by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
A Personal Place
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:1-4, 6)
Thus far we have Biblically observed that heaven is real and is a permanent place. Let us now consider that heaven is also a personal place. There is personal recognition and contact as well as intercession for Christians in heaven.
Contrary to some unbiblical opinions encouraged by wishful thinkers and TV shows, when Christians die they do not become angels. There is a clear distinction between the authority given to a Christian and the role of angels at the White Throne Judgment. (1 Corinthians 6:3)
A time is coming though when the dead in Christ will be resurrected and will be given glorified bodies. At the Lord’s transfiguration “…Moses and Elijah appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His departure, which was fulfilled in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31) on the Cross of Calvary. The King James Bible says that Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory…” meaning literally they were glorified saints. This teaches Christians who have departed from this world are living in glory and will some day also receive a body to match. The “mortal will take on immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:53)
Not only is there a glorified body awaiting Christians some day, but personal intercession by Jesus now. In Acts 7 we see that personal intercession when Stephen was about to be stoned to death for his testimony of Christ. We read, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of the throne of God. ‘Look,’ he said ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (v. 55, 56) “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ ” (Acts 7:59) After Christ was raised from the dead, He had personal communication with two men on the road to Emmaus. He said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not Christ have to suffer these things and enter glory?” (Luke 24:25-26)
It is amazing even now to see how slow of heart people are to believe all that Christ and Scripture has to say about heaven and God’s only way for a person to get there. Jesus is the only way! If you have allowed family, friends, so-called experts in theology, the media, or your own unbelief to make you “slow of heart”, you must reject these ideas completely and turn whole-hardheartedly to Jesus Christ through confession and repentance.
When you allow the Holy Spirit to bring you into agreement with God’s Word which says, “…all have sinned” and through repentance receive Christ as personal Savior and Lord, you will enjoy the Biblical revelation that heaven is a personal place, and you will establish an intimate relationship with Christ now, thus experiencing the benefits of being on the narrow road to heaven. You can know that Christ intercedes personally for you just as he did for Stephen at the throne of God, and He will speak to you as He did the two on the road to Emmaus through God’s Word as quickened by the Holy Spirit. Choose Christ today!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
A Permanent Place
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:1-4, 6)
In this text we read that Jesus twice referred to Heaven as being a place. The Holy Spirit later moved the apostle Peter to give us additional revelation about the place where the born again Christian will spend eternity. “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 – kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:3-4) Peter gives us truth in this portion of Scripture that will take an eternity to fully grasp. One powerful truth is that we will be living face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father forever. There is no greater privilege given to man.
Peter reveals something else worth meditating on as we consider our inheritance of eternal life. It will “never perish, spoil or fade.” It will last forever. All that God gives us as we minister with Him throughout eternity will stay with us. There is no threat of losing anything or of losing the blessing of His presence. Once the child of God is received into heaven, their inheritance is sure and imperishable. It will not age, deteriorate or die; there will not be even a seed of corruption within it. This inheritance will never spoil or be defiled. Our resurrected bodies will never be polluted or corrupted with sin again. Residents of heaven will not need to pray for those who are sick or dying. Pharmacies and hospitals will be nonexistent. Accidents will not happen. No tears will ever be shed again over a lost loved one or over lost possessions.
Note that Peter tells Christians that this is a “living hope.” The word “hope” here is used differently than the way we normally think of hope. For example, many students have graduated high school and gone on to college “hoping” to graduate in four years or so. This is only an expression of a strong desire to attain a certain goal. These people have no absolute certainty that they will be able to do so, for they may be forced to sit out a semester or year because of financial hindrances, health needs, or family setbacks. The hope Peter speaks of (Greek elpis) is a sure thing, a confident expectation in the God of hope, the Author and Source of hope. This hope comes only to Christians who have an obedient walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Lip service without true faith will not open the door of your heart to the Holy Spirit’s enabling to enjoy this type of hope. Only a heart yielded to the Lordship of Christ can enjoy all the blessings of this assured outcome. This is a revelation that comes only from the Lord as you choose to believe the Word of God and as you surrender to the illuminating power of the Holy Ghost.
Choose this day to repent of sin and turn fully to Christ. You will then have that sure hope that many have in Him. You can know that heaven is not only a real place but also a permanent place prepared for you. Invite Christ into your heart and life today!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
A Holy Place
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:1-4, 6)
The Holy Scriptures teach clearly that heaven is a real place, a permanent place and a personal place. It is also a holy place. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us this powerful truth about the character of those who will be in heaven, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) The Holy Spirit moved the apostle Peter to write, “…just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)
Holiness embraces purity and moral integrity. Those called to be God’s children are to be like Christ. Peter used the word “called” (Greek kaleo) meaning a divine calling to partake of the blessings of redemption. Theologians tell us that the word “called” as used by the apostle Peter is a Divine Grace that is sure to produce. The blood of Christ is not a cover of sin but a purifying source that will cleanse all sin from those who come to Jesus in repentance and receive Him as Savior and Lord.
