Who Needs to Talk about Heaven?

So, your life is full of activity, chock full of wonderful success and excitement? Great, rejoice in that.

Or, is there disappointment, a sense of futility nagging around the edges of days that pile on top of one another, not terrible, not great, a time when you slog through work, chores, keeping house, doing the daily stuff that must be done?  

Then, too, you may be dealing with a hurricane of sorts; like Michael blew through the panhandle of Florida two days ago. All you can see is destruction.  

Wherever you are, whatever your experience, you need Heaven!

I have a confession.  Not all that long ago, I used to think that Christians who talked about Heaven were a little strange. I heard older people talk about ‘’going home” and their words seemed kind of silly. “There is so much to live for, life is too full of things to do, to be thinking about Heaven,” I thought.  I just had not lived long enough to know that it is the hope of a home in Heaven that is exactly what makes sense of this earthly life.  If we make life only about what we can experience, own, achieve, and build sooner or later we will find ourselves with a lot more past than future and wondering what it all meant.

However, a grasp of the promise of Heaven and our assurance of eternal life will be like a spiritual North star, guiding us now to a godly life and giving us reason to remain faithful. Paul, who knew amazing success and bitter defeat in equal measure, reminds us that  we  live in "faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you." (Colossians 1:3-6, NIV)  Eugene Peterson’s Message says it this way, “The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” Isn't that rich?

The light that shines from Eternity into the Present makes all things we know here more wonderful, meaningful, of purpose.

Please do not think that I am talking about escapist fantasies about a kind of super Disney World.  This is not about retreating from the realities of life.  This is about taking hold of a promise by faith that helps us to reject distractions and to invest ourselves in those things that will gain the Father’s approval, a rich reward in heaven.  Our Christianity is very much about how we live right now precisely because we believe that we will live forever!  Paul is candid about the importance of eternity to the present.  He says that "If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." (1 Corinthians 15:19-20, NLT)   He told Timothy about being lifted up to Heaven, seeing visions that were beyond description. Those visions sustained his faith through a life of costly service to his Lord, and near the end of his earthly journey, when he was facing his execution caused him to send this final greeting to his protégé - "Now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return." (2 Timothy 4:8, NLT)

Christian friend, let this promise keep you faithful – equally in the wonderful and the awful. "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He 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 21:3-4, NIV) Oh, what joy! The Lord I love now only in part, will then love me in a way I can only imagine. The hand of Jesus will dry my tears and I'll never cry again, ever. No regret, no pain, no disappointment, no longing for what cannot be, no loneliness exists where God, in all His Fullness, will clear up our confusion, heal us forever, and welcome to our eternal reward.

 
Does all this talk of Heaven strike you as irrelevant? As I wrote a moment ago, I once had little time for Heaven , too. I insisted that  "there is just too much living right here and right now to 'waste' time thinking about Eternity. I'll enjoy it when I get there!" What a foolish boy I was. Heaven is for now. Plant your heart in Heaven. Invest yourself in God's work.

Our word from the Word comes from the Lord Jesus Who says, “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." (Matthew 6:19-21, The Message)

_________

When We All Get To Heaven

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus

Sing His mercy and His grace

In the mansions bright and blessed

He'll prepare for us a place

When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus

We'll sing and shout the victory

While we walk the pilgrim pathway

Clouds will overspread the sky

But when travelling days are over

Not a shadow not a sigh

Let us then be true and faithful

Trusting serving every day

Just one glimpse of Him in glory

Will the toils of life repay

Onward to the prize before us

Soon His beauty we'll behold

Soon the pearly gates will open

We shall tread the streets of gold

Eliza Edmunds Stites Hewitt | Emily Divine Wilson | James Koerts

© Words: Public Domain

_________

 

Listen to Tim Keller talk about the Christian hope of eternity at this link.

 

How Does Christianity Help Us Deal with Evil and Suffering

Kicking and screaming at life?

Unless you’re completely out of touch you are aware that Americans are an angry lot. Demonstrators filled up the halls of government to protest. One of our Senators said that never before had he feared for his life, but now he wonders if some angry person will try to kill him. I believe that the levels of anger in our nation are taking us to dangerous places from which there can be no return. 

I enjoy Facebook as a way to stay in touch with my friends and family but recently I have found it necessary to stop seeing the posts of some of my friends, not because of their opinions, but because of the level of anger in their posts. I have heard more than one of my friends admit to feeling discouraged and spiritually depleted. Often it is unresolved anger that saps their spiritual strength like an internal bleed!

Solomon reminds us that anger is a dangerous thing. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, NIV)  I confess that lack of patience and a temper has led me onto the fool’s pathway too many times in life. 

Anger can be useful. Paul teaches us to ‘be angry, but don’t sin.’   He goes on to tell us that anger cannot be left to simmer for days. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."  Another translation says, “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” (Ephesians 4:26, NLT)  A person who cannot feel anger over injustice, who cannot care deeply enough about people to be stirred in their emotions, may avoid anger but they are likely to slip into another state which makes them useless in the work of God – apathy.

So how do we turn the anger into a reason for positive action, draining the toxic bitterness from our life?

First, if you are angry, admit it- to yourself and to the Lord. Say, “I am angry” without offering excuse or justification.  

Thinking that all anger is sinful, there are many Christians who refuse to face it honestly.  People get offended but insist they are 'just sad,' when they are really angry!  They become are raging inside but will only say, that they are 'hurt.'   If you’re angry at political developments, at people, at God - admit it.  Only then will you be able to deal with it and give the Holy Spirit a place to begin a heart change.   

Second, work at understanding the cause of your anger.  

