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About Stephen Nielsen

I'm an author, a self publisher, and a painting contractor. I live in beautiful Minnesota, USA . Welcome to my blog site.

Keeping Our Focus on Heaven through Scripture

There is no better way to keep our focus on heaven than to read and meditate on heaven from Scripture. Here are a few good passages I picked out, followed by my commentary.

Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

If we maintain a pure life now we will see God though our faith “in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).  And we will also see Him in His full glory in heaven.

John 14:1-4

Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

We ought not to be troubled with our various problems in this life. If we believe in God and in His Son, we know that He (Christ) is preparing a wonderful place for us in the Father’s house in heaven. And He will very soon come to take us there.

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory…

Because He has made us citizens of heaven we are eagerly waiting for Him to take us to heaven and to change our earthly bodies into bodies of glory just like His own.

Colossians 3:1-3

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

If we are believers in Christ and have our citizenship in heaven, we are not to be bogged down and worried over things of this world. Instead, we are to keep thinking about and have our mind set on heavenly things (things that matter to God). For our old life is gone and our new life is now in Christ. He will protect us from all our spiritual enemies that are always out to destroy us.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Here is probably the best, or most descriptive, passage on the Rapture of the church. It tells us plainly that when the Lord comes to take us to heaven, He will first take up (and transform) those believers who had died. I believe this includes the Old Testament as well as the New Testament believers, for they all died in Christ. Then, after the dead are risen, all those who are alive will be taken up (and transformed) with the first group; and they all will meet the Lord “in the air.” We don’t know exactly where in the air they will be, but from that point they will all be transported to heaven to the Father’s house. Now we don’t know where we will be when He comes, but we can be sure of this: we will either be one of the dead ones that are raised, or one of the living ones who are raptured alive. I hope that comforts you.

Hebrews 11:13-16

 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

NIV

The people of faith spoken of in Hebrews 11 did not receive the promise of heaven before they died, but all their lives they remained strong in faith. For they were always looking for a better county than they left. They longed for the promised heavenly country that they knew God was preparing for them. If we want to remain faithful to God until the end, we must also as these did regard ourselves as strangers on earth—not really belonging to this world, rather having our citizenship in heaven.

Small Tastes Of Heaven

Though we aren’t in heaven yet, God will send us small tastes of heaven. The more you connect yourself with God through His Spirit by prayer and meditation on His word, and by your personal holiness and obedience, the more you will be blessed and will taste of all of the spiritual blessings He has given us (Eph. 1:3).

I love what Paul says in Colossians 3:1-3.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Let me go through this passage and comment briefly. In verse one Paul instructs the believer to “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” He is talking about heaven isn’t he?  We are to “keep seeking” those things in heaven.

What does he mean by this? How are we to do it? Well, verse two gives us his answer. We are to set our mind on the things above (on heaven where Christ is) instead of on all the things down here on this earth.

In verse three Paul continues with this thought. He is giving us the reason why we are not to set our mind on things of this earth: it is because we have died to our old life and have been raised up with Christ to a new life with Him. Our real life now is in Christ in God. That is to say, everything that gives us real meaning in life is in the Christ life. Our real home now is with Christ in heaven.

So how do we actually taste of heaven? I would say anything that brings the life of Christ into us is how we taste of heaven—because heaven is really enjoying the life of Christ. Here are five ways that we can taste of heaven:  

  1. Obey Christ in everything. Remember that obeying Him is loving Him.
  2. Pursue holiness. The more we stop sinning the more we will see God (Matt. 5:8).
  3. Stay in prayer. Prayer is our connection to God.
  4. Fellowship with other believers. The more we love and encourage them in the Lord the more He will bless us—satisfy us with His love.
  5. Worship together. Praise to God is most blessed and satisfying when we do it together.

A Foggy Day — The Kindness of God

It’s a very foggy day. God is being kind, giving the Dem’s a place to hide. It will take a while for them to face up to the MAGA victory. But soon, hopefully, they will see some great economic results. This next few years may be the last stretch of grace this country has before all hell breaks loose. We must pray that many will see His kindness and receive Him before it’s too late. May the kindness of God lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Strengthen Your Assurance Of Heaven

It seems that the older I get the more my mind is on heaven. This is true especially if we have been diligent to walk in holiness. Then whenever you feel the pains of your old life you may be reminded that the new life is ahead.

But our assurance of heaven should not only be based on how we feel or on how we regard our holiness. We should base our assurance mainly on the promises of God. In 1 Peter 1:3-5 Peter speaks of our heavenly inheritance as a living hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

If you have been born again into a new life, your inheritance is heaven. It is God’s promise to you.

How To Keep Your Focus On God and Heaven

In order to live with a heavenly perspective, in holiness, it is important to keep our focus on God and heaven.  I have five suggested ideas to do that. Here is the first idea.

Cultivate A Love For God And His Heaven

I think of cultivation as a farm word. It involves working the soil to promote the growth of whatever you are trying to grow. Love for God and His heaven grows best by working the ground of love—or by preparing the heart for love.

First of all, to do this the heart needs to be free of the weeds of the lust of the flesh and of the cares of this world (1Jn. 2:16). Then replace those thoughts with the thought that God has made us citizens of heaven and that He has paid for our citizenship with His own blood (Eph. 2:19).

Next, it would be good to do whatever you can to invest your time and money in heaven. That is, in bringing as many people into the kingdom of God as is possible; and then you will see your love for God and heaven grow. Then also, give your heart to worship and singing about heaven and your hope of heaven, and you will experience a great joy in the Lord.

Latest Update

I had an early breakfast this morning—and now I’m wondering what to do. Ah, retirement! The mornings are late because of the slow rising of the sun, but today I got up early anyway. I’ve been reading Confronting the Presidents, by Bill O’Reilly. He has given the readers a personal side of the presidents. Anyway, it’s very interesting. I always knew Woodrow Wilson was a racist, but now I understand why. His father was a racist and also a minister. With that combination evil will triumph. Racism was supported by righteousness; but a deceptive righteousness! And President Wilson paid for it by many family and personal tragedies. Sin will be punished!

With so many of our Presidents being unchristian, it is a wonder that our country has lasted this long. But I pray for a turnaround soon—if Jesus doesn’t come before that.

I will read my Jews for a Jesus newsletter. It’s a great ministry!