THE BEST THING ABOUT HEAVEN

What is the best thing about heaven? The best thing is not that we will again see our loved ones who die in the Lord, although that will be wonderful. The best thing is not that we will have resurrection bodies, though many of us can hardly wait for that. Nor is the best thing that the earth will be restored.

So what could be better than all these wonderful things? The very best thing about heaven is that we will be united with the Lord Himself, who is our life and joy. All the joys of this heaven and earth -- and the next heaven and earth -- wonderful as they are, are secondary joys. They pale in comparison to the joys of knowing the triune God who is our chief joy.

In Psalm 16:2, David is right when he says, “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.’” In fact, the joys of those will increase who run after the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Those joys will be multiplied in heaven. Our hearts have capacities for joy that have not yet been tapped. But heaven will reveal how great and deep and lasting are the joys to be found in God alone.

Perhaps that is why the psalmist ends Psalm 16 with the words, “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (vs 11). Eternal joy and lasting pleasures found in Him -- that is the best thing about heaven. 

-- Adapted from “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half” by Donald W. Sweeting & George Sweeting

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CITIZENS OF HEAVEN

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”  (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV)

When you received Jesus as your Savior, you began to live in two homes -- earth and heaven. You were born the first time into your earthly family. Now you have been born again into the family of God. You are a citizen of both worlds.

Your new heavenly home is the biggest one. It is God’s home. It is yours because you are united to Jesus and heaven is where He lives.

But we don’t need to wait until we die to visit heaven. Prayer is the airline to our heavenly homeland. We walk heaven’s streets and view its wonders each time we fellowship with the Lord. 

-- Ben Jennings in “The Arena of Prayer” 

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A DEADLY MYTH DEFUSED - Part 2

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

Only by setting our sights on Heaven can we find our way through the confusing maze of this world. Without fixing our gaze on God’s throne above, we are certain to lose our way and self-destruct.

Sailors who navigate the open sea know there is only one sure way to chart their course and set their direction. Under the dark cloak of night, navigators know that there is only one unchanging reference point by which they may establish their way. That fixed point? The North Star. In the uncertainty of night, mariners know that the North Star above is the only reliable compass by which they may navigate the open seas.

That’s exactly what God calls us to do. As we sail the uncharted seas of life under the veil of night, we must establish our direction and set our course by the unchanging heavens above. If we fail to fix our eyes on Heaven, we will become lost, disoriented, and ultimately, shipwreck our souls.

Many lives have been lost in the vast, open sea of this world and have been unexpectedly sunk by unseen, jagged reefs lurking beneath the surface. All because people failed to navigate their lives by the bright light of Heaven above.

Don’t let this happen to you. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of this earth. Establish your direction and set your course by Heaven.  

-- Adapted from Steven J. Lawson in “Heaven Help Us!: Truths About Eternity That Will Help You Live Today”

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A DEADLY MYTH DEFUSED - Part 1

I want to destroy a deadly myth. One so subtle that it hardly seems dangerous. But one so lethal it would delude our faith and damage our walk with Christ. What is that deadly myth? “He’s so heavenly minded, he’s no earthly good.” Don’t you believe it.

Just the opposite is true. We must be heavenly minded if we are to be any earthly good. Heaven must impact our lives today. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

We must reorient our thinking and refocus our hearts toward Heaven. Ever decision we make must be in the light of eternity. Every investment of our lives must be made from the perspective of Heaven. In the midst of hectic schedules and fast-paced lifestyles, we must choose to preoccupy ourselves with the unseen world above where Christ is enthroned as Lord over all.

Let us live for the world to come, not for this present age. Let us live for what is timeless, not temporal. Let us live for the spiritual, not the earthly. Let us live for the invisible, not the visible.

There is a restless longing in every person’s heart. God has placed eternity within us (Ecclesiastes 3:11) -- a strong desire for the world to come. Whether we realize it or not, our souls long for a place called Heaven. This yearning for our home above calls us to live radically different from the ways of the world. 

-- Adapted from Steven J. Lawson in “Heaven Help Us!: Truths About Eternity That Will Help You Live Today”

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