Anger is often misdirected. 
We get angry when our boss overlooks us at work, but focus the anger on our wife when she tries to tell us something. 

We grow frustrated and angry over chronic illness and it boils over on our kids.  God, the Holy Spirit, will help you (as will a good, honest friend) to understand the root of rage, but when He does, be prepared to work hard at change, starting with that person who stares back at you from your mirror.

Third, kill the fantasies!  Missed expectations feed a ton of rage.

Wouldn’t we love a wonderful world where everyone was nice, all dreams came true, and people lived happily ever after? The sooner we decide to deal with the world as it is rather than pretending that somewhere, out there, there is a place where life works as we desire, the better our lives will be. People aren't perfect. Dreams don't always come true, no matter how hard you work at them. Acceptance of our limitations and of the situations in which we find ourselves provides great release from unnecessary anger. That does not that we must give up, surrender hope, or stop praying for change.  But, we must ask the Spirit of God to help us to know the difference between our fantasies about a 'perfect' world and His dream for our life which He will equip us to fulfill.

Fourth, ENDURE! Steady yourself and face the future.

A friend who is in AA, reminded me of a basic truth that recovering alcoholics learn - "Send your body and your heart will follow!" In other words, sometimes we do the right things, just because they are the right things, not because we feel great passion, enthusiasm, or joy! Sometimes the very best method of dealing with anger is simply to determine to outlast your enemies and critics as you kill'em with kindness. That endurance is sustained by the realization that there is coming a day of just rewards for us all.

Christians can set aside a lot of anger if they keep the promise of God’s Great Reversal in sight by faith. The injustice that comes to us personally and in the larger world, the seeming lack of consequence for some terrible sin, the ‘triumph of the wicked,’ can make us really angry if we fail to hope for that day when Christ and His kingdom will come and with Him will come the justice for which we pray. "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And a righteous person will live by faith.” (Hebrews 10:35-38, NLT)

This word from the Word is one to which I turn from time to time.  It is the resolution of the anger felt by one who experiences delayed justice.  "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." (Psalm 73:21-26, NLT)

__________

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine

O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation purchase of God

Born of His Spirit washed in His blood

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy whispers of love

Perfect submission all is at rest

I in my Savior am happy and blest

Watching and waiting looking above

Filled with His goodness lost in His love

Fanny Jane Crosby | Phoebe Palmer Knapp

© Words: Public Domain

Sounds of Silence

Our NJ network of pastors is gathered for 3 days here in Lancaster, PA for a conference with the theme- “Listen Up.” Our speakers are working to help us to become better listeners, teaching about communication skills, poking holes in our assumptions and human foibles with jokes (very good ones, I might add).  I intend no criticism when I say that we have not given much time to a kind of listening which is critical to life.  We were urged to listen to the voice of the Lord, to revere Jesus … but oh, the constant noise. I craved just 15 minutes of silence to allow the weight of the Glory of God to settle down over us.

Noise is a cultural phenomenon.  We are addicted to it, filling in every moment with sound. And the idea of contemplation of the Almighty without amplified songs is growing extinct and, with its passing, we are losing the art of listening. We crank up the volume, increase the stimulation, while we shovel sound into our ears.  Even as we are urged to listen we are being deafened by the noise and losing our individual ability to hear the still, small voice of God. Then, too, there is something that is all too common, as least among my tribe of worshipers.  The moment we feel our hearts stirred by the awesome Presence we feel need to let out a shout or utter a praise or sing another worship song, even louder. I think we may have become incapable of quiet wonder where God is allowed to dig deep into our souls. It is as if we are conditioned to think, "somebody quick say something, sing something, do something!" 

There is a time to shout the songs of our victory in Christ Jesus. There is a time to roar our declaration of faith in the face of our Enemy. And there is a time to simply “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)  My prayer is that we learn to worship and listen in silence as much as in our songs; that we find His Presence as wonderful in the quiet of our personal prayers as we do among the congregation.

Richard Foster, whose understanding of Christianity has shaped my own, observes "Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied."   - Celebration of Discipline  Do you know the whisper of the Spirit’s voice – sometimes convicting, sometimes speaking of His love, always leading?

Peter’s impulsivity and tendency to speak when he ought to have remained silent speaks to me.  How I identify with him!  One day, in a moment of amazing wonder, he didn't know enough about awe to keep his mouth shut and his ears open!  He earned a stunning rebuke from Jesus that remains a lesson for us. "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."  (Matthew 17:1-7, NIV)

God interrupted Peter’s intentions to say, “Listen up!”  Friend might He be asking the same of you today? May He be saying, “Please close your mouth and open your ears, so you can hear my Word?”

The word from the Word this morning reminds us about holy awe! "God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone-a holy silence. Listen!" (Habakkuk 2:20, The Message)  A reminder as you process that phrase - His holy temple is not a cathedral in Rome or your church’s building.   We are His holy Temples, the Spirit living in us. When we sense the Spirit moving in us - be it in corporate worship, standing on a mountain, or in the company of a suffering saint - an appropriate response is to grow still;  to allow awe to overwhelm us.  

Today, make some space in all the 'noise' of your life to listen.  
Invite the Spirit to fill you up with holy awe.  “Our God is an awesome God.”

__________________________________

I am Thine, O Lord,

I have heard Thy voice,

and it told Thy love to me.

But I long to rise

in the arms of faith,

and be closer drawn to Thee.

Oh the pure delight

of single hour that before

Thy Throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer,

and with Thee, My God,

I commune as friend with Friend.

Draw me nearer,

nearer, Blessed Lord,

to the cross where Thou hast died,

Dear me nearer,

nearer, Blessed Lord,

to Thy precious bleeding side.

Fanny Crosby-  Public Domain