Heaven

Walking with Jesus Alone

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
1516018540207_image.jpgTherefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.                     2 Cor 6:16-17

Being a Christian may sometimes feel like a complicated balancing act. On one hand we don’t want to be like the Pharisees whose holier than thou attitude smelled pretty stinky to God. But then we come face to face with verses in the New Testament that challenge us to boldly be different from others.

When I was small I can remember summer nights playing with my cousins in our grandmother’s back yard. Games of tag turned to Hide and seek as the afternoon shadows lengthened. Finally as darkness began to fall we would wear our selves out running with empty jars to try to catch fireflies. Finally our grandmother who we called Gammy would go out on the back porch and ring the big ships bell that grandfather had brought back from the navy ship which he captained.  Hearing that bell meant to all of us that we needed to stop everything we were doing and come in.

In that same way God is ringing heaven’s bell as the shadows of time are lengthening. It is time to stop chasing after the fireflies come in to be close to Him. Quite a few years ago being separated meant that we shouldn’t join secular civic organizations, labor unions or ecumenical groups. Not to disparage those choices but on closer examination of scripture we see that He is not just calling us out. He is also calling us in.

Are you at a crossroads in your life today? Is there some decision, commitment or relationship that challenges your relationship to Jesus Christ? Making choices in life is not easy. Often good choices are the most difficult. God doesn’t promise us a comfortable and easy path. He does promise that will never walk alone. Will you walk with Him today? Does His approval mean more than the approval of neighbors, friends and even family? It won’t matter how many people like our decision. The only like that really matters comes from Jesus Christ and He gives us the awesome and fearful freedom to choose who we will walk with today!

Hope of Heaven

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

I see myself at heaven’s door

I can hear its hinges creak

Around its frame a light shines out

As it opens before the King

 

What have you brought He asks

From the life you lived on earth?

Oh not a lot I sadly say

As I struggle to begin

Light at Night

Well, there were the mission’s trips

And every day I prayed

And regularly I read your word

And all the tithes I gave

 

When I stopped – he paused and gently said

That’s not why angels sing

Those were not from your deepest heart

But just temporary things

 

But the forgiveness you gave your parents

When their divorce left you alone

And the love you shared with strangers

When you opened up your home

And the tears of repentance that you wept

And your confession in the dark

These are the things that I truly treasure

And for these there is a crown

 

 

 

Hope of Heaven

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25

Hoping for heaven has sometimes been given a bad rap by the church. Some of this has been a push back on old hymns and past sermons that focused exclusively on heavenly bliss and ignored the importance of our time on earth.  But neither our greatest victories, our worst failures, our highest dreams nor our worst sufferings can compare with what lies ahead for us in heaven.

KIMG0401

When our boys were young they made for themselves wooden plaques with their names carved in them to hang over the doors to their rooms. It was their way of staking out their own personal territory.  In the same way God has staked out a territory in heaven for each of us who have put our hope in Jesus Christ. He has engraved our name over the door of our home there. There is nothing wrong with that great joyful longing to be together forever with Jesus in the place He has prepared for us.  We can say with David, “Who do I have either in heaven or earth but you Lord?”  This hope of heaven strengthens our hearts in life’s storms and lightens our load so we can carry the burdens of others. This hope shines through any dark night and lights our path all the way to our home!