Category: Heaven

Tuesday 3/6 ~ Twists and turns, shortcuts and detours

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The scripture for today, March 6 (3/6), is Proverbs 3:6 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-Mefiboset-KINDLE Thumbnail“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Is your life full of twists and turns, shortcuts that never work out, detours, mountains to climb and valleys to make your way through?  Welcome to the human race. Life on earth can be hard.  Did you know the Bible calls Satan the god of this world (2nd Corinthians 4:4) and ruler of this world (John 12:31)?

Your path to heaven is another matter. Your path to heaven is straight. God has done everything in his power to straighten your path and make it easier for you to reach him. How? By providing his Son to die in your place for our sins, and by providing you with His Word to read anytime you see trouble ahead (Psalm 119:105).

Do you see a mountain ahead of you that is impossible to climb or valley so full of darkness you cannot bear the thought of entering it? Do you see a curve in the road ahead of you and dread knowing where it will lead you to?

Colossians 1:13 says God can rescue you from Satan’s domain of darkness and transfer you to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. There God takes control. There God says, “Hold on a minute, Christian, while I lower than mountain, brighten that valley, straighten that curve.”

The path to heaven ~ thanks to our merciful God ~ is straight. What path are you on?

Saturday 2/24 ~ I don’t do big sins, so I’m going to heaven

On By In death, Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, sacrifice, Saved from hellLeave a comment

The scripture for today, February 24 (2/24), is 1st Peter 2:24 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

Many people do not understand what Jesus dying on the cross has to do with us going to heaven. After all, if we don’t murder, steal, abuse others and only lie a little, God has no choice but to take us into heaven.  But God is perfect, so cannot co-exist with imperfection ~ even one tiny sin.

Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. So, all through the Old Testament era, whenever we sinned, God allowed us to kill/sacrifice a perfect animal and spill its blood to collect the death wages in our place. Notice, the animal had to be perfect and this was a temporary fix.

Eventually, God sent his own Son to come to earth and live in a human body and be tempted in every way that we are (see Hebrews 4:15). Jesus resisted all temptations and lived his entire life sinless. He was perfect morally, just as the sacrificial animals were perfect physically.

Then as the perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29), Jesus became the final sacrifice. He took the blame for all our sins and died in our place. He took the terrible wages of death for our sins. On the cross, he died spiritually (forsaken by God) and physically with blood dripping from the wounds in his hands and feet. Then God basically told the world, “I will consider you perfect too; all you have to do is believe in and follow my Son.”

It is explained further in Romans 6:3-4. Just as Jesus died bearing our sins, we die to our sinful nature ~ the part of us that sins and doesn’t care. Then just as Jesus was buried in his tomb, we are buried in the watery tomb of baptism. And finally, just as Jesus rose up out of his tomb the Savior, we rise up out of our watery tomb the saved ~ born again to a new life.

He left heaven to do all this for you and me. Indeed, by Jesus’ wounds you and I can be healed. We fall at his feet and say, “I am a sinner and so unworthy. Thank you.”

 

Friday 2/9 ~ What color is heaven?

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The scripture for today, February 9, is I Corinthians 2:9 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

This amazing promise applies to us today. It also applies to eternity. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive heaven. That is why so much of Revelation is symbolic. The symbols are beautiful, so try going one step beyond reading how Revelation describes heaven, and make a drawing of what you think it looks like. Then colorize it all those beautiful colors. Revelation 21:12,13,21:

Each of the 12 GATES is named after one of the Tribes of Israel and has an angel guarding it. Make the gates pearl. Make the angel over the gate white or yellow.

Revelation 21:17, 18a: Make the WALL jasper, which is a light see-through green.

Revelation 21:16, 18b: Heaven is full of many MANSIONS (John 14:2). Make them a translucent (see-through) gold.

Revelation 21:21: The STREETS of the city are like crystal and gold. Make them a translucent (see-through) gold also.

Revelation 22:1: The RIVER OF LIFE runs through heaven coming out from the throne of God. Make it blue.

Revelation 4:6a: The CHRYSTAL SEA is in front of God’s throne. Make it blue.

Revelation 22:2: The TREE OF LIFE grows on both sides of the River of Life. Make it green and brown.

Revelation 22:2: The ALTER OF INCENSE from Christians’ prayers is in front of the throne. Make it gold

Revelation 21:23: God’s THRONE is jasper and the glory of God is so brilliant, there is no need of a sun. Make the area of the throne silver/white.

Revelation 4:5: Around the throne of God are the seven SPIRITS of God, symbolized by seven lights. Make them yellow.

