Heaven...The Final Destination

Philippians 3:20-21, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

Two years ago, my family and I decided to take our first Disney vacation. We started planning about ten months out. We bought books, searched on line, and talked with many people who had already been to the Magical Kingdom. The goal was to be as prepared as we possibly could be. It was funny at how much it consumed my thoughts. I found myself talking to strangers about our preparations for this incredible trip we were about to take. Many fed off my excitement and would begin asking questions. Some were turned off by the mere mention of such a trip. Others just smiled and listened to me chatter away. Such joy came to me and my family as we planned and anticipated our long awaited journey.

Thinking about the preparation for that destination made me ponder the thought of my final destination; the moment that I take my final breath and enter into THE Kingdom. When I was little, I thought of heaven as a mystical place where we all floated down the streets of gold and sang "hallelujah" for eternity. Eternity....the idea of never having an end point was just too much for my young mind to dwell on. Even now, it is hard for me to really comprehend it.

John 14: 1-3 says, "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 may be also." (John 14:1-3). There is room for many people in God's Kingdom. Those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will dwell in this Kingdom with him. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he told the thief, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 (NIV) Upon the thief's death he would be with Jesus. The moment we leave this temporary home, we will be at home with the Lord.

I believe that we have lost the eternal perspective...and that sets us up (especially the younger population) for great heartache, disappointment, and sin. We get fixated on things we want or need at the moment, such as popularity, drugs, sex, good grades, climbing the ladder of success, etc. for fear that we might miss out on something. But what we were truly made for is to be in relationship with God and other people and, ultimately, to dwell in Heaven. Missing this truth can have destructive ramifications in this life.

Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, mentions that the church has shown an unbiblical view of our heavenly home. He states that some of Satan’s best untruths are about Heaven. Satan knows that if we truly grasped the existence of Heaven, it would completely change our present lives. We would have far more determination and fearlessness if we saw the world from an eternal mindset. Can you imagine what would happen if all believers captured this mindset and acted upon it?

“God has planted eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes. 3:10 TLB).
The realization that there must be something more lies deep within us all. Some people try to stay busy in order to fill that nagging question. Max Lucado wrote this in a post from he had on the "Preach It, Teach It" website,
"Take a fish and place him on the beach. Watch his gills gasp and scales dry. Is he happy? No! How do you make him happy? Do you cover him with a mountain of cash? Do you get him a beach chair and sunglasses? Do you bring him a Playfish magazine and martini? Do you wardrobe him in double-breasted fins and people-skinned shoes?

Of course not. Then how do you make him happy? You put him back in his element. You put him back in the water. He will never be happy on the beach simply because he was not made for the beach."

We were not made for this earth. We were made for so much more. Only through surrendering our hearts and minds to the Lord each day and keeping our sights set toward our heavenly home will we experience peace. Unsurrpassing peace as we look toward our final destination!

A picture is worth a thousand words....

I will post more later. This week of ministry has been amazing! God has moved in so many hearts. Here is a photo I was able to capture....children praying to receive Christ!

Boldness of Faith

Spring break. Snow. These two words should be far far away from each other. However, on our first full day at Flower City Work Camp (during our Spring break mind you)....we were met with a bone chilling windchill of 10 degrees and periods of heavy snow. Now I must tell you that I don't handle cold very well, and there I was serving on the Side Walk Club. The Side Walk Club is like a Back Yard Bible Club where songs, arts and crafts, games and a dramas based on a Bible story are performed for the children within the city.

I was blessed to be on a team with an incredible group of teenagers as well as adult leaders. It was wonderful to see the confidence that these high school students had in the Lord. Even on that first, snowy day, when no kids showed up, they kept a positive attitude through it all. Teenagers...keeping a positive attitude, seeing the best in people, encouraging and building each other up, working together.....what a joy this was to see first hand!

Our second day proved to be quite a blessing. We had 27 kids show up to our 2nd site...the same one where there had been zero the day before. Apparently there was a miscommunication as to where our location actually was to be held. On Tuesday, while we were waiting outside in blizzard like conditions, there were some precious children waiting for us to show up in a warm,cozy room in their apartment complex! Glad we finally figured it out! We were able to love on these kids and share the gospel with them.

I heard countless testimonies at our final meeting of how groups would go on prayer walks. While on the walks, they would approach people on the street and ask them if they could pray with them. Some accepted it; some rejected it. But seeds were planted. They saw people who took the time to care; to look them in the eyes and ask to pray with them. To share the gospel with them if they were open to it.

This brought conviction upon me. It is easy to sit here and type the gospel message, or to post it on FaceBook or to Tweet scripture. It is another thing to go up to a total stranger and begin a conversation about the Lord. But why should it be? It did take me out of my comfort zone a little bit. Most of the circles I'm in...everyone is already a believer. If I'm to be an obedient follower of Christ, then I must do what He says in the Great Commission.....

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

He will empower us through the Holy Spirit to go out and share our testimony with others. The thought of missing an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone who is ready to respond horrifies me. After reading about the convictions of D.L. Moody and how his boldness in the faith changed a man has challenged me.

D. L. Moody made an covenant with God that he would witness for Christ to at least one person each day. One night, about ten o’clock, he realized that he had not yet witnessed; so he went out in to the street and spoke to a man standing by a lamppost, asking him, “Are you a Christian?” The man flew into a violent rage and threatened to knock Moody into the gutter.
Later, that same man went to an elder in the church and complained that Moody was “doing more harm in Chicago than ten men were doing good.” The elder begged Moody to temper his zeal with knowledge. Three months later, Moody was awakened at the YMCA by a man knocking at the door. It was the man he had witnessed to. “I want to talk to you about my soul,” he said to Moody. He apologized for the way he had treated Moody and said that he had had no peace ever since that night on Lake Street when Moody witnessed to him. Moody led the man to Christ and he became a zealous worker in the Sunday school.
The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 205

What if Moody had not gone out that night? What if he chose sleep over His conviction? I know that God will get His work done with or without me. I read that Billy Graham felt that he was God's second choice for his evangelism ministry. Mr. Graham was willing to be used and was open before the Lord every morning. I don't want to miss out on being used in any capacity by the Lord. It requires a daily surrendering with an open heart. A daily sensitivity to His leading. Less of me...more of Him.

This week has deepened my need to be bold in my faith and to love people unconditionally. It has done the same within the hearts of my four children and my husband. We are different. Our eyes have been opened. I am looking forward to see how the Lord will use us in this journey as we are obedient to Him!