THANKFUL FOR HEAVEN


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Three times a year my church invites me to speak. I have made some good friends here, and some enjoy hearing what the Gentile moderator sounds like when delivering a gospel message. Here is my latest offering, with a link to the video at the end.

 

THANKFUL FOR HEAVEN

The holidays are hard for many.  For too many families the death of a significant loved one took place around the holidays. My mother passed away just after New Year’s. For others the pressures of gift-giving and family separations are so painful. Does surprise anyone that this season is especially heart-wrenching at the jail? Beyond our personal sadness, it just does not seem appropriate to call for joy and peace and love in a world full of chaos. Honestly, the closest we get to heaven in this life is when we do church right.

The problem is clear. My answer is heaven. Heaven is the what and why of Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for? Heaven. Why am I thankful? Heaven. It is why I resist sin; and it’s why I struggle rather than surrender.

Jesus says heaven is the reason we trust God. John 14:1-3 reads:  “Do not let your heart be troubled. You have put your trust in God, put your trust in Me also. There are many rooms in My Father’s house. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going away to make a place for you. After I go and make a place for you, I will come back and take you with Me. Then you may be where I am.

Jesus wants us to trust Him and the Father. This is the key to heaven.  Trust & Obey for There’s No Other Way. But why trust? Why obey? So I can have a happy life today? My best life NOW even? That might work when all I want is a little more. However, when life is really bad, I need more than to be told a frown is just a smile upside down. I need the promise of heaven!

When sin tempts me Satan’s trap is binding me to the now. Why shouldn’t I look at porn, as a young person? Why shouldn’t I smoke marijuana? Why shouldn’t I drink socially? Why shouldn’t I go to the fun parties? Why shouldn’t I give myself to the person I feel love for today? Why shouldn’t I decide what’s right and wrong for myself?

Some argue that the Christian life is more peaceful and fuller than selfish living is. They say they sleep well and life and feel better. That may be true for some, but that’s a tough sell for most. Consider the spiritual and advice literature that’s out there: The Power of Now, by Echart Tolle; Living in the Now, by Gina Lake; And, of course, a book simply titled, Now, by Morris Gleitzman. And yes, even some Christian ministers are offering our best lives NOW.

The answer to the temptation of now is heaven. We do have communion with Jesus today. Revelation 3:20: 20 See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and we will eat together. Nevertheless, it is the promise of heaven that helps me resist sin Revelation 21:3 declares: I heard a loud voice coming from heaven. It said, “See! God’s home is with men. He will live with them. They will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will be their God.

When times are tough Satan tempts us to be angry at God. Consider Job:  Chaper 3:24 For I cry inside myself in front of my food. My cries pour out like water. 25 What I was afraid of has come upon me. What filled me with fear has happened. 26 I am not at rest, and I am not quiet. I have no rest, but only trouble.” The very heading for this chapter is: Job Speaks Angry Words to God.

We know that after all his suffering Job’s life was restored. Yet, however happy his ending was, we find his greatest question in the midst of the suffering. Job 14:14: 14 If a man dies, will he live again? We know the answer is a resounding yes!

Why do I trust God in hard times? I know: God is good. God is just. Heaven will make everything right. 1 Corinthians 15:54-55: 54 When this that can be destroyed has been changed into that which cannot be destroyed, and when this that does die has been changed into that which cannot die, then it will happen as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They said, “Death has no more power over life.” 55 O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains?

1 Cor 13 says that now we see through a glass darkly--then we shall see clearly, because we shall see Jesus face to face. Consider also that Jesus says He is preparing a place for us.  If earth took six days to make, and Jesus has been working on our new place in heaven for 2000 years, how wonderful it will be! Best of all… Jesus says He will be there with us.  He loves us!

In Revelation 21:1-4 we read: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was made ready like a bride is made ready for her husband. I heard a loud voice coming from heaven. It said, “See! God’s home is with men. He will live with them. They will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will be their God. God will take away all their tears. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All the old things have passed away.”

The first heaven and the first earth pass away. All the injustices. All the pain. All the broken relationships. All our mistakes. This is God’s mercy, and it angers us! However, we must take care. For, while no one can come between us and God. Even those who refuse to forgive us cannot keep us from His mercy. However, our own unwillingness to forgive can. For, when we refuse to forgive, we demonstrate that our faith is deficient. If we believe God will do justice to the unrepentant than we can trust those who hurt us into his righteous care. If the message of peace, joy, mercy and forgiveness seem more like salt on old wounds than like healing, perhaps it is time for us to forgive. Trust God. Forgive. See your own peace, joy, mercy and forgiveness restored!

How wonderful that God calls the New Jerusalem a bride.  Compare with earth, which he merely called good.  Consider also that God will be with us forever! No more separation. No more loneliness. No more desperate searching and waiting.

Consider what our enemy offers instead. The devil says I can be my own god. This is eternal separation from THE God. It is hell. Many religions offer commands to obey a God, or gods, but offer no communion—no love from Him. Our God says: John 3:16: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever.

John the Revelator tells us in chapter 21:22-27: 22 I did not see a house of God in the city. The All-powerful Lord God and the Lamb are the house of God in this city. 23 There is no need for the sun and moon to shine in the city. The shining-greatness of God makes it full of light. The Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk by its light. The kings of the earth will bring their greatness into it. 25 The gates are open all day. They will never be shut. There will be no night there. 26 The greatness and honor of all the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing sinful will go into the city. No one who is sinful-minded or tells lies can go in. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life can go in.

Worship and communion with God will become like breathing. We won’t work at it anymore. Being truly WITH God will simply be our way of life. We no longer depend on nature, or any creation of God, for what we need.  God, Himself, is our source. We no longer worry about safety.  There is no evil and no danger. We no longer struggle with sin and temptation--there is no evil intent in heaven!

Wow...direct relationship with God!  Our final passage shows that all doubts are removed, and our lives gain tremendous purpose. Revelation 22:3-5: There will be nothing in the city that is sinful. The place where God and the Lamb sit will be there. The servants He owns will serve Him. They will see His face and His name will be written on their foreheads. There will be no night there. There will be no need for a light or for the sun. Because the Lord God will be their light. They will be leaders forever.

The curse of sin (sickness, worry, fear and death) are gone! We will know God personally, and we will clearly belong to Him!  No more doubts! God will be our light and we will rule with Him! 

Heaven will be so wonderful.  The promise of it assures me I can trust God. Heaven means all that is bad, and my whole sense of separation from God, will be gone. Heaven is filled with God’s presence. I won’t have to go to him or try to find him. Nothing that would distance me from him will tempt me. This is constant peace. This is constant worship. Heaven is a place where I am never hindered, and where I find tremendous purpose in living. Sin no longer distracts or weakens me. Struggle no longer pains or isolates me. I want to be there.  So, I must follow Jesus. He is the only way to heaven. John 14:6:  Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can go to the Father except by Me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VuDxsPsPI4

Edited by prisonchaplain
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