Revelation 4:3a: Near the Spirits, there is a ruby red GLOW around the throne of God. Make this inner arch red.

Revelation 4:3b: There is a RAINBOW over God’s throne. Make the arch at the very top over the throne emerald green.

Although this is all symbolic, doesn’t drawing and coloring in the symbols help to put across just how beautiful heaven will be!

#heaven

Sunday 2/4 ~ Do we make ourselves God?

On By In Bible, forgiveness, Heaven, Saved from hell3 Comments

The scripture for today, February 4(2/4), is 1st Timothy 2:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 8-ComeFlyWithMe-Cover-Thumbnail-New“[God]…wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Some people say, “You don’t choose God; God chooses you randomly out of all the other people of the world.” But God wants to choose us all. He wants everyone to be saved. So, in what sense does he choose us?

He is kind of like an employer who is looking for people to fill certain positions. He chooses those who qualify. He doesn’t have to choose anyone. By the employer’s grace, he chooses people to fill certain positions. He chooses to hire help and give them part of his money.

So how do we qualify for God’s grace? Certainly, atheists do not qualify, for they would not love God. People who worship another so-called god or nature do not qualify, for they would not love God. People who do not want to be looked upon as a goody-goody would not qualify, for they would not love God.

So, again, the question: How do we qualify? First, we never deserve it. We can never do enough good works to qualify. We can qualify to be selected for heaven only if we are sinless. Impossible! Yes, for us it is. But, because God loves us, he has given us a few things to do to qualify and be sinless in his eyes.

Believing is just the first step to qualifying. Admitting we sin and repenting is another step to qualifying. Read Romans 6 and Acts 2. Those two chapters pretty much sum up what we must do to qualify. Not many things, but they are necessary. Look them up. Check them out.

And remember 2nd Peter 3:9 ~ “He [God] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.”

When we make ourselves God and say the Bible doesn’t mean what it says so we can sneak into heaven our own way, how our Lord’s heart must ache. 

.

Link to ebook & discount paper:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus

.

#gods, #sinlessness, #choosing, #qualifying, #heaven

Saturday 1/13 ~ What an amazing plan

On By In Death of Jesus Christ, forgiveness, Heaven, InspirationalLeave a comment

The scripture for today, January 13 (1/13), is Habakkuk 1:13 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

This pretty much explains why none of us deserves heaven. Going to heaven has little to do with performing so many good works God will feel obligated to admit us.  

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-ThumbnailIt’s all about sin.  Only sinless people can be in heaven, for God cannot coexist with sin and still be God. Of course, we cannot be sinless. If nothing else, all of us have sins of attitude and neglect.

For thousands of years, God let mankind try any way we could to be perfect. Some people he gave the Law of Moses to, and some people he continued to let try on their own. Neither worked. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get it right.

The wages we earn for sinning is death (Romans 6:23). Remember in the Garden of Eden God warned, “The moment you sin, you die.” He was talking about our souls dying and eventually our bodies dying. Satan causes death, so we are collecting the wages Satan pays for following him.

But, God intervened.  God gave us a temporary fix: We could kill an animal to die in our place and offer it as a sacrifice to take onto itself Satan’s reward.

But Galatians 4:4 says, “When the time was come, God sent his son.” Finally, when mankind understood we needed outside help, God sent Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus lived the perfect life that was impossible for us to live; he was completely free of sin. Then God offered his son as the final sacrifice to die in our place ~ to be “falsely” accused of all the sins that WE had committed, to take onto himself Satan’s payment for OUR sins.

Since Jesus was sinless, Satan had no power over him. He just came back to life. That done, God ~ who can only dwell with sinlessness ~ is now able to allow obedient, faithful believers in Jesus into his home, heaven. For, through Jesus, we become sinless.

What an amazing plan.

.

link to ebook and discount paperback:  http://bit.ly/TheyMetJesus

Sunday 12/31 ~ Only forever

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The scripture for today, December 31 (12/31), is Luke 12:31 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 7-SHADOW-ChildsCartoonMedium“But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.”

Do we actively seek God’s kingdom? Or do we drift and feel like God should feel obligated to take us into his kingdom and into his heaven? Do we feel like we’re “not so bad”, so God would be bad to not take us into his kingdom and into his heaven?

Heaven is God’s home, not ours. God has a door into his home, just like we have a door into our home. God is not required to open that door to just anyone, just like we are not required to open our door to just anyone.  We cannot just show up at the door and smile and assume he will let us in, any more than people who knock on our door and smile can assume we will let them in.

We let people into our home who we have gotten to know and whose motives we trust. Have you given God a chance to get to know you and trust your motives? Are your motives to enter heaven, God’s home? Do you even like God?

This life we live on earth is not our permanent life or residence. This is just the foyer to our eternal home. Do we live like the earth is all there is? Do you fear hell?  Do you prefer heaven?

You are about to enter a brand new year. Today, decide to start over fresh and set your new goal: To live in God’s home where there are no more years. Only forever.

Friday 12/29 ~ Promised Land

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The scripture for today, December 29 (12/29), is Deuteronomy 12:29 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-medium“The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess.”

Why would a good God drive people (the Amorite nations) from their own land so that other people (the Jews) could live there? Way back in Genesis 15, God promised Abraham that his descendants would possess the land he lived in as a wanderer, but first, they would be enslaved in a foreign country some 400 years. During that time, they would multiply. Indeed, they did grow from 70 of Abraham’s grandchildren to over three million.

Then it would be time for his descendants to possess the land. Why so long in the future?  Verse 16 explains it: “For the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”  Their sins included offering their children as sacrifices to the fire god. 

The Jews did finally possess the Promised Land, but God warned them, “If you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you” (Leviticus 18:28). Indeed, they did eventually defile the land with their own sins, so several centuries later, they were dispossessed and forced to go to Assyria and Babylon by their conquerors. Yes, God keeps his promises ~ to both good and bad.

Today, regardless of the condition of the nation you live in on earth, look ahead to that even better promise of an even better land ~ that spiritual Promised Land ~ heaven. And it will be forever good.

Scripture for Monday 12/18 ~ Soar with Angels

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The scripture for today, December 18, is Hebrews 12:18ff as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-HS-592 VersesExamined-COVER-Medium“You have not come to a mountain [Sinai] that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storms; to a trumpet blast….The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’ “

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a NEW COVENANT….”

The first paragraph refers to Mount Sinai in Arabia on which Moses received what was called the Law of Moses ~ not just 10 commandments, but over 600 ~ over a 40-day period. It was a terrifying experience for everyone. The second paragraph refers to Mount Zion where the temple was later built in Jerusalem by the Jews.

Next, the writer of Hebrews shows that Jesus took mankind higher than either physical mountain through his new agreement with us. He took us from the Old Agreement of the Law of Moses to the New Agreement of the Law of Grace. He took us from the physical to the spiritual. The Christian Jerusalem came out of heaven where angels and the living God dwell (Revelation 21).

Why would anyone want to dip into the old Law of Moses to get justification to do showy things in worship when Christian worship is so much more spiritual? Let us climb down off that old mountain of the Law and soar with the angels to the spiritual, the heavenly.

Scripture for Friday 12/8 ~ Why Am I Here?

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The scripture for today, December 8 (12/8), is Ecclesiastes 12:8 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-REV-Cover-No Logo-KINDLE-medium” ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!’ “

Several years ago some Christians in England did a sidewalk survey in the downtown of a major city. One of their inquiries was: “What question about your life do you ask the most?”. The answer almost always was, “Why am I here? What is life all about?”.

The entire book of Ecclesiastes is about all the things the richest and most powerful man in the world did in order to have an enjoyable and fulfilling life: He built mansions and grand temples, he cultivated great gardens, he brought in gold and precious stones and fabrics from around the globe, he had numerous wives and mistresses, he built the largest army and navy in the world, he studied every possible subject. At the end, he said it was all meaningless.

The meaning of our life is that we were born to die. This life is temporary. This life is the foyer of the life we will have eternally ~ a life in heaven or hell. We were not put here just to have fun, but rather to take as many people with us to heaven as possible.

How do we do that? By continually studying and following our manual the Bible that our Creator gave to guide us through this temporary life and into our eternal life ~ our final destination ~ and encouraging others to do the same. Then applying it to our everyday life.

That is the meaning of life.

 

Scripture for Tuesday, November 7 (11/7)

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The scripture for today, November 7 (11/7), is Psalm 11:7 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

00-cover-kindle-medium-new“For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.”

The face of God! How we who believe in God long to see his face. We cannot comprehend it. But we can comprehend this…..

God’s eyes ~ “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:1).

God’s mouth ~ “I have put my words in your mouth” (Isaiah 51:16).

God’s nose ~ “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma….The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints went up before God” (Genesis 8:21; Revelation 8:4).

God’s ears ~ “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

Perhaps when we continually watch both good and bad people around us with the same kind of care that God does…

…perhaps when we speak the words that come out of the mouth of God…

…perhaps when we send our prayers like sweet incense to God…

…perhaps when we are attentive to the silent cry of those around us…

~ just perhaps, in some way, we are seeing the face of God.

Perhaps.