley wanted people to remember about the president and for all others to have this great faith in God. The following is part of the message that Pastor Gurley shared at Lincoln’s funeral. “But more sublime than any or all of these, more holy and influential, more beautiful, and strong, and sustaining, was his abiding confidence in God and in the final triumph of truth and righteousness through Him and for His sake. This was his noblest virtue, his grandest principle, the secret alike of his strength, his patience, and his success… By this he speaks to his successor in office, and charges him to ‘have faith in God.’..By this he speaks to all who occupy positions of influence and authority in these sad and troublous times, and he charges them all to ‘have faith in God.’ By this he speaks to this great people as they sit in sackcloth to-day, and weep for him with a bitter wailing, and refuse to be comforted, and he charges them to ‘have faith in God.’ And by this he will speak through the ages and to all rulers and peoples in every land, and his message to them will be, ‘Cling to Liberty and right; battle for them; bleed for them; die for them, if need be; and have confidence in God.’" Have faith in God. President Lincoln and Dr. Gurley both knew this is more important than anything else. If this message would be taken to heart by all in the world, think about what a difference it would make. There would be far more encouragement and support and far less anger and sadness. Faith in God can lead to a heavenly perspective where we know that death is not the end, but the beginning of something so beautiful that we cannot begin to imagine it. Christians know where our true home is. A prominent citizen in a town was dying. As he lay in his lovely home, the best doctors surrounding him, he whispered, with a note of despair, “I’m leaving home, I’m leaving home.” Across town there lay a solitary figure in surroundings bare. Her modest home contained only the most threadbare of life’s essentials. In her eye was a gleam of hope and joy. Before she died she was heard to say with content, “I’m going home, I’m going home.” Let your eternal heavenly home impact your earthly perspective. Keep your thoughts on heaven and God’s love and in this earthly life God can use you so that more people are given the free gift of heaven. Reference: Stohlmann, M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA:KDP. We know that because Jesus lives, He defeated death for all time and paid the price for our sins! We have a wonderful future in store for us! This changes our outlook on each day and we know that God will help us handle whatever comes in life. He will also fill us with a great sense of inner joy. A great song that highlights these important ideas is, “Because He Lives,” by Bill and Gloria Gaither. God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal, and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives. And then one day I’ll cross the river, I’ll fight life’s final war with pain; And then as death gives way to victory, I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives. A few of the comments on a YouTube video of a great rendition of this song demonstrate the impact of knowing that Jesus lives! “My grandfather passed away today, he had the biggest impact on my life and showed me the correct way to live life as a Christian man. We played this song for him every day leading up to his passing. It was one of his favorite Gospel songs. I find peace in knowing he is with our lord Jesus and is dancing with his family.” “I sang with you all the way through. I am 84, and still singing and praising our wonderful Savior.” God’s love in our lives brings great peace. When we know we can lean on Him for strength and encouragement, each day becomes more manageable. The hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” was written as a result of an epiphany based on the text of Deuteronomy 33:27. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Anthony Showalter was a gospel music composer and teacher. He wrote the hymn with pastor Elisha Hoffman. Showalter received letters from two of his former students saying that their wives had died. When writing letters of consolation to these students, Showalter was inspired by Deuteronomy 33:27 and wrote the lyrics to the hymn with help from Hoffman. The hymn describes how we can rely on strength from God and have inner joy and peace throughout life. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms. Refrain: Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. Reference:
Stohlmann, M. (2020). The world's greatest future. Seattle, WA:KDP. |
Micah StohlmannChristian, author, and professor of mathematics education. Archives
January 2023
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