In the New Testament the apostle Peter wrote powerfully and boldly about holiness because it is the attribute of God. The Old Testament also contains many Scriptures that speak directly about what God says about Himself, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
Holiness means total separation from that which is profane or wicked in God’s sight. God–Father, Son and Spirit–is the depiction of righteousness, purity and sinlessness. He is also the embodiment of absolute perfection, completeness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the perfect picture of total separation, unaffected by this world’s philosophies. He lived a victorious life over the flesh and defeated Satan’s temptations with the Word of God. Jesus is in heaven and the blessing of being in heaven means to be where He is. There is no sin in heaven, thus, there are no consequences of sin. The blessing of being in heaven is enjoying perfection and absolute separation unto God and Christ Jesus.
On earth we are often exposed to the lures of sin and must live with consequences of it. Down here the apostle Paul says we see but a poor reflection and we know only in part. In heaven we will know perfection and completeness. Here we are always looking for fulfillment in some way. In heaven we will know true and everlasting fulfillment.
The simplest understanding of holiness is that of loving conformity to God’s commands and to His Son. Heaven is where God is who is holy; and the people who are there with Him are those who long in their hearts and lives for the holiness of God. The ones who are in heaven know the truths of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” They have offered their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1-2)
Will you join the multitude who have chosen Christ and the holiness of God? Heaven awaits all who have.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
We Have the Benefit of the Holy Spirit
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
1 John 4:13 says, “This how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us His Spirit.” With a continuous and ongoing awareness, there is an intimate communion with God by His Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 6:11 gives us this promise, “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because His Spirit who lives in you.”
Charles Swindoll wrote: “A number of miles from the Los Angeles basin, there is a river. The river has been damned up by man, and through the genius and innovation of engineers, they have put together a dam that has, in its process of working, housed electricity–hundreds of thousands of volts that are fed into the Los Angeles basin. If you were to go to the various transmission plants along the way, you would read signs marked with, ‘Danger, High Voltage.’ ‘No trespassing, Danger.’ Hundreds of thousands of volts are available in energy for your home, but who needs a hundred thousand volts, unless he wants to burn up his home? To keep a home from burning down, engineers have built transformers into the system – not transmitters, but transformers. The transformers does nothing more than break down into meaningful units, just the right amount of electricity you need.
I have in my home, for example, another transformer. One Christmas I gave myself an HO gauge train. There is a tiny unit called a transformer on the train set, and it breaks down the 110 volts from the wall to even less. Why, if you plugged into a straight 110 outlet, that train would go pzzzttt! for one second and then burn up. The transformer for the train breaks the electricity down for the small train engine to run just right, so the train just putt, putt at just the right speed.
When the Holy Spirit, the transformer, comes, He will take the majestic truths of God and will dispense it just the way you need it, give it to you with handles that you can take and use. It is the Spirit’s delight to take the full truth of God and make one thing meaningful to that woman, something altogether different to that man, and something different again to that fellow down there. That’s the work of the Spirit, and He never makes a mistake. He gives you just what you can handle.” (The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Swindoll)
Christians can depend on the Holy Spirit to equip and empower them with just what they need in their service to the Lord.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
The Benefit of Sacrificial Love
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
There’s no greater love than that shown by Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
While people were living for themselves, not knowing or loving Christ, He died for their redemption. He gave His life, so we may know the Father, know Him and walk in step with the Holy Spirit.
That kind of love must be treasured; someone may have given his life for a friend, co-worker, or partner in service of our country. Christ died for those who despised Him
It must be remembered, when we accepted Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we were not only adopted into the Father’s family as sons and daughters, we were drafted in the war for the souls of mankind. (Matthew 28:18-20) It must also be noted that Jesus’ death for all of mankind was a demonstration of His love for us, not a response of our love for Him.
“During World War II, an enemy submarine approached a fleet of ships in the North Atlantic. The captain of one vessel spotted the white mark of a torpedo coming directly at his ship. His transport was loaded with literally hundreds and hundreds of young soldiers on the way to the European front. He realized they would not have time to maneuver to avoid the torpedo. He grabbed the loud-speaker and cried out, ‘Boys, this it!’
Nearby though, a little escorting destroyer also observed the torpedo. The captain ordered, ‘Full speed ahead!’ His ship steamed into the path of the torpedo. The destroyer was blown up; it sank very quickly. Every man on board died. The captain of the troop transport ship sadly said, ‘The skipper of that destroyer was our friend.’ (AMG Bible Illustrations)
With the sins of the world are on its way to destroy all of mankind, Jesus, sacrificed His life on the cross so we may receive eternal life. He is the Friend who gave His life for us.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 29, 2016 | Heaven
The Benefit of Mercy
Read from Scripture what the Ultimate Father did. “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever, believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Those who receive the Father’s gift, receives all the Father has. The Bible gives us this wonderful truth, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:1-7)
Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Whom He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” “Mercy” (eleon) means “to feel compassion, pity, and show kindness.” It draws oneself to want to care for someone who cannot help themselves. It enables one to see a need and meet the need. God not only beheld our need for salvation, He enables us to receive His salvation found in Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God not only sees our need for righteous living, He also enables to live a righteous life. Upon our repentance, we receive His mercy freely at no cost to us. (The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible)
In Reader’s Digest, Jim Williams of Butte, Montana, writes, “I was driving too fast one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rear view mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down the window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my speeding. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shinned the flashlight in my face, then upon my seven-months-pregnant wife, then on our snoozing 18-month-old in his car seat, then our three other children, who were also asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam back to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow it down.'”
Sometimes, mercy triumphs over the law. According to the law of God, we all deserve God’s judgment. However, in Christ Jesus we receive mercy and we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God